Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

[Reemty J]

Keep the shots 300 yards or less, 10 mph wind at 300 yards is 7" drift, 30 mph wind 21"........it's all simple math...keep in mind the drift is full value, if the wind is quartering you have to split it.....lots of variables, but we love a challenge
I will tell you all one thing that I personally know makes the most difference............every time I close the deal and make a kill....I put my hands together and thank our a Great LORD for the gift....every time....the more I do that....the luckier I get! YMMV

 

[Straight Shooter]

At 300 yards with a 30mph wind full value my 17 rem with a 25 grain pill at 4000 fps will drift 33 inches. My 22-250 with a 52 grain match at 3600 fps will drift 30 inches.

 

[Reemty J]

39 grains with .287 BC at 3900 FPS. Best BC bullet in 20 caliber and better than 52 grain 22 and the 17...... I studied this out some you got the wrong caliber I may seem to be a virgin, but I'm not Germanic tendency's

.225 bc on 52 grain 22 caliber match sierra
.168 bc on 25 grain 17 bullet
See the difference it's huge along with velocity on the 39 grain 20 caliber

 

[Reemty J]

I will tell you my reasoning on choosing this bullet (39 SBK) in the .204 over others, the main reason is the BC is so high as it holds energy longer and drifts considerably less. I would think the 35 grain berger and the 40 grain James Calhoun double hollow point may be better for pelt damage, but as long as I am more careful on waiting for the broadside shot instead of 1/4ing away, the bullet performs well. Ohiolongarm was the one who 1st brought it to my attention and he was correct. When you pop a coyote with this round it just pounds them "instantly" dead...farthest one is 401 yards but from 100 to 350 a body shot "anywhere" is almost always instant death. In the past I shot a 22-250 with speer 52 grain hollow points @ 3700 fps, these are the ones with the large hole in the point...……...I was always amazed at how much the wind would push these...….I look at that .204 just like I do my 6.5 creedmoor and 6.5 PRC, I want the bullets with the highest BC, in the 6.5 PRC I shoot the Berger 156 EOL.
You know pelt damage is one thing and its important, but out here in Mondamtana, with "some" wind I want to have every advantage I can to just hit them...….but opinions are like @$$h-les, everyone has one.
Merry Christmas to all you people out there, this is truly a fun bunch...….remember also what Christmas is really about...…...but if it was not for EASTER, Christmas would have no meaning...…………...think about that!

 

[Straight Shooter]

Scott, you would have had to mention the Speer 52 hollowpoints with the big opening. I just bought some to try and reloaded a bunch.
We must remember that BC doesn't really start making much of a difference until after 3-400 yards. That is why I don't worry too much about my calling rifle bullets . Like you I use my 6.5 creedmoor for the really long shots or windy days.

 

[DSheetz]

Reemty it is true that a high B.C. is important and more so here with the high winds that we have . One day I was shooting my 223 with 55 gr. Sierra hpbt's . I had a full force cross wind with gusts to 35 or 40 mph. I held right behind the shoulders on a coyote right at 200 yards . It went down bang flop so I went over to pick it up the round had drifted and it had hit him in the neck taking out two vertebra and nearly severing it's head . A lot of sewing and it looked funny the colors didn't quite match up like they should the buyer bought it any way but made some fun of it looking so odd . Yes without Easter we wouldn't be celebrating Christmas but then with out the birth of Jesus we wouldn't be having an Easter either all things are inter connected .

 

[Reemty J]

And without HIM we wouldn't exist...……………...the CREATOR. Straight shooter, you just contradicted yourself....not being rude, but yes it matters at all ranges, but the farther away the more it compounds, the earlier example of the wind drift at 300 yards is a stark example of drift between the 3 cartridges we were comparing. Is it manageable, heck yes! But a person has to know exactly what it is....last Saturday, I should have had 5 coyotes easy, but I did not know Exactly what my drift was, I was missing 200-350 yard shots..I even went and shot my gun in the field to see if it was off, it wasn't. After I printed the drop/drift notes and took clear tape to "home school" laminate them...and when I leave my pickup I look at wind speed on my phone and I am set....other than "operator" error. Calling wise it is not the issue as much as spot and stalk in windy conditions.....which is ideal time to do it in, as two of the coyotes 3 senses are neutralized, hearing and smell...mainly you are dealing with sight, when their head is up...
let me tell you one example of the frustration I had last Saturday......Was walking back out, down the canal, after missing a shot..and 263 yards away I spotted a coyote curled up that I had not seen walking in, he was in the stubble below me so the wind/scent never hit him..I laid there prone, waiting for the coyote to stand for 30 minutes as I wanted a broadside shot as my confidence in my shooting was suspect....well after that long the coyote finally stood but wouldn't turn broadside just sat there facing away.....so I thought I am going to kill it...….bang....miss. 30 minutes invested and I dropped the ball.....

 

[DSheetz]

Learning what our guns will and will not do is the interesting part and the reason why back when the older guys that could only afford to have one rifle got so good with that one rifle and load that they bought all the time . The environmental conditions were about all that changed from day to day but they spent enough time with them that they pretty much knew what changes to make to adjust for each condition .

 

[Gunpowder]

Wow guys, just started reading this thread, lots of great stories and lessons! Learning alot.

Calling coyotes is really the only hunting I'm passionate about. Yeah I go smoke a deer or two, and I've got an antelope tag in the truck for a late season doe, but coyotes is where it's at.

Sometimes it seems almost too easy, and sometimes it seems impossible. I do know the first trip to a ranch for the year is usually the most productive, after that much more difficult, they learn fast!

I started out about 10 years ago and I'm 47 now, so got a late start at it. It's funny because I've always been a gun nut, shot countless prairie dogs. I really didn't understand how hard coyotes could be to hit lol. I figured I had that part in the bag.

My very first stand, I had a JS pm3, the one with the 50' cord. Started with some sort of rabbit, and the sounds played for about 1 minute then stopped. At the start of the second sequence a coyote was going across in front of me about 75 yards out, and I managed to miss somehow. I was soooo bummed, but hooked for sure.

Same area a few weeks later iirc, and I called one to the top of a small hill maybe 250 yards facing me. I got impatient and tried the shot, missed him too. Later that year I did finally put one down and the second one was easier it seemed.

Sandhills are great coyote country, but a big challenge at the same time. There are tons of avenues for them to use, and many of them are never seen as they circle far down wind, out of sight behind distant hills I think. When with a partner, one always watches down wind, but sometimes I think going 1/4 mile over the next ridge could pay benefits. It's hard to have the discipline to do that when most of the action is going to be at the call. I'd do it, but I always seem to be running the call with my current partners.

So Saturday, I'm taking some family out. They hunt, but not coyotes. My Bil, niece and nephew. They are great shots so hopeful I can put them on one. They don't have any idea how hard it can be though lol. But I know my nephew, 9 years old or so, will have the fever bad. He's a hunting, shooting machine, worse than I was at that age, and he gets lots of opportunities with his dad and grandpa hunting and fishing. He will be hooked for life and hopefully will take me out with my cane when that time comes haha. Really looking forward to it, and also hoping we don't let a bunch get away to get smarter lol.

Anyway thanks for the great thread, haven't read it all yet. Btw I'm always on predator masters forum, go by 204 AR over there. Hi TR, hope things pick up down there. Kevin said it's slowed way down also.

And Merry Christmas!

 

[DSheetz]

Merry Christmas to you Gunpowder . If they aren't coming close for you the volume might be too high start with low volume you can always turn it up but you can't go back and start lower once you've started too loud till you go to the next stand . Good luck and enjoy the time with the family ( the most important part of life ! When they want to circle down wind they have suspected something isn't right in my experience but they are all different or the sound is too loud .

 

[74honker]

Keep the shots 300 yards or less, 10 mph wind at 300 yards is 7" drift, 30 mph wind 21"........it's all simple math...keep in mind the drift is full value, if the wind is quartering you have to split it.....lots of variables, but we love a challenge
I will tell you all one thing that I personally know makes the most difference............every time I close the deal and make a kill....I put my hands together and thank our a Great LORD for the gift....every time....the more I do that....the luckier I get! YMMV

I do the same thing Reemty. One hand in the air and looking skyward I give thanks to HIM for blessing me. Can't say I'm the luckiest person for sure though lol.

 

[74honker]

Merry Christmas to all! Hope everyone has a great holiday.

 

[Reemty J]

Next week, taking some days off, possibly some new Mondamtana coyote adventures.......hopefully there are a lot of " suicidal " coyotes to be had

 

[DSheetz]

I was always interested in knives even at a young age . It seemed like all the older ladies had two kitchen knives and they both were worn down from the wooden handle to 3 or 4 inch's toward the tip so they had an in ward belly in the edge . Not all of them but the most of them were Old Hickory brand knives . They would have one that had a thin but long blade and one that had a thick , maybe 1 1/2 wide, blade . I watched these older ladies use a drinking glass to keep the edges sharp in much the same way we would a steel . All of these ladies just lived simple lives they weren't poor but they weren't middle income either so they took care of what they had . Mrs. Johnson was in her 70's and told me that she had gotten her knives as a wedding gift when she was 17 . She would oil the wooden handle and it never laid in the dish water but was washed off and dried immediately . They didn't know what stainless steel kitchen knives were so they all were carbon steel . They called themselves hillbillies and said there was a difference between a hillbilly and a red neck they said they had ingenuity and figured things out for themselves and weren't angry like rednecks even back then . The men that used a safety razor instead of the straight razor would often re-sharpen the blade by rubbing it inside of a drinking glass changing them from side to side to keep an edge on both sides . They all had a folding knife seemed like that most of them were worn down from sharpening them . They almost always had a small natural whit stone that they used with water that was fine enough grained you could sharpen a straight razor on before you stropped it to put the fine edge on . Till the day my Mom went into the care home she kept her two kitchen knives sharp mostly on a water glass . If they got abused by someone , not her , then she would get my brothers or me to use a whit stone and sharpen them for her .