This may be an ignorant question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. What would y'all consider too light to effectively hunt coyotes? Or I guess, what is your recommended caliber for coyote hunting? I have a 270, but I was just wondering what other calibers could be used besides that? Also, what gun do y'all using for coyote hunting?

I think 22 & 17 hmr are a little light but many yotes I'm sure have fallen to both. A lot will depend on the range you are expecting to shoot the yotes. Probably the most common calibers are the 223 and 22-250, but there are a million other varmint ready rounds out there. I honestly carry a bolt action 308 most of my time in the field because if i'm in yote country I'm also in hog country. I recently put together a 6.8spc AR with a thermal for all my varmint and hog needs. 270 is great also if you don't care about saving the hide.

That’s exactly what I was thinking with those two as well. I figured that they were too light. I’ve been thinking about building an AR just to shoot targets with for fun, but I wanted to know if I could dual purpose it for animals like coyotes. Plus, I did want to save the hide if I got a pretty one. Those are some beautiful coyotes! Congrats on them and thank you!

I've been amazed at the destruction that a .17 HMR can do. It is a very light bullet, but copy what WestTexasWatkins said.

there are so many calibers to choose from, if you are limited to just one, go for it.

I keep my AR or mini mag in the truck 24/7 while I work on the ranch. Plenty to take care of most of what I come across in my travels especially predators and piggies.

Thanks very much for asking this question as I have been wondering the same thing! I've been deer hunting with a guy that uses a .22-250 for deer but will shoot varmits with it too. He said he has shot some smaller raccoons with it and the cartridge basically blew them apart. If I were to take a yote then I would certainly not want to ruin the cape. I've looked at .220 Swift and .204 Ruger among other newer cartridges but can't make up my mind.

I'm thinking of just building an AR so I can use it for fun for target shooting and then use it for varmints as well. I think it'd be a fun multi purpose gun. Maybe try looking into one too?

My 6.5 Grendel lays them out.

My go to yote rifle is a 243 shooting 70 grain or less (58 grain preferred). 22, 22 mag, 17 hmr, and the 17 WSM are just too small. The !7 Rem and the 204 are marginal, even the 223 could use a little help. 22-250 and the 220 Swift are ideal with the 243 being just a little better. My 257 Weatherby is fantastic running 87 grain pills but forget it if your wanting to keep the hides. 243 running the 70 grain is also a little much for hides. The last 8 yotes I've shot were all with the 243 running 58's, all but one was a shoulder shot, all dropped withing a foot or two from where they stood, most went straight down. The only one that passed through was a neck shot.