Effect of #4 Buck on Coyotes?

bluemike807

bluemike807

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I've recently moved to Nova Scotia, and want to break in my new Wildlife Resource Card by hunting some of the local 'yotes.

Legislation says no center-fire, or shot bigger than #4 buck until Deer season. Super.

If I was lucky enough to call some songdogs into effective range, I was hoping to practice case skinning - if Im having to use 3" #4 buck with a full choke, is there going to be any point, or am I just going to perforate whatever I hit?

The NAFA manual indicates that .22 bullets can be sewn up reasonably well, but Im thinking not if there's a dozen of them. Should I wait for centerfire season, or hit the trails with my 870?
 
Buck shot should kill a yote no problem providing it is close in enough. Take a big hunk of cardboard and fire a load of buck at it from 50 yards. As it has been said..."a pic is worth a thousand words". I've killed coyotes graveyard dead from 30 yards with shot as small as 7 1/2's. Not uncommon to have them come into my FoxPro while hunting crows. But is it even worth skinning a coyote these days?
 
#4 buck will kill them dead all right. Not sure what it does to the hides as I don't skin them.

Pattern the shotgun to determine your max range.
 
When I use to use a shotgun on the critters the guy I gave them to never complained about the holes and he skinned them and cashed them in.I only used 3" #4 buck.The complaining only started when I stopped with shotgun and used my .243.
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bluemike807 said:
is there going to be any point, or am I just going to perforate whatever I hit?
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You need to "perforate" whatever you hit or it won't have any holes in it! Holes are good. Not too many. Too many is not good. You decide how many are OK and how many are too much by patterning your gun. Then shoot some coyotes. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the advice; Im confident that the #4 will indeed kill the coyote - no doubts there. My interest in skinning it is for practice, but if I can get a decent hide out of it too, then thats a nice bonus. Basically Im just wondering if #4 is going to turn the POI into shredded nothing that will invalidate the hide.

That said, I'll definitely pattern it and see for myself. I'll also maybe keep an eye out for a .22 WMR ;P
 
Hmmm - I think your challenge will be to call them within range for shotgun work. Coyotes are smarter than deer, and most hunters. Given your constraints, I think I'd go for a 22 mag - thats what a lot of folks use around here.
 
cosmic said:
Hmmm - I think your challenge will be to call them within range for shotgun work. Coyotes are smarter than deer, and most hunters. Given your constraints, I think I'd go for a 22 mag - thats what a lot of folks use around here.
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Emphasis there on here; if you're in Southern or Eastern Ontario, you're calling them across open fields - Im in South Shore Nova Scotia; where dense bush is the norm, I'd guess any shots will be well within 50 yards.
 
bluemike807 said:
Thanks for the advice; Im confident that the #4 will indeed kill the coyote - no doubts there. My interest in skinning it is for practice, but if I can get a decent hide out of it too, then thats a nice bonus. Basically Im just wondering if #4 is going to turn the POI into shredded nothing that will invalidate the hide.
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The hide is going to be pretty ratty this time of year, so it won't matter much. But in the late fall and early winter, No.4 Buck shouldn't be too hard on em. Its not like you're getting all of the pellets on target in most cases.
 
#4 buck will work just fine. We have dumped quite a few coyotes in the past with BBs - 2 3/4 at that. Most shots were 40 yards or less and very seldom did the coyote not drop on the spot. Our longest kill with BBs was 80 yards going away. I don't know if BB holes even need to be sewn up.
 
Well - FWIW I think you might be better off finding some open space. Where I live in Ontario, its tight bush, and its quite challenging to spot a coyote before they spot/scent you. We migrate south to more open spaces....
Let us know how it goes..
 
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#4 buck at 40 yards or less out my my 870 with mod choke is deadly on yotes as long as I peg them good in upper chest to head area. ALso if you can get your hands on some LEAD BB shot it will work well too.

.22mag would work good too under 100 yards and good steady shot to the boiler room or head area of a standing yote.
 
bluemike807 said:
Emphasis there on here; if you're in Southern or Eastern Ontario, you're calling them across open fields - Im in South Shore Nova Scotia; where dense bush is the norm, I'd guess any shots will be well within 50 yards.
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Looks like Hunt&Hook is right! This new product from Hornaday & NS hunting reg's, seem to be almost made for each other.
 
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