Hunting Forum

What is the best caliber for hunting Coyotes and Bobcats? And what type and grain of ammo do you recommend that doesn't ruin the pelt much? I appreciate all the help.

.204. 223, .22-250, .243 all of them work.

32gr. bullets to 75gr. bullets all work fine.

I use Hornady's V-max.

.220swift with 50gr. is my personal choice, but I know plenty of folks who use .22lr, and .17s too.

.223 with a small grain bullet like 50 or 55 grain they can be picked up just about any where in the country and for a great price. out here in New Mexico the 17 caliber does ot keep them down on the ground after 100 to 150 yards. the 204 is ok but I have not shot them so I won't say as for the 22-250 the 243 they are great for coyotes out to 4-5 hundred yards. the 220 swift is a very good gunwould love to have one some day great flat shooter out there good knock down just expensive ammo at the store. so go out and shoot then see what fits you. good luck

papa58, you hit on something that I didn't think about; distance! Down here in SC, most of our varmint shooting is at 100 yards or less, so your comment about the .17 makes perfectly good sense. I'm lucky with the ammo for the .220 swift, since I can get to BassPro in Savannah in a little over an hour and their .220 ammo doesn't run any higher than .223 or .243. The only problem is they only carry it in the Remington coreloct pps. Luckily, my Ruger model 77 .220 swift, unlike my model 77 .308 will shoot the Remingtons very well. Most of my rifles prefer Winchester power points.

My first GO TO gun is 22-250 with 223 a close second.

Thanks for the info guys, I also forgot to mention that I do live in New Mexico and so my shots might be 400-500yds so I definitely

need something that will reach out and put them down.  

If you have regular winds at the distance get a .243 (I use 75 gr. V-Max).

Some of you have mentioned v-max bullets. Do these bullets do less damage on the pelts? I was looking into selling coyote and bobcat pelts. Does anybody know how much coyote pelts are going for out here in new mexico? And where can I sell them? Thanks for all this advice.

I have found that hollow point bullet does pretty good at 1 to 2 hundred yards or less if you hit hte chest area straight on. The faster the bullet the more damage. The Barnes grenade will do pretty good just don't shoot them real close test them out and see. What part of New Mexico do you hunt Ilive in Southwest New Mexico you can email me at jalex94@hotmail.com will try to help you if I can, love calling predators. Have great day.

papa58, I live around Albuquerque. Where you live I know there is a ton of coyotes. I'll definitely email you if I go down in that area.

Thanks for your help