What is a good round for hunting coyote with your AR?  My friend recently sold his Beretta 92F to a guy who lives about an hour north of me who owns a turkey farm.  This guy is having a lot of trouble with the coyote population and has spent a lot of money trying to keep them out but they still manage to get through everything and kill his animals.  This obviously does not make him very happy but he collects Berettas (and is damn good with them too... yesterday he killed a coyote at 47 yards with the 92F) and doesn't have any rifles or time to deal with the problem.  Therefore, he has enlisted me and 2 of my friends to help.  I am not the biggest fan of killing coyotes since I am a pretty big dog person (don't really like dear hunting either since they are just hanging out doing deer shit like eating grass or something... i really don't enjoy shooting anything unless it is a direct threat to me or someone I care about... or if you hunt to eat... i don't see sport in killing to kill when what you are killing has no interest in killing you) so I really want to drop these things with minimal pain to the animal.  What is the best setup?  My friend is one of the primary producers of 300BLK brass in the US and can load whatever I want (he suggested using 70gr all copper projectiles) and I just loaned him a decent amount of money so he is going to give me a few hundred rounds interest... i just need to know what to tell him to load.  Thanks

**I am currently running a 14.5" LMT.  The optics I have are a Triji TA31-M4 and an EOTech xps2-0.  One of the friends that will be with me is big in the 300BLK world so that is what he will probably run but he has a lot of 556 suppressors, optics, nv, and just about anything you can think of so if it is useful let me know and I'm sure he has 2 or 3.  Thanks again**

My current setup:

The .223 or 5.56 round in relation to SC's coyotes are more than enough to humanely harvest coyotes with 95% of the rounds available. My personal choice would be the loading with the projectile that you could use for other tasks like HD, other hunting or training for when you are not after coyotes since it sounds like you will get a decent amount of ammo. The ultimate deciding factor of how humanely you will be able to dispatch the animals is related to your ability to put the bullet in the right spot.  From above it sounds like you have great equipment including rifles and optics. It is, however, in my experience that your tactics, stealth, and understanding of coyotes that will let harvest more animals than equipment ever will.  Good luck, also check out the link for small game hunting setups and adviceHere

I'd take a few hundred of 70gr TSX loads any day, but they won't be the best for coyotes. The all copper bullets are better suited for heavier game like pigs, deer, or SHTF ammo.

A 55gr VMAX type bullet will be a good bet unless you have monster coyotes.

Black Hills 5.56 77gr Mk262.
Link

I'm not a big-time hunter but I'm 3/3 on deer with this load. You need a 1/7 barrel twist but your LMT should have that.

You will also want a sling if you will be walking around the property, Magpul MS3 is pretty solid.
Depending on you range you could throw in a set of those quick sticks for some cheap/fast support when you drop into a 1-knee down position.

PS. You might want to take the bit about 300BLK out of your description unless your rifle is chambered in 300BLK, otherwise it's a bit confusing.

It's a coyote, anything out of an AR will work. Hit it in the vitals and done. It's not an elk at 500 yards... Don't over think it. If anything you need to look up SC game and fish laws and make sure certain ammo isn't banned or mag capacity isn't limited. Other wise get some calls, camo up, and be patient and be ready to learn.

60gr. V-Max Black Hills loads are great coyote killers.

I'm a dog lover, too, but Yotes are just plain varmints and will destroy any small game in your area, including the deer herd. They are over populated in just about any area. By killing them off, you're doing a big favor to the game in your surrounding area. And predetor hunting is a flat out blast. I use 55 gr V-Max and have had one shot kills out to just under 350 yds.

NICE SETUP!

52 grain SMKs doing a hurting on the song dogs for me, however I am almost always dual hunting hogs and coyotes at the same time so I only use Barnes 70 grain TSX that I reload and it does a number on them too, but not as good as the 52 grain SMKs....





Exit wound from Barnes 70 grain TSX handloaded out of a SIG 556 16" 1:7" twist barrel @ 190 yards:

Any expanding bullet will drop any coyote with a well placed shot. That said though my favorite is either the 53 gr Hornady Superformance Varmint or the 55 gr Hornady Varmint Express. Both bullets are VMax.

This is what I came here to say. The only thing I would add is that your current setup is fine, start with that and adapt as needed. And use a good hunting round - I prefer the VMAX in the 55gr or 62gr variety, mostly because they are cost effective, have good terminal performance, and are readily available. Another round that I have used which has worked very well is the 69gr Sierra Matchking. The Barnes bullets are a darn good choice, as well.

Well I did learn from you

What kind of NV is that and what did it cost?

It is a FLIR T-50 Thermal Combat Weapon Sight.






http://www.trijicon.com/na_en/products/product1.php?id=ACTS

http://tnvc.com/shop/flir-advanced-combat-thermosight-t50/

Here is a video of it taking down a dog @ 200 yards:

http://www.phossil.com/thom/Night%20Vision/ACOG%20TO2/Thermal%20Coyote%20Web.wmv