308 fmj and coyotes

hawaiipighunter

im invited on a coyote hunt on aug 6 and i am trying to get my 243 ready to go. i have looked for 204 ammo and am close to giving up....but i find lots of 308 ammo. especially 147 fmj.

my little ruger 77 would just love to eat a box of that up on the range, but can someone tell me if they have used it on coyotes before? results?

i have heard of guys using 223 fmjs but never heard results. yes i know that it wont expand..yada yada..and that the m14 is a hell of gun for wartime, etc...

any experience with shots getting back to far and not giving clean kills? of all things i think hunters should respect the game we persue and give humane kills. im all for using 243 55 grainers(dollar a shot) if they will give better kill results opposed to cheaper 308 ammo.

thanks
kyle

hughbetcha

I can promise you that just about any load offered in the .243 will work well on coyotes. Western coyotes are small, hardly ever as much as 50lbs, usually closer to 30lbs. I have killed them with .38 special plus P, .357 mag., 22-250, .243, 30-30 and .22LR

BOBBYWINS

Your .243 will work fine,BUT,I like to have things drop like a rock,so I would NEVER use FMJ.I want to see them FALL.

BW

IT'S WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM AFRAID.

jdyer

My opinion, save the FMJ for the shoot'n range and be humane with the 243. It'll definately do the job. Good luck!!

jaflowers

I hit a prarie dog at a 100yds with a 147gr FMJ out of a Remington 742. Never saw a dog explode like that ever in all my time out west. Blew it about 5 feet, tumbling in the air. All that was left was its butt attached to its head by just the spinal column. NOTHING ELSE was left at all. Don't know to this day if the bullet was tumbling or what but it turned out to be pretty destructive. Have fun and good hunting.[:)]

surekill

Just make a good shot with 308 FMJ.YA shouldn't have any trouble with them. I have used them..Ahit in the shoulder down they go [xx(]

select-fire

Hit one with a 168 gr. BT soft point and see what happens !

sst531

hawaiipighunter,
Make sure that you check the CA hunting regs. I don't know about CA, but here in AZ it is unlawful to use FMJ ammo for hunting.

will270win

You can legally use a FMJ on a coyote in california as it is a non game animal. Jack rabbits too. I used the trusty 6X47, a 222 Remington and the 17 Remington (centerfire, not that little HMR thing) with good results. The 17 worked best for a straight out smear and literally no pelt damage. If you really want a killer coyote gun, call up board member RSE and he can build you one. It won't be cheap but it will sure be worth what you paid for it and you'll have a wonderful "keeper" of a gun.

Did you get up with Scuta?

"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend."
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~

hawaiipighunter

will270win

negative on scuta.

man 204 ruger ammo has been a tough search so far here in san diego. im 0/3 attempts.

i will hit up the larger place on sat on my way to the range. im sure theyll have it.

kyle

Da-Tank

Try 45-75. a nice round for stopping em. Also saves clesning time if you are going to pelt em. You can have contests for who can roll one the farest up hill. Or give a prize for the most summersults.[:D][:D]

Of course I'm out of my mind. It's dark and scary in there.

gogolen

.243 shooting 55 grain pills is really a sweatheart of a round. It shoots flatter and faster than either the 22-250 or the .223.

Mobuck

Don't forget the safety issue of fmj bouncing over the next hill.

Mobuck<BR>

hughbetcha

I'll bet more coyotes are killed by a big game rounds than real varmint calibers. Most of the coyotes I shot were while I was pig hunting and I used either my rifle or my handgun to kill then at close range when they walked up to where I was hiding.

For some reason, if I went out looking for coyotes I never saw them, but when I was bird hunting they would often track me looking for wounded birds or often when pig or deer hunting I'd bump into them at dawn coming down the canyons to hide during the day.

The coyote is not tough to kill, but if you want to make it a clean kill, but not ruin the plet, it's better to use a varmint round like 22-250 or lightweight .243 rounds no more than 70 grains.

hawaiipighunter

well 45 dollars later i have 2 boxes ammo. a box of winchester supreme 55 gr ballisitic silver tips for the 243, and a box of hornady 40 grain 204 ruger shells. i opted for the hornady over the remingtons because a long long time ago, i had problems with poorly made remington ammmo.

40 rounds and 45 dollars. i know i can do better with internet prices and shipping. i think im gonna hit cabelas up for some ammo. seems they have a decent price on 243 and 204 stuff.

saturday morning im off to the range to test the guns out and see where they hit. wish me luck!!!

kyle

cowdoc

let me tell you this as a farmer/rancher who live next to neighbors large p dog town who has fair amount of people who hunt his dog....really pisses me off when people shoot fmj and they come wizzing through my yard i informed him of this while back....he doesnt let anybody use fmj and he makes damn sure he tells them that if i have problems with bullets flying at or near me or my family that i am a lot better shot than they are .....meaning that if they wizz one through my yard or anywhere near me they best be in their vehicle and be a long ways down the road so i dont catch up to them.....that said fmj have no purpose in hunting animal situations

cowdoc

gg1519, for varmints like p dogs and such hollow points or balistic tips work great they pretty much disintigrate on impact wether the animal you are shooting or if you miss and hit the ground for big game...deer and ect a soft point or even balistic tips of the bigger calibers work good you want bullet to expand and transfer as much energy to animal as possible for a very quick clean kill for no suffering of animal.....fmj dont expand and just pass through animal to run off and die a slow death somewhere

Ray B

About 35 years ago when I got out of the service I was a bounty-hunter in southern Oregon for coyotes. At the time they paid $25 a piece for them, due to the damage to lambs, since some of it was sheep country. I spent a cuple months there getting several coyotes, without bothering with the hides. I used a 308 with 150 WW power points. I'd shoot the shoulder, and not having to worry about having them shoot back allowed for fairly precise aim. I'd shoot for the shoulder and they'd generally drop in their tracks. Not sure the FMJs would have the same effect on them- probably would need a solid hit on a bone to cause an instant kill.

Mossbergboogie

.308 not exactly a varmit round only if you are shooting the yote at 700 yds away. The pelt will be worth so much less your hole should not be that big. And there should only be one. .223 is a good one with a jhp. 55 or 62 grain

If it Flies it Dies
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