Hidalgo

Guys, my wife has been a veterinarian since 1983. She's got more letters after her name than I can comprehend. She's a board-certified specialist in more than one field. Taught at NCSU for 2 years. Managed several emergency facilities as the medical director. I would say that she's "qualified" to comment on dogs and their food needs. According to her, either Purina ONE or Science Diet are the only 2 foods that she would recommend for a "healthy" animal. Some dogs & cats require special diets due to a physical situation. Otherwise, they do not. Feeding Alpo, Gravy Train, Old Roy, etc is not doing your dog any favors. Just saying .......

Pics from Ooltewah ........

Just stuck a ruler in a table on the patio here in Ooltewah .... hard to believe, but we've got 8" here this morning. Where's Al Gore and my global warming? ... I want it NOW !!!

Speaking of reading the entire post ..... Did you read mine? I said that if I misunderstood then my apology was offered. Why the need to jump on after I said that?

You gather wrong. I got the sarcasm of the "on the list" part. But it sounded like the OP was complaining about being bothered. If that was not the case, then I profoundly apologize. And the post wasn't directed to YOU anyway. Must have hit a nerve ...

I think your pics are great. Good camera work. BUT ... What did you expect the TVA law enforcement to do? They are there to prevent / discourage any type of illegal activity. Sounds to me like the officer was simply doing his job. If it offended you that he took down your DL number and tag number, then you're off base, imo. If it had been me, I would have thanked the officer for doing his job and being so thorough. I had a truck broken into with the effort to steal it along with my boat trailer during a night fishing trip several years ago. I can assure you that I would have been thrilled if a TVA officer had written down those guy's plate number. What's your point with this? Were you supposed to get a "pass" just because you didn't ... well ... look like a terrorist? What does a terrorist look like? What kind of car does he drive? And surely he wouldn't have been taking pics of a dam ..... Now, as for you being "put on the list" ..... That's a little too much for him to be doing without just cause. .

While that's a good idea, a much better statement is to make DARN SURE you know the regs and are legal. And FWIW ... TWRA is going to be the winner in any disagreement. So prevention is the prime objective here.

Agreed. But be forewarned ... some of these rifles can be EXTREMELY picky on ammo choices. Not that any of them shoot badly, but if you are after sub-moa accuracy (and I would demand that out of this caliber) you might have to experiment with both ammo brands as well as bullet weights. Of course, the best route is to reload for it. Like I said, I've never seen one shoot badly, but some experimentation will do you well in the accuracy department. As for versatility, the /250 is one of the best .224 caliber cartridges out there. More expensive to shoot than the .223Rem, but worth it at times. It is a wonderful varmint cartridge, and will do a very adequate job on deer when used within it's capabilities (out to 300 yards or so). The abundance of bullet weights and types make this rifle a pure joy to own. They're fun rifles. ENJOY!

NOPE ... that guy's dead.

Here ya go: External Ballistics Calculator Just plug the appropriate data. You'll find that the drop adjustment required past 300 is overwhelming.

Better question: Can you consistently make a killing shot on a coyote at anything over 300 yards? Before you start hunting, you will (obviously) take your rifle to the range and determine it's ammunition likes and dislikes as well as get it sighted in. Do this: Zero it to hit 1.5" high at 100 yards, and then take it to the 300 yard line and see how many shots you can get in a 6" circle at 300. That will answer your question, I think. (Hint: You'll have to aim about 12" high at 300 yards) RIGHTWINGER: You killed him though ... right? Never saw a coyote that I though was "TOO" dead, lol.

That was in response to: I wasn't trying to be a "thread crapper" either, but rather make the point that this cartridge is, indeed, a capable coyote caliber at any distance that a competent coyote hunter would ethically take a shot. I still stand on that statement, and haven't heard any statements that prove otherwise. Coyote hunting is like deer hunting or any other hunting foray. Preparation and education breeds success ... not how far your rifle will shoot. Most of the arguments here have been on the pretext that a coyote hunter would/should have shots that ranged into the infinite yonder. The point that I tried to repeatedly make was that if you prepare, execute, and think ... those shots will be few and far between. Most every coyote that has hung up on us at a large distance was the result of a mistake made by the hunters.

ALL of my opinions and info was presented to answer the original post that said: No mention of a .30 caliber rifle, .640 coefficient, cattle wrangling, or anything else. He said: "for 'yote hunting". No mention of casual targets of opportunity or roadside sightings. And he asked about a .223 caliber. Now what did I say that was wrong ... in that scenario? You're twisting the original topic off it's original path.

Do you coyote hunt? Are you a seasoned coyote hunter? Can you do a proper set-up to utilize the wind and terrain to your advantage? If not, then perhaps you need to evaluate your "BS" call. FWIW, we hunt TX, CO, and AZ pretty regularly (at least yearly) and most of the time we have to defend ourselves to keep the dogs from running over us when they are coming in. That's right ... MOST of the time. The other times are the results of an educated coyote that decides something's wrong and hangs up at a distance. Don't confuse a long shot with bad preparation and calling technique. Do your homework, educate yourself, and this will be a non-issue. And you won't have to mis-understand my comments.

Your statement said HUGE ... in CAPITAL letters. Not the case.

You made my point ... TWICE. And the question WAS about a .223. Just food for thought............ At 500 yards, a 60 grain bullet from a .223 will drop 121" ... That's TEN FEET! Any of you out there feel competent that you can judge 10 feet of drop through a scope when shooting at a coyote (6" vertical kill zone, remember) that is 500 yards away? And if you CAN do that (or think you can) then take this into consideration: That same bullet, in a 5mph wind, will need 20" of windage adjustment. And in a 10mph wind, it will need 40" of windage adjustment. If you think you can make that adjustment, then can you tell the difference between a 5mph wind and a 10mph wind? And do you know the wind velocity at your target that is 500 yards away? Remember ... we're talking about a 6" vertical kill zone here. (If you question my figures, then put in your info and check it yourself: http://www.biggameinfo.com/index.aspx?page=%2fbalcalc.ascx ) Once again ... this is simple math and common sense. If your shots are going to be regularly over 200-300 yards (and they shouldn't be in a predator hunting situation) then you need a bigger gun.

OK ... let's talk about "Real World" scenarios here ... The .223 can and DOES allow for extreme accuracy out to and possibly beyond 600 yards. I see it at the High-Power matches with regularity. BUT, those rifles are not the set-up that you are apt to be coyote hunting with. They are fed as a single shot and use extremely heavy bullets that won't even feed through a standard AR or bolt action magazine. If you think that your .223 is capable of making clean kills out to 500-600 yards, then I implore you to try making those shots at paper targets in a hunting situation. That is ... sitting on the ground and using shooting sticks. It's only the very best riflemen who can consistently hit a 6" circle (the kill zone of a coyote) at anything over 300 yards in that scenario. Coyote hunting is like any other form of hunting ... you want to make a clean kill and do so at the closest range possible. Taking a shot at a distance that is questionable only tells you 2 things: (1) You didn't do something right with your calling or you should have been able to coax the animal closer, and (2) Taking a shot at that distance will probably only result in burnt powder and an educated coyote that you'll never call in again. Use your head guys! Coyotes are smart, but they are also predators and opportunists. Call them correctly and these long shots are unnecessary. Proper set-ups, reading the wind, remaining still, and taking the time to evaluate your position will result (more times than not) in an easy shot at a reasonable range. And the .223 is a great caliber for a reasonable range. As for the question about what bullet/weight I suggest/prefer, my rifles all shoot the 60 grain VMax bullets with amazing accuracy. If I were not reloading, I would try Black Hills ammo loaded with these bullets. Just remember that each and every rifle has it's own preferences. As an example, I have 2 DPMS uppers that are exactly identical. While they both prefer the 60gr bullets, one likes a little different powder charge than the other for maximum accuracy. Your rate of twist in your barrel will have a lot to do with your bullet choice. Faster twists will usually prefer heavier bullets.

Then the question I have for you is this: Can you HIT at those yardages? Not off a bench, but offhand or on sticks? What is your "personal" yardage limit? Do you just take any shot that is offered? ... Or only those which have the probability of a clean kill? And if the .223 isn't viable over 300 yards (and IMO it isn't) then what do you use for coyotes? And can you make clean kills in a hunting situation at ranges over 300 yards? I wasn't saying that shots at extreme ranges aren't available in this area. But I was saying that the probability of having those shots, and making those shots, was not a likely scenario.

I don't know what the "just ask strickj" means, but if your comment is about the 20" barrel being "better" than a 16" barrel ... well ... that's hogwash. I've used and hunted extensively with both. ..... The 16" tube is usually more accurate than the 20". ..... The 16" carries easier and is obviously lighter than the 20". ..... Unless you're using open sights the longer sight plane is a moot point. I could go on and on. There is no reason to opt for the longer barrel on a coyote rifle. Especially here in TN where we are not apt to be faced with 300-400 yard shots. I have used both of these barrel lengths numerous times here in TN and also in CO,TX,and AZ. Based upon several years of experience with these rifles in hunting situations, I can assure you that there is no appreciable advantage to carrying a 20" barreled rifle. I know that the ballistic charts and powder burn rates will all point to an extra "few" FPS out of the longer tube ... but it isn't enough to make a difference at the ranges that this rifle will be used. The ONLY advantage that I will give the longer barrel is that it is usually a little quieter than the 16. But we all wear hearing protection ... right?

Not trying to be a smart-butt (I am a Ruger fan and own several) but you might consider selling it (unless you're in love with it) and buying a Tikka. Like I said, I own several Rugers and they're GREAT rifles. But the action on my Tikka is as slick as it gets. Feels like butter ... not to mention the awesome accuracy.

Give me that milk! NO! It's the LAST ONE !! You gotta love it when it snows in Tennessee .....

Better there than here ...

LOL ... those videos must be staged for the ease of taping them. I have NEVER seen an AR trigger that was easy to push into place. Grunting is definitely a ingredient in that operation! I can't think of a way that you could have it installed wrong and still allow it to work correctly. I would suggest this ... the first time you operate the rifle, put ONLY TWO rounds in it. "If" there were some scenario that might make it go full auto (I don't honestly think that is possible with the firing group you are using) then at least it won't empty more than 2 rounds. Go shoot it. Sounds like you are fine and only have an overly stiff trigger.

While that does work OK for some people, cutting the foam to an exact fit is my preference. I know ... I'm anal about this ... but if I'm going to drop $800+ in a rifle, then spend $200 for a case, that sucker is going to FIT. And for the AR shooters out there, once you cut the foam to fit the outline of the rifle, you can then cut out places for the accessories and use a single case for several different rifles if you plan properly before cutting. Unless you're like me and can't take a trip without taking several rifles with you ...

Reliability? Rock River makes, in my opinion, one of the best AR triggers on the market. Bear in mind though, this is a 2-stage TARGET trigger that I am referring to. Perhaps not the best trigger for a "tense" situation because of the long let-off and then the short easy pull. For the intended use that you have in mind, the trigger you have might be your best bet. You shouldn't have to dismantle the lower to see if the spring is in the proper place. The long legs on the spring should be resting on TOP of the trigger pin that holds the trigger in place. After you look at the link and compare yours to the pics and instructions, it should be fairly obvious if it's not installed properly.