What percentage of the coyotes you shoot with a rifle live longer than 3 seconds?

DiRTY DOG

DiRTY DOG

Well-known member
Of the coyotes you call in and shoot with a rifle, what percentage are still alive 3 seconds later?

Alive means still moving, breathing, spinning, running, wiggling on the ground, etc. It's either alive, or it's dead. None of this "dead on it's feet" or "dead but doesn't know it yet" talk.

Based on the TV shows and YouTube videos I've seen, the best that many Pro's and Pro Staff'ers can do seems way over 50% still alive after 3 seconds or even 5 seconds. They often hide it by immediately zooming out and panning away from the spinners and runners so it's not on film.
 
Maybe 1 in 10 live a few seconds but since I don't save fur I always use either a .308 or a .300 win so that may not be a very useful statistic for your survey.
 
I was thinking along similar lines the other day..... but more like how many are DRT and how many take a few or many steps after being shot. I am going to guess that 50-60% of the ones I shoot are still at least kicking or moving a little bit after 3 seconds. Might be a higher percentage than that, but it is at least in that range. To add a little twist and to figure in more what I was thinking about is that most of the ones that I shoot that are facing me head on are DRT, while most of the ones that I shoot presenting themselves broadside run, spin, bite at themselves, or something. Seems like the only time I manage to 'knock-em-stiff' is when they are facing me. Doesn't really matter what bullet/caliber/cartridge I am using either. I shoot most of mine with a 223 or smaller bore, but have shot a few with a grendel or 243 and didn't notice much difference with the "larger calibers"
 
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It really just depends. If they're facing me they're probably not going to live 1 second after they get shot. On broadside shots I might get 1 out of 3 that flops or runs a little ways or spins. On running shots probably 1 out of 6 will die instantly. They normally need shot again unless I hit them in the back of the head.

Over the years I've gotten to where if they're still showing signs of life I shoot them again whether they need it or not. If they tip over or stop moving before I send another one that's fine too. But I'm always ready to shoot again.
 
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If they were not dead darn quick, I changed bullets, load, or caliber.

223 with 50g Sierra lead tip blitz at 3500 fps, 55's of sorts at 3450(Benchmark)
22/250 with 55g, Varget, Win 760, 4064, H4895
22/250 with 50g Sierra spt with AR Comp
22/250 AI with 55's at 4150, Win 760
243 with 80g Sierra Blitz BT, IMR 4064
243 with 60g Sierra hp, Win 760
243 with 75g Sierra hp, Win 760
6 Rem with all the above bullets for the 243

25/06 with Sierra 90g bthp(IMR 4350) or 100g(R#19) of any kind

270 Winchester with 90g Sierra hp, imr 3031-THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE LOAD ON COYOTES I HAVE EVER USED! The accuracy load with IMR 3031 shoots tiny groups, also.

When ever they nip and spin, they are usually shot behind the diaphram.

In the 223, we saw more gimpers, until we went to a 55g Sierra Blitz lead tip...this bullet re wrote the game plans with a 223 and with a max load for the rifle of benchmark with a cci 450, you are not feeling under gunned at 200 yards....they die hard.
 
I didn't do a real calculation, but I ran through some recent pictures (past few years) to refresh my memory of specific hunts. Based on those, I'd estimate that about 60-65% (2/3 or so) of called and rifle-shot coyotes are dead pretty much immediately. I call a down coyote with a twitching tail dead, but not one with other moving body parts. The rest, assuming good hits, are usually dead within a few seconds, but I won't guarantee they're within the three seconds cited.
 
I would say 10% or less are not dead instantly. I think to many people rush their shots and hit them to far back. That is why they spin/nip. If I had a lot of spinners/runners I would be looking at what I was doing wrong and the bullet I was using.
 
I've found that if you shoot a coyote in the lungs that it's likely that they're going to spin and or run a little ways before they give up the ghost. I don't know how many times I've lined up on a coyote to shoot again as it was spinning or running and saw it fall through the scope. Several times it's happened. It wasn't bad bullet placement they just had a case of restless leg syndrome and decided to run a little until they gave out.

On the other hand I've made the same shot on other coyotes and they folded like a wet towel. There's no rhyme or reason as to why some run dead or take a little while longer to expire. I chalk it up to there's just some coyotes that are tougher than others.
 
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I use a 22-250 or my 243 Win with bi-pods, laying prone for 95% of my coyote calling with rifles. I very seldom shoot at coyotes running with my rifles. Most of the coyotes I shoot weigh between 20 and 30 lbs.

I would say at least 70% of the coyotes that I call in and shoot fall over dead and don't go anywhere.
 
The caliber and bullet choice seem to be the big decider of coyote longevity.

In a 223 class (I use a 222RemMag), the 50 and 55gr Nosler Btips have performed great. At the hit, the coyotes get all stiff and tip over:

with a 50-55gr softpoint, the front end goes down, followed by the hips, then maybe a tail-wave:

with a 40-55gr Vmax, I got more splashes than I could tolerate.

In 243, I had several bad outcomes with the 55gr Nosler Btip, including loosing one coyote, but with a 75gr Hornaday Vmax, I went 33-34 coyotes straight without an exit or pelt damage, with ranges from 20yds to 450yds.
 
Im a "staffer" and I film hunts on YouTube. No one likes spinners, runners etc. I think it hurts the quality of the video. BUT it does happen. On film and not on film. A video is for ever and shows the truth. Makes it easy to keep track of your runners. I think many people would be surprised at what they are actually doing if they where being filmed. Ive took people and filmed their hunts. I hear them telling a buddy on the phone about how the stand went down. Well, they are often shell shocked when they see what really happened.

One more thought: If you shoot 7 or 8 a year that aint much of a test sample. Go kill a hundred or so in a year then come back and let me know how it went.
 
I'd say realistically 60-70% are DRT. So 30-40% live to catch another round. No matter what caliber, it happens. I have had coyotes present perfectly, catch the round right where I put it and BOOM...side splits open and they spin. Why? Who knows. Hit a bone, hit scar tissue, a butterfly flapped it's wings in Japan...who knows, but it happens. The more you shoot, the more the odds are it might happen. You do your best to get a clean kill. But they happen.
 
I just got done gutting an antelope for one of my daughters this morning. It was a pretty decent buck for this area, but I doubt it weighed 150 pounds on the hoof. She shot him quartering to us at about 235 yards with 123 grain bullet from a 6.5 grendel. At the shot he whirls and starts running. I was watching through the binoculars and it looked like she hit him but I was not sure. He ran about 100 yards, took a big hop in the air and started staggering, then went down. We watched him for 10-15 seconds till he lay still, then did the high fives and started talking about what just happened. As we decided that he was done and started to come out from behind the round bale we used for cover and a rest he started rolling and thrashing some more. This was about a minute after the shot, by now. He never looked like he was going to get up so she didn't shoot again, and he quit kicking in a few seconds, and that was it.
I found the bullet against the hide just behind the rib cage and it had mushroomed pretty good; he took every foot pound of energy that round had. The heart was torn up really bad as was one lung. It still took him about a minute and 100 yard dash to be 'plumb dead'.
I tell this to illustrate why I am not to worried if a coyote is still moving some after 3 seconds. Unless I know I just nuked the CNS I kind of expect critters to still have some movement after a few seconds. Life doesn't quit easy all the time.
 
Maybe if you hit them in the heart or aorta they die fast. Hit them in the lungs or guts and they die slowly but are able to run away and die later.

How many of you actually dissect them after you find them to see what organs were pierced by the bullets? Probably a small number of shooters actually skin them and then look at the insides to see where the bullets hit.

So if people don't dissect them they won't know why some ran off and others died right there on the spot. You may see a bullet hole in the skin but that won't tell you exactly what the bullet hit inside the coyote.

I bet that if you hit them in the heart they won't run very far and will DRT.
 
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From his question, heart still beating is still alive. Called coyote, a lot of coyote would still be alive 3 seconds after the shot. Head shot the heart may still beat for more than 3 seconds, unless you take out the autonomic nerve function. I head shoot more than 1/2 of sleepers. Has happened when I walk up, eyes are out of socket(s), ears bleeding but chest is still moving, boot on chest can feel very rapid heart beat. Coyote has no motor function, no nerve reaction to touch, so I would call it dead.
 
I would like to think 90% drop without a twitch but honestly I bet more than 50% might twitch or flip a tail after 3 seconds, even if I don’t see it. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. I also aim for the shoulder which drops them quick compared to a shot in the ribs behind the shoulder. Thin jacketed varmint bullets also do a much better job than bullets designed for big game. The only guaranteed way to drop a coyote instantly is to hit CNS. I shot a coyote a couple weeks ago with 6mm 115 gr VLD hunting Bergers with an impact velocity around 2900 FPS. Entrance was just behind the shoulder and exit was just behind the shoulder with a hole that I could have placed a softball into. He started to run after the shot and I thought I made a bad shot. He tipped over dead 5 seconds later but it was a good example of how tough coyotes are.
 
Great examples all above. I'd guess I've had maybe 3 or 4 out of 20 that are probably still alive after 3 seconds but down for the count. I shoot them now with 55gr TAP Urban rounds in 223. Used to use 223 50gr ballistic tips and had 2 or 3 that were still alive after waiting a minute or two before walking 50-60 yards down to them to find their "head" functions still worked somewhat but the body was not moving. Still had fight in them down to the end. Tough suckers. I usually shoot them at point blank range in the head when thats the situation. Lights out instantly. Since using 55gr TAP Urban I think the small extra bullet weight and better penetration works better as they go down pretty much instantly with no movement and are dead when I get to them. I'm going to start going for head shots when the opportunity comes up again. Shot placement is key though, and I believe that over-rules everything else.

I believe its pretty well documented that even human beings can live as long as 15-20 seconds if drugged up and/or motivated when shot through the heart. At least that was what I was taught when I was in LE as a firearms instructor back in the day. So we taught even though the average gunfight lasts 3 seconds and 3 shots fired, just because the bad guy is hit and on the ground the potential remaining 12-17 seconds can be an eternity in a gunfight if the bad guy still has a gun in his hands. I've seen lots of video of shootings and its amazing how tough humans can be as well. Sometimes it just takes a bit of time for the hydraulic fluid to drain out and shock to finish the fight. However, I recall several LE shootings in my AO where we hit the bad guy with a 223 ballistic tip center mass and they were pretty much dead right there on the spot. Hydrostatic shock and all that is quite an advantage. Pistol rounds, not so much. I think FBI shooting statistics pretty much indicate 80% of humans live when shot with a handgun without much regard for caliber, and 80% of people shot with a rifle dont live so there's that for what its worth.
 
3 seconds is actually a pretty long time.
I would say that 75% of my kills are dead in within that 3 seconds. Any that are not dead in that 3 seconds are probably going to live unless there is a follow up shot very quickly.
I just killed one last night, 17-223 at 318 yards. Spun around two or three times and was done. Less than 3 seconds.
 
Speaking of heart shots, I recall reading a hypothesis that if the bullet hits the heart when it just beat, and the heart is 'empty', the animal can run a very long ways in the seconds before it dies.

If the heart is 'full' just before a beat, then the bullet hitting it would cause blood to rush through the arteries and capillaries with great force, causing the capillaries in the brain to burst, which leads to almost instant death.

I have seen many instances of heart shot coyotes dropping at impact, and also running quite a ways, and the above seems like a logical explanation.

And, yes, I have autopsied many dozens of them, while skinning. I like to see what-bullet-does-what.
 
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