Anyone use a ar 15 for really up close coyote hunting?

M

Mogley

New member
I have been trying to set up one of the many shotguns I own for buckshot. 3 are cylinder bore defense shotguns 12 gauge and one other is a 20 gauge 26 inch barrel that does have a remchoke system (870).
I have tried for the 12 gauges, fed vital shock 12guage 2 3/4 00. Remington 41 pellet #4 buck. ( none hit the target at 30 yards....)., winchester super x 00 buck
20 gauge was a 3" #2 load and a spartan 3" #1 buck load.
Best shot 'group' of all the combinations was 6 out of 9 pellets on a 3ft square. the closest together was 18" on that group.
I am frustrated watching youtube videos on how great flitecontrol wads are in cylinder bore shotguns just to watch a couple cut somewhere on paper at 30 yards.

So. it's either buy barrels at 180.00 each or use my ar 15 with maybe a reflex sight and use that for cqc shots ( close quarter coyote) where shotguns are used.. I certainly can't do any worse.
Anyone else been down this trail?
To be clear, I am healthy and don;t suffer from convulsions while shooting, So i don't thinks it's me. and yes I am not legally blind.
 
You can have one of your defense barrels threaded for choke tubes for about $50. and get tubes for about $30 each.

Yes you can use the AR, spend some time mounting your rifle and target acquisition from a sitting position.
 
AR is the only thing I use. 16 or 18 inch barrel and a mag with 5 rounds. Don't use a 30 round mag. It gets in the way. I have shot yotes from 10 ft to 200 yards. As for a scope. Use one of those 1X4 Bushnell or Nikon's made for AR's. They are quick on target.
 
If you are in brush(grouse/woodcock cover) the AR(any rifle) pretty much useless. Going to be tough to get a rifle bullet that can strike even a twig at 50' and stay together and hit where aimed.
 
The 1187, 870, and mossberg 500 are all fixed cylinder bore. My 20 gauge has rem chokes and I’ve tried mod,full and
Turkey chokes in it. The 12 gauges are awesome because of the 18.5”
Barrels and have slings. I just put a six position stock and pistol grip on the mossberg
It’s the marine version nickel I think.
Gun places are few and far between here that can do it but if I could find someone to thread a barrel for 50 that would be great.
 
A short barrel AR w/any low power optic will get 'er done just fine. You'll miss a few, especially the really close ones, but thick cover will break up a shotgun pattern, as well.

Dealer's choice, but I can't bring myself to limit my range to 40 yards or so.

Regards,
hm
 
I have shot coyotes at 50 ft or a little less. I did conscientiously try to account for scope height above the barrel.
 
Being close is why I thought of using a reflex sight. Way long eye relief. Should be able to shoot both eyes open. I've only had cheap ones before. So limited experience and never shooting yotes with one. I do know things make a lot more sense behind a keyboard and usually work differently when put into practice in the heat of the moment.. That's why I ask here from you guys that have more experience. Thanks for all your input so far. I'm gonna keep shooting....... You know to justify the 12 boxes of different ammo I just bought. And start looking for competent gunsmiths
 
I have a friend that uses an 870/20g for turkey hunting. He whacks them a long ways out. I'm not sure what choke he uses but I know he kills a lot of turkeys with it. Maybe you just haven't found the right combination yet.
 
I had my 20" defense Mossberg 500 barrel threaded for choke tubes. I believe it was about $100 after shipping there and back. I like it and because of the longer magazine tube, was my best option. If you have the normal 6 shell tube, you can just buy a threaded barrel for about $180.
 
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If you want to watch lots of close action coyote hunting check out the [beeep] game calls YouTube videos. Almost exclusively all shot with shotguns. I’ve killed coyotes called in inside the woods but not like those guys.

Edit. The name got beeped out?? It was M F K( I added spaces this time)
 
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Originally Posted By: MogleyI have been trying to set up one of the many shotguns I own for buckshot. 3 are cylinder bore defense shotguns 12 gauge and one other is a 20 gauge 26 inch barrel that does have a remchoke system (870).
I have tried for the 12 gauges, fed vital shock 12guage 2 3/4 00. Remington 41 pellet #4 buck. ( none hit the target at 30 yards....)., winchester super x 00 buck
20 gauge was a 3" #2 load and a spartan 3" #1 buck load.
Best shot 'group' of all the combinations was 6 out of 9 pellets on a 3ft square. the closest together was 18" on that group.
I am frustrated watching youtube videos on how great flitecontrol wads are in cylinder bore shotguns just to watch a couple cut somewhere on paper at 30 yards.

So. it's either buy barrels at 180.00 each or use my ar 15 with maybe a reflex sight and use that for cqc shots ( close quarter coyote) where shotguns are used.. I certainly can't do any worse.
Anyone else been down this trail?
To be clear, I am healthy and don;t suffer from convulsions while shooting, So i don't thinks it's me. and yes I am not legally blind.


I wouldn't recommend using a "defense" shotgun for coyotes. Cylinder bore is good for ranges inside a house. As far as YouTube vids, you have to be careful, it's not hard to "edit" those.

As for your 20 ga, I wouldn't run that either. I tried a 20 ga only to find out that there just isn't enough shot in the air.

I run chokes in ALL of my shotguns. I run an IC extended choke for up close, out to about 30 yards. I run a Dead Coyote or XX-Full turkey choke (.660-.670 constriction) for father out distances, 30-50 yards. The longest kill I got with my shotgun was a coyote at 68 yards with #4 buckshot and 78 with Dead Coyote T-shot loads.

Mostly I am looking at about a 25% hit ratio as acceptable. Now, this weekend we took 3 foxes from 30-40 yards and they all took more than the 25%

So I would recommend finding a threaded barrel for your 12 gauges.

Now as for using an AR for up close, it will work. Using something like a dot or reflex sight or even a 1X scope will do just fine. But there are limitations. Like when they are farther out, you might run into drop issues. For me, it was getting them too close. I found that I didn't have enough aim points to use them inside of 30 yards.

But I have used AR's in a variety of calibers when getting up close and personal. You will need to practice, no matter what you decide to go with. One projectile in the air certainly has a higher possibility of a miss. But throwing a load of shot is still NO guaranty of a hit either.
 
I have a Burris Fastfire 3 mounted on a 45 degree offset Warne mount for close shots. Similar to how some competition run 'n gunners do it. It's zero'd at 25 yards and the POI is basically +/- 1inch from 15-50 yards. Anything further gets the scope. I have yet to use it on a stand, so it's not as useful as I had imagined.

32997387428_c2892df497_c.jpg
 
Well I measured the bore of my intended use guns most were .730 one was .725 diameter
I tried a model twelve I have with a full choke barrel and a rem 1100 with a skeet barrel
And then put a modified barrel on n it. Way obvious that those federal v shock buckshot loads require a modified to
Full choke to shoot good. I finally got patterns that gave me confidence.
However I am not going in the snow with my high blue fiddleback model twelve either!
So I ordered a Carlson 870 12 gauge barrel with all three chokes. $211. Delivered. Guess I am going to use those earned credit card points!

Now I will have a twelve gauge that is short easy to sling and swing and can be choked to
Whatever I need. From crows to close coyotes.
 
I went with an EOTech HS1 system on my AR15. It has the 3X flip to the side magnifier which you can use for longer shots 300 yards out. But for up close you simply push the magnifier off to the side and shoot with both eyes open using the EOTech EXPS3-4.

I wanted to be able to shoot a coyote that got in close or one that hung up at 300 yards. Now I can do both. Just have to make sure that you site in the EOTech before you go out hunting if there is a big temperature change. The POI can get off by 4 MOA if you sight the weapon in at 90 deg F in the hot summer months and go hunting when it's below zero outside. A few degrees of temperature change is not going to throw off the POI very much. And at close range
 
Using a 1-4/1-6 scope with an illuminated dot works much the same, keep it on 1x and shoot with both eyes open and it is like shooting a red dot, turn the power ring up and your good to 300+ yards.

With a 1.5-6x40mm w/illuminated dot

ISBoJk.jpg

 
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Originally Posted By: Coyotehunter_
Just have to make sure that you site in the EOTech before you go out hunting if there is a big temperature change. The POI can get off by 4 MOA if you sight the weapon in at 90 deg F in the hot summer months and go hunting when it's below zero outside. A few degrees of temperature change is not going to throw off the POI very much. And at close range
 
I like my 16" AR with a 1-4x Trijicon Accupoint scope for spots where I think shots will be close but want some reach. It is slower than my 20" AR by about 250fps with 55gr bullets but it's accurate. I might go to heavier bullets in it for thick stuff in the future.

As far as shotguns I seldom carry one hunting solo, but do in some real tight spots. Hunting with a friend, one of us takes my short AR and the other a shotgun in tighter cover.

I had issues with my 870 turkey gun wanting to throw every coyote load I tried through it really high no matter what choke I used. I ended up buying a 20" barrel from Midway with rifle sights. I'd already invested in a Carlsons coyote choke for the Remington. Dead Coyote loads pattern great from this barrel/choke and I adjusted the sights to make the pattern center where I want it at 40 yards. If you can't find a better option I'd try a barrel with sturdy adjustable sights.
 
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