Shooting on the run

K

ke4yyd

New member
I was reading the Predator Hunting archives and there was a question about hunting ethics. Among others the ethics question of shooting a running coyote was asked. Seems most don't have the skill to hit the moving target at a hundred yards or so. It reminded me of a time in the late 50's when a new friend invited me to go jackrabit hunting with him and his wife. We were planning on jumpshooting so, his and my weapon of choice was a shotgun. I chuckled to myself when I saw his wife with a lever action 22 rimfire. The chuckles soon turned to amazement as she demonstrated her ability to consistenly kill the running rabbit often before we could get a shot off with the shotgun and many times when they were well out of range of the shotgun. Surely there is nothing unethical about the skilled shooter taking running targets.
 
If you can talk the talk and walk the walk I see no moral dilemma there. As long as you make clean kills does it really matter how you do it?
 
I totally agree, I think if you are comfortable and have the skill to shoot at running game go for it. Here in Ontario Canada most of the landscape is open with small woodlots and alot of are shots are on the run, and the guys I hunt with all can shoot on the run without many wounded animals. I said not too many but sometimes if you are gonna hunt it will happen.

See ya Chris.
 
I hate shooting on the run. I get out of breath fairly quickly and my accuracy suffers some when running on uneven ground. Then there's the danger of shooting myself in the foot. ...... I highly recomment not running and shooting at the same time, its bad.
 
I have shot a number of coyotes on the run. I either kill them or miss them. A couple of others that I sometimes track with have wounded coyotes on the run, but we almost always have recovered the varmints. Sometimes running shots are all you get! You either shoot on the run or you don't even have a chance!!!!
 
I think a lot of people wait for a perfect sight picture on runners,which aint all bad,but really,your eye automatically centers whatever is in the scope;center mass shooting can put the fur down consistantly.
I am not advocating poke and hope,just to be clear.

Edge
 
Most I know will take a running shot on a coyote. It just seems so natural to shoot at a running coyote, no matter what the chances of connecting! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I've hit a few on the run, the longest at 240 yards, second shot. But, I'm more miss than hit on the running shots on coyotes. Jackrabbits are another story! I'm death on running jacks, longest out to 135 yards, one shot. I just slay them critters. But, coyotes just get my blood going a bit more than a jack though I guess.

If I had a history of wounding and losing coyotes to running shots, I'd probably stop. But, I seem to be either a complete miss, or solid hit type of guy, so I continue on.......
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I shot a coyote on the run in my underwear one time.....what it was doing in my underwear, I'll never know!

"Trust everybody, but brand your calves!"
 
I called in two together the other day,after I killed the 1st the other one ran and I missed it 2 shots.I dont like to shoot anything thats running!!
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The first 10 years that I hunted rabbits, the only firearm I had was a single shot bolt action 22. Missed a helluva lot of rabbits when I was 9 years old, but got good real quick after that. Its all in what you are used to.

BANDIT
 
i am not the mathematically inclined,but one of our group said you had to lead an all out running coyote by thirteen feet.just what i have been told,i would never have thought to lead them by that much.
 
yotetracker,
Leads vary depending on distance to the coyote, the yotes speed, the angle the yote is running in relation to you, and even by the guy doing to shooter.
I've never had a bit of luck trying to figure things out mathmatically, what does work for me is instint. I.E. I swing on the coyote and when everything "feels" right Here is my key to building instint shooting ability. Get yourself a decent shotgun and a whole bunch of shells. Shoot skeet and sporting clays every week for several months. In addition to clays, shoot pigeons, starlings, crows with said shotgun everytime you get the chance.
At the same time, get yourself and accurate .22 and put a high magification scope on it. I use a 6-18x on my .22. Then fine a farm with a larger population of english sparrows that the farmer will let you shoot at. Leave the scope on the highest maginification level at all times. Only go for head shots. If you can find a sparrow in a scope set on 18x and hit in the head 4 out of 5 times from field positions, picking up a coyote on the run with 3-9 will be a piece of cake.
In my experience, you mind tends to combine both the rifle shooting and the shotgun shooting, making running game shooting so much easier. This only works if you let your training tell you when to shoot, if you force the shot you are still going to miss.

The last piecee of advise I will offer on this subject is something my father used to tell me in I was kid. He always said "To get good at shooting running coyotes, you have to shoot at alot of running coyote" I.E. you are going to miss alot at first, but will learn what works and doesn't work based on those misses.
Course he told me that for years till I tagged the first running coyote I ever shot at, at 140 yards at night, after he missed its mate standing broadside at 80 yards.

Take care and good hunting,
Matt
 


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