Coyote hunters, lend me your ears and experience

[armoredman]

I am HOPEFULLY going to get out 'yote hunting sometime soon, and when I do, I am wanting to use my CZ EVO S1 Scorpion pistol to do it with. Question - will a 9mm 124 gr cast slug moving at roughly 1100 FPS be sufficient to bring down a coyote, or would do I need to amp up the load/bullet?

 

[FL-NC]

I assume you meant 1100 FPS. Its a dog, not a moose. The question is, can you call it in close enough to get an accurate shot?

 

[ericuda]

Yes it'll work but unless you are a fantastic marksman the safe range I would recommend would be from 25 to 50 yards. I have had them come right up and behind me and you'll wish you had something with buckshot. I find it more fun and probably more likely that you'll see them coming in at 200+ and a good ar or even better another centerfire with varmit bullets would serve you better.

 

[armoredman]

Sorry, missed a zero there.
Yes, I was planning on close in work. Most of the places we have to hunt out here has a lot of low scrub, and 200 yard shots might be a little harder said than done - I don't know for a fact. Unfortunately, I do not have an AR or similar rifle, so I work with what I have, and I am itching to see if the little CZ pistol can do the job. The 527M/CSR would certainly do the job as well, if I need to, but I wanted the quick follow up shot, as well - apparently these varmints are quick movers and hiders. I don't know, only what I've been told.

 

[ericuda]

Ole coyotes are very smart and you will have a good time. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[jmr40]

At any range where a 9mm would work a 22 rifle or even a shotgun would probably work better. You don't have to own a dedicated varmint rifle. Or do you just want the challenge of doing it with a pistol.

 

[armoredman]

Challenge and fun. But I wanted to make sure I'm using enough to not let the animal suffer.

 

[rcmodel]

I have shot coyotes with a .357 Magnum through the shoulders at 75 yards and had them run off and probably die somewhere else a long ways away.

If you want no suffering, you want massive tissue damage from a HV varmint caliber rifle.

No pistol caliber will reliably drop them in their tracks in my 50 years experience, unless you make a brain or spine shot.

And that is Very hard to do with an accurate Magnum revolver, let alone a 9mm sub-gun wannabe.

IMO: If you can't put all, or most of your shots in an 8" paper plate at 50-75 yards, don't even try it!!

rc

 

[armoredman]

IMO: If you can't put all, or most of your shots in an 8" paper plate at 50-75 yards, don't even try it!!

That much I can say I can do.

https://youtu.be/_bpOOPzs0jg


I've gotten better since then.


So they are tough little beggars, then? Perhaps the 124 gr XTP load - moves 1200 FPS out of the 7.5 inch barrel, high quality hollow point bullet.

 

[rcmodel]

So they are tough little beggars, then?

IMO: There will only be two survivors after WWIII is fought with all out nuclear weapons.

One will be cockroaches.

The other will be Coyotes!

Yes, they don't kill easily with anything less then a high velocity varmint bullet.
Or, a brain or spine shot, or massive damage from a shotgun.

I have killed them with one shot from a .22 at 100 yards. (Lucky spine hit.)
And I have had them run off to die somewhere else after blowing one front leg clear off with a 30-06 HP bullet. (Perfect shoulder shot that blew a front leg pin wheeling into the air.)

The only two calibers I have used in 50 years that gives Bang-Flop no twitch kills are the 22-250, and the 220 Swift.

They kill them DRT, just about every time.

I haven't had as good a 100% DRT ratio with .243, .270, 30-06, 30-30, or 25-06 rifle calibers.
Or any handgun caliber.

Handguns?
You can usually expect a long run out before they realize they were dead 200 yards back and didn't know it yet.

So you often can't find them in thick cover.

PS: I shot one off the back porch of our old farmhouse one winter with a .222 Rem at about 200 yards.
Knocked him down, and he got up running.
Knocked him down two more times running at 250 -300 yards until I ran the Rem 722 dry, and he kept getting back up and running.

I tracked him until the blood trail ran out and never did find him.

I found his bones in our hay field about a 1/4 mile further the next spring while mowing hay!!
Most ribs were broken, and one shoulder joint destroyed.

rc

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

Most coyotes I have killed have been from a deer stand, far away and shot with scoped deer rifles while running.

If I had to use a pistol, I would hunt from a tree stand and hope they couldnt hear me or smell me.

I just ordered a call today. I love coyote hunting. It turns me on much more than deer hunting. Every one I have shot made me feel lucky.

I wouldn't go after them with a pistol. If I saw one in range and had a pistol I would pop it. Most I have killed have been far away, well over a hundred yards.

Hunting for me is expensive and time consuming. I have to drive hours. As I plan on investing the time to do it, I'll stick with my rifle and keep everything in my favor.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

But if you pop it with a 9mm pistol?

Keep popping it until you can't hit it anymore, you run out of ammo, or it falls over and don't get back up.

You might get lucky!!

rc

 

[macgrumpy]

I grew up in Arizona and I can tell you that a 9mm pistol round is not a good choice. And no, hitting an 8" target at any range on a coyote isn't going to work either, for a clean and humane kill you need to be able to hit a kill zone of no more than 4" and even then you need to hit the right spot. A 4" kill zone over the stomach area isn't going to stop a coyote from running in to the brush where you'll never find him. I've hit coyotes with a 110gr Vmax going 3000 fps out of a .308 at 100 yards and still lost the dog. And unless you've got a place where yotes are everywhere I doubt if you'll get a shot any closer than 100 yards, 200 yards is more likely, they'll see or smell you quite a ways out there.

Go with the AR and be ready for running shots, remember to lead them by about a full body length when they are running at top speed at 100 yards, 1 1/2 to 2 body lengths at 200 yards.

 

[TimSr]

I love the extra challenge of hunting with a pistol, but unless you have gotten bored after taking so many with a scoped rifle, the "added challenge" of the pistol for hunting coyotes will just ensure that you never take one.
I'm reading a lot into the OP, but it looks like coyote hunting is itself a new challenge, and it's going to take a heck of a lot more skills to get a coyote into pistol range than a deer.
If anything, use a rifle, take your 9mm along and tell yourself that if they get into range you'll use the pistol. You never will, but it will make you feel better about your choice.
I've taken a lot of deer with pistol, but am marveling at my new 4-16X low light varmint scope I've recently sited in on my Model 70 in 7mm Rem Mag. Every coyote I've seen has been 150yrds+ away. Haven't gotten a shot yet, but I want to be holding the rifle when I get one.

 

[buck460XVR]

I shot one last year with my model 637 .38 special using 125JHPs running about 850fps. My EDC gun and my EDC load. I was turkey hunting and watched him come in to my hen calls and the decoys in front of me. He was about 15 yards away and he went down right on the spot. Time I got out of the blind and got to him he was dead, shot thru the chest. As was said, they are a small, thin skinned dog, not a moose.

 

[armoredman]

Go with the AR

Don't HAVE AR.

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

My friend just bought a Ruger American for 300, brand new. As a quality bolt action rifle, I think it would work great for you as universal hunting rifle.

 

[macgrumpy]

If you're truly concerned with taking a humane shot and all you have a 9mm then you better expect to go for many years before you get a yote. Think about the reality, an iron sighted long barreled pistol has a short sight radius which does nothing to help accuracy. Your video shows that you were able to hit a steel silhouette at 50 yards, that's actually not all that impressive, I can hit a 36" target at 100 yards with my .45 auto more times than not but I certainly wont take it hunting for coyotes. The kill zone on a coyote is about 4" - 5", your steel silhouette is almost 3 times the size of that kill zone just in it's width and closer to 5 times that size in height. If you want to test your ability to hit the kill zone then buy some cantaloupes and toss them on the ground and shoot them from various distances. And remember that in the field you'll probably be in some uncomfortable firing position and your heart will be pounding and you might even be short of short breath so you wont be shooting as well as you do at a gun range at steel targets.

The simple fact is that while some people from the mid-west or back east will tell you about how they had a coyote walk up to them and they dropped it in it's tracks, that's just not the most common experience in the Arizona desert, yes it happens but not very often for most people. There's a reason that guys eventually buy all kinds of calls and cammo - it works. Yes, you can get coyotes without all that stuff but it's just not going to be very productive and you'll have to get used to seeing nothing more times than not. I've sat in a pile of rocks under cover of trees and brush on the side of an arroyo and been spotted by a coyote from over 200 yards away. Calling them in is the only way you will get consistent results, otherwise you will spend a lot of time staring at rock and dirt. When you use a call you will be able to watch that dog come in and circle around, testing the wind and looking for anything that doesn't look right. Normally you'll watch him for 20 or 30 minutes before he gets in range for a humane shot and if the wind shifts or you move or anything changes Mr. yote will run.

 

[SKILCZ]

For an AR, what power scope do you recommend for coyote?

 

[rcmodel]

a 1x-4x variable would be ideal for me.

1x = Wide field of view for close in running shots.
4x = Enough power for 300 yards.

rc

 

[H&Hhunter]

I use a 1.75x6 on an AR.

 

[macgrumpy]

I use a 2.5-8 variable scope. I like the higher power for precision but I can back it off if my target is close in and running.

 

[jmr40]

My coyote hunting experience is limited, but I'll agree, for their size they don't die easily. I saw my BIL made a pretty good heart shot with a 55 gr softpoint 223 round. It was dead within seconds, but made it close to 100 yards in that few seconds. The wound was impressive.

On an AR something with around 1X on the bottom end and at least 4X on the upper end is about ideal for all purpose shooting. More magnification can help some at longer ranges,but you give up the versatility of quick shots up close if you get above 2X on the low end.

The Ruger American is a darn good choice on a tight budget. I have some nice rifles, but bought 2 of these for playing around with. One in 308 and a 2nd in 223. Both are more accurate than a $350 rifle should be and are always my recommendation for folks on a tight budget.

On the other hand, I'm not one to worry too much about humane shots on coyotes. The other coyotes will finish off and eat one if you wound it and don't recover it.

 

[Teachu2]

I've hunted coyotes a bit. They are plentiful in this area, and I actually get them in the back yard of my 5ac place. My favorite chambering is .22-250, and I have a Tikka T3Lite in stainless as a walking gun for 'yotes. They are smart animals, and it's rare to get within 100 yards of them in areas where they have been hunted. My average shot is about 150 yards, except in the back yard where they will come up to about 40 yards.

A 9mm will kill them, but not quickly. So will a .22lr rifle. Or a Buick. I prefer a quick kill, so I use a .22-250 until they get wise, then switch to a .308.

 

[rcmodel]

They would have to get pretty wise to outdistance a 22-250.

My longest one shot coyote kill with one is 517 yards.
77 long paces past a 1/4 mile section line fence.

rc