FarmerLawyer
Member
If there were stats on how many coyotes have been taken with which round over the years, I’d have to think 30-30 would be right at the top of the list. Stick with a winner.
I apparently have a coyote problem.
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Aletheia
Member
While I doubt that is actually true (I'm over 70 and have never shot or seen one shot with a .30-30, and we have shot quite a few) I would have no qualms about shooting one with that round, and have killed them with several cartridges from a .22RF to a .300 Win.Mag and one with a .50 muzzle loader, because that is what I had when the opportunity arose. I don't know why the OP is so reluctant to do so. But a "coyote problem" needs a dedicated coyote rifle of some sort eventually, and calling predators is fascinating hunting, so a new rifle may be justifiable.
I don't believe a .22RF of any type makes a genuine coyote rifle, but any center fire will work, although some (like a .30-30) force the shooter to accept range limitations. Since my experience indicates that I know no one who can't resist the urge to stretch the range on any cartridge being used, I think that coyote rounds start with the .223 and reach to the 6mm diameter before they become more than enough gun for humane hunting. My personal choice is a .22-250 which I believe is perfectly adequate out to ranges I really won't bother to shoot in any real "field conditions". If I'm thinking about hold over and wind drift as I aim, I often wish I had one of the 6mm twins because I think that pound for pound a coyote is a very tough animal, and long range shooting of them needs some long range power.
Wouldn't the .22 Magnum work well on such pest? Well with head shots anyway...
Aletheia
Member
If you have to add the last part, you already know it doesn't "work well". A hammer works for coyotes if you can hit them on the head. That doesn't make a hammer a good idea for hunting coyotes.
No wild animal is going to let a human try to kill it with a hammer....
Aletheia
Member
Well, I thought that was so obviously true no one needed to say it.
My point was supposed to be that a cartridge that will work in only one specific situation is not a good tool for the job specifically because it won't work unless a very specific situation occurs. I always try to use a cartridge that will work well any time I shoot well enough to hit a lethal spot, not only when I manage to hit a walnut sized spot that moves unpredictably all the time. Relying on a cartridge that works only if you hit the brain is not a good idea for hunting. I have killed several steers and pigs with a .22RF to the brain, but butchering is not hunting. The fact it worked in those situations does not make the round suitable for hunting animals of that size.
And, just for the record, I killed a coyote once with a hockey stick. He made the mistake of getting trapped in an old garage we used for chickens, and, in my life, hockey sticks are even more common than guns (or hammers for that matter.)
Hooda Thunkit
Member
Years ago, I was sitting in a tree stand with a .30-06 and a doe tag.
A big 8-point buck, with a neck as big around as my waist (a 32-inch pair of jeans needed a belt to stay on me back in those days) walked under the stand and just stood there looking around.
I was dropping acorns on his head. It was hilarious, he had no clue. An acorn would bonk him, he'd shake his head and look around, I'd do it again. This went on for perhaps 5 - 7 minutes before the buck got tired of getting whacked with and wandered off.
During the time of dropping acorns, I briefly fantasized about dropping on his back and slitting his throat with my belt knife. What a great story at the bar that would have been !
A closer look at the big ol' rack, and thinking about dropping down there spread-legged brought me back to reality.
I wish I could get within 100 yards of a coyote.We have a lot of them,and I can't get within 1,000 yards of them.Add another vote for the 22-250.I hand load for it,and a 52 grain A-Max going 3900 FPS will knock the daylights out of varmint type critters like groundhogs and crows.I wouldn't want to try to save a coyote pelt from one of those bullets,but I bet they'd not run very far.
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