by crbutler on Tue May 11, 2021 5:00 pm
A .22 RF is capable of killing lots of things cleanly.
On the large side, lots of farmers and feed lot types put down cattle and hogs with a .22 RF.
A .22 will certainly kill coyotes to a reasonable distance.
Now, whether it will do so with the range and ease of a .22 centerfire or a 6mm is different.
If you are willing to forgo 95% of the shot opportunities that you might otherwise have, then a .22 or a shotgun are great choices- actually a 12 Ga with tungsten buckshot gives very good ability to get coyotes to almost 100 yards, and is easier to hit with than a .22 CF rifle.
It’s all about what you are willing to accept.
Personally, I don’t see what a 6.5 Grendel brings to varmint hunting- it’s trajectory isn’t as good as most .22 CFs, and while it has enough energy out there, it’s hard to hit with on the fly over 300 yards out.
I’ve hunted/killed coyotes with lots of stuff. One with a .17 HMR, a couple with a .22 long, one with a 5.7x28, a bunch with .223/5.56, one with a 6.5 creedmoor, and several with a .30-06. 2-3 with a bird gun when I jumped them. Biggest were one with a .470 NE (because I could) and .50 BMG (cause it was dumb enough to run out downrange when I was playing with it). Coyotes aren’t hard to kill and most get killed with whatever you happen to have.
The guy who only hunts them with a .22 RF isn’t serious about predator control shooting, but if he’s serious about hunting them with it, he’s probably a master at calling and staying still.
Most of the ones I kill “incidentally” are probably under 40 yards out. The RF works fine for that range. If I’m going coyote hunting it’s a .223, a .223 WSSM, or a .25-06, as the odds are my shot is closer to 2-300+ yards.