30-06 rifle for varmints

[windygorge]

i just bought a remington 30-06 700 for a great price from a friend.  i am looking for a caliber that i can use for coyote.  i found a remington 30-06 springfield 55 grain.  sounds like an awesome bullet, just wondering what you guys think.  i am typically all archery, but am looking to hunt coyote and bear with rifle.....now that i have one.  thanks for your help.

[JKEEN33]

I personally have never seen a 55 grain bullet for a 30-06. If there is one, I would think it would be in a round ball shape and would not shoot that well. You can shoot coyotes with anything, but if you want to save the hide, 06 is a little big in my opionion.

[Special T]

You are thinking of the accelerator round. .223 bullet with a plastic jacket. I bought some for my rifle, and worked with a custom re-loader to make some more. The accuracy was awsome at 50yrd, 100 yards grouped about 5-6 in, and could not hit a steel plate 12in w x18in tall. Any normal round out of a 06 will kill a coyote. I use 168 grain FMJ rounds military surplus. dead yote! I would pick a round that you might use for elk makes good practice...

[MikeWalking]

You are thinking of the accelerator round. .223 bullet with a plastic jacket. I bought some for my rifle, and worked with a custom re-loader to make some more. The accuracy was awsome at 50yrd, 100 yards grouped about 5-6 in, and could not hit a steel plate 12in w x18in tall. Any normal round out of a 06 will kill a coyote. I use 168 grain FMJ rounds military surplus. dead yote! I would pick a round that you might use for elk makes good practice...

 

Used to buy the same for my 30-30 way back. Good enough to hit stumps a couple hundred yards out with open sights....How far out was that steel plate?

[jackelope]

As it's been said here before. If you're just looking to make a coyote dead, anything will work. Use whatever bullet you plan to use for your regular big game hunting. It'll make great practice. If you're killing coyotes for pelts, buy a .204 Ruger.
Those 55 grain accelerator rounds have got to have stability issues out of a naught 6....I suspect that would be the reason for the poor groups.

[windygorge]

thanks for the advice.  i think i like special T's "practice" on coyote idea.  so whatever i use on bear, i will use on both. 

[TheHunt]

    You mean a 180 grain bullet is a little hard on the coyote pelt?   

[rasbo]

i just bought a remington 30-06 700 for a great price from a friend.  i am looking for a caliber that i can use for coyote.  i found a remington 30-06 springfield 55 grain.  sounds like an awesome bullet, just wondering what you guys think.  i am typically all archery, but am looking to hunt coyote and bear with rifle.....now that i have one.  thanks for your help.

all I ever used was 125 grain core lokt and it rocks out of the o6

[Special T]

300 yards was the distance for the plate, and that was from a bench rest with sand bags.I shoot 165 grain federal trophy bonded bearclaws for deer/ elk that is why i use the ball ammo for coyotes. I have also found that 300 yards is father than my limit to kill a yote with my 06. The  custom reloader i used speculated that because the velocity of the Sabot the bullet does not stabilize. The reason for it is the 9 or 10 twist of most 06 is tight for the 4000 fps the bullet travels. He said he has seen copper bonded bullets have stripped the copper from the lead core when shooting really hot loads on some calibers. I suspect that the bond between the bullet and cup  is not tight and does not transfer the spin properly. The factory accelerator rounds grouped better than the reloads, but not good enough to get excited about. Short range performance was acceptable, but i was looking to have a big game rifle that could double as a long range coyote rifle. After my testing I decided to save up for an AR or a 22-50... If i could find one i would buy a Savage model 24 .223 12 ga over under. They have discontinued those guns so i think i will be looking for quite some time before i get one... My cousin and bro in law both have AR's now so I normally take the 12 ga with buck shot when we call... If any one is interested in trying thier 30 cal acellerators PM me and i'll Give you Bob Dites number. He still has the extra cups and loading tool. They might work better for a 30-30, a gun not traditionally used for long range shooting, when you need to save fur, like for bobcat or cougar.  I have a 30-30 but won't bother with trying.

[GEARHEAD]

your not going to be shooting that -06 much even if ya kill alot of yotes, so don't worry about a smaller lighter bullet, use your deer/elk load. great practice and a boost of confidence doesn't hurt.

[bobcat]

150 grain would be a good weight to use in your 30-06 for coyotes. It's big enough to have a relatively high BC (ballistic coefficient) and light enough that recoil shouldn't be an issue. Nothing wrong with 165 or 180's either, but no need for the additional recoil for just hunting coyotes.