I don'rt hunt them in Ohio, so not sure on the matter of use of rifles,
CAN SEMI"S BE USED??
most smaller caliber rifles make for good coyote guns, stick to center fire caliber( no .22's ore .17's) start as low as some of the .204's and go up, bigger caliber, can kill them farther out if you can hit them

My caliber of choice is the .22/250, but have killed them with many even a .338 ultra mag!

the .223 is a great caliber if buying a new gun in an ar platform, bulk ammo is out there so you can get to shoot a ton if you like for a lot less than other calibers.
but if you cannot hunt with a semi, the .223 can be had in plenty of bolt gun, and stilll use that cheap ammo,
just remember to some of the steel jacketed surplus ammo is hard on chambers so wear will be much faster, even more so on a match chamber in a good bolt gun!