.243 for coyotes and deer?
 

I’m in the planning phase of my next rifle. Currently have a 308 for big game. Now I want something for Coyotes. A 22-250 really appeals to me but I want something that can also take deer for when my girls are old enough to hunt and shoot. This leads me to the .243.

My question is, is it possible to develop an accurate load for the .243 that will be fur friendly and yet still be suitable for taking a deer? A dual purpose gun I guess you would say. I know twist rate ultimately determines the bullet weights that can be shot accurately.

Would I be able to develop an accurate load with let’s say a 55-75 grain bullet for coyotes and possibly develop a load for 95-100 grn bullet all in the same rifle?

I haven’t reloaded for awhile but plan on getting back into it in the near future.

55 grains in my 243 are one ragged hole accurate but certainly not fur friendly. I have developed 95 grain bullets that result in great accuracy and took down a long range antelope for me as well as a mule doe for my son.
heard of guys punching coyotes with larger bullets so not as much fur damage. Pencil hole in and out.

Fur friendly and .243, don't really go together all that well.
You could try using a tough constructed bullet like a Barnes bullet, and perhaps the coyote wouldn't possess enough resistance to have the bullet expand too much, thus limiting the size of an exit wound. All this is subject to a big BUT! Hit bone or get a quartering shot and expect carnage.

Compromises leave you compromised sooner or later.

Feed the economy.

So what you’re saying is should buy two guns. If only I kept all the guns I once had I wouldn’t have this question. Over the last couple years I’ve thinned out my collection (which wasn’t all that big to begin with). I started leaning more towards archery but this year I have gotten the gun bug back and starting all over. Mainly because I want to start involving the family more into it. Unfortunately finances dictate what I can have. So I started questioning if I can get by with a one gun does it all mentality i.e a dual purpose 243. Something the wife and kids can hunt deer with when and if they decide they want to, and something I can use for coyotes, which is also a new hunt for me as I’ve never hunted coyotes.

Load a varmint bullet that will not blow them up and a heavier bullet for deer .
If you run a 55 grain varmint bullet at around 3,200FPS you should be fine
Nothing is 100% garaunteed when it comes to bullets
Cat

I have been using my 243 to shoot coyotes for years. If you don't want to mess up the fur stick with a BARNES 80gr TTSX , they will punch a loonie size hole going out and there is not much sewing required. If you want to make Red Mist use a 55 gr Varmint Bullet or better yet the 65 gr V MAX ...Those 2 bullets nearly cut the coyotes in half.
I also have a 22-250 and with 55 gr Varmint bullets that rifle is far from fur friendly.

The 80 gr BARNES TTSX is also good for deer, and I have also shot elk and moose with the same rifle/bullet combo. I handload all of my own ammo, not that it matters.
Good Luck and Have Fun.

What POSSUM said... ^^^

Use a monolithic bullet (solid copper), Barnes TSX/TTSX or Hornady GMX.

These bullets can be used on both ungulates and coyotes with great success.

Although, I did buy a .223 earlier this year to help reduce the possiblity of or atleast the size of exit holes.

My .243 liked 58gr Vmax @ 3900-4000 FPS... This was destroying the dogs & fur at anything less than 300 meters.

I recently modified & rebarreled the .243 for PRS sytle shooting, so coyote duty is relinquished to the .223...

https://i.imgur.com/LFVUf1M.jpg

223 Damage?
 

x3 on the mono in 243. Hey John, what kind of results are you getting with the 223? Do you find it more fur friendly than the 243 for what you've shot in it?

This is the best answer so far.

Hey don't sweat it, we all have constraints.
I see many others have suggested Barnes bullets, so giver a rip. It's not like coyotes that are shot bring heaps of cash to begin with. Just thinning the herd is benificial towards many things, as well.

I've only shot 3 dogs with it so far, but yes the caliber is much more fur-friendly.

I did blow a substantial hole in 1 dog, but I feel that shot-placement & distance were the cause.

I shot him @ 75 meters broad-side but high on the shoulder, and feel his spine/shoulder bones leaving his body produced the baseball-sized hole.

This unfortunately ruined the fur, as it was missing a large round section on the back...

I shoot Hornady 68gr HPBT pills @ 2900 FPS.

:)

I have used 100 grain bullets of most brands with good luck on small to large animals. You will find the same I'm sure.

This is basically the same thing I want to do. I have been using a Tikka 25.06 for deer, it's an amazing gun but I have been thinking about a change mostly for fun. I have been thinking about a that would double as a coyote gun/wife's deer gun and getting a .280ai for myself for a deer and larger gun, hoping I could cover all my bases with a couple solid setups. I was thinking a Finnlite for the .243

I have shot a good number of coyotes with the 243 and the 55 grain Nosler‘s with good results. I have shot both wolves and coyotes and good shots leave almost no damage. It seems like if you make marginal shots on coyotes with just about any calibre there can be damage. Spine shots can leave a mess even with my 204.
That being said my best Coyote last year was shot with the 270 a little bit far back. I sewed up the hole and it was good.
I think that if I was to decide what the best coyote rifle chambering would be I would pick 204. 243 isn’t that far behind and is a lot more versatile.
Only great shots with both cartridges result in no sewing. But anything else your sewing either way.

I am really impressed with how little damage the 243 with 55 gr BT does on coyotes. My 22-250 with 50gr vmax makes quite the mess.

I agree with the monolithic bullets. Should have limited expansion. My other idea would be to try a bonded bullet such as a swift scirocco II, I'd be curious to see if it reacted similarly to a monolithic.