Coyote calibers

S

seek1

New member
Looking for a caliber just above the .223 Rem. In a AR15
What do you recommend?
Hunting mainly cayote but us for crow, groundhogs, armadillo type critters as well.
Would like to reach 300 yds. P.B.R.
Don’t care abought pelts, just need to anchor coyote.

Would like for an easy to reload cartridge with best chance of the most accuracy.
Good brass life.
Good barrel life.
Small primers would be preferred.

Thanks
 
Staying in the AR-15 platform and not going to an AR-30, the first thing that comes to mind is the 223WSSM. The 6x45 might be a good option also, and I think there are several on here using it and as far as I know it is fairly easy to load and brass life is good.

A little 6x45 info here: 6×45mm - Wikipedia
 
Well, you're in luck because the list is long and there's tons of info here about most all of them. There's even quite a few factory rounds now that meet those requirements if that's a factor at all. Most are based off of either the Grendel case or 6.8 spc case and there's advantages/disadvantages to both, but most here seem to prefer the 6.8 case variants.
I've personally had:
6.5 Grendel
243 LBC (grendel necked down)
6x6.8
22x6.8
22 Nosler
223 Ackley (still have 3 of these but they're mostly pdog rifles)
204
20 practical
30 RAR (anchors them well!)
17/223 (very fun while it lasted)
6x45
25 wssm
243 wssm
Probably forgot something. They all shot well, all worked well, for coyotes my favorite was probably the 243 lbc, which is about the same as the new 6mm arc.

If I was beginning now, I'd go with either the 6mm or 22 arc from Hornady. It's just the easy way to go and they will work great. If you want slightly more performance and don't mind necking down brass the 22 or 6mm based on the 6.8 case will probably give a tad more speed. The 6mm Hagar might be the king with light bullets but you're stepping out on a limb with brass availability imo.

FWIW, I scored a pair of G2 DPMS rifles in 243 and am completely satisfied. Almost as light as an ar15, very accurate and a common round. Far shorter barrel life but I scored several extra barrels for cheap too lol.
 
To get a PBR at 300 yards your going to have to push a fairly light 6mm bullet, 65gr Vmax to 3400 fps min. That leaves your bullet 3" up from the bottom of the chest of a coyote at 300 yards and 7" up from the bottom of the chest at 200 yards. That keeps you in the kill zone without having to compensate for elevation. PBR the distance you can hit your target without having to compensate for elevation, bullet drop/speed/weight and size of the target will change your.PBR.
 
The 6mm ARC with the new factory 80gr ELD-VT should do it. In my ARC I'm shooting the 87 Vmax at 2925pfs (18" barrel). If you gave it a 250 yd zero you would have no more than 3" of rise or drop out to 300. I zero mine at 50 so its dead on up close and its also dead on at 200

The new 80 gr option should be even better as its probably just a little faster and has a slightly better BC than the 87Vmax. Factory ammo and Starline brass if you choose. Leverevolution powder is available at all the stores in my town.
 
204 AR said:
Well, you're in luck because the list is long and there's tons of info here about most all of them. There's even quite a few factory rounds now that meet those requirements if that's a factor at all. Most are based off of either the Grendel case or 6.8 spc case and there's advantages/disadvantages to both, but most here seem to prefer the 6.8 case variants.
I've personally had:
6.5 Grendel
243 LBC (grendel necked down)
6x6.8
22x6.8
22 Nosler
223 Ackley (still have 3 of these but they're mostly pdog rifles)
204
20 practical
30 RAR (anchors them well!)
17/223 (very fun while it lasted)
6x45
25 wssm
243 wssm
Probably forgot something. They all shot well, all worked well, for coyotes my favorite was probably the 243 lbc, which is about the same as the new 6mm arc.

If I was beginning now, I'd go with either the 6mm or 22 arc from Hornady. It's just the easy way to go and they will work great. If you want slightly more performance and don't mind necking down brass the 22 or 6mm based on the 6.8 case will probably give a tad more speed. The 6mm Hagar might be the king with light bullets but you're stepping out on a limb with brass availability imo.

FWIW, I scored a pair of G2 DPMS rifles in 243 and am completely satisfied. Almost as light as an ar15, very accurate and a common round. Far shorter barrel life but I scored several extra barrels for cheap too lol.
Click to expand...
Great summary!

I'll add, if you don't reload, or don't want to go the wildcat route, the 22 or 6 ARC is the way to go. I don't see either going extinct.

While my experiences have only been with three 6ARC's & 2 Hagars, I've whittled my preferences down to both the 22 & 6x6.8 SPC versions.

Although it's nice to have both, I prefer accuracy over velocity, so I'll take a hot shooting 223 over a half assed anything else......
 
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6mm ARC has been serving me well.

I'm waiting on affordable ($400 range) 22 ARC barrels to hit the market, but like the 6mm ARC, I'm sure it will be two years before brass for reloaders is available despite what the marketing folks at Hornady tell us. Not seeing any ammo as of yet either.

Lots of choices really...
 
capitol said:
I vote for the 6mm-DTI. Shoots a 243 bullet out of a 6.8 SPC shell. Think Nosler 55gr 243 bullet going 3500 fps out of an AR15 platform.

Super fast = super flat out to 300 yards
Click to expand...

What is the kick like? I would like to be able to stay on target if I can.
 
I can see the hit on my target through my scope. I have videos of shooting Coyotes with the 6DTI if your interested.
 
Oh all my coyote hunting is done at night but you will get the idea of the recoil. Its pretty much zero.


Scroll into 1:07 minutes to see the shot





All shot with the 6DTI. Pretty much no recoil
 
The easiest most effective round to load for is the 6x6.8 hands down when you factor in component availability. 6dti if you want to fireform to get things exact.
As far as 22 cal the 22 Nosler is gonna be the easiest and probably the fastest.
Don't forget to take into consideration the available twist rates and freebore so it's somewhat optimized for the bullets weights that you want to shoot.
 
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6x45! if you reload... an you can use your cheap 223 brass....
Or the 6mm max looks interesting
 

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