Latest coyote killer....

[RoyJackson]

Very nice rifle...one question though...why 5.56 rather then a larger caliber?
Just curious...

 

[westcliffe01]

Brin, take a look at the pictures in this thread:
Michigan Predator Hunting - Some random pics from last year

There is a mixture of coyotes and wolves. The wolves are released when the snares are checked every day. This is the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Bear in mind that up north, the body mass of most animals is towards the top end for every species, it is needed to survive the harsh winters.

Roy, I will be selling my Varmint Remington 700 223 and will only have this one in future. Cost is a major factor. 243 and 308 are significantly more expensive to reload. And I have a 308 on the way, a TC Icon. We are not allowed to use rifles on deer in this part of the state, so the only thing we are allowed to shoot is "small game" as they call it. Thus no great motivation to get larger caliber rifles at this point. When I do make the move to Colorado, I will be taking a 7mm WSM along with me for sure...

 

[arrow]

Very nice rifle...one question though...why 5.56 rather then a larger caliber?
Just curious...

Roy, 223 is all you need for coyotes. He's not taking much more than a 200 yd shot and i've seen coyote taken to 350 yds with a 223. Also some states will not allow certain size calibers during other hunting seasons. For instance in my state. One cannot use larger than a .229 caliber in centerfire if its deer season (one cannot or is supposed to not shoot a criminal in your house unless your path of escape is blocked either so, so much for the one's making the gun rules around here.)

 

[RoyJackson]

Roy, 223 is all you need for coyotes. He's not taking much more than a 200 yd shot and i've seen coyote taken to 350 yds with a 223. Also some states will not allow certain size calibers during other hunting seasons. For instance in my state. One cannot use larger than a .229 caliber in centerfire if its deer season (one cannot or is supposed to not shoot a criminal in your house unless your path of escape is blocked either so, so much for the one's making the gun rules around here.)

OK....thanks for the answer, to both you and westcliffe01...

I am a fan of 5.56/.223...not a hunter though (don't care for the taste of game meat).

 

[westcliffe01]

Brin, I assure you that there are plenty of non "mangy looking" coyotes out there. Yours probably looked like the bottom pic ?

Ok Pine...these must have been Red Wolves then because they were far from mangy...They were both handsome animals as you have said...they glistened..no collars by the way...so again, I am convinced they were not K -9's and since they were not the least bit mangy and sure not foxes...then Wolf it is....if they mess with my Dog...they will ride to glory..

 

[brin]

Brin, I assure you that there are plenty of non "mangy looking" coyotes out there. Yours probably looked like the bottom pic ?

You nailed it...the very bottom picture is exactly what they looked like....wolf - coyote...wolf - coyote....wold ---coyote... I now say they were coyotes ...if I shoot one..I will post a picture.

 

[westcliffe01]

Arrow, in post #1 I stated my issue with wind drift over 250 yards. So I am shooting to 350 yards and I am well aware that a 243 will perform better at that range. If I am going to own a 223 it may as well be one that can shoot the heavier high BC bullets, since there are no prairie dogs in this part of the country (not that I have seen anyhow)..

It is 150 yards from my blind to the "near" side of the draw that they use to get across the property, 250 to the far side and 350 yards is where the slope ends and the flat land starts. I positioned my blind for the best visibility over the terrain and it also overlooks the primary grazing area of the sheep. Coyotes are pretty tough and the vital area is pretty small. I'm not getting into esoteric equipment so I don't have any of the magnum type 22's with all of their issues (and benefits). I think that for the critter, it is a pretty good fit. If I did not already have all the reloading dies etc, I may have gone with a 22-250 which is not too extreme, but already more expensive to reload and having a shorter barrel life.

Roy, 223 is all you need for coyotes. He's not taking much more than a 200 yd shot and i've seen coyote taken to 350 yds with a 223. Also some states will not allow certain size calibers during other hunting seasons. For instance in my state. One cannot use larger than a .229 caliber in centerfire if its deer season (one cannot or is supposed to not shoot a criminal in your house unless your path of escape is blocked either so, so much for the one's making the gun rules around here.)

 

[westcliffe01]

For those not familiar with them, coyotes have pretty effective dental apparatus. Read about coyote attacks on people here: Coyote Attacks on Children

Just in general, Varmint Al's website is a great read. He was an engineer that worked on secret projects for the government/military in California. Sounds like his life has been an adventure...

 

[brin]

For those not familiar with them, coyotes have pretty effective dental apparatus. Read about coyote attacks on people here: Coyote Attacks on Children

Just in general, Varmint Al's website is a great read. He was an engineer that worked on secret projects for the government/military in California. Sounds like his life has been an adventure...

Yikes ! Those are some incisors for sure...nothing good can come from a meeting with those teeth...

By the way westcliffe01...thanks again for letting me intrude on your thread with my questions about coyotes...

 

[westcliffe01]

Roy, try something other than Buck meat and you need to know what happened from the time before the animal was shot to the time it was slaughtered. I have only shot does and they get gutted out in the field and hung to cool and bleed out. If the weather is not cold, they have to be skinned and dressed right away. Far too many people make bad shots, the animal may take a long time to die with elevated adrenalin, then the "trophy" gets paraded around for hours before it is even gutted etc etc.

By the way, my wife refuses to eat game also.

OK....thanks for the answer, to both you and westcliffe01...

I am a fan of 5.56/.223...not a hunter though (don't care for the taste of game meat).

 

[RobertBrown]

Roy, try something other than Buck meat and you need to know what happened from the time before the animal was shot to the time it was slaughtered. I have only shot does and they get gutted out in the field and hung to cool and bleed out. If the weather is not cold, they have to be skinned and dressed right away. Far too many people make bad shots, the animal may take a long time to die with elevated adrenalin, then the "trophy" gets paraded around for hours before it is even gutted etc etc.

By the way, my wife refuses to eat game also.

Also, like beef, some cuts are much better than others and should be cooked accordingly. Most people that have venison given to them get the parts that are, well, less desirable.
Deer is lean and not very forgiving if cooked for a long time. A shoulder that is over cooked is going to have a strong flavor. Same for parts of the ham. You need to know this when choosing a cooking method. Some parts are only really used for sausage or chili. Sometimes mixed with pork or pork fat.
I've got used to the meat and know what to expect. I keep the horseradish and Heinz 57 sauce handy :laughing:.

 

[JRobyn]

Hi Westcliffe,

In your bullet lineup, there is a potentially good contender missing! Remington makes a 64 grain "Power Soft Point". I figured that this would be a very good bullet for coyote - relatively heavy for .223 and shouldn't expand TOO violently to rip up potentially nice hides. I bought 1000 of them, but haven't yet tried any load workups with them. Hopefully my mini-14 (1-9 twist) likes them. I'll let you know if I ever get time to try them!

- Jay

 

[westcliffe01]

Jay, thanks for the suggestion. Since I have been shooting 55gr and have experience with it, I am trying to expand the envelope as much as possible. The 75gr represents a nearly 50% mass increase and an improvement in BC from 0.255 to 0.395. If I could have gone with the 75gr Amax it would be 0.435. The Berger bullets are 75gr 0.423, 80gr 0.445. But the Amax and VLD's will need a 7 or 8 twist.

Ballistics differ as follows:
55gr Vmax 250yd zero 100yd +2.4" 10mph wind drift = 1.1" V = 2843 Energy = 987ftlb MV 3240 fps ME 1282ftlb
200yd +2.1" = 4.7" V = 2479 Energy = 750ftlb
300yd -3.8" = 11.3" V = 2143 Energy = 561ftlb
400yd -17.3" = 21.7" V = 1835 Energy = 411ftlb

75gr hptb 250yd zero 100yd +3.1" 10mph wind drift = 0.8" V = 2554 Energy = 1068ftlb MV 2790 fps ME 1296ftlb
200yd +2.6" = 3.5" V = 2331 Energy = 905ftlb
300yd -4.3" = 8.4" V = 2118 Energy = 747ftlb
400yd -19.0" = 15.7" V = 1912 Energy = 618ftlb

Of course 400 yards is not regarded as "serious"long range yet, but with 20-30mph wind and gusts, the wind can be a major factor in hitting a little 4"vital region on a coyote. By 300 yards, the heavier bullet is delivering close to 50% more energy than the lighter one.

 

[westcliffe01]

Well, last Sunday the Savage got its first coyote with the 75gr match ammo. I missed one twice on Sat morning because I had the rifle sighted in for 250 yard zero, since that is the average range in the "draw" that they generally come down. With the 250 yard zero, the gun shoots close to 3" high between about 80-120 yards, so as I discovered, unless you compensate all you end up doing is parting the hair on their backs...

Anyway, it was a brutal hit from the match bullet at about 115 yards. Pinhole entry wound and then immediate tumbling with a huge (over 1") exit wound out the other side and about a 2" permanent wound canal. Textbook definition for "dead right there".

I skinned it out, but didn't do the best job on the parting line up the middle. I discovered that the gut hook on my browning knife is about useless the way it comes from the factory, no way even a big guy like me can pull that through a thin skinned critter like a coyote.

I had never prepped a skull before, but got a small turkey frying pot in stainless steel and boiled it in that for about 4 hours. I think next time I will cut down the time a bit.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the skull and some of its dental apparatus.

 

[westcliffe01]

Final product after some bleaching and just a little sunlight: