I finally tagged my coyote #8 but...

[Vetmx]

On tough animals, I have become a follow up shot guy also. Like BlackICE was saying and I feel the same, once you eclipse 30 caliber, things change. There is a noticeable difference between it and my .25. More substantial than the difference between my .22 and .25. If you’re going to have a designated coyote gun, make it a .30+, mine is. I use a RTI P2 .30.

 

[Max115]

Yes, higher calibre will be better to dispatch these tough animal. There is added cost with the new gun so I will have to think about it. I will continue with my setup until I run into problems again. But rest assure that I wouldn't make the same mistake again with taking only one shot.

Thank you all for chiming in. This was definitely an unforgettable hunt I wouldn't soon forget.

 

[tunzuf]

Weird things happen that's hunting. Ask any bird hunter most at some point have opened their game bag and had a bird fly away. Bottom line less than perfect shot. On tape and in your mind it all looked perfect but for some reason it was not. Who knows why ? Little hint if you head shoot what ever and it drops will little or no flopping be suspicious, usually scrambling the brain or brain stem is followed by a gymnastics routine. But even that is not always the case. A head shot usually produces a lot of blood if it was not present where the dog layed for some time good indication you did not produce a hole in the skull. But coyote fur is like a sponge so who knows. I will say this if I was doing what you are, i would not be useing a small caliber air gun to do it.

 

[Max115]

Weird things happen that's hunting. Ask any bird hunter most at some point have opened their game bag and had a bird fly away. Bottom line less than perfect shot. On tape and in your mind it all looked perfect but for some reason it was not. Who knows why ? Little hint if you head shoot what ever and it drops will little or no flopping be suspicious, usually scrambling the brain or brain stem is followed by a gymnastics routine. But even that is not always the case. A head shot usually produces a lot of blood if it was not present where the dog layed for some time good indication you did not produce a hole in the skull. But coyote fur is like a sponge so who knows. I will say this if I was doing what you are, i would not be useing a small caliber air gun to do it.

Yes, strange things can happen in middle of the night, lol. I agree with you my .22 calibre is not ideal for this type of shooting, but this was my eighth coyote that I had dropped and killed with the same gun. All except this one I guess. I definitely learned a hard lesson. There will be follow up shots in the future. Thank you for your input.

 

[davelarson]

Great video Max, I think you nailed it good.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the slug didn’t preform right somehow, maybe it just passed through the head without doing the major damage that they usually do.
I think it’s a dead yote even if you didn’t find it.
My very first buck was shot at 50 yards in the lungs with a 7MM magnum and the shot was perfect, I even saw hair fly off the right place.
When I got to where the buck was supposed to be all I found was the hair that came off.
I looked and looked for blood for a couple hours but couldn’t find any.
It was bewildering.
Long story short my brother found it a couple days later within 30 yards of where it was hit.
Magpies were feeding on it.
When he walked up and the birds flew off he still couldn’t see it!
It had piled up in a huge sagebrush and slid under it with its back blending into the sagebrush.
What happened was I chose the wrong bullet and it didn’t expand, just zipped through the lungs without the usual damage.
Your video reminded me of that hunt, very bewildering!
Perhaps it recovered enough to stagger off and die nearby somewhere.
It certainly looked like a good shot, I think you got him.
Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to #9 too.
Keep up the good work.

 

[Max115]

Great video Max, I think you nailed it good.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the slug didn’t preform right somehow, maybe it just passed through the head without doing the major damage that they usually do.
I think it’s a dead yote even if you didn’t find it.
My very first buck was shot at 50 yards in the lungs with a 7MM magnum and the shot was perfect, I even saw hair fly off the right place.
When I got to where the buck was supposed to be all I found was the hair that came off.
I looked and looked for blood for a couple hours but couldn’t find any.
It was bewildering.
Long story short my brother found it a couple days later within 30 yards of where it was hit.
Magpies were feeding on it.
When he walked up and the birds flew off he still couldn’t see it!
It had piled up in a huge sagebrush and slid under it with its back blending into the sagebrush.
What happened was I chose the wrong bullet and it didn’t expand, just zipped through the lungs without the usual damage.
Your video reminded me of that hunt, very bewildering!
Perhaps it recovered enough to stagger off and die nearby somewhere.
It certainly looked like a good shot, I think you got him.
Thanks for sharing! I’m looking forward to #9 too.
Keep up the good work.

Thank you Dave for sharing your buck story. Yes, bewildering indeed. I am still puzzled and in disbelief that this had happened to me. But at least I have the shot recorded and I can assume, at least logically, that it simply ran away after waking up. Cheers.

 

[LDP]

Watching the video at .25 speed I would say the shots a little too far back also add in if the pellet hit higher than crosshairs its possible the pellet didnt hit any significant brain tissue. If you watch it at .25 speed the position of the head is also angled toward you its not completely broadside at least appears not to be.
I took this screen shot just before the shot goes off. The crosshairs might be slightly higher and slightly farther back at the trigger pull but even in this pic I would say too far back for optimal shot placement.
The red line looks to be the back edge of the skull. The yellow mark at your first hash mark of the reticle shows how little of the brain cavity the projectile would have passed thru if it hit where the first hash mark is even if it didn't deflect at all. The green mark is where I personally would have placed my shot.

Its easy to armchair this shot after the fact so dont take my opinion bad. This was a shot that needed to be quick and sometimes it may not be ideal. One of two things happened. First possibility is my judgement on shot placement is correct and it wasnt a lethal incapacitating hit and the yote shook it off and ran away. Second possibility is the yote did die and his buddy ran off with the body. Depending on the ground hardness and how the other yote took the body you may not see much disturbance.

 

[JimD]

I am not a coyote hunter, never had the opportunity. But there is a large raccoon that visits occasionally and if I get a shot on it I would use my 50 fpe 25 and try for a head shot but also dump one into the chest even if it goes down from the head shot. 50 fpe is not much for a 30lb or better animal and I can afford to "waste" a pellet. But I agree, the coyote looked dead after your first shot.

 

[Max115]

Watching the video at .25 speed I would say the shots a little too far back also add in if the pellet hit higher than crosshairs its possible the pellet didnt hit any significant brain tissue. If you watch it at .25 speed the position of the head is also angled toward you its not completely broadside at least appears not to be.
I took this screen shot just before the shot goes off. The crosshairs might be slightly higher and slightly farther back at the trigger pull but even in this pic I would say too far back for optimal shot placement.
The red line looks to be the back edge of the skull. The yellow mark at your first hash mark of the reticle shows how little of the brain cavity the projectile would have passed thru if it hit where the first hash mark is even if it didn't deflect at all. The green mark is where I personally would have placed my shot.
View attachment 447110
Its easy to armchair this shot after the fact so dont take my opinion bad. This was a shot that needed to be quick and sometimes it may not be ideal. One of two things happened. First possibility is my judgement on shot placement is correct and it wasnt a lethal incapacitating hit and the yote shook it off and ran away. Second possibility is the yote did die and his buddy ran off with the body. Depending on the ground hardness and how the other yote took the body you may not see much disturbance.

Thank you for your in-depth analysis and I appreciate your honest input. Yes, lots of possibility as to what had happened.

I have reviewed and investigated multiple times wth this clip during post production and I couldn't see exactly where the slug had entered due to the lighting and lack of clarity at the point of impact. But either way, it was something to think about and ponder upon. All in all, it was still an exciting hunt nevertheless. My heart got a great workout and a great memory I wouldn't soon to forget.

Hopefully you guys enjoy this amazing hunt as well. Thank you.

 

[Max115]

I am not a coyote hunter, never had the opportunity. But there is a large raccoon that visits occasionally and if I get a shot on it I would use my 50 fpe 25 and try for a head shot but also dump one into the chest even if it goes down from the head shot. 50 fpe is not much for a 30lb or better animal and I can afford to "waste" a pellet. But I agree, the coyote looked dead after your first shot.

Yes, I will double or even triple tap on the next one just to make sure, lol.

 

[LDP]

Thank you for your in-depth analysis and I appreciate your honest input. Yes, lots of possibility as to what had happened.

I have reviewed and investigated multiple times wth this clip during post production and I couldn't see exactly where the slug had entered due to the lighting and lack of clarity at the point of impact. But either way, it was something to think about and ponder upon. All in all, it was still an exciting hunt nevertheless. My heart got a great workout and a great memory I wouldn't soon to forget.

Hopefully you guys enjoy this amazing hunt as well. Thank you.

Youre welcome. Just my thoughts and I could be totally wrong. Not every shot will go as planned. The best we can do is try for the best shot at the right time and if it doesnt work out we can just study the shot based on the info available and try to improve anything we feel was off on the shot.

 

[LDP]

I am not a coyote hunter, never had the opportunity. But there is a large raccoon that visits occasionally and if I get a shot on it I would use my 50 fpe 25 and try for a head shot but also dump one into the chest even if it goes down from the head shot. 50 fpe is not much for a 30lb or better animal and I can afford to "waste" a pellet. But I agree, the coyote looked dead after your first shot.

I have taken down 5 coons with two of them being large with a 18 fpe .22. All head shots all dead right there. 50 fpe is more than enough for a head shop as long as its put in the right spot.

 

[Max115]

@LDP. I did some more in-depth video analysis again. Please have a look at this short clip and see what I don't see, lol. There was no possible way to trace the slug path in this clip. Low light and fast moving projectile (968fps) didn't help either.

cheers.

 

[LDP]

I did some more in-depth video analysis again. Please have a look at this short clip and see what I don't see, lol. There was no possible way to trace the slug path in this clip

Yes the fact it was such short range makes it hard to see where exactly the slug hits. Its not that I see something different than you. My opinion based on the position of the animal and the exact location of the cross hairs is just a possible explanation as to why the coyote may have been able to regain itself and move off. Its obvious in the vid that the slug made contact. The big question is did it hit a part of the brain that would have completely incapacitated the yote. Remember there are areas of the brain that can be damaged and not incapacitate an animal. This shot looks to be in line to hit a very small portion of the top side and rear of the brain but not at the brain stem. Again just my opinion.

I say that because the crosshairs are at the most rearward portion of the skull and thats obvious in the video. With the position of the head and the aim point it wouldnt take much of a poi shift from the poa to cause a non total incapacitation. As I said looking at my still image the shot doesnt need to drift up by much to only hit the very top of the skull. That could happen due to a flyer from that slug or it could happen from hitting a heavy enough spot of skull thats rounded causing the slug to deflect. Deflection happens all the time on skulls. I hit a columbian ground squirrel with 65 fpe in the head and the pellet was deflected leaving the squirrel moving erratic from the trauma to its brain from the shock of the hit but not incapacitated. The pellet never entered the skull it only fractured it and I have it on video somewhere in my files. So yes a yotes skull is plenty hard enough to cause deflection even with the setup you are using. I have also witnessed similar hits where the animal looks like its drt and not breathing. When you get close to the animal its breathing but so shallow its almost undetectable and your video is not still enough or staying on target long enough to really see if theres any movement no matter how slight it can be.

I stand by my original opinion that the shot may have been far enough back and high enough to not incapacitate the animal. I can be wrong and the yote may have been drt. If I am wrong and it was in fact drt then another yote carried it off. I dont believe some super natural being removed the yote. If anyone can show me clear video evidence of anything even remotely like that happening I will change my mind.

This post reminds me of the many posts you see here when people swear tree squirrels dont die from head shots. They all die from properly placed headshots. The problem is its a very small area thats actually immediately lethal and if that switch isnt hit anything can happen.

You can take my opinion and think about my points on this shot and try to imagine how it could happen this way and try to learn from this experience. Or you can dismiss it and move on. I am not saying I am with out a doubt correct but I know one thing for sure if the kill switch was hit that yote would still be laying there if like you said theres no way it was carried off.

Sry for the long winded rant I hope you get another chance at another yote and post up the video. Getting a yote or a fox with my airgun is a bucket list kill that one day I would like to complete. Good luck on your future hunts and continue to post up videos for us to enjoy.

 

[Max115]

Thank you LDP. I am open to any comments or opinions, especially those differ than my own. That is why I posted this video showing the whole event as it played out without skipping out the surprising ending. I want to keep it as real as it has happened, at least to my knowledge.

I don't believe in supernatural either, at least I am hoping that was not the case, lol. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this strange but fascinating hunt.

 

[LDP]

Thank you LDP. I am open to any comments or opinions, especially those differ than my own. That is why I posted this video showing the whole event as it played out without skipping out the surprising ending. I want to keep it as real as it has happened, at least to my knowledge.

I don't believe in supernatural either, at least I am hoping that was not the case, lol. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this strange but fascinating hunt.

I completely agree with you. I like to hear others opinions when something doesnt seem to be right or has a different outcome than it looks like it should. I am glad you didnt take my post wrong as it was intended to just give my opinion for some possibilities and in no way was meant to say anything negative about what happened. I always say anything can happen and in this instance something did happen we just cant say without a doubt what it was. Thanks for posting and I look forward to the next one.

 

[hushpuppy]

My first thought after watching the video was I need to get a bigger gun if I want to go after coyotes with an air rifle. a .30 cal, at least. with good velocity and 75fpe. or more. I guess this should be a no brainer as I have seen coyotes run off after being rolled by what looked like a good solid hit with a 223
but a miss is still a miss with a ,22 or a .45 it happens.
I have to agree with above comments you knocked him out and then he got up and ran off.
Sure looked like a clean kill shot though. I would have felt comfortable at 20 yards or less with that shot.
Thanks for great Vid and follow up analysis.
keep 'em coming.
I will learn from this and consider a quick double tap to the chest as a follow up on bigger game, pellets being cheap compared to the prospect of a wounded/ lost animal.
If and when the chance presents itself.

 

[LDP]

My first thought after watching the video was I need to get a bigger gun if I want to go after coyotes with an air rifle. a .30 cal, at least

I can say with certainty a .22 cal pcp tuned to 30 fpe would cleanly take a yote with a shot to the brain. Thats enough energy to penetrate the skull but it also requires exact shot placement. Every one has to determine if they can always put the shot exactly where it needs to go and at what range can they do it at according to fpe being used. The hunter also has to be willing to pass up shots that are not ideal at that power level and possibly miss getting a good shot and letting the yote walk. The more power you bring the more options you have available for clean killing shots. IF you cant stick to those strict rules its probably best to bring enough gun that will allow for vital chest shots as its a much bigger target and can be hit from multiple angles. Double taps never hurt anyone other than the target

 

[hushpuppy]

I can say with certainty a .22 cal pcp tuned to 30 fpe would cleanly take a yote with a shot to the brain. Thats enough energy to penetrate the skull but it also requires exact shot placement. Every one has to determine if they can always put the shot exactly where it needs to go and at what range can they do it at according to fpe being used. The hunter also has to be willing to pass up shots that are not ideal at that power level and possibly miss getting a good shot and letting the yote walk. The more power you bring the more options you have available for clean killing shots. IF you cant stick to those strict rules its probably best to bring enough gun that will allow for vital chest shots as its a much bigger target and can be hit from multiple angles. Double taps never hurt anyone other than the target

I cant argue with any of that.

 

[JimD]

If you want a relatively inexpensive 30 or 357 caliber PCP the M60B is available in those calibers. It will not have the power of a FX or other "premium" airgun but it should be over 50 fpe in these bigger calibers. I think the 357 caliber owners are reporting over 100 fpe.