. 17 for Coyote????

Does anyone think the .17 is enough to take a coyote or should I stick with the .223 and not risk it.

I've shot one with each. The .223 worked ok. The .17 ... well, I never found the entrance wound, no exit, and I never saw anything get so dead so fast in my entire life. Musta been a head shot; the 'yote was going balls-out at about 175 yards. I pointed the muzzle in his general direction and ripped the trigger. It was like a cartoon thing, all four feet went straight back, totally limp, like he was doing a long dive, never twitched a twitch, dead before he hit the ground.

The .17 will work if you place your shots. The .223 is a little more forgiving about where you hit. I'm pretty convinced the bigger 6mms and the .25-06 are substantially better than any .17 or .22 and if you're not saving the hides, even the .270 and various 7mm magnums are fine if you're comfortable with them.

Which 17? What kind of distances? Going for the pelt, or just shooting? Makes a difference. that said any 17 from Mach IV up should do fine with a decent hit! LouisB Just opinion of course!

I've taken one coyote with the .17. I'm a great fan of the .17 (REM 700 Classic in my case) and I believe it is ample gun for a sub-200 yard shot at coyote. It was a clean kill at about 150 yards. No exit wound.

Although the .17 is a pleasure to shoot and carry my perferred coyote medicine is my .220 Swift. The .220 Swift will easily carry out to 300-400 yards which is a more typical encounter out here in the Livermore hills.

Patrick, The .17 Remington centerfire or the newer .17 rimfire? Good hunting! Michael

Stick with the 223

A 7mm mag loaded with ultralight bullets is like a laser beam out to some serious ranges. We have a bad coyote problem in my area of Maine and I hit the power lines in the winter since the coyotes like the snowmobile trails. Not looking for pelt so damage doesn't matter much to me. I did get a nice 30 yard shot in my backyard last year. Only had 160grainers available at the time. Went through him lengthwise from neck to nuts. Damned near turned him inside out.

Definitely the .223. A bit of history here. The .223 is ballistically identical to the .222 Remington Magnum. The case is a different length, however, and they are NOT interchangeable.

In any case... the .222RM was developed specifically for coyotes. Many ranchers were using the standard .222 and it just didn't have quite enough oomph for the job, and a wildcat cartridge was developed for this specific purpose - to kill coyotes. It eventually entered the retail market as the .222 magnum.

That .17 would probably work, but has a much higher wounding rate and is very likely to cause excessive suffering by the animal, something you don't want even if it is a coyote.

I'd personally go with a .243 and hollow points. Maybe even a 6mm or .270. When you want on-the-spot killing power, it's never a good idea to marginalize.

Ron M.