The Hoppin' Coyote

Burnsome...

Burnsome...

Well-known member
Was out last night for a couple hours. This guy came in around 11pm. A buddy new to night hunting was to my left and was borrowing my BILs AR with an ATN 4K scope.

My buddy was up stretching his legs and the coyote came in from our left and spotted us and then shot over to our right into some thick woods/brushy area. He got back on his gun and it came back out in front of me. I was going to wait for him to take the shot but he couldnt see it due to some trees being in the way. When the yote put his head up and looked back at me I went ahead and took the shot. 50 yards 77gr Black Hills Mk262 Mod 1 ammo. Thought the shot looked pretty good but the fellow jumped up in the air and I think he did a back flip before running to our left. New to night hunting buddy fired 4 shots but didnt connect. His video came out pretty good though so I'm posting both below. The first one is from my gun. Second one is from my buddy's. Never found the yote last night and checked for a hour this morning and still havent located. He was running pretty hard and when he went into the woods there was about a 6 foot ditch/creek drop off and he apparently made it over that and into some Vietnam type jungle. Anyway, no pictures yet but here's the videos. Enjoy "The Hoppin' Yote"...

[video:youtube][/video]

[video:youtube][/video]
_________________________
 
Good video, my guess is you heart shot him. Heart shots almost always seem run for me. Why did you decide to go to the 77 gr. bullet if you don't mind me asking?
 
We'll DU, just trying out some different bullets and get some data to see what works best. Was previously trying out some 40gr Nosler BTs at 3700 fps. Had 3 runners although they didnt really run that far. Thought maybe some more "horsepower" might help so decided on the 77's. May go back to 55gr BTs as thats what I used prior to everything else. Need more data as they say...

I'm sure shot placement is everything, so if anybody has any suggestions I'm all ears!
 
Last edited:
I can't help you with the 77's. I personally don't think they carry enough speed to flatten coyotes, but I've never used them. I don't shoot a 223 much, but I load for my hunting partner and he has good results with a 50 v-max at about 3,100 fps. It has enough speed to create shock, but not enough to splash. I've always liked light for caliber bullets for coyotes because of the bullet dumping all it's energy inside the coyote.

I killed a lot of coyotes with a 204 with 32 gr. bullets and they just flattened them. Also killed a good number with a 17 Rem. and 25 gr. bullets at about 3,900 fps with same results. Mostly now I'm shooting the 243 with 58 gr. V-max and it just puts a whooping on them at 3,800 fps. I did kill a few with a 223 using 40 v-max at 3,800 and they did pretty well (26" barrel) but I liked the 50's better in the 223 and a lot better in the 22-250.
 

Burn, your buddy’s scope seems to indicate a hit by the way the coyote jumped at the shot. I couldn’t tell body language of a hit via your scope, but your crosshair seemed to be good.

As to .223 bullets, if you continue to want to experiment with heavier bullets, you might want to give 60 gr. V-Max a chance if you haven’t already. Just a thought. I tend to go a bit heavier with bullets than some other guys. The coyotes I shot with my 16” Bushmaster and the 60’s didn’t go anywhere.

 
Thanks for the tips Gents. Might switch back to the 40gr BTs for a bit and get more data. I like the idea of dumping all the bullets energy and the hydrostatic shock that comes from high velocity rounds. The 77gr is probably designed to carry long distances but probably doesnt have as much as an impact internaly although it should bore through pretty well. I have a boat load of 60gr BTs sitting around that could be loaded up to try as well.
 
I have killed coyotes with a lot of different bullets. At a lot of different distances. For my .223 I shoot 40gr v-max 3750fps killed 9 in a row distances out to 300yards all drt. With my 22dti & 22 6.8 I shoot sierra 60gr hp 3450fps. If you shoot a coyote at the top of his shoulder he is double lunged & is drt. left or right high or low you will get a runner. Shot placement is everything. My guess is you hit him in the heart, I would guess the 77gr penciled right thru & you probably got little or no blood.
 
Last edited:
Thanks old cat. I like the 40's and would prefer to stay with them. Apparently I need to refresh myself with some coyote anatomy so I know where to shoot. Either that or go for head shots
wink.gif
 
No, you don't want to do head shots. OC is correct, at least from my experience. I get a lot more DRT's with coyotes hit above the mid-point line behind the shoulder. It seems to produce enough hydro-static shock to just slam them.
 
Gotcha. Thanks for the tips. So looking at this picture I would say I've been aiming a bit low most times, trying to go for the heart and I guess that partially explains some of the runners I've had. Going back to ballistic tips/VMAX type rounds for the next go-round.

oL7QB6J.jpg
 
Nice video and the night vision looks great.we've all missed shots,but my experience has been a yote will not travel beyond 50 yards shot through heart,if at all. Possibly grazed.
 
Here is a video of one heart shot coyote. This one was with my old Apex HD50A at 230 yds. If you look closely you can see the blood pouring out especially during the slow motion. He ran over 200 yds.



While we shoot most all of our coyotes in open fields here at night, it is a given if they get in these thick woods in the south there is a good chance we won't recover them, and especially when the vegetation has kicked in and we have to contend with poisonous snakes and ticks as well.
 
Originally Posted By: Burnsome...Going back to ballistic tips/VMAX type rounds for the next go-round. I left vmax style bullets some time ago. I have shot VMAX in .17 Rem, 204, 22-250, and 6WOA. They shot great in everything but didn't get the consistent DRTs. You can play with speed and try to get it just right, but overall was never totally pleased. For me, a non-MEF (I don't like varmint bullets on coyotes) style HP is hard to beat. Average shot distance plays a factor, size of coyotes, etc but HPs normally anchor them pretty good without blowing a huge hole on the surface or through them. Just my .02.
 
I shot a lot of 35 gr. Berger's in the 204 as well, and I agree with Kirsch that they did a good job of DRT's. Also shot a lot of 25 gr. hp's in the 17 Rem. with good results. With that said, I just never had the issues of splashes on coyotes with V-max and the Nosler Ballistic Tips are even a bit tougher than the V-max. I shoot the 85 gr. Sierra HPBT Gameking in one of my other 243's that I use to kill a deer or two each year. They are very accurate and lethal, but never used anything heavy like that to kill a 40 lb. coyote.

I guess the wonderful part is we have an abundance of bullets at our disposal, and hand loaders can taylor them to shoot just like they want.
 
The 40gr v-max @ 3750fps from .223 at 50 yards makes an entrance hole hole as big as my fist. Coyote goes no where. Rest of shots pin hole in, no exit drt.
 
Good morning all. Im pretty new to the forum and will do my best to help out with my experiences. When i first started hunting coyotes I started out shooting the 64 grain winchester power points from walmart. The first coyote I shot with that round was ranged at 126 yards. The coyote was sitting down facing me. After finding him, I walked up on him and he raised his head at me to show me he was still alive, so i quickly dispatched him with my pistol. After i knew he was dead I inspected him and found that the bullet had went in his chest and exited out his back near his spine. Im pretty sure the bullet paralized him, and if the bullet path did not take place near his spine im pretty sure he would of ran a quite of ways. It took me about 20 mins to get to him because I was looking for another coyote that I was sure i hit but missed. All in all this guy was still alive after all that time. So I knew this round wasnt going to cut it. I talked to some well known guys and learned about Night Ops ammunition. So i went with the recommended 60 grain nosler ballistic tip loaded to +p. I have shot 2 coyotes with this round and they dropped instantly and the damage is carnage. I live down in SC near the coast and i think we have the ugliest coyotes in the US, so im not worried about the fur damage. This would not be a good round for saving fur, it leaves a massive hole. When i get home this evening ill post a picture.
 
Thanks WB. Good data there sir. I've always like the 60gr BTs and I believe I've read the Nosler BT's are a built a bit more robust than Hornady.
 
Back
Top