3 Coyotes Today!

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wankerjake

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I haven't been out much for predators this year, I spent a lot of time getting my deer rifle set up to shoot longer range. So my free time has mostly been spent shooting that rifle. After elk season I haven't had much time to go out, but today my partner and I headed out for a half day of calling. We had a new spot in mind that we thought would be good and it payed off.

We were on stand when the sun came up and about ten minutes in this female came screaming in from my side. Man she was cruising, I had my rifle and Casey had his shotgun so I was gonna let her fly by me and let the shotgun do the dirty work. She got to about ten yards from me, hard charging the foxpro/decoy but then she hit the brakes. I assumed she must have seen Casey raise up and that he was on her, but he didn't shoot and she lit out the way she came. So I dropped her on the way out, at maybe thirty yards. Turns out he saw her as she was hitting the brakes and thought I was gonna get her. I did:
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At the end of stand 1, Casey saw either a small coyote or more likely fox take off as he stood up. It got away. On the way to stand two we saw one cross the road, so we made stand 2 right there.

Stands 2-4 were dry. Stand 5 Casey saw one pop in and leave at about 15 minutes, no shots fired.

Stand 6 we were in more open country so we both had rifles, Casey had only killed one coyote with his AR (specifically for predators) so it really needed some action. At maybe 3-4 minutes I heard him shoot, the again, then again, then again... he hit it every time but it wouldn't stay down. He hit it low the first time, but had several nasty wounds. We are both surprised he needed 4 shots. Here's coyote #2 with the AR:
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Stand 7 was to be our last, and we made it count. Again, at 3-4 minutes I here Casey shoot...then again, and again. Again, first shot was low and he needed more. He was shooting 40gr v-max from the .223, he's thinking about some heavier bullets. They did make a pretty good mess, but both dogs needed extra shots. Regardless, we got them. Casey's first dog was a young male but this fella was a little bigger:
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So in all we made 7 stands, saw 5 dogs, killed 3. This was our first 3-dog day together. We've only been at it a couple years but we're improving!
 
I'd have him bump up to 55gr or 60gr vmaxs. If he has a standard 1:9 twist barrel, it would be better suited for the medium weight .224" cal bullets. 40gr vmaxs are what my buddy and I use on whistle pigs.
 
Nice job, those coyotes don't come easy, especially in the upper midwest(I realize your in AZ). My preference is for heavier bullets in the 223 for coyotes, along the lines of a 55 grn 'Gameking' or so. I've not liked the performance of 45 grn factory softpoints I've used in the past with a 223. Lately I mostly just use my 243 with 85 grn bullets.
 
you might want to tell your partner to step up to a little bigger bullet. A 55-60 gr would be much better than the 40's he is using. I purchased my first 223 rifle from Shapel's (using a student loan check), in 1992 and after too many situations as you described, I finally see why the old timers swore an oath and allegiance to the 22-250 and 220 swift. I changed tactics and now use a .243 with 85 grain Sierra Game Kings.
 
Yeah he's already decided on 55gr V-max's. Hopefully that will put them down a little harder. That's why I like shooting them with my 243, I only need a second shot if I hit them really bad, But even most bad hits kills them pretty quickly.
 
Vmaxs are good because they expand violently and rarely make an exit wound.

I know some avid yote hunters and they've tried 22-250, .223 and 22 magnum and 17HMR. Both guys trade the furs, so overblown pelts are bad. One moved to a 22 magnum, the other slowed his 22-250 down to 223 velocity with handloads. Both work fine, 22 Mag just doesn't reach as far. Both employ 50 grain bullets IIRC.

I think your buddy needs to sight his gun up a little bit and move to a 50 grn bullet. My two yote experts both said they need 50 grain or larger bullets to be effective.

Thanks for sharing. That looks like some nice yote country.
 
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I think your buddy needs to sight his gun up a little bit and move to a 50 grn bullet. My two yote experts both said they need 50 grain or larger bullets to be effective.

He's moving up to a 55gr v-max for sure. The rifle is zeroed at 200 I think, I watched him drill a jackrabbit at like 175 yards. The coyotes were both shot at no more than 30 yards. Hopefully the heavier bullets will perform better, We guess they will.
 
Your smile seemed to get bigger after every one! Where I'm from you would have made $60 from our township's bounty.

Edit: sorry I'm half asleep, didn't notice it was you and your buddy. Good thing I reread it.
 
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