Shotgun Loads and Choke for Coyotes?

B

bigmac44mag

New member
I just picked up a new shotgun (Mossberg 535) for coyote hunting in the dense woods of Tennessee.

Tennessee will not allow any shot larger than T (.20" diameter) to be used on coyotes. What brand of 3" magnum T shot (or other shot size not larger than T) would you recommend? I'd like to find something that will pattern well and retain energy up to 50 yards.

And what after-market choke (constriction and manufacturer) would you recommend to try in my new Mossberg 535? Or would the XX-full turkey choke that came with it be a good one to experiment with?

Thanks

Big Mac
 
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The common answer here is No. Four Buck (which is too large for your regulations), Dead Coyote T-shot, or a good stiff high velocity load of plated lead or the newest high density BB's.

A turkey type choke of from .680" - .660" will give you good patterns with any of the shot above. I really like the Kick's chokes, however, there are plenty of good options in a choke. This has been discussed here a whole bunch and if you really want a lot of good info from back discussions run a search of PredatorMasters with the key words, "shotgun", "choke", "Dead Coyote", "No. Four Buckshot", ect. and you will get enough reading for a rainy evening. Welcome to PM!
 
i use number 4 with a carlson dead coyote choke on it. it says it's goos to 70 yards with the hevi shot loads but i'm not paying for that. I think i've shot them at 50 yards killing most slowly, but one ran away after i shot it.
 
Being limited to T shot size, you might want to look at the Heavishot brand Dead Coyote which is T sized. I can't recall having seen T sized lead shot in loaded ammo in recent history. It's all been in steel.

As for choke selection, you'll have to try a few rounds through your own chokes first. You may get some great patterns without the need to buy an additional tube.
 
With those regs 'T' size 'dead coyote' is a good choice. You could also use some of the B size high quality waterfowl loads like 'Hevi-Shot' & the fairly new Remington 'HD' loads in B. Remington is supposed to be making some 'HD' loads in T size but I have not seen them yet.
 
Do not shoot dead Coyote through a turkey tube! You will ruin your shotgun. You need a Carlson or Patternmaster, waterfowl choke. I believe dead coyote is tungston, and most turkey chokes are made for shooting lead. If you put steel, bizmuth, or tungston through a normal choke you'll bell the end of your gun and will ruin it. If your gonna shoot coyotes, shoot lead through a normal choke. Get some federal premium, lead T shot and go to town. I think lead is a better choice if it's legal in your area, and thats every where but CA. Plus it costs about .50-.75 cents a shot, instead of $35 for a box of ten. Lead is the way to go why spend $3 a shell to kill coyotes when you can kill them just as dead of less then $1 a shell.
 
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I have done well with the Carlson Dead coyote choke and the Heavy shot dead coyote T shot shooting 3" out of a Remington 870. I just bought a Mossberg 935 turkey special with a 22" barrel. It seems to like #4 buck. I havent got the Carlson choke for the 935 yet but will. I will buy the Heavy shot(about $3 per shell) to wack coyotes all day long. I cant wait to try the 3.5 shells. I have dumped coyotes out to about 60yds and so far had no problems. It works great on cats too, no sewing!
 
If you have someone who can load shotshells for you, you can get some lead T buckshot (and smaller sizes) from Ballistic Products and have him load some shells for you. I would buy the appropriate manual first, find out what components are needed for the loads they recommend being the best and then place an order for components.

And, yes, using the listed components is not only necessary for safety reasons, but also certain combinations of hull, primers and powder, seem to pattern better than others, sometimes markedly so. So, buy and use what they recommend. Just about all their loads use their own 1 piece wads, however.

If you can get the unslit wads, buy them instead of the pre slit wads. Often a wad with three petals will pattern better than one with four, if you want long range loads. But, it takes some experimentation, including trying different slit depths.
 
I have reloaded the lead T buckshot from Ballistic Products for coyotes for quite a few years now and it works great. I reloaded 1-1/2 oz of T buckshot in Federal Gold Medal 2-3/4" hulls. I probably loaded way too much of it because it looks like all lead bullets and shot will be illeagl for big game and predators in my hunting area in California starting in January of 2008. I did come up with a easy way to count T buckshot pellets to put in my reloads.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s28/derbyacresbob/Buckshot002.jpg
 
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Do not shoot dead Coyote through a turkey tube! You will ruin your shotgun. You need a Carlson or Patternmaster, waterfowl choke. I believe dead coyote is tungston, and most turkey chokes are made for shooting lead. If you put steel, bizmuth, or tungston through a normal choke you'll bell the end of your gun and will ruin it.



Oh hell... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif It isn't the constriction (within norms) that could possibly harm the barrel in this case, it is the construction of the choke. Not a biggie since there are plenty of turkey chokes made to handle Hevi-Shot or steel. Dead Coyote is made of Hevi-Shot. Lot's of long range turkey hunters slinging Hevi-Shot downrange from their turkey tight chokes. You do need to choose a choke rated for Hevi-Shot if that is what you want to shoot. However, most shotguns will shoot the Dead Coyote best with a fairly tight constriction of around .680". That's a "turkey" type constriction for most.
 
Yes, But I don't believe Mossberg chokes are made for shooting heavy shot. I know my factory Winchester choke, and my friends Bennelli didn't come with a heavy shot tube, so I don't know why an economy price Mossberg would come with a heavy shot tube. Call Mossberg to be sure before you put any heavy shot through it to be safe. Why void your warranty. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
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Ahhh, good point on some of the factory choke tubes. I was totally thinking of an aftermarket choke tube.
 


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