Varmint noob questions

RaTFiNk306

RaTFiNk306

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South Sask
Hi Everyone,

I have a few questions about hunting. First off I have never been hunting before in my life. Now I want to get into it but living in an apartment right now I have no idea what I would do with a whole deer. Some co-workers of mine have decided they would like to hunt coyotes. I think this would be a good starting point for hunting. So I went and got my trappers licence but still have yet to set out to shoot some yotes. I have a m14 and dont really want to buy a dedicated varmint gun until Im sure this is for me. So the few questions I have are.

1. Where would be the best spot to shoot the coyote so to minimize damage. I was thinking the head but dont know if its an important part of the pelt.

2. Who can I sell the carcasses to and how do they like them prepped.

3. Anyone have a yote problem around Regina and wouldnt mind showing a guy the ropes.

Please dont flame me too bad.
 
RaTFiNk306 said:
1. Where would be the best spot to shoot the coyote so to minimize damage. I was thinking the head but dont know if its an important part of the pelt.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't advocate shooting a coyote anywhere other than the best spot for anchoring it, i.e. the vitals. They are remarkably resilient animals, and are well known for running off with their guts hanging out and dying elsewhere. This should help:

anatomy_coyote_side_2.jpg


Bullet choice will play into preventing pelt damage more than aimpoint, but you will have to accept the occasional splash and try your hand at stitching. ;)
 
Thanks for the tip. I don't know if this has been discussed to death or not but what kind of bullet would damage the least. I told the gentleman at Wholesale what my intentions and asked if a non expanding bullet would work best like a HPBT. He said no way it will
hit a bone and blow the side right out. I didnt take it serious I know they can go through a tree and tag something on the other side. But I havent shot one yet. So I left there with some A max 168 grain and some barnes 110 grain tactical bullets. Any ideas what these will do.
 
RaTFiNk306 said:
Thanks for the tip. I don't know if this has been discussed to death or not but what kind of bullet would damage the least. I told the gentleman at Wholesale what my intentions and asked if a non expanding bullet would work best like a HPBT. He said no way it will hit a bone and blow the side right out. I didnt take it serious I know they can go through a tree and tag something on the other side. But I havent shot one yet. So I left there with some A max 168 grain and some barnes 110 grain tactical bullets. Any ideas what these will do.
Click to expand...

Oh, you planning to shoot a .30 cal? (I totally missed the M14 reference, sorry). If so, your chances of not causing damage to a pelt are probably pretty slim regardless of bullet choice.
 
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Well until you are very sure of your ability to hit exactly where you're aiming a head shot is an iffy proposition, lots of angles for a bullet to deflect off of. Granted though, with an M14 you'd do some serious damage most places you could hit.

I would think that a smaller caliber would be better. .223 Rem is a popular choice. I think for an ideal bullet/load choice you would want one that would stop inside the body, but with enough power for a clean kill. Might be Internet truth, but people claim to be able to do that. A pelt with only one hole in it is in better shape than one with two bullet holes. I don't know enough specifics to tell you any details.
 
An HPBT target/match type bullet will sometimes expand quite dramatically, and other times just roll right through.
If I were going to shoot song-dogs for their pelt with a .308, I think I'd be most likely to look for a relatively heavy bullet designed for dangerous game/deep penetration, that way you'll be unlikely to see much expansion.

If you are loading your own, I'd have a real hard look at the Game Ranger bullets from Marstar. These are very hard flat-points. The design kills very well, minimal expansion but not a great ballistic coefficient, so you'll have to do some shooting and arrive at your own sight settings. For the M14 load, I'd suggest the 168 grain .308 bullets; but that's only because they are presantly out of the 174 grain .311 bullets (yes, they work just great).
 
Pick up a savage axis in a smaller calibre... .223 or 22-250... you can get one with a scope for like $340 and they are remarkable shooters for the price.
 
Ya I understand its overkill. Im addicted to these damn black rifles I'm a pistol/3 gun guy. If I get a varmint gun it will most likely be a XCR when I can justify it. But for now just looking to see how much I enjoy hunting, and picked up my trappers licence just incase a pelt does not look to bad maybe someone could use the damn thing instead of it just sitting in the field. Just trying to get informed decisions incase anyone else has had real real good luck coyote hunting with a .308.
 
if your going to be serious about saving the pelts you better get a small caliber! if all you want to do is keep the population down then use whatever floats your boat.

when it comes to optics i like to use 3-9 with no AO. quite often coyotes are coming in fast and its hard to fiddle with paralax adjustments, worry about your call and keep concealment all at the same time.

i have alot of places i can hunt coyotes so i usually don't spend more then 15 minutes in any one stand unless i know the coyotes are coming in from a long distance.

i like to use a remote e-call with an automated decoy critter. i find the dogs fixate on the decoy and it provides more forgiveness for me if i need to adjust my stance or move to make the shot.

patience, have lots of it! you will come up dry 9 out of 10 stands!

and finally don't over hunt a particular stand. the dogs will get use to the calls and become get the hell out of dodge.
 
Hey there Ratfink

If your looking to recoup some costs. I was told that some of the RM's around here pay something like 20 bucks for the feet. Might want to check into that.
 
Rural municipality. And I think they quit paying, that was only for a short while a year or two ago. At least that is here in SE Sask.
 
Im Moose Jaw but head any direction and farmers have problems with coyotes, I shoot alot every winter in the hills south and west of Moose Jaw. I'm shooting a .204 and .243. For optics I use a 6.5-20x50 Conquest on my .204 (doubles as a gopher gun) and a 3.5-10x44 Conquest on my .243, both are plenty bright and durable for our frigid temps in Jan. For bullets I strictly shoot 39 gr Sierra BK's out of the .204 and 75 gr Sierra Hollow points out of the .243. Both are very fur friendly IMHO.

Cheers!!
 
I started out the same way as you. First a rec shooter, then a hunter. Believe me, your going to want a lighter rifle. I used the m14 setup but quickly picked up a tikka in 22-250. Defenetly start out with m14, but im sure after a full day and a good 10km you'll come around.

As for regina area, i like heading north to the valley. Craven area is great, I do well over there. Bethune area always seems to have alot as well, I usually call in multiple yotees out there. Most of the area is not posted but permission is easy to get when your hunting varmints.

Good luck and happy hunting
If you want a hunting buddy drop me a PM, I go out often and my friends usually have an excuse not to get up so early
 
All around Regina is a shotgun zone. Are you allowed to fire a centerfire in there? Because I have 3 places I can go in this zone.
 
Talked with a CO today about this and found out "you can" shoot center fire in this zone only after muzzle/shotgun is done. Well now I know.
 
Ya the RM's used to pay a 20 dollar bounty for four paws but thats no more. Now everyones talking about the raising price for furs. I might just have to check out By southwest Moose Jaw

Cheers
 
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