The Hunting Beast

The coyote situation is definitely getting out of control here. Whether I want to or not, I am going to have to do something for the sake of our deer herd.
Here is my problem. I don't own a rifle. With the exception of predators you can't use them in Indiana, so I have never been around them much and honestly am not that knowledgeable about them. Can't use them so never got in to them.
I hear about two calibers for hunting coyotes a lot.... a .22-250 and a .223 which do you guys recommend and why? THANKS!

Both of those are great calibers for coyotes you wont go wrong with either. The .223 is cheaper to shoot. I like my AR in .223 because you can have fast follow up shots.

Thanks solocam88. Could you elaborate on advantages and disadvantages of each caliber? I really appreciate it.

i shoot a Rem. 22-250 and i like it! there really isnt much difference in the two calibers other than the .223 is cheaper ammunition...no matter what caliber you get, they will definetly suit your needs

I use a ruger mini-14 ranch rifle in .223

The major advantages of the .223 are how flat shooting and the long distance accuracy of the .223 All the big names in predator hunting use this caliber and if you read the magazines thats what everyone is using.

The remington 700 in 223 is a really good gun for predator hunting.

solocam88 wrote:Both of those are great calibers for coyotes you wont go wrong with either. The .223 is cheaper to shoot...

I think that about sums it up. There really isn't a downside to mention other than price. 22-250 is better IMO, but the .223 is cheaper and both will do an awesome job. I would go with the .223

A 12 gauge with 00 buckshot works too... I would rather use a rifle for calling, but plent of guys do it with shotguns if you don't have a rifle.
I really see a point you may be missing though.
You say you want to hunt them merely for population control?
Good luck with that! Calling alone you will never kill enough to make a difference.
The only times I have seen differences made is running hounds or doing coyote drives in winter. I have not done much of the hound hunting but the drives especially when there is snow have been awesome. Sometimes we got 4 or 5 in one afternoon. And we used shotguns for safety.

dan wrote:
The only times I have seen differences made is running hounds or doing coyote drives in winter. I have not done much of the hound hunting but the drives especially when there is snow have been awesome. Sometimes we got 4 or 5 in one afternoon. And we used shotguns for safety.

Can you expand on driving coyotes? Do you just drive them like deer? How many people do you need to be effective. Do they double back or just like to run?

Black Squirrel wrote:

dan wrote:
The only times I have seen differences made is running hounds or doing coyote drives in winter. I have not done much of the hound hunting but the drives especially when there is snow have been awesome. Sometimes we got 4 or 5 in one afternoon. And we used shotguns for safety.

Can you expand on driving coyotes? Do you just drive them like deer? How many people do you need to be effective. Do they double back or just like to run?

They double back and they bust cover just like deer do. If your using shotguns you need a bunch of guys. We usually had groups of 15 to 20 guys.
You can scout them just listening for them to howl in the evenings or provoking howls with holwer calls just to know where they are for the next days drives. You can also check for yote tracks prior to driving in the snow.

How hard are they to trap?

Indianahunter wrote:How hard are they to trap?

Hard... They are very inteligent.

How much for Nonres. small game?? Lets do some yote drives and see that property

dan wrote:How much for Nonres. small game?? Lets do some yote drives and see that property

That would ROCK. A non-resident hunting license is $80. Though I could swing getting you a license I couldn't possibly let you drive 400 miles. I would feel like a heel. But it would be waaaay awesome and a ton of fun I am sure of it.

what part of IN are you in again. I think you mentioned it once, but I forget.

Uncle Lou wrote:what part of IN are you in again. I think you mentioned it once, but I forget.

South Eastern Greensburg World famous tower tree We have a tree growing out of the top of our Court House. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensburg,_Indiana