Wood this work for coyote hunting?

O boy here we go!!! THis is a very fought over topic. But here is my personal insight on it.

My hunting buddy has a ver nice 17hmr new england firearm that he bought for something like 130$ He put a new barrel on it got a stock and put a 500$ scope on it. He bought This gun last year and we coyote hunted with it this year. He dumped a fox at 150 like any other rifle. He also killed 12 or so yotes but there was only one time when it did not dump the coyote. We called in a coyote in at about 50 yards and we could not see him when all of a sudden it was there! HE was in a huge rush when he pulled up to shoot and he shot it and it hit it in the gut and it ran out to 100 yards or so and I finished him off with my 22-250. I belief a 17hmr will kill a coyote with out a problem. But there are a few draw backs

1. Do not shoot over 200 yards MAX
2. You have to be a damn good shot. If you hit it in the gut your not going to kill it. You hit it in the sholder its guna run aways. If you can hit them in the vitals 100% of the time you will drop them like rocks.


If I where to spend the money on a new rifle. I would get a centerfire of some kind. But dont under estamate the 17.


Good luck

colton
 
I'm thinking 200 yds is a long ways for a 17 hmr. Heck its a long ways for a 22 hornet, 17 mach 4, 22 khornet, 222, 221 fireball. Just my opinion.
 
There's those that swear by 'em, there's those that hate 'em. Plain old .22's have killed a lot of deer over the years. A .17 cal. pellet gun could and I suspect has killed a man. Heck, when I was about 4 or 5 I hit a kid about 12 in the back of the neck with a rock a knocked him unconsious. Are you getting my drift?

I'm betting the buddy mentioned above is a crack shot and very diciplined as well. Like Inspector Harry Calahan said, "a man's got to know his limitations". To each his own, but you have to operate within the spectrum you set for yourself. I like to be able to shoot at runners, I like to be able to shoot at good distances, I like to be able to shoot through a little bit of brush now and then. IMHO, a Hummer would limit my shooting too much.

But opinions are like......
 
There is no doubt a 17HMR will kill a coyote with a well placed shot. However, in my opinion, you are very badly under gunned to pursue coyotes with this caliber. I would use one if it was my only choice but thats the only way. It just is not a well rounded caliber for coyotes. Its not really good for anything but close range standing shots where the shooter can be precise. You will get guys to tell you how they rolled running coyotes at 300 yards with an HMR. Take that with a grain of salt. I do however, very much like the .17 Remington for coyotes although it too has some range limitations when compared to the likes of a .22-250. Hard to beat the ole .22-250, .223, .204, .17 Remington or the .243 for Coyotes. Several others would make the grade as well but are not as common.
 
Actually I would go with the 22-250. If your a cheap skate then you should go with the .223(ammo much cheaper). But when it comes to something that I love, like coyote hunting, a little money difference doesnt stop me.

22-250 rem 55g fmj Hornady 3680/velocity 1654/energy

223 rem 55g fmj Hornady 3240/velocity 1282/energy

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But I read some place that if it was got at WW and was Moly Coated it would be OK for Yotes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Sure it will work, and you can use your boot heel or a rock for a hammer but there are other things that will work better. If money is an issue, look at the savage package rifles in .223 and you'll be set up pretty well until you can do better.
 
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