.22 magnum for coyotes?

[cz85cmbt]

At close range with a semi auto or lever the .22 mag is still marginal. Foxes, porcupines, raccoons, where this varmint cartridge shines. An adult coyote here in the east can go 40 pounds regularly and serious 'yote hunters here bag a decent amount in the 45 pound range. Other western and southern coyotes typically can run around somewhere around 20 pounds. The .22 mag will do fine on these smaller 'yotes, but if you live in the north the bone structure will very often stop these bullets so your shots will have to be head shots, perhaps a dead on chest shot, or to sneak one into the lungs through the ribs. Then again the last two shot selection could see bad bullet deflection or penetration from hitting bone. The .17hmr is an awful choice any bone will destroy the bullet and result in only a bad wound. I know you said rimfire might be your only choice but a marlin lever gun in .357 will shoot .38 specials very quietly and with a good bullet will drop coyotes at 50+ yards hooter loads will get you out to over 100 yards but not as quiet.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Give 'em some humaneness, will ya's? .22 hornet or up, please. 45 gr or heavier.

 

[Daniel]

In the brain or heart, and it'll work as good as anything else out there that launches a 40 grain 5.7mm bullet at the necessary velocity to penetrate adequate bone and flesh; if you can make these hits at 50 and 100 meters respectively every time in practice, you're good to go. A shoulder shot should work at close range (i.e., 50 meters and under), and by work, I mean making it incapacitated quickly. Anything over 100 meters and you're into .22 Hornet/.223 Rem territory if you want a quick kill.

You want a minimum striking velocity to make sure the projectile is going to make it through; under 100 meters and you're golden with a .22 Winchester Magnum on a small animal like a coyote, but you aren't really going to see a hammered animal unless the CNS is hit. The .22 Magnum just doesn't have the velocity to achieve massive tissue disruption, except perhaps near the muzzle (1600 fps or so seems to be needed to really damage organs, rather than poking holes in them).

It'd be analogous to hunting deer with a .30-30 compared to a .308; you have to pass up shots with the former that you can make with the latter due to the velocity.

 

[HunterBear71]

The caliber police always make me chuckle. 22 mag is just fine, but your range will be limited. If you really want to be 'humane', just don't shoot a projectile through the coyotes body.

 

[endebt]

I can see a lot of you don't live and breath on a ranch. Here in texas as a cattle rancher i have calves and yotes kill calves. There is not one of them worth 1 of my calves. They will kill a calve as it is being born. So you don't shoot. But i bet if you were losing $500. per calve you would be hunting these S.O.B.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Here in Arkansas, we have a lot of coyotes. I saw two trotting through my pasture the other day, bold as brass (as we say in the Ozarks, "when you're not carrying your gun, you'll jump a varmit from behind every bush.")

I call them and use a .22 Hornet.

 

[The Gunman]

25-06 with a 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip at 3300 fps does a nice job out to 500 yards...


...unless you wanted something left to skin.

Same effect I get with my .270win 130gr.....

Use the 22wmr if you want. I think it is fine out to around 100yd. with good shot placement. I just happen to believe that here in IL, you can't make a coyote to dead.

Just remember, a coyote is one tough dog.

 

[gglass]

I use a Rossi M92 Puma .357 Magnum, but I chamber .38 Special rounds for small game like fox or coyotes.

I love having rifles that can take anything from a squirrel to a deer, with just a change in ammunition.

The bottom puma is my scoped .44 Magnum for deer hunting only.