Turkey loads and coyotes

R

remington870

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This past spring I shot 2 coyote with turkey loads and seen 1 other one shot with turkey loads they all died on the spot. I was shooting nickel plated number 5's other guy was shooting winchester xtended range also number 5's. 2 of the coyotes were shot under 30 yards so of course they died in there tracks. The other one I shot was shot at 47 yards measured. I shot him in the head and he dropped. I was impressed by this performance. I have been thinking about how well they worked for awhile now. So I went out this morning armed with my 870 supermag and tested out the turkey loads. I had a turkey load in the chamber backed up by number 4 buck in case it didn't work. I was hunting open area so a second shot was possible. It was a nice cool morning with a heavy frost good morning for calling. I was using a diaphragm call made for turkey hunting and doing my best dying rabbit I could. I did this at a total of 11 spots. I called in 6 coyotes and killed 4. I fired 4 shots all turkey loads. 3 of them were head shots and one was a shoulder shot. 2 of the head shots were both around 20 yards one at 41 yards and the shoulder shot was about 30 yards. All of the coyotes went down on the spot dead. Starting to really like turkey loads. I have killed 13 coyotes total with turkey loads that I can think of and not any have gone very far. Most with 5's some with 6's. Going to do some more hunting with them then unless something bad happens I'll probably switch over to them for all my coyote/fox hunting. Loads I used today are fiocchi 3.5 inch 2 3/8 ounch loads of nickel plated 5's love the way they pattern. Choke was a carlson's .660 ported turkey choke. Just wanted to share this.
 
Thanks for the post. I also killed a coyote last turkey season with the #5 Wincheser loads and were impressed!Everone seems to be hunting the most expensive loads to use and seems back to basis works just fine.
 
Thanks for the post. I also killed a coyote last turkey season with the #5 Wincheser loads and were impressed!Everone seems to be hunting the most expensive loads to use and seems back to basics works just fine.
 
Thanks for the replies guys nice to here. My passion is turkey hunting so I talk to alot of turkey hunters during the season. Starting to be as popular as deer hunting around here. Alot of these conversations with turkey hunters turn to coyotes and how often they get called in during turkey season. Most of these coyotes get shot and I wouldn't imagine any of these guys are using buckshot or t's for turkeys.
 
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I use a 12ga shotgun on coyotes about 80% of the time when I go calling. If the coyotes are facing you when you shoot them and they are under 35 yards away darn near any load of 6's or bigger can kill coyotes. When I first started calling coyotes with a shotgun I also hunted geese and used Federal Premium copper coated lead 2's and BB's for geese. The 1-7/8 oz of copper coated lead 2's worked very good on coyotes most of the time. The only problem when shooting lead 2's and smaller shot is when the coyotes have turned and are running away from you. I saw too many coyotes run off after being blasted from 30 yards away with lead 2's. The lead BB's, T and # 4 buckshot will knock down coyotes even when they are at bad angles or going away at 35 yards and less.
 
I've never had much luck outside of 30 yards with turkey loads. Many moons ago when I first began using a shotgun I used what I was most familiar with - Federal Premium .12 ga. 3" no. #4's. I killed lots of turkeys with this load and used it on the first coyotes I called. Inside 25 yards I could kill one clean. Outside of that they all ran off. And some of them ran pretty darned far... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif The smallest shot I'm interested in for coyotes is BB, with the new "denser than lead" stuff leading the pack. I cannot see how a turkey load would be superior to these loads or the Dead Coyote type stuff. If it is cost, the newest turkey loads aren't inexpensive either. As far as that goes, good old Federal Premium No. 4BK isn't any more expensive than a turkey load and kills cleanly at further ranges in my experience. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Derby-I have thought some about a runner having to be shot going away. Out of the coyotes I've shot with turkey loads none have ran very far one went about 10 yards but blood was coming out of it pretty good. I'm sure someday I'll have a runner I'll be interested to see how they work at stopping one

GC-Where were you shooting them coyotes? Out of the 20 or so coyotes I've shot or seen shot with turkey loads none have went anywhere but most were head shot and some where out past 45 yards. Try for the head or heart and lung and center the pattern on the coyote and he ain't going far. The more of these small pellet you put in the coyote the better. 2 3/8 ounces of shot ain't fur frienly up close.
 
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The very first time I used a turkey load I used my Remington 870 with 26" barrel, a turkey choke, and the 3" .12 ga. Federal Premium with two ounces of copper plated #4's. I called two singles that day. At daylight on an extremely cold, windy and snowy day, I called a fair sized female on up on a ridgetop. She ran up and looked hard at my homemade Snoopy Dog decoy, stopping at 25 yards with her head, neck, and upper chest exposed from behind a tree facing nearly broadside. I shot her in the head and she did a forward flip, end over end. She was up just as fast as she fell, growling and snapping, and took off the side of the ridge like a rocket before I could hit her again. I did shoot again but was pretty sure I was behind her at the shot. I settled down and let her go, after several minutes Dad and I took the track. We found her down in the creek bottom about 150 yards from where I shot her. Most of that tracking was finding pin sized spots of blood and going in the direction she went, following the path of least resistance down the creek bank. There was just the beginning of some snow sticking to the ground that morning and once in awhile we would find a track in the new powder.

About 1/4 mile from that I called what I think was her mate. I was watching a side hollow and had Dad on a point to my right watching the main hollow. Snoopy was doing his thing in between Dad and I. Within two minutes I had a hard charger coming down the point - running hard right at Dad's backside as it looked over at the decoy bobbing around. At about 25 yards I rolled this male coyote about two flips, and, he darn near rolled right on top of my Dad. Gave Dad quite a start as the coyote rolled down nearly on him snapping and growling. As soon as the coyote got his feet under him he hauled butt straight away. I couldn't shoot because he was so close to Dad. Dad swiveled around and popped a shot at the dogs backside but didn't connect. That one went about 200 yards up the hollow before we stumbled onto him. Without the snow and a lot of luck that morning I don't think we would have found those coyotes. After about 7 or 8 more of these types of experiences, I quit the turkey loads completely. I killed a few that stayed right where I shot them. I had others that ran off like these did. A couple of which were never recovered and that wasn't for me, souring my feelings for the turkey loads. I stepped up to bigger shot. I used plated lead BB's for awhile with good results out to 40 yards or so. Then plated lead No. 4BK with really good results. You know the rest, always looking for a better mouse trap, thus the search and high hopes for either the Dead Coyote T-size Hevi-Shot, or, the Remington HD-BB load as the "perfect" load.

I'm not stirring for a scrap over it, just relating my experiences with turkey loads. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Thanks for the reply alway fun to read about others experiences with shotgun loads. I ain't looking for a scrap either. Interesting that your results are opposite of mine I guess thats hunting wierd things happen. I would say that maybe I've been extremely lucky and have found coyote to die pretty easy compared to what other people have said.
I've shot at least one coyote with the following and never had bad performance. I think I'm lucky and always quick to shoot a second time no matter what if the coyote is still moving.
plated lead
7.5's
6's
5's
4's
2's
bb's
4 buck
00 buck
000 buck

heavier than lead(hevi-shot or winchester xtended range or one of federals loadings)
4's
2's
b's
bb's
t's

steel
bb's
bbb's
t's

Not trying to brag either just trying to make a point that with good shot placement coyotes die pretty easy from shotgun. I think alot of people underestimate what a shotgun is capable of when the pellets are placed properly. Older guy that I've talked to a few times only uses 7.5's for turkeys in a 20 gauge kills 2+ toms every year never has trouble killing turkeys. He had put the hurt on some coyotes while turkey hunting too. I've seen my Dad kill pheasants at 40+ yards with nickel plated 7.5's. Shotguns kill very well when lots of pellets strike an animal in the right places.
 
GC- This may sound funny maybe even stupid but I'll say it anyways. I'm wondering if 4's are to small to have the weight to them to push throught the fur on a coyote but big enough that they get balled up in the hair maybe 5's will acually out penatrate 4's because they go though the hair better? Sounds kinda goofy but it might be the reason you haven't had the luck I've had with turkey loads. I've sure noticed 4's push alot more feathers in the breast of pheasants then smaller shot. It could be enough that it stops penatration enough to wound more than kill.
 
Diameter can make a difference in penetration. An extreme example of that is that guides in the far north have found 00 Buck pellets balled in the thick fur and hide of brown bears they have had to shoot in self defense. Many don't trust the penetration of buckshot and rely only on slugs for bear protection with a shotgun. That's why I'm beginning to lean toward the hard and heavy Hevi-Shot T-shot or HD-BB's over the softer and larger diameter No. 4BK. I understand what you're saying.

With that said however; for consideration, think of this, it is the penetration and tissue destruction that has led to bad experiences for me with the turkey loads. Heck, I've skinned grey and fox squirrels that had copper plated #6's just under the hide from longer shots while squirrel hunting. The last time I squirrel hunted with a shotgun was a .20 gauge with Winchester copper plated #6's at 1,300 fps. If the shot won't always reliably penetrate into the muscle of a one pound grey squirrel at near 40 yards, how well can it penetrate a 30+ pound coyote? Obviously the squirrel died from the shot, however, some of those copper plated pellets couldn't do more than make it through the hide and would be found between the hide and muscle while cleaning the squirrels. I've found a bunch of them buried in the scrawny neck of gobblers too.

I've shot a few coyotes with Winchester Supreme High Velocity 1 3/4 ounces of plated #5's. They seemed to die quicker, but I doubt it was the shot size as much as the velocity that did the trick. That extra 150 fps probably gave better penetration. Again, that is a plus for the Dead Coyote and Remington HD as they are about 100 fps faster than Magnum No. 4BK. I say that as speculation as I haven't shot a coyote yet with the DC/HD-BB loads. But over Thanksgiving weekend I hope to overcome that shortcoming. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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