Coyote ugly

O

Old Shooter

New member
I have a coyote problem at my farm. I've lost a few small animals and I know it's not fox. We have a coyote problem in my area - several others have lost goats.

What caliber do I need to do the job efectively? Seveal people seem to think the .17 will do the job, others have said a .22 mag. I think they are too light but is a 30-30 overkill (parden the pun)? What about a .223?
 
Seveal people seem to think the .17 will do the job
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Which .17? 17HMR or 17HM2 will not, at least not in an ethical manner. 17 Remington? Maybe.

I don't know about .22 Mag. I know people use them frequently, but I am not sure whether I would do so. .223 is fine.

But for coyotes, there is no such thing as overkill.
 
.223 is what i'm going to use up at my parents' farm. they asked i not call them in when they're around, not sure why, so i'm waiting on the opportunity. i've heard 22LR is doable, i'd prefer a magnum round if i'm going with something that small, but you have a lot of leeway. i'd also like to try shooting some of the 55-grain 30-06 accelerators i've got at them too, but that's probably farther down the line, or for long shots i need a scope for.
 
30-30 will do just fine on a Coyote. I made a broadside chest shot on one that dropped like its legs were cut off. The bullet went straight through, 150gr. Core-Lock, and from the looks of the exit wound, did not expand.

I've used a lot of 50gr. VMAX in my .223 for Coyotes, and it works great also.

Don't forget about buckshot, if you can get in close enough. I dropped a couple the other night with 12 pellet S&B, both went down with one shot each.

I stay away from the rimfire rounds for Coyote, I don't have enough confidence in it to do the job, even with perfect shot placement. Most any centerfire round will do the job, if you do yours.
 
centerfire

id use any centerfire round on the market and maaaaaybe the .22mag.

the .17 and .22lr rimfires are IMHO too small or too weak for coyotes.

i loved the .243 for yotes. i hit one a 250 yards and flipped it right over with a 100 grain SP. the .243 will give you reach and power needed for coyotes.
 
For open country, I like the 243 suggestion the best. 223 would be fine! I think that an important question here is how close you think you are going to be shooting at them or how close the neighbor's houses are to your hunting location or property. Night hunting? Lots of close neighbors, I might consider the 22 magnum or a shotgun for close up and personal. Is this for sport or for pure extermination? Like everything else, I would use what I've got.
 
The voice of experience sez that a .223 with a 52- or 55-grain bullet will definitely ruin a coyote at 100 yards. I wouldn't hesitate to take a chest shot out to 200...

A .243 is plumb ruinacious, out to around 250 or 300, using a bullet like the 85-grain Sierra HPBT. Inside 100, it's really gross.

:), Art
 
how close the neighbor's houses are to your hunting location or property
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I have 25 acres surrounded by other farms and a lake that borders the whole left side of my farm. Gun fire is not a problem since I practice a lot for IDPA matches and it's legal to shoot on my property. HOWEVER there is a development at the very back of my place. The last thing I need is to hit a coyote and have it run off and die in someone's backyard.

My shot should be well under 100 yards and I need to drop it in it's tracks. Also, the answer is "yes" - this if for extermination not sport.
 
Any chest-cavity hit will not see a coyote go more than 20 to 50 feet, if he doesn't drop DRT.

Don't sweat the difference--if any--between extermination and sport. Nobody will ever kill the last coyote. Even a full-time highly-experienced professional trapper can only reduce the numbers--not zero out.

:), Art
 
Nobody will ever kill the last coyote.
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Probably not. Native Americans called them the "trickster" for a reason. They're smart, and they learn fast! Along with that, they can live on darned near anything. One thing that surprises me of late is their size. I remember seeing lots of them in AZ in the 70's, and they were small and scrawny. The ones I see today are huge! I also noticed that they seem to roam in bigger packs today. Anybody else notice this?
 
4 of them took down a deer in broad daylight darn close to one of the neighbor's houses out in WI. definitely time to cull the pack. back near chicago i'm starting to see them around the suburbs more, too. i was in a gas station parking lot in the chicago burbs a solid 2-3 miles from the nearest forest preserve, which is across a major highway (I294) at that, and saw a decent sized coyote trot by. i did a double-take thinking it was a stray dog at first, but nope!
 
The problem with the 30/30 is the effective range of about 100 yards.Those wily coyotes may not get that close.I'd think youd have better luck with a flatter shooting gun, .223,.243,.25.06. I think a .17 is a bit light.
 
I've been messing with a couple of .22 Hornets recently

I'd certainly go for a coyote up to about 150 yards with either one. The little .22H has a surprisingly mild report, compared to the bigger varmint rifles and any of the deer rifles. Neighbors who cheerfully accept pistol and shotgun noise sometimes become nervous when you start lighting off a .30'06 or the like. :p

Best,
Johnny
 
My shot should be well under 100 yards and I need to drop it in it's tracks. Also, the answer is "yes" - this if for extermination not sport.
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That sounds like a solid case for the 30/30. The .223 would probably work well, but your 30/30 sounds ideal for these conditions. Throw some accelerators in it if you need to open up the range and you're good to go.

I think the rimfires "could" work, but why use one if "I need to drop it in it's tracks".


JRLaws
 
I would think if hit with anything if not killed he wouldn't come back.A few years ago we were loosing small animals,never saw what was doing it,we have a barnfull of leghold traps but didn't want to catch our animals.Called the county weed And pest,they loaned me a large live trap, had a neighbors dog the next morning, was repaid for the lost animals and the dog was put down.
 
The 30-30 and the .223 will work, the 22 mag is a little light unless the yote is in close and you can be sure of a clean headshot. Capt Charlie you are right about the size. The coyotes here in PA and OH are slightly different from the ones you used to see out west. These eastern beasts have some wolf genes in them and have a Canadian lineage, which account for their larger size, also they cross with dogs and some offspring are huge. I have seen kills in northeast PA that weighed in at over 70 lbs. One of the reasons coyotes are so hard to eliminate is that they are so adaptable and will eat almost anything. Coyotes also have an ingenious survival adaptation. The more stress that a coyote population is under, whether that stress is human pursuit or lack of food and water, the larger the size of their litter. This seems to work very well for them. Most animals that are starving or under alot of stress will abort or have a smaller numbers of young. It is clear that this technique has worked very well, as coyotes have not been eliminated and are expanding their range.
 
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