Caliber for Coyotes

[Vartarg]

So far I've killed coyotes with a .204 Ruger and a .223, and have a new .17 Rem upper I'm setting up for hunting them.

I'm also curious if anyone here has used their .20 Vartarg on coyotes, and if so which bullet, and with what results?

I've got quite a few rounds loaded up with 32 gr Nosler BT's and Hornady V-Max's....and wonder if I need to go with the 35gr Berger?

Thanks,

George

[Kale_M]

I have killed 8 coyotes in the last 4 days using the 35gr bergers.. not one runner, spinner, or anything. All dead before they hit the ground! Not one exit hole on any of them and I could not find the entrance on any of them either!!

Very impressed!!
Took down this tank no problem!!

[Sidewinderwa]

Very nice indeed. There should be no reason why it should not work. There are some pelt hunters that use the 17 Fireball to kill coyotes to not have pelt damage.

[K22]

I have killed 8 coyotes in the last 4 days using the 35gr bergers.. not one runner, spinner, or anything. All dead before they hit the ground! Not one exit hole on any of them and I could not find the entrance on any of them either!!

Very impressed!!
Took down this tank no problem!!

Holy Smokes.............wow!!! Nice Coyote.
I mainly use a 17 Rem. with either 25gr. Berger Match or Genco Match. The 17 Rem. works great for me. I have taken some with the 204 using a 35gr. Berger. Again, no exit and no runners...........yet.
I've used the 223 in the past and works great exit for all of the exit holes. The best 223 round I've found is the 52gr.dbl hp Calhoun bullet.

I believe the 17 cal. is the best round for fur hunters with the 19 and 20 cal. running pretty close behind it. But my wife says I'm very dogmatic, so there you are.
I will say that the new 34gr. CRT bullets look very promising and I will be trying them this season since pelt prices still aren't that great yet. For the big 20's those 37gr. CRT bullets look like perfect fur bullets to me. Time will tell. Now if CRT will start making 17 cal. bullets..........hint, hint!!!!

[Bill K]

What caliber is the rifle? The brass in the butt sleeve look a lot bigger than 204 Ruger..

[Kale_M]

What caliber is the rifle? The brass in the butt sleeve look a lot bigger than 204 Ruger..

Rem 700 VSF in .204. 35gr bergers being pushed with benchmark powder

[DoubleUp]

Very nice looking coyote. Keep up the good work.

[Guy M]

Kale - that is one heck of a coyote!

[Ryan S Albright]

Great Job! Good looking country coyote and rifle. How did you call him in? Lets have the story.

[Vartarg]

The OP.....me.....asked about the 35gr Berger in the 20 VARTARG....

Nice coyote, but any chance I could have my thread back?

[JeffG]

How about 250 savage (75g NBT)?

[Neil S.]

I for one will be taking my 20 VarTarg preditor hunting this season. My main coyote rifle is a 204 ruger shooting 40 V-Max, but the 20VT seems like a great bobcat round. Maybe a little light for a dedicated coyote round. Thats why I chose the 34 CRT (similar to the 35 berger) for my preditor bullet:



If I happen to call in a coyote, I'll be confident that the bullet will have enough penetration to get the job done.