I love the .223, its very light recoil, extremely accurate and the ammo is easy to find and inexpensive. I have not had issues with extensive pelt damage. It will handle the wind better than the 22-250 or .17's also. The .243 would be my second choice, also a great caliber.
i have a .223 but dont think id use it for yote hunting for this very reason. .243 is my next purchase, Howa makes an awesome package but i might end up with the Savage at about half the cost.... (cabelas's sale this month)
In same bout stick...I am trying to find a cheap 223 but if not I'll be getting a .243 so I can atleast use it for deer hunting too if I ever hunt out of state with a rifle...two birds with one stone...however be nice to justify two purchases...haha yeah right sure wife would okay that!
The .17HMR is not enough gun for yotes. I shoot a Savage .223 for dogs. The .243 is gonna get you a little more distance and power at longer ranges. If you are wanting to save the pelt it's all in what bullet you shoot. Now a gun that I am interested in is the .17 rem Fireball. Very comparable to the .204. 4,000 fps and definately enough knock down power.
I've shot yotes with my .243 and .270. Neither left huge holes, small enough to do full body mount if you wanted. It's dependent on what kind of bullets you use.
Not trying to talk you guys out of a 243 (it's a great option if you don't care about pelts) but I've seen a lot of different opinions on trajectory.....etc on this thread. A 223 will deliver the same trajectory out to 300 yards as a .243 with the most commonly used weights of bullets. As an example, a .223 with a 55gr bullet @ 3200fps if sighted in for 200 yards will be 5.95" low at 300. A 243 with a 70gr bullet @ 3450 will be 5.48" low at 300. A 243 is only going to do better if you are regularly shooting out past 300 yards.........and to be honest the number of people that can consistently shoot past 300 and make one shot kills are very limited (myself included). If you hotrod a 243 out with a really light bullet to be flat under 300, they typically aren't going to shoot well unless you have a slow twist barrel specifically for that. Also, out past 300 yards, those types of faster light bullets will suffer because of a lower BC. I'm personally shooting a 55gr VMax handloaded in my AR that is doing just about 3200fps. The gun is wearing a Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40 on it as well as a Streamlight TLR1 and the whole thing is just about 7lbs loaded. It would be much less if I had a lighter scope/mount/light. It's super short and easy to carry, it goes bang every time I pull the trigger, shoots well under 1" @ 100, the ammo is cheap, and it doesn't destroy hides (unless your shooting bobcats at 10 yards ). Because of scope height on an AR, I'm sighted in dead on at 50 yards (where most of our shots happen) and don't have to worry about dialing or kentucky elevation until 300ish yards. If you consider kill zone @ 6" diameter...........I'm dead on anywhere out to exactly 267 yards if you do the math.
Anything you can get lead into them with... unless you care if they get recovered... My 30.06 works great...Just shoot em.
I recently made my first purchase, A savage axis chambered in 25-06. This was my first rifle pruchase so i wanted a good overall caliber that can be used for a lot of different game. And that fact that im getting sub MOA groups with factory ammo out of a 300 dollar gun i am not complaining. So if your looking for a good starter rifle i would highly recommend this gun.
I am busy trying to convince myself out of purchasing the Savage Axis in .243 or 25-06........you saying great things isn't helping my future pocket! :D
Heck if you don't mind a single shot the Rossi Trifecta is nice. It comes with the .243, .22 and gage barrels. Pretty light but, not too light.
My other brother swears by his. I am sure he bought the Axis also. He loves it. Other brother bought a Marlin XL7 .308 for an over all gun. I think it is way to much for yotes but, hey it will kill one and thats our goal right? I don't know of anyone who buys fur in this area or I would be concerned about it.
I wouldn't mind a single at all...actually may get a 25-06 or 270 in the Savage then get a single shot .223 for yotes...that's all depending of course on the money flow from giving plasma (easiest cash ever) and what the misses decides is worth it :D!
I'm not too schooled on predator hunting, or guns for that matter, but I would recommend a 22.250. My dad has one we used to use for ground hogs, 200+ yards are cake and they drop instantly. My dad also let my brother and I use a 22.250 when we first started deer hunting, which I am pretty sure was illegal. It was a low recoil gun that could take down deer quickly too. I shot my first deer with it when I was 6, so it worked out pretty well for me.
I love mine so far, the scope that comes on it isn,t to great but it will do for now. It hasn't seen any coyote action yet but im hoping to change that in the next couple weeks. I had it out shooting with a buddy the other day, he was sporting a remington 700 varmint addtion topped with a 500 scope in 22-250. And to be honest this gun shoots just as tight of groups at 100 yards, don't get me wrong the remington was a alot easier to shoot and alot nicer but no way can you beat the value of the savage, 300 bucks too close to 1300 bucks for the remington.
