Other budget friendly coyote whacker

[Ricklin]

At one time I struggled with killing a Coyote simply because I love dogs. Our big house in Cali had a wonderful view with a large open grassy hillside just below my bedroom window. One morning while getting dressed I spied a bunny in the grassy field below. Bunny had no clue a Coyote was stalking him. Old Wiley Coyote is a superb hunter, and an even better eater! We hear of the Coyotes ability to dislocate their mandible and swallow their prey whole. It is another thing entirely to see that scene played out 40-50 feet away. Down the hatch is an understatement, I could see the bunnies legs kicking like crazy as he slid down the Coyotes throat. Like it sure got dark all the sudden....
One of the most graphic displays of "nature" I've seen. No problem since then shooting a Coyote. I would recommend .35 cal and up for old WIley, they are tough survivors and deserve a humane death.

 

[Stubbers]

Opinions are like....ear holes, everybody has em. An animal with a small brain such as coyote could be and has been put down with .22/.25 cals, provided you hit where you aim, and your aim point is the eyeball or ear at the right angle...yes it takes precision, but to say it cannot be done or should not be done, is opinion, not fact.

Anyone can make excuses, what if this, what if that. Those what ifs apply to any and all shots, you can miss the spine / shoulders, you can miss the heart. I wouldn't go shooting any sized game via the thru the eye/ear method but, coyotes definitely, provided its inside 60 yards or so depending on your conditions and ammo.

I've only had 2 coyote sightings in my neighborhood while walking around, one time it was a pack, other time one was alone, and they are far more scared of me and my dog than I am of them, they tuck tail and run, my dog wants to play chase...I could see dispatching them if they're a harm to your animals or farm, but frankly, there are non-lethal options, such as getting a large dog, electric fence, or researching trapping, that way you can give it a stern lecture and re-educate it, joking aside, shooting with larger calibers isn't the only option. I'm not against controlling their population in certain areas or dispatching them if they're an immediate threat, just tossing out other viable options.

I would agree for non eye/ear shot method that larger caliber such as the bulldog .357 is desired, ideally with a round that exhibits good expansion.

-Matt

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Interesting information Bedrock Bob. By chest shot are you talking about a shot to the front of the chest traveling the length of the animal? If so, I have experienced running from squirrels and a bunny shot there. The only two squirrels of the 18 I shot with my P35-25 when it was tuned to 32 fpe that ran at all were shot in the front of the chest. I found the pellet under the skin in the rear. But they ran 10 yards or less. Other 16 just dropped on the spot. Some of the 16 were not all that well placed but still worked out great. I agree front of chest shots are not great in producing DRT results.

You may be totally right about double lung shots on coyotes but I wonder if the size of the hole through the lungs could play a role in the results. It seems it would be easier for a 22 caliber hole to seal up than a 35 caliber hole. But maybe it takes a hole that would be even bigger. Needing to break shoulders is another reason to use a bigger caliber from my point of view. Another one of my P35-25 kills and the only other one that was not a pass through was a shoulder to shoulder shot. Dropped the squirrel on the spot but I was a little surprised two little dinky squirrel shoulders stopped the pellet.

Bingo. You are picking up what I'm laying down.

The bigger the better for an athletic critter. Coyotes are Olympians. Gun up unless you want them dying in the neighbors hedge.

When I say "shoulder shot" I mean in the bones of the shoulder. Preferrably both. To take the animal down and incapacitate.

Realistically the opportunity for a headshot on a coyote is rare. And headshots just don't work for many reasons. The heart is up against the spine in between the shoulders. The lungs are pressed up against the front of the rib cage and only the edges of the lobes extend back into the chest cavity and that is not going to stop them even though it will kill them.

Visualize the bone structure where the front shoulders sit. A hit with enough energy to shatter those bones and drive past into the spine or chest will anchor that animal on the spot. It will kill them dead as often as a "head shot" (which will go bad often and is just unethical on any larger animal in most situations).

I won't take a facing shot on anything except vermin. It's a bad shot with nothing to shoot at. I think I'd pass. He will turn into position.

You can effectively hunt coyotes with a .177 springer if you call them close and have the whole county to track them. But a guy shooting on a few acres that wants to kill a problem pest without involving the neighbors needs to shoot to stop them. Imagine a coyote hit too far back or with his face blown off running through the neighborhood. Realistically that's what a bad shot means in most airgun situations.

I don't hunt coyotes anymore. When I did I used a 243 win. Varmint gun or a .22 pistol for the trapline. I killed several hundred. I sold the hides so i wanted head shots. And i used solid bullets to limit expansion on chest shots. I had enough run offs on solid hits and bad head shots to know an air rifle will have even more.

Shoot as much gun as you can get by with and limit your range to no more than you can break a front shoulder. And unless you have room for them to run after the shot shoot FOR that front shoulder. Get them on the ground. Take a burlap sack to cover them with and smack them with a shovel.

That's my advice and I know a lot of guys think otherwise. And a lot of guys have the situation and skill set to kill coyotes effectively with much less rifle than I would hunt with and I respect that.