.22 magnum for coyotes?

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jimmyraythomason said:
I'm NOT advocating using a .22mag instead of a larger caliber for coyote. I would definitely go larger if given a choice, however, if I am out with my Savage M65 bolt gun and a coyote gives me a shot within 100 yards...he's MINE!
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I hunt a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) up here by Knoxville, TN. You are only allowed to use rimfire out of deer season. I have a Savage 65M also. I just added a Nikon Prostaff 3-9 x 40mm scope to it and will be hunting coyote with it by next week. I'm finishing up my DIY electronic caller now.

I'll be using 33 grain Remmington Accutip ammo. With the decoy set up at 50 yards and the caller speaker set up at 40 yards I should be able to get a good kill shot, if I can just get a coyote to commit.

I would love to use a larger weapon/round, but the rules say I cannot. It comes down to reducing the range and careful shot placement.

-Jim
 
I've had very good luck with my bolt action Marlin 22 MAG for over 25 years. A double lung shot coyote will typically bound away and topple in mid-stride. Winchester 40 grain hollow tip is both accurate and superbly deadly.

Plan to keep your shots within 75 yards or so.

TR
 
Yeah, a .22 Mag can kill a coy dog, but it's far from ideal, regardless of range. IMO good coyote loads have a Taylor Knock-Out Factor of at least 7 (mv x bore dia x bullet weight/7000). The .22 Mag on a good day has a TKO of about 3.5, or half of what's needed. No .22 cartridge gets to seven very easily. Good coyote rifles begin with the 6mm's. The .243 is excellent. Even a 6mm TCU or 6x45 can get it done.
 
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Yes 22 mags are fine for coyotes .Best advise I have is buy several brands of ammo and see what your gun shoots the best because a good hit is what counts here.I use them in the spring here in Tennessee we have a spring squirrel season.and on WMA's you cant use a centerfire at this time.And I shoot them because it helps out the small game.LIKE RABBITS
 
"IMO good coyote loads have a Taylor Knock-Out Factor of at least 7 (mv x bore dia x bullet weight/7000). The .22 Mag on a good day has a TKO of about 3.5, or half of what's needed. No .22 cartridge gets to seven very easily."-Kernel. All of that means nothing to the large number of coyotes(a coy-dog is a cross between a coyote and a dog,BTW) killed with a .22WMR.
 
How in the heck does a coyote catch a turkey, anyway - they can just fly away - I can see a poult, but a grown turkey?
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A coyote catches a turkey the same way a bobcat catches a grown turkey. They hunker down and sneak up on it. A turkey is kind of like a bumblebee-it is not all that fast getting off the ground. If the coyote is within about 15 feet of the turkey when starts its take off run; the bird is coyote food.
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I have more than once watched yotes work turkeys in pairs, where one will show itself to the birds so they wander to the other side of the field where the other one is waiting for them to use their escape route. Have watched yotes sneaking up on strutting toms behind brushy fenchlines or from ravines/creek beds. Yotes do a better job of patterning turkeys than most turkey hunters. Until turkeys were introduced around here we had very few coyotes. Now we got lots of turkeys and lots of coyotes. I average a coupla yotes a year that come in to my turkey calls and decoys, both in the spring and in the fall.
 
joeoim said:
Fryerpower'

Keep us posted.

Joe
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6 weeks. No good place to go hunting. No time to do it.

I finally got the scope set up fairly close. I didn't have a vice so I had to lean on a truck hood and take my 100 yard shots. It is probably within 2-3 inches of being dead on. I need to put it on a rest and load it down with sand or lead bags, then finish the job.

While we were out there a squirrel was nice enough to let me take a shot. I went center of mass instead of head shot to make sure I hit him. Got him in the right butt cheek. Ruined a leg worth of meat, and pretty much gutted him. Those 33 grain Remington accutips make a mess of squirrels!

It was not my best shot, and I will not be shooting at squirrels again until I finish getting it sighted in. It was not a quick, clean kill. There is no reason it shouldn't be a head shot with my set up, once I finish sighting it in.

I'm closer to coyote hunting now. I need to get out there!

-Jim
 
I've made up and ordered some business cards to use as handouts for local farmers. I'm not trying to run a business, but a business card is easy to give someone when you are talking to them and it is easy for them to stick in their wallet or truck. I just want a way for them to contact me if they decide they need some help with their coyotes.

I talked to one farmer that has cattle on 150 leased acres (80 acres of field, 70 of woods on a slope). Last year he lost 4 calves. This year he lost 2 so far. He said he has a "plan" to catch all of the coyotes at once...:rolleyes:

I left my name & number, and wished him luck.

I really want to try out my .22 magnum on some coyotes! When the cards come in I will start posting them and talking to some more farmers.

-Jim
 
I like my .22 Hornet for coyotes. Here in the Ozarks, a shot over 200 yards is rare. My load is a case full (and compressed) of Hodgdon's Li'l Gun behind a 35 grain Hornady V-Max. That gives me about 3,000 fps muzzle velocity and plenty of range for these parts.

And I've never had a coyote run off after being hit in the boiler room with that little V-Max.
 
Is the .22 hornet a rimfire? Due to the local laws I'm stuck with rimfire. The strongest rimfire I have heard of is the 5 mm. Ammo is hard to come by for them and I already own the .22 magnum. I'll use what I have.

-Jim
 
I can't wait to get back...we'll duck hunt while the season is open and coyote hunt on blue bird days.

My 13 year old wants to use his cz 22 on a 'real hunt'. So I figure we'll set up a little decoy and call some in. I'll back him with an over and under and some buck shot...just in case the dog gets too rambunctious and gets too close.

I've only coyote hunted once...and was one for one. The darn thing nearly ran me over - I shot it twice with a winchester pump in 20 gauge. It was probably dead with the first shot but the tail was still slapping some, so I hit it again. It was exciting and seems to be a natural off season sport for duck hunting.

Later, we'll move up to rifles, we don't get to deer hunt much...mostly because I'm always deployed but also because duck hunting is about a million more times addicting, to me, than deer hunting and the seasons overlap. But, we'll get to use the 'big guns' at something other than paper and tree stumps.

We have a dog that can track those things down regardless of how far they hunker off. A little daschund goes a long ways to finding game...

Didn't some country singer just get killed by some coyotes up north?
 
A friend uses a call to get the Coyote within range and his hunting companion dispatches the animal with a head shot from a .22 Long Rifle to avoid destroying a saleable pelt.
 
There are a lot of squeal and shake calls on the market. Typically you either set the call and walk to your stand before it starts calling, or you set it up, get into your stand and trigger it with a remote. It will issue a realistic call and shake -- imitating a rabbit or other critter in distress. I find they work well on coyotes.
 
Fryerpower,

Thanks for the update, any time to fine tune?
I think the business cards is a good idea. It will give a farmer something to fall back on 6 months or a year later when He or a neighbor wants to find you.

Joe
 
I've got a .17HMR for pesky rabbits and yotes here in Wisconsin. The superior muzzle velocity and wonderful action of the bullet when it hits flesh pretty much DRTs any animal under 30lbs... In my Savage Bolt Action with Accutrigger, I am hitting .5" groups at 100 yards on a calm day, and head shots are the norm on rabbits and yotes. The Hornady V-Max bullets are premier, and pretty much gut a rabbit if you hit them anywhere other than the head.
 
Growing up, more than a .22LR for a yote was a waste of bullet. I sure the .22 mag will do just fine.
 
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