I think it comes down to the distance at what you will be shooting at and the terrain you are hunting. For shooting longer distances, fast, small bore centerfire rifles are still the best, if there is enough room behind the target, not only to compensate for a miss or pass thru, but for any ricochet off frozen ground. I hunt coyotes in farm country in Wisconsin. Most farms are 120-160 acres. Many of these farms are intertwined with smaller 20-40 acre parcels of hobby farms or homes of folks just wanting to live out in the country. That means you can see a barn or house from just about anywhere or know that there's one just over the hill in virtually any direction. The pastures between those buildings contain cattle and horses. This is why I usually use either .17HMR or a shotgun.....or both. Last few years most of my dogs have been taken down with the shotguns at ranges of 40 yards or less. Out to 100 yards, the little .17 works well. Never found 'yotes that hard to kill when hit in the boiler room. Even @ 40 yards, #4 turkey loads penetrate the body cavity. while they may go 30 yards, it generally ain't hard to find 'em. Anything more than 100 yards or so, I generally will pass on and try to coax closer. This can be tough when calling educated animals, but for me the safety concerns outweigh the need to kill. Last coupla years, I have been takin' the 77/44. It packs a little more punch than the faster rimfire, but even it's extreme range when fired parallel to the ground is limited enough, that concerns of what lies 100 yards beyond the far hill is not a factor. When 'yotes get educated to calls, if one has the time, trapping can be an effective method also, especially late in the season when young males are out looking for new territory.
