FMJ's on coyotes

[westcliffe01]

Qualify your statement by providing a caliber and bullet weight. Not generalizations. Was this a 147gr 308 bullet or a 55gr 223 ? Big difference between those. What about a 196gr FMJ from an 8x57 ? Do you figure that is marginal too ?

I've shot a few coyotes with FMJ's, but I wouldn't recommend it.
xdeano

 

[Reno1]

I've shot a few coyotes with FMJ's, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've shot far more coyotes with a match bullet then i can shake a stick at. They do a much better job. A FMJ will pencil through on a broad side shot and 9 times out of 10 the coyote will run a ways even if they're hit in the boiler room. If you're shooting the length wise they will start to tumble and rip things up and if they come out the side they will rip up a lot of fur. If you're just shooting coyotes to kill them, use a better bullet. If you want the fur shoot them with a match bullet.

It's always more fun to walk up to a coyote ($50 bill) that is dead, not half alive, and that's if you catch up to him after running a mile. You can't have a $50 bill if you can't put them on the ground. Moral of the story, use a better bullet.

xdeano

I'm curious also. What cal FMJ's have you used on coyotes? With all due respect there is no chance a coyote will run off 9 out of 10 times with a well placed 308 fmj.

 

[xdeano]

Ive shot coyotea with 55grn, in 22 cal, 90grn in 243 cal and 150grn in 308. They all tend to pencil through on a broad side shots. They will run, even if you hit them in the right spot. Ive had them take off at a dead run and tip over 50yds later. Ive also had them run a heck of a lot further. All im saying is pick up something other then a fmj for a coyote. They make wonderful rounds that actually open up a slight amount and leave small exits. A match bullet is a better suggestion then a fmj. Sure a fmj will work, but so would a 22short. Would it be my first choice, no. Coyotes are tough critters, give them a bit of respect, kill them quick.
Xdeano

 

[bamadawg2009]

Ive learned my lesson about shooting coyotes with FMJs.. I called in a young male a couiple years ago and could have killed him with my shotgun if I had it but he kept trotting and finally at 85 yds turned broadside and I sent a 223 55gr FMJ home to the boiler room he took off like I missed. I got up, walked to where I shot and didnt find any blood at all then looked down the pine row he was on about 100 yds and he had turned a full flip facing back the way he ran from, dead as a wedge. Ill never shoot a yote with FMJs again.
Now that said I have killed 2 coyotes with a 22LR using 36gr hollow points and they were both DRT, both of these shot were over 125 yds.

 

[Reno1]

Watch the vid westcliffe01 posted using a larger caliber FMJ and compare it to the .223 gel test done by the same vid maker. Seems clear a .308 FMJ does more damage than a .223 HP. That's what this thread refers to. How a .308 FMJ does on coyote. I believe a .308 or .270 or any similar caliber in FMJ does more damage on coyote than your typical .223 hunting/varmint round. I base that on personal experience with my .270, and the gel tests.

 

[xdeano]

My reasoning behind giving the green light on using a match bullet over a fmj is simply the fact that if you want to save fur you have to kill the animal in a quickly and humainely. A fmj will pencil through an animal and dump a very small amount of energy into the animal. What you want is a bullet that dumps its energy and doesnt exit. Fmjs wound tracts also have a tendency to seal up very quickly.

This is basically why the military doesnt use match grade or lead nose ammo. If a person is injured with a fjm it will take two people to carry them out. Where as if they were shot with a round with a more substantual wound trama it will kill more effectively and you wont need the two others to carry the guy out.

Plain and simple, choose a bullet suited for the job.
Xdeano

 

[westcliffe01]

For most coyote hunters, fur is absolutely worthless. Nor is there any bounty on them. Its not about money, but rather the cost of killing the critter. I would not hesitate for a second to shoot a coyote with my 1953 or 70's milsurp 8x57 ammo which cost $150/900 rounds back in the day. Nor would I hesitate to take the shot with DAG 147gr 7.62x51 and I'm pretty sure that a hit just about anywhere on that coyote is going to kill it faster than anything that comes out a 223 barrel, regardless of what it is called. I have seen coyotes hit by 308 rounds where the fur was split open for 6-7 inches by the hydraulic shock. The video with the ballistic gel tells the story, the myth about pencil wounds is a 223 related phenomenon.

This video
9mm vs .45 vs Rifle A Dr's View of Gunshot Wounds - YouTube
provides excellent insight into the difference between handgun and rifle wound significance.

 

[xdeano]

Well ive shot a couple coyotes in my life and i would not suggest shooting coyotes with a fmj. Use an appropriate round enough said.
xdeano

 

[Reno1]

An FMJ, or a round designed for hunting a much larger animal then a coyote, doesn't simply "pencil through" a coyote. Hydrostatic shock destroys them. A .223 has nowhere near the same energy as a .270, .308, etc. Nobody here is suggesting using .223 FMJ's on dogs.

I'd like to hear from those that have experience with larger cal on coyote. I'd say the % of DRT on them is much higher with a large round that doesn't expand, or any large cal FMJ, then ANY .223.

Not trying to start any argument. I wasn't sure what a 150g NP would do on coyotes until a shot a few. They drop staright down. Little to no expansion on the round. Relatively small entrance and exit holes. Sure, not the ideal round for a coyote, but more effective than any .223 round from my experience.

 

[fred64]

I've used FMJs on them. Even coyotes deserve to die quick. I've hit then thru both shoulders, and they just kept on running. It does do the trick, but not quickly and I did lose a few.

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

308 fmj s work great on coyotes.
Ya know. Sometimes when they r shot in the chest with a 22/250 with an expanding bullet they run off a ways. We use fmjs up here plenty as tho the coyotes aren't high dollar. They are nice fur that make great hats and parka ruffs.

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Oh and a 350 gr 416 bullet doesn't expand, @2550 fps but it does rip them almost in half. Not pretty.
A 250 gr 9.3 TSX @2700 fps is pretty hard on a fox also.

 

[Reno1]

Oh and a 350 gr 416 bullet doesn't expand, @2550 fps but it does rip them almost in half. Not pretty.
A 250 gr 9.3 TSX @2700 fps is pretty hard on a fox also.

Yup. The temorary cavity a large cal round (FMJ or round that doesn't expand) creates on a coyote from it's forces is much greater than what any .22 HP round can do and does. That is why you often see guys going to a .243. Higher % of DRT.

Aside from hunting, another interesting thing in the video westlicffe posted is the doctor that has dealt with many gunshot wound patients mentioned that HP's shot out of a handgun often stop short where he says if they had used a non-HP it is likely the guys shot would have been much more severly wounded, or have been killed due to penetration of vitals. "6 out of every 7 people shot with handguns survive".

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Ya, this problem the govt is creating with the bullet shortage is really putting a crimp in my style. I really like the Barnes Banded Solid in 6.5 . Its only 110 gr but my rifle really likes them. The 120 gr TSX may slip thru without making a mess. I need to do some testing.