Handgun hunting coyotes...

N

NMGuy

New member
Do we have anyone here who does it?

What do you use?

I was thinking about trying a 7.5” S&w 629 in .44 mag. Gives me maybe 100-150 good yards from a shooting stick. More than enough to cover 60% of my shots I get. I can shoot further and make hits but 150 is the furthest I can land all 6 in a row.
 
I tried a few sets with an XD 9mm last year in place of my shotgun. It must have been bad luck b/c the next set I made without out was successful. I'd say use whatever you got within reason. I doubt a .22 would be a good choice contrary to what some think.
 
Wow, .22 mag is a little light IMO. We get some good size yotes out here. Last time they were all heavier than my Brittany pup and he is 31lbs now.

I was thinking .357 mag would be perfect but my only .357’s are a 686+ 4” and a 640 pro with like a 2” tube. The .44 has the option for a scope and leupold makes a nice 2-8 power. The .44 mag is enough for elk inside archery range so I know it will drop a yote.

I may buy the .44 and give it a try!
 
I've shot a few with my 7.62x25 Tokarev. I thought I was pretty good until I went and called in 5 and emptied the pistol and dropped 0 coyotes. I figured a shotgun or AR or pretty much anything is better than a pistol in some scenarios.Lol....Haven't tried that since.

A scoped pistol chambered in a rifle cartridge gets my vote.
 
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i have always wanted to hunt yotes with either a TC or a xp100 in 221 fireball. sadly living in canada means that will never happen
 
Just about any good defensive caliber with a high quality hollow point will get it done. I have used the 9mm, and my partner has used his .40 cal with success. Corbons, Golden Sabers, just about any top shelf defensive load will work. You don't have to run anything too big to take down a 20-30lb coyote.
 
I use an S&W model 57 w/6”bbl & a cheap red dot. Shooting a near max load of 4227 under a Bitterroot 250gr FP, it’s death out to 150 yds or so. Shoots thru them side-to-side or end-to-end. At most they take 4-5 steps. Caliber-size entry & usually a 45 cal exit - VERY fur friendly. Try it, you’ll like it!
 
Originally Posted By: NMGuyWow, .22 mag is a little light IMO. We get some good size yotes out here. Last time they were all heavier than my Brittany pup and he is 31lbs now. If you think your southwest coyotes are big then your probably going to need a 500 s&w to hunt our northeast coyotes!
 
I killed several with a GP 100 6", 125g Sierra hp with 17.8g of IMR 4227, killed them outright. I was using a coarse gravely hand call, Lohman adjustable set on long range, coyotes came in instead of Javelina...targets of opportunity.

If you are using a wheel gun, you have to figure out how you are going to shoot, single or double action. I got busted on one when I cocked the hammer back on a big coyote 35 yards out. Also, they seem to see a stainless gun real quick!
 
This is what I’ve purchased.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/performance-center-model-629-44-magnum-hunter

I’m going to put a Leupold VX3 2-8 power handgun scope on it as well.

So a M57 is fur friendly?! I wonder how much difference I’ll see from a .44 magnum. There really isn’t a lot of difference between .41 and .44 mag.

I’ll probably shoot single action but I can safely have the gun cocked while I’m waiting. It’s not going to go off till I pull the trigger. Just have to follow the golden rule every carefully!

As to the size of our dogs, I know they’re not quite the biggest, but a .22 mag just doesn’t sound like it would have enough juice, especially from a pistol, to put one down. A .22 hornet maybe.

Maybe I can add another .357 with a 6”-8” tube and throw a scope on it to try later on! I’d assume a little more pelt damage with the high velocity .357’s. Maybe a hard cast would work good?
 
I think any of the hard cast flat-nose stuff from Bitterroot would work well. I’m using their 300gr FP in a .454 Casull & it really hammers them so don’t be afraid of lead. BTW, that PC .44 mag looks really sweet! Nice buy.
 
Originally Posted By: NMGuyWow, .22 mag is a little light IMO. We get some good size yotes out here. Last time they were all heavier than my Brittany pup and he is 31lbs now.

I was thinking .357 mag would be perfect but my only .357’s are a 686+ 4” and a 640 pro with like a 2” tube. The .44 has the option for a scope and leupold makes a nice 2-8 power. The .44 mag is enough for elk inside archery range so I know it will drop a yote.

I may buy the .44 and give it a try!

If it will drop an elk, a coyote is nothing.

Most coyotes are about the same size, unless they have cross bred with wolves. Funny thing, MOST of your modern, high power hollowpoints will put down an average sized man and I have yet to see a 145lb coyote. I think the trick is to get the bullet to deliver ALL of it's energy INTO the coyote and not over penetrate.
 
Originally Posted By: SnowmanMo

If it will drop an elk, a coyote is nothing.

Most coyotes are about the same size, unless they have cross bred with wolves. Funny thing, MOST of your modern, high power hollowpoints will put down an average sized man and I have yet to see a 145lb coyote. I think the trick is to get the bullet to deliver ALL of it's energy INTO the coyote and not over penetrate.

Humans also stand upright and we aren’t relatively thick front to back (in most cases). When you shoot a coyote or any small quadruped it’s actually probably just as much soft tissue to go through. So yeah, a self defense round should work within range. That’s why I was thinking a .357 may be perfect.

Maybe a .357 rifle in my future. I’m wondering if a 110-125gr hollow point would be fur friendly at average first shot range. I don’t normally hunt for fur but I’ve been wanting to try and get some nice pelts to line a leather jacket...

I am handicapped with eyesight though. I have a degenerative eye disease and my eyesight has deteriorated to the point where I’m not any good with iron sights past 10-20 yards. So if I bought a .357 lever gun I would have to ruin it with a 1-4 power scope.
 
90 percent of my shot are around 30 yards head shots are easy in some of the places I hunt it is to thick to use a shotgun
 
Originally Posted By: NMGuyOriginally Posted By: SnowmanMo

If it will drop an elk, a coyote is nothing.

Most coyotes are about the same size, unless they have cross bred with wolves. Funny thing, MOST of your modern, high power hollowpoints will put down an average sized man and I have yet to see a 145lb coyote. I think the trick is to get the bullet to deliver ALL of it's energy INTO the coyote and not over penetrate.

Humans also stand upright and we aren’t relatively thick front to back (in most cases). When you shoot a coyote or any small quadruped it’s actually probably just as much soft tissue to go through. So yeah, a self defense round should work within range. That’s why I was thinking a .357 may be perfect.

Maybe a .357 rifle in my future. I’m wondering if a 110-125gr hollow point would be fur friendly at average first shot range. I don’t normally hunt for fur but I’ve been wanting to try and get some nice pelts to line a leather jacket...

I am handicapped with eyesight though. I have a degenerative eye disease and my eyesight has deteriorated to the point where I’m not any good with iron sights past 10-20 yards. So if I bought a .357 lever gun I would have to ruin it with a 1-4 power scope.

I hear ya. Diminishing eyesight is something that most of us have to deal with as time marches on. It was a blow when I had to go in and find out that I had damaged my eyesight with a combination of hunting without sunglasses and constantly changing ranges during competitions. My doctor was surprised how quickly my eyes had shifted.

I think that if you have a fast enough hollowpoint, it should work out fine and be fairly fur friendly. If it's fast enough it shouldn't over penetrate, but you'll have to try to be sure. Give it a try and let us know the results!
 
Originally Posted By: 1750ShooterDon’t ignore a red dot. Vision isn’t great & have trouble acquiring a target in a handgun scope, but a red dot is great to 150+ for me.


What redot do you recommend?
 


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