Help me pick a new caliber

[adamR]

The wife just told me she was gonna buy me a new rifle for Christmas.  It won't be an overly expensive one, probably $300-$400. I'm not sure what I want. Primarily this gun is for coyotes but it also would be nice to shoot a deer with it.
So here's where I'm at and I'm hoping for some help on choosing the best caliber.

Coyote round with option to save pelts.
It would nice but not nessasary to use for deer hunting.
Some day I'll probably buy an AR so do I really want two 223/5.56 rounds?
With ammo being so hard to come by and so expensive which rounds are easiest to come by?  This is probably the biggest factor.
I'd comfortably like to shoot out to 200 yards at a yote.

Also, any opinions on rifles at that cost?

[chukar58]

I would look at a 25-06 for a coyote and deer gun.   

[Bofire]

243

[JMTaylor]

I've always been a fan of Ruger, not to expensive and a good product. When I bought mine I had the same mind set, so I went with the .243. You can get light fast loads off the shelf for the yotes and heavier hard hitting rounds for deer.

[BullMagnet76]

One more vote 243

[huntnphool]

7mm-08, lots and lots of bullet choices from 100gr. up to 180gr and everything in between.

[Bob33]

Your avatar shows a picture of what appears to be a nice elk.

Are you sure this will never be used for anything larger than deer?

[adamR]

The bull was taken with my muzzleloader... And I already have a 308 win and a 300 win mag

[bobcat]

243 Winchester! Common and cheap! You can't beat it for a coyote/deer rifle.

[fastdam]

If you not shooting farther than 200  yards and you consider ammo price and availability you might give 7.62 x 39 a try.  FMJs for coyote and softpoints for deer.  A savage 250-3000.  Could also pull doubleduty but ammo wont be as common.

[Simcoe hunter]

2fitty savage would be way cool.  I doubt you can find one in the price range the OP suggested though.  So, 243 it is.  Ammo is more readily available at Ma and Pa shops than even 7-08.

[jason stevens]

243

[washingtonmuley]

.223

[coachcw]

just because phool posted 7mm08 I will say .270 !

[Eli346]

 I'd vote 243. Mine groups fairly well at 400 yds (5") but haven't shot an animal that far with it.

[adamR]

So 243 sounds like the general consensus, what factory round for saving coyote pelts?

[carpsniperg2]

7mm-08 you can do anything with it. Just by switching bullets. From yotes to elk it will do it all for you.

[Huntbear]

.257 Roberts.

[Bofire]

any good deer bullet

[D-Rock425]

7mm-08

[huntnphool]

just because phool posted 7mm08 I will say .270 !

7mm-08 you can do anything with it. Just by switching bullets. From yotes to elk it will do it all for you.

And FYI for the OP, 7mm-08 uses the same case as the .243, but you have a better BC bullet, and way more bullet options. 

[MHWASH]

If you do not already own a .22 center fire get one! Forget a dual purpose rifle for now. The .22s are so much more fun to shoot than the .243 you will not believe it. In my case when I first got my 22-250 it turned me into a dedicated predator hunter. Since I could only use the 22-250 for coyotes, I wanted to get out there more just to use my new gun.

[starbailey]

One more for 243.

[DRobnsn]

Another vote for 243.

[Fishhuntmike]

I vote for a 22-250 since youll have to get that AR some day and the 308 is a perfect deer round.

Ive shot coyotes with 17 ackley hornet, 17 rem, 22lr, 221 fireball, 223, 22-250, 7-08, 30-06, 300 win, bow, muzzleloader, and shotgun. 

I like how the 22-250 smokes them with no recoil and boy does the fur fly!  More fun with the 22-250 in my opinion.

[jasnt]

So 243 sounds like the general consensus, what factory round for saving coyote pelts?

With the 58gr vmax I have not had one exit. Chest shots. Even at 40 yards no exit and tiny hole going in. All dogs hit with that bullet was a bang flop.

[demontang]

I have a 243 and its good for yotes but I want a 25cal 

[whackmaster]

243 awesome round 

[deltaops]

If you have not decided yet, I would go for the .243

If you have, what did you choose?

[Mike450r]

Go get yourself the latest edition of the Nosler reloading manual and read the testimonials and check out the data on all of the calibers.  That is how I tend to choose my next caliber.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

.243

[Bwana Bob]

Ruger Hawkeye in 257 Robert's

[C-Money]

.243, .257 roberts, 7mm-08

[adamR]

So I ended up with a camo savage axis in 243with a scope that will come off... I went to cabelas for like two hours and held all the under $450 guns... That being said, the Remington 770 is garbage, the ruger American wasn't bad but not for me, and for what I wanted the axis was perfect.  On sale for $350, plus. 5% military discount! after taxes I paid less than $370...

So do I shoot rounds that will drop a deer too? Or will that ruin a hide on a coyote?  What factory rounds do you guys recommend for just coyote and coyote/deer?  I'd like to try a few different rounds.

[Bofire]

  Cheap federal blue box in 80 or 100 grain. either one is fine for both.

I shot a 2 point laying on the ground looking at me, 200 yards, hit it in the throat with federal 80 grain.
flipped clear over backwards, feet in the air, dead! punches a 1 inch hole thru coyotes. I like the 100 grain a bit better. 243 does the same thing as 22-250 trajectory wise, with a bigger bullet.
Carl

[soccerguy]

Does this make any sense to anyone?  I'm actually pondering the same decision as adamR.  I already own a 7mm-08 in a Remington CDL 700 with a good scope on it, but I kind of like the ballistics of the 25-06.  So, I'm considering purchasing a Sako A7 Long Range in that caliber as a deer/coyote gun out to 500 yards or so.   Thoughts?

[fast1]

I use my .223 lately, but I still take my .243 out quite abit. If you want to hunt deer as well in Washington I think .243 is the smallest caliber you can go with. I may be wrong tho. I use 100 grain partitions for deer & coyotes. As far as little fur damage, they all do good till you hit a bone. I bought my dad a howa 1500 for fathers day and it was about $500, TC venture would also be a good choice and they are under 500 as well. The TC's I have are very accurate. I wouldn't hesitate to by another or recommend.

[CAMPMEAT]

6.5 Creedmoor has all your needs covered.

[Jim the Plumber]

243, it will fit your parameters,all the way around.  Look at the Savage/ Stevens rifles, also the Ruger American.

[Shooter]

Easy choice, 243