# New Coyote / Deer Rifle



## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

I recently had a bit of good fortune. A neighbor of mine took 3 guns in trade from a guy on a vehicle my neighbor sold.

One of the guns was a Ruger KM77RP MKII in .243. When I told him I'd take the gun and we agreed on a price I had not seen the gun. All I knew is who had it, that it was a Stainless-Synthetic Ruger .243 that had a scope on it (I thought it was a 3x9x40mm Bushnell Trophy).

When I went to pick up the Rifle I got a real surprise. The scope was not a 3x9x40mm Bushnell Trophy but rather a 3x9x40mm Bushnell Elite 3200 Riflescope.










Upon bringing the Rifle home I promptly cleaned the bore really good, tuned the trigger to a crisp 2 1/2 pounds and replaced the Ruger Boat Paddle Synthetic Stock with the new Style Full Profile Ruger Synthetic Stock (as seen in the photo).

Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to shoot this rifle as yet. My outdoor range is under 3 feet of snow and I need to acquire some ammo first. I have always preferred Federal Brass for my .243 Handloads. Unfortunately no one has any Federal .243 Brass, or any other brand for that matter on hand these days.

I did pick up 3 boxes of Federal 100gr. Power Shok Pointed Soft Point Ammo at Walmart for $12.97 per box. Next time I get to Fergus Falls I am going to be picking up some Federal Premium V Shok 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Ammo as well as Fleet Farm had it on sale the last time I was up there.

I figured I got a pretty good deal on this Rifle n Scope combo at $450.00. Truth be known it also came with a Camo Soft Rifle Case and a Box of Federal 100gr. Power Shok Pointed Soft Point Ammo to.

Larry


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## yote*hunter (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice!

I take it that you use a .243 for coyote hunting. What kind of ammo is best for coyotes so that it does not do a lot of damage so that you can sell the pelts?


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

SDHandgunner
Very nice, congrats !!!

Do tell me more on tuning a Ruger Mark II M77 trigger, I have a few of them and just picked up a Timney trigger for the .223. But if I can tune one to 2.5 lbs. without any creep that would be great !!!


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## nosib (Dec 4, 2008)

2.5lb trigger pull? Wow that is light. What is the lightest it can be in ND to be legal still?


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I get all of mine set in that 2 1/2 range. Depending on the trigger, anything lighter gets dangerous. It's also very hard to find a Smith that will go that light.


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## varmit b gone (Jan 31, 2008)

Kelly Hannan said:


> I get all of mine set in that 2 1/2 range. Depending on the trigger, anything lighter gets dangerous. It's also very hard to find a Smith that will go that light.


IMO it's not the weight of the pull so much as the crispness and smoothness of pull. My new Remington 700 with the new X mark is at like 3.5lbs and it is better than alot of super light target triggers because it breaks so clean and crisp.


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## trikortreat (Dec 10, 2008)

SDHandgunner said:


> I recently had a bit of good fortune. A neighbor of mine took 3 guns in trade from a guy on a vehicle my neighbor sold.
> 
> One of the guns was a Ruger KM77RP MKII in .243. When I told him I'd take the gun and we agreed on a price I had not seen the gun. All I knew is who had it, that it was a Stainless-Synthetic Ruger .243 that had a scope on it (I thought it was a 3x9x40mm Bushnell Trophy).
> 
> ...


looks great. one thing i wouldnt do again is buy a gun and not have a clue what kinda shape its gona be in. but other than that good deal.


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## trikortreat (Dec 10, 2008)

yote*hunter said:


> Nice!
> 
> I take it that you use a .243 for coyote hunting. What kind of ammo is best for coyotes so that it does not do a lot of damage so that you can sell the pelts?


are u talkin caliber or grain and balistics.


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

2 things i noticed about the gun. the bipod is on backwards and i would also look at the scope rings/bases. the rear one looks awefull high. is the front bell hitting the top of the barrel?. just an observation


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## trikortreat (Dec 10, 2008)

the bipod aint on backwards some put it on that way, but many like it facin forwards.. but i see what yer sayin about the scope rings....looks like the front is touchin the barrel.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Nice choice Larry! I love my Ruger 243.

As far as the bipod goes, I thought that looked wierd too, but I have seen people put them like that. I think slinging the rifle on your back would get uncomfortable like that.

I thought the front of the scope looked low too, but it could be the angle of the picture.

One things for sure....I would question Larry on this one. If he didn't comment on it it is probably OK. He knows more about guns than most of us combined I think! :wink:


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

Thanks guys.

All Ruger Centerfire Bolt Action Rifles have different height rings in the front and the rear since the front receiver bridge is taller than the rear the rear ring needs to be higher. I have measured the rings from the receiver bridge to the bottom of the scope tube and they are a matched set according to the dimensions posted on Ruger's web site. It must be the angle of the photo as it doesn't look wierd in person. No the scope's objective bell is not touching the barrel, but it is close. The Rifle sure does fit me good with the scope mounted this low.

Many many years ago a guy told me that if you mount your bipod backwards so the legs fold under the forend the spring pressure holding the legs of the bipod do not have any effect when mounted this way. Not sure if it works or not but that is the way I have always mounted them since.

As per the bullet of choice for Coyotes to save fur, I am not sure such a bullet exists. I have been loading .243's for a buddy of mine for a few years now. He uses an old load I worked up for a Savage Striker Handgun, 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips pushed with Hodgdon's Varget (1 1/2 grains under max). He is shooting an old Remington Model 660 in .243 wit ha 20" Barrel. He tells me that when he hits them right the bullet does not exit. He is pushing the 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips out of his 20" Remington at 3672 FPS with really good accuracy.

I know guys that use the same bullet they use for Deer Hunting with good success. Generally I have been told that the leave about the same size exit hole in Coyotes as they do in Whitetails. I have only ever shot 1 Coyote with a Deer Bullet, it was from a Ruger M77R in 6mm Remington. I was using a 100gr. Hornady Boat Tail Spire Point at a range of about 25 yards and hit the Coyote square on the shoulder and it really, really left a LARGE exit hole.

I typically use 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. Yes they tend to mess up pelts, especially if bone is hit but they sure do put em down. My last .243 had a 1 in 9" Rifling Twist and it shot the 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips much, much better than the 55's. The only way I could get that .243 to group 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips was to slow them down to .223 velocity levels.

To me whether a load tears up the pelt of not is of no concern. I want the Coyotes to hit the ground where they are standing and not get back up. The 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips out of the .243 have done that for me in the past and hopefully will do so in this .243 as well.

Larry


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Larry are you talking the pressure of the springs would not affect bullet impact with them folded up vs. extended?


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

Fallguy said:


> Larry are you talking the pressure of the springs would not affect bullet impact with them folded up vs. extended?


With the legs extended into shooting position.

The old guy told me that with the bipod on backwards, when using the bipod the reward motion of the gun during recoil works straight back and the legs do not flex as the springs are holding the legs forward not reward.

This never made any sence to me since in theory the bullet has left the barrel by the time the gun recoils so it shouldn't matter. However strange as it seems I tend to shoot smaller groups with the bipod mounted backwards.

Larry


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