Opinion on shot placement

That's where my point of aim would have been! In fact I had the exact same scenario last spring. I aimed same place as you, shot, he went down and flailed around for a bit then eventually got up and hobbled off. I figured he wouldn't get far so I didn't bother to put another into him. I ended up loosing it in thick bog on another property. I was baffled how it could go anywhere as it was a solid shot full frontal.
 
Hitting right of center, it's possible the bullet (or fragments) traveled along the ribs under the shoulder blade. There's a pocket in that space where there isn't anything vital. A lot of bone in there and at that angle the ribs are layered like the bow of a ship. If you raised the aimpoint to just below the chin that coyote would likely have given up to that lightweight 58.
 
I've written a ton of post on the 58vmax splashing on the regular. They are unbelievably unpredictable, sometimes they kill like lightning with little damage, other times chunks of meat and bone explode on entry and they need a follow up shot.

They are accurate in everything I've shot them in across multiple calibers, readily available and cheap. Do they kill, absolutely but you need to make sure your coyote stays down.

The 55NBT is the king in light and fast driven coyote bullets.
 
That shot angle/aiming point is one of the reasons I won't use the Sierra 39 on coyote anymore. The other unpredictable angle was close range(under 50 yards) shots that hit near last couple ribs, even slightly angling away Occasionally penetration was very shallow, coyote can run a long time on one lung or diagram damage.
 
Spurchaser said:
I’ve always leaned to rather having too much than not enough. If I do get a runner, I have plenty of blood to follow
Yes, I would take that shot all day long, but I’m shooting 87gr V-Max in the .243.
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I’m shooting the 75gr Hornady Vmax out of my Tikka .243. Have you tried the 75gr compared to the 87gr? I have thought about trying the 87gr but I’m having good results with the 75gr. Most of my shots are under 200 yds.
 
Erie660 said:
I’m shooting the 75gr Hornady Vmax out of my Tikka .243. Have you tried the 75gr compared to the 87gr? I have thought about trying the 87gr but I’m having good results with the 75gr. Most of my shots are under 200 yds.
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I'm not Spurchaser, but I agree. The 75gr Vmax dumps coyotes just fine. That is the bullet that has accounted for most of my 243 coyote kills actually. HSM Varmint factory loads running an advertised 3300 FPS is what I was shooting and they shot well from my Tikka.
 
hunt0168 said:
@bowhunter57
...The 58gr loads are Hornady Superformance and were very accurate in my Tikka. I think the combination of blistering speed, and the fast 8 twist barrel was more than the light bullet could handle...
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I think this is it. Your hold was perfect. The light-for caliber v-maxes are made to explode on impact, which means they can "splash" when hitting bone. The high RPM due to the twist rate makes it worse.
The heavier v-maxes (like the 6mm 75 and 87) have a stouter construction. They're not as much fun on small varmints like prairie dogs, but kill coyotes much better.

Looks like Hornady has factory loads with the 75 and 87 for 243 Win. Their Precision Hunter load with the 90 ELDX might be even better.
 
My question is did the bullet hit where the crosshairs were. In other words was the gun properly zeroed. We have all seen guys that say that's close enough when sighting in
 
why said:
My question is did the bullet hit where the crosshairs were. In other words was the gun properly zeroed. We have all seen guys that say that's close enough when sighting in
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Yes, properly zeroed. I literally dropped 2 more coyotes a few minutes later with perfect broadside shot placement on the same stand at roughly the same distance. I did hit a hell of a rough patch with my shooting last season, only to find out that my optic profiles had reset to factory zero somehow. This occurrence was after straightening that out. That said, The shot felt good. The coyote definitely reacted as hit. With no recovery, I have no way to know if the shot actually impacted where I intended, or if the bullet splashed and didn't penetrate, or any other scenario that some have suggested? I'm no longer using the 58gr Vmax's after my observations on what I was seeing on entry wounds of a few other coyotes I had taken with them. DAA and Kino both mention known failures as well, so it isn't out of the question in my opinion that it just blew up on impact.

Once again... I am not trying to figure out why the coyote didn't die on the spot. I'm disappointed that it didn't, but it didn't. It's totally fine to have opinions on why it didn't and discuss it, but the post is simply to get opinions on my hold in the picture. To see if others would aim somewhere else. So far it seems that the majority that have posted would have taken the shot that I took.
 
Erie660 said:
I’m shooting the 75gr Hornady Vmax out of my Tikka .243. Have you tried the 75gr compared to the 87gr? I have thought about trying the 87gr but I’m having good results with the 75gr. Most of my shots are under 200 yds.
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I have not. Was reading a lot on here and tried the 87’s from the start. Plus it’s what my store had. I may get them to order some 75’s. They had some 55gr Armageddons but had already heard about the lower grain bullets possibly having issues. Last time I was in there they were still on the shelf.
 
hunt0168 said:
I was conversing with a friend that on a hunt the other night had a hunting partner take a frontal shot that was a hit, but unrecoverable. It took the shot but ran off. I sent him a video of a shot I took last year with a similar scenario. He watched my video and questioned my hold on this particular shot. I’m looking for opinions on the placement. This was 100 yards, 243 Win 58gr Vmax. Unrecovered. Would you have taken this shot or held / aimed differently?
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Looks good to me. You might have had a flyer. I quit V Max. Too many runners
 
Looking at the video on my phone it looked like the coyote was turned more, like it's rearend was more to the right. That's why I said it may have passed through without going deep enough to hit any of the vitals. Looking at the blown-up picture, if that's where your rifle went off then I don't see how the coyote made it off.

As for my friend's shot. Unfortunately, the RAV didn't come on so there's no way to tell exactly where the rifle went off. I was watching the coyote through my scanner when he shot and the coyote dropped straight to the ground like a DRT shot then about two seconds later got up and ran off. It ran a good 60-70 yards before it got to the wood line so he must have pulled on the shot. I shot my rifle since and it's as on as I can get a thermal. The shot was with a 6mm ARC 75gr VMAX. I don't have a chrono, but Druid Hill lists them a around 2977fps out of an 18'', my rifle is a 20''.

The one I shot last night, is another that I'm amazed she ran that far. Perfect hit, quarter sized exit. You can see all the blood in the video whenever the bullet hit. They are crazy tough animals.

Even though I don't like taking them, I will take a frontal shot. I thought I hit this one dead center until I went and got her. When I blew up and slowed down the video, the rifle went off exactly where the bullet hit. I pulled the shot. She was still a bang flop.

IMG_9365.jpg
 
@DoubleLungRage Hey buddy, they are crazy tough critters. Seeing your explanation in writing I now understand what you were saying on the phone if you thought the angle was steeper. The post got quite a bit of traction, so that’s always good. Never bad to get the opinions of others when things go awry.

I do agree with what a lot of the guys said, in that a heavier bullet would have been a better choice in my scenario. I did have a very similar shot angle and distance on another when running the 75gr vmax that dumped one on the spot. Lets just say It was an incredible amount of devastation! 😉 I’m running with Winchester 55gr NBT’s for now because they are the most accurate factory load I have found and I’ve always had better results with NBT’s over Vmax’s of similar weights.

You’ve been crushing them lately, buddy! Keep on tipping them over, man! Our January thaw has come to an end. Today feels like the turning point for that and this crazy chest cold I’ve been fighting, so I’m looking forward to getting out there myself. It seems that the weather and health issues keep working against me anymore!
 
The friend that I took is now hooked and bought a new 243 this week. Whenever helping him look for some ammo I came across the 76gr Norma TripStrike. I've had very good success with the 223 55gr TipStrike so I told him to order a box to see how his rifle likes it.

Have you ever tried the Norma?
 
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