{"id":1173,"date":"2025-01-29T19:36:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T19:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/?p=1173&#038;fishpig=1608751390&#038;preview=true"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:35:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:35:30","slug":"the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Coyote Hunting Cartridges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>The best coyote <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/attending-a-long-range-shooting-course\/\">hunting<\/a> cartridges, in our opinion, are small, fast rounds built on platforms that are easy to carry and handle.<\/strong><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the sun of another deer season finally sets, we set our sights on predator hunting. Here are what we consider the best coyote hunting cartridges.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coyote hunting is tough, which is probably why it\u2019s a pursuit we set our sights on after deer season is done. It\u2019s the challenge, the chance to hone our hunting skills, that makes chasing coyotes such an obsession. There is a reason they\u2019re rightfully called \u201cnature\u2019s toughest target.\u201d Coyotes certainly don\u2019t thrive on every part of the continent because they\u2019re dumb.<\/span><\/p><p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4161\" title=\"The Best Coyote Hunting Cartridges\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"The Best Coyote Hunting Cartridges\" width=\"586\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/coyote-4812042_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 586px) 100vw, 586px\" \/><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em>There is a reason they\u2019re rightfully called \u201cnature\u2019s toughest target.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Think back to the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looney Tunes<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> cartoons of yesteryear that many of us grew up watching. Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, among others. The creators of the characters were nature observers. So it\u2019s not really a surprise that the hapless antagonist, a coyote, got the name, Wile E.<\/span><\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\"><div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\"><p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p><span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/#The_Best_Coyote_Hunting_Cartridges\" >The Best Coyote Hunting Cartridges<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/#223_Remington\" >.223 Remington<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/#22-250_Remington\" >.22-250 Remington<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/#243_Winchester\" >.243 Winchester<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/#17_Winchester_Super_Magnum\" >.17 Winchester Super Magnum<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/the-best-coyote-hunting-cartridges\/#22_Magnum\" >.22 Magnum<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Best_Coyote_Hunting_Cartridges\"><\/span>The Best Coyote Hunting Cartridges<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The best coyote hunting cartridges, in our opinion, are small, fast rounds built on platforms that are easy to carry and handle. You\u2019re moving often, so your gear should be lightweight. Depending on where you live or hunt, the types of shots you\u2019d take could range from short to long with a combination of both. So you need a cartridge with knockdown power and a flat trajectory in case you get a song dog that locks up at a long distance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"223_Remington\"><\/span>.223 Remington<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The .223 is a super versatile small caliber. Not only is it capable of getting out to moderate ranges (it tops out at just over 3,000 feet per second), the .223 is a popular round built into the AR platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-468\" title=\"The best coyote hunting cartridges, in our opinion, are small, fast rounds built on platforms that are easy to carry and handle.\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/inner122.png\" alt=\"The best coyote hunting cartridges\" width=\"503\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/inner122.png 988w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/inner122-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/inner122-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/inner122-400x300.png 400w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/inner122-150x113.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 503px) 100vw, 503px\" \/><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em>The best coyote hunting cartridges, in our opinion, are small, fast rounds built on platforms that are easy to carry and handle.<\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><a style=\"text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/tractoptics.com?utm_medium=Trustbox&#038;utm_source=EmailNewsletter1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-height: 18px\" src=\"https:\/\/emailsignature.trustpilot.com\/newsletter\/en-US\/1\/5fc7afaa58a6e200016f0dfc\/text1@2x.png\" alt=\"Human score\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0 <a style=\"text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/tractoptics.com?utm_medium=Trustbox&#038;utm_source=EmailNewsletter1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-height: 20px\" src=\"https:\/\/emailsignature.trustpilot.com\/newsletter\/en-US\/1\/5fc7afaa58a6e200016f0dfc\/stars@2x.png\" alt=\"Trustpilot Stars\" height=\"20\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0 <span><a style=\"text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/tractoptics.com?utm_medium=Trustbox&#038;utm_source=EmailNewsletter1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-height: 18px\" src=\"https:\/\/emailsignature.trustpilot.com\/newsletter\/en-US\/1\/5fc7afaa58a6e200016f0dfc\/text2@2x.png\" alt=\"number of reviews\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0 <a style=\"text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/tractoptics.com?utm_medium=Trustbox&#038;utm_source=EmailNewsletter1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-height: 20px\" src=\"https:\/\/emailsignature.trustpilot.com\/brand\/n\/1\/logo.png\" alt=\"Trustpilot Logo\" height=\"20\" border=\"0\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <a title=\".223\" href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/blog\/tag\/223\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">.223<\/a>, as far as centerfire cartridges go, is not an overly loud round, so as not to send every animal in the valley running for the hills. Its light recoil allows the shooter to quickly engage multiple targets, especially on a semi-automatic AR platform.<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"22-250_Remington\"><\/span>.22-250 Remington<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many youngsters have taken a first deer with the .22-250. Many seasoned hunters are turning back to smaller cartridges, like the .22-250, .243, or <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/6-5-creedmoor-vs-308-win\/\">6.5 Creedmoor<\/a>. While you probably wouldn\u2019t want to <a title=\"Shooting a 22LR Rifle in a Whole New Way\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/shooting-22lr-rifle-in-a-whole-new-way\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"570\">shoot<\/a> a deer at 400 yards with the .22-250, coyotes are a different story. A coyote\u2019s lighter hide allows smaller rounds to penetrate at longer distances. At around 4,450 feet per second, the .22-250 is a flat-shooting tack driver that you can\u2019t go wrong with in the pursuit of coyotes.<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"243_Winchester\"><\/span>.243 Winchester<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The .243 Winchester may be the best crossover (from big game to coyotes) round of the bunch. With enough knockdown power to take down an elk, the flat-flying bullet (3,375 fps) off a .243 can kill coyotes at <a title=\"Introducing the TORIC 34MM 4-25X50 Extreme Long Range Rifle Scope\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/videosview\/toric-34mm-4-25x50\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"1679\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">extremely long ranges<\/a>. And it has little recoil. Lastly, just about every <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/using-the-toric-15x56-in-the-field\/\">rifle<\/a> manufacturer makes the .243 Winchester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"17_Winchester_Super_Magnum\"><\/span>.17 Winchester Super Magnum<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The newish .17 Winchester Super Magnum is an incredible little round, especially for a <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/competitive-rimfire-a-family-affair\/\">rimfire<\/a> cartridge. A 20-grain bullet, which moves around 3,000 fps, is really accurate out to about 200 yards. There is virtually no recoil and it\u2019s relatively quiet. You could call in and kill multiple coyotes at one setup when using this round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only downside to the .17 WSM is finding a rifle chambered in this cartridge. If you\u2019re in the market, check out the Tikka T1x. Or, if you have a bigger budget, <a href=\"https:\/\/volquartsen.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Volquartsen Firearms<\/a>, a small family run gun manufacturer, sells a semi-automatic rifle chambered in .17 WSM.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"22_Magnum\"><\/span>.22 Magnum<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While a small rimfire cartridge, the .22 Magnum is deadly on coyotes. If you\u2019re looking to minimize pelt damage, this is a very optimal cartridge. However, with such a small bullet, your shot placement will need to be extremely accurate to make a clean kill. <\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We wouldn\u2019t recommend <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/5-reasons-why-i-enjoy-shooting-prs-competitions\/\">shooting<\/a> more than 75 yards, which makes it a good round for the eastern hardwoods rather than the western plains. As a bonus, if the coyotes are not moving but the squirrels are, you could make a change of target on the fly. Just be sure to shoot for the head.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you\u2019re eager to hunt coyotes, but don\u2019t own a rifle chambered in the cartridges we\u2019ve mentioned, that\u2019s okay! Because just about any centerfire rifle round can kill a coyote. Whatever you use to deer hunt with will work just fine. So if you\u2019re looking for a reason to hunt after deer season, consider setting your sites on the wiley coyote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tractoptics.com\/riflescopes\/toric-1inch-hunting-rifle-scopes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1338 size-full\" title=\"Hunting Gift Ideas\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tractoptics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/TRACT_Hunting_Scope_728x90.jpg\" alt=\"Hunting Gift Ideas\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/TRACT_Hunting_Scope_728x90.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/TRACT_Hunting_Scope_728x90-300x37.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/TRACT_Hunting_Scope_728x90-600x74.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/TRACT_Hunting_Scope_728x90-150x19.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Best Coyote Hunting Cartridges<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2258,2267],"tags":[2537,2797,2981,3004,3113,3114,3116,3124,3128,3129,3138,3148,3154,3168,3170,3171,3189],"class_list":["post-1173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hunting","category-shooting-skills","tag-calibers","tag-hunting","tag-predator-hunting","tag-rifle","tag-scope-cam","tag-scope-caps","tag-scope-cover","tag-scope-eye-relief","tag-scope-lens-covers","tag-scope-level","tag-scope-mounts","tag-scope-rangefinder","tag-scope-rings","tag-scope-window-mount","tag-scoped-ar-15","tag-scopes","tag-shooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11979,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions\/11979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tract-optics.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}