Which AR10 caliber for hunting coyotes and wolves?

[HMRamateur]

Right now I have a 22-250 bolt gun for varmints, but I'm looking at a semi auto for faster follow ups if needed. I'm intrigued by the 22 creedmoor, or a fast twist 22-250 AI. How do those two compare, especially in a semi? Should I just be looking at 6mm or 6.5 creedmoor if I'm thinking of putting wolves into the equation or do the heavy .224's at high speed do the job? Any other calibers that might do the job?

 

[sodakhunter]

A bit old school but .243 win seem to feed and cycle decent and lots of bullet choices.

 

[flyer]

What kind of bullet weight do you want?

There is the 6x6.8 that you can fit in an AR15 and get 3,000+ fps with 70 grain bullets. A bit of a wildcat, just neck down 6.8 SPC to 6mm and reload.

There are other 6mm AR15 chamberings that can do similar but 6x6.8 seems good for varmint weight bullets.

There might eventually be a 6 Valkyrie but it will probably be aimed at 105 grain bullets and 1,000+ yard shooting.

If you don't need more than that, going with an AR15 platform instead of a large frame AR would be cheaper, lighter and easier to build if you like to mix and match parts.

 

[Kickin45]

6.5 cm will do the job

 

[101stinfantry]

Any of those you listed will do fine, I'd think, along with the .243. I really don't think you need to go bigger than 6mm for your stated purpose.

 

[Mwalex]

If you would consider an AR15 instead of the AR10 the 6.5 Grendel is a very nice option.

 

[cleric]

How far is the big question?

 

[HMRamateur]

What kind of bullet weight do you want?

There is the 6x6.8 that you can fit in an AR15 and get 3,000+ fps with 70 grain bullets. A bit of a wildcat, just neck down 6.8 SPC to 6mm and reload.

There are other 6mm AR15 chamberings that can do similar but 6x6.8 seems good for varmint weight bullets.

There might eventually be a 6 Valkyrie but it will probably be aimed at 105 grain bullets and 1,000+ yard shooting.

If you don't need more than that, going with an AR15 platform instead of a large frame AR would be cheaper, lighter and easier to build if you like to mix and match parts.

I'm thinking 80gr minimum, and nothing higher than 120.

 

[HMRamateur]

How far is the big question?

600-700 yds most likely. I wouldn't be opposed to shooting at anything further, it's just that I very rarely get a chance to take anything that far. I would like a high BC bullet though just in case those shots do line up.

 

[sea2summit]

I'm really enjoying .260 but you need to roll your own to get the full potential out of it. 6.5 C would be my second choice but I don't have one so YMMV.

 

[cleric]

224v would be tempting. Firing an 88 bullet it should be relatively flat that far out

 

[flyer]

At 6-700 yards, it sounds like you need velocity and a pretty high BC.

I am not sure an AR15 chambering could get there fast enough.

A .243 would probably work better than any AR15 chambering at that range. 6 Creedmoor, 6x47 Lapua and 6GT are similar choices but more aligned with high B.C. match bullets than varmint bullets.

 

[flyright]

6.5 CM is easy to find in an AR platform. Many 120 grain loads shoot very well from them and factory, match grade ammo is easy to find. Soft shooting and excellent for those ranges with decent barrel life as another plus. Just my .02.

 

[HMRamateur]

At 6-700 yards, it sounds like you need velocity and a pretty high BC.

I am not sure an AR15 chambering could get there fast enough.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[sand dog]

As stated, no bad caliber choices here. Any 22 center fire listed will clobber a coyote at hunting distance, so will a 204 Ruger. I do it every year in TX w 223, 204, 22 Nosler, and Valkyrie. I just shot one w a Wilson Combat 350 Legend the other day lol.
BUT
since you mentioned wolves, we are now dealing with a different dog! Skittish and you dont get a lot of opportunity, and a 100 lb wolf is built a lot different from a 25 lb yote. I would probably step up to the 24 or 26 caliber to reliably handle those guys. You dont want the dog of a lifetime taking a weak round and running off, never to be found.
Just a side note, some of the best wolf hunting is in Canada....and you aint taking an AR up there!
Hope this helps

 

[HMRamateur]

As stated, no bad caliber choices here. Any 22 center fire listed will clobber a coyote at hunting distance, so will a 204 Ruger. I do it every year in TX w 223, 204, 22 Nosler, and Valkyrie. I just shot one w a Wilson Combat 350 Legend the other day lol.
BUT
since you mentioned wolves, we are now dealing with a different dog! Skittish and you dont get a lot of opportunity, and a 100 lb wolf is built a lot different from a 25 lb yote. I would probably step up to the 24 or 26 caliber to reliably handle those guys. You dont want the dog of a lifetime taking a weak round and running off, never to be found.
Just a side note, some of the best wolf hunting is in Canada....and you aint taking an AR up there!
Hope this helps

Stag Arms has a "non restricted" AR10 receiver set, and a couple other manufacturers have sets for AR15, although higher priced... Impatiently waiting for these new laws/bans to be released also.

 

[flatland1]

I had a very experienced AR 'smith fit & chamber a Bartlein 1-7.8tw, 22" bbl in 6XC for my 1st custom DPMS large frame build several years ago. Accuracy wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped, but it's not bad either. I've done load development with 105-107gr bullets, as well as with Hornady 87gr BTHPs. Experience with this rifle and several others in 6.5x47 Lap & 6.5 CM has pretty well convinced me to stick with precision bolt rifles for LR predator shooting, and to run suppressed 100% of the time. Shooting suppressed often gives you the time needed for a follow-up shot with a bolt rifle. I've read a good many posts here about custom AR-10s that shoot really well, and no doubt at least some of them are absolutely true. But over the years, I've lost the desire to invest a lot of $$$ in a custom AR-10, only to get mediocre accuracy results - at least compared to a really good custom bolt rifle. If you're interested in making shots at live targets out to 600+yds, i'm doubling down on using a good bolt rifle instead of a gas gun, and this is coming from someone who's shot 1000yd prone matches with a fast-twist AR15 & JLK90VLDs.

 

[sand dog]

Cant argue that a good bolt gun can be had with less drama, but I still enjoy an accurate gas gun. 31 years at SOCOM and law enforcement, some of.it behind a scoped rifle. My Wilson Combat and JP rifles will hang with every bolt gun I have owned, and when I do miss that shot on that coyote, no bolt gun is gonna run that follow up shot any faster. Is there more to running a gas gun accurately? Yes, but it doesnt mean that they cant be accurate.