Varmint Recommendations

[okrattler]

I'd just get an AR-15 and call it good. Quick follow up shots,light recoil and plenty of power to take everything from jackrabbits to hogs with the right bullet in it. Lighter varmint bullets like the V-Max are going to blow foxes all over the place. I'd shoot a 55gr Softpoint or 52 grain Hornady BTHP that will mushroom out and hold enough of its mass to punch through bone. They'll hit hard on heavy animals and hopefully won't tear a fox up to the point that you can't salvage them. If you reload Sierra Varminter 60 grain HP's are amazing for saving fur.

[Cajun Blake]

204 Ruger is a blast to shoot, accurate, and deadly on dogs, cats, & pigs

[captardvark]

22 hornet

[joeperot]

204 Ruger is a blast to shoot, accurate, and deadly on dogs, cats, & pigs

ditto , favorite round to shoot at yotes .

[catslayer]

howa in 204 ruger,,,lots of fun and very accurate

Yes bar none my favorite "little" round... As far as over the counter this is your answer... Out to 400 it will lay any varmint out... Farther on prairie dogs

[Cajun Blake]

22 hornet

Great choice if today was 1950. Problem with the 22Hnt today, very hard to find and insanely priced. Additionally, it's not very accurate when compared to other small caliber varmint cartridges.

[aac_shooter]

224 Valkyrie worked well on them tonight.




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[okrattler]

If I were to get a smaller cartridge the .17WSM would be the smallest I'd go. Franklin Armory makes an AR in .17WSM that I'd be interested in if I wasn't wanting a lot of gun.

The .204 never really impressed me when it came to shooting anything much bigger than a jackrabbit. I know guys have had success with it but I'd rather bump it up to a 22-250 for anything over 300 yards.

[RedRaider323]

I have had this little Browning lever action .222 since the 80's. That sucker is fast, flat and deadly on varmints. It's not as popular a load with all the new phaze bullets, but its my goto when I'm just yote hunting.

[RifleBowPistol]

The caliber you buy, really depends on your hunting style, where you hunt. Some places you will get some long range, open shots, with lots of wind, other places you can get some pretty long shots with little wind, then other places the shots will be closer and likely need to be a gotten off faster.
I have shot coyotes with 17 HMRs, chest shot/heart shot, they are guaranteed to run a way before they drop, can be very hard to find. Head shots with a 17 HMR, naturally they don't move. 17 HMRs are best for someone who can judge the wind and range very well. I was surprised how much they drop at 250 yards, but it is just a rim fire, that shoots a small light bullet that looses energy quickly. I used to plink with my, by shooting Tee posts at 250 yards. It shakes them and you get a metallic plink but it does not do much damage to them at that range.
223s work pretty well out to some pretty long ranges, if you know what you are doing. The 17 Rem, 204 Rugers, work well, but will have more wind deflection at longer ranges and will loose energy quicker, but still work very well.
The 22-250 and 220 Swift are great for coyotes out to long ranges. You won't loose many coyotes with either.
Most of my coyote hunting has been with a 223, with a 52 gr. Speer hollow point. I have had shots were I hit them in the chest, perfect heart shots, small entrance and small exit, the coyote ran flat out for 40 yards and then went nose first into the ground at full speed. That was a 60 yard shot. Then I remember blowing the opposite side shoulder off of a coyote at 250 yards, with he exact same load and gun. Obviously it hit some bone on the way through. I have knocked over other coyotes at 400 yards, small entrance, small exit and instant dead coyote. Then another I shot up the rear, trotting away from me, dropped instantly. When I skinned it, turns out, the bullet went perfectly up it's rear, then all the way through the body and into it's skull. I was very surprised it dropped instantly with that shot. I would never have guessed that bullet could have gone all the way through the coyote and into it's skull. I have found coyotes can be pretty tough animals to kill, you can hit them with a lethal shot, if there is not enough energy released into them and enough damage, they can run for a 100 yards easily. I made multiple clean heart shots on coyotes with one of my 17 HMRs, every time, they ran a minimum of 30 yards, one went at least 100 yards. I shot one with my 223, good hit, must have hit some bone in the shoulder and make a large exit wound. The coyote was bleeding like I shot him with a broadhead. There was lots of blood all over the tall grass he went into, I tracked him for over 100 yards, then he seemed to have run out of blood to loose, stopped bleeding externally, wound up loosing him in that tall grass. That one definitely died, but I was not able to recover it.
Before using the 223, I use to always use a 22-250. That round makes coyotes dead from any angle, any range.

I would have to say my favorite coyote round is the 223, but if I was out to kill as many as possible and likely taking some long shots, 22-250.

[Quackerbox]

204 Ruger is a blast to shoot, accurate, and deadly on dogs, cats, & pigs

Listen to this.

Love me some .17 hmr. While it makes stuff dead, occasionally a yote will run a bit and not leave a lot of blood. Ive taken squirrels,pigs yotes and even turkey to 238 with my cheap NEF crack barrel.

The 204 is deadly as well. Mine is built on ar platform and is lights out with 32 grain vmax. Its my go to pig gun when i can pry it from my sons hands. Does well on coyotes also with little to no pelt damage

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[Fordnandez]

I shoot 204 and have had really good luck. Ammo isn't crazy expensive (50 box of Hornady is $40) and it didn't tear up the pelts like my buddies 22-250 did. Ruger American Predator's in 204 are pretty cheap and very accurate.