personally I shoot a .223 for coyotes because it works fine to the range I am comfortable with. If I ever buy another coyote rifle it will be a .243
Dead is dead... whether you're hot-rodding a bullet over 4000 fps or shooting a "slow-poke" at around 3000 fps. Part of the "romance" of coyote hunting for me is the challenge of tricking that animal in close. If I'm able to do this, a .223 (or shotgun) will do the trick. I'm not going to take a shot at a range that I'm not comfortable with... for me, it's inside of 300 yards... and if you know your .223, it's more than capable at that range.
