The little cartridge that could

Yotarunner

Yotarunner

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originally posted to predator masters forum but il copy and paste it for you guys here too.

Seems these days whenever the inevitable "best caliber for coyotes" talk comes back around there seems to be an overwhelming trend in heavy long range style cartridges and bullets to the point where some people's coyote guns are what I would consider more deer medicine.
Let's not get started on the Facebook threads talking about whether 223 is "big enough" for coyotes 😂
These threads and conversations went through my mind as I walked to my stand toting my lowly little 222 and it's slow 40gr vmax.
this stand has become tradition as one of the first stands of the season. It was here I killed my first ever triple and I always make a point to try here early ever since.
With the call setup and the breeze kissing the left side of my face I scanned one final time and straight downwind a big fluffy white streak crested the hill. "Haven't even made a sound and I'm already spooking coyotes...great🙄"

PXL_20261015_231603734 by brr, on Flickr

Not feeling the hand calls today and with sun beaming right on me I went straight to nutty nuthatch on the FoxPro. It wasn't long until ears and then a nose poked up dead in front of me looking over the knol for the source of the sound. Almost at the same moment another coyote flashed far to my left.
I could have shot the first coyote which was only 150 yards away but nowadays I'm greedy for shotgun kills so I held tight.
For a tense few moments I scanned back and forth looking for my left coyote over the grass and watching the one in front make up its mind on coming closer.
Suddenly I looked over and leftie was right on top of me! 20 yards away trotting in to get downwind of the caller.
Shotgun out of position I scrambled but by the time the gun was up the coyote had spun and was right on the edge of my range. Blam! Blam! Blam! She stumbled but wasn't hit hard enough to drop.
Ol reliable was then turned on the FoxPro and the sounds of pup distress 3 echoed across the pasture.
By the sounds of the racket they made my first coyote had found a friend and neither of them were happy about me being there. They yipped and barked behind the hill but never came closer. It was here that things got a little crazy. Directly downwind the first coyote I had spooked setting up in was at a dead run wind-be-damned. it circled back around and met up with the 2 noise makers behind the hill and they all came in!
Coyote number one trotted in and stoped on top of the hill to dance and bark at me. boom-WHOP she went down and let out a brief YIPE! Which brought in coyote number two who walked up and looked around for it's fallen comrade. boom-WHOP! The FoxPro shut off briefly and I keyed it back on and cranked the volume. Here came contestant number 3. The big male was not happy. He barked and howled and yipped the whole way but stopping at 200 to paw the ground he opened his mouth to yell again "bark bark bark awoooo....BOOM-WHOP" all 3 coyotes died with nary a twitch.

PXL_20261015_232953661.MP by r, on Flickr

PXL_20261015_233032130.PORTRAIT by er, on Flickr


Funny how some people say 223 is too small for coyotes yet the smaller 222 with 3000fps 40 gr vmax does an amazing job.

I made one more stand and called another one right to the outer edge of shotgun range and didn't get it put down. Another itty bitty pup came in and got the 222 at 70 yards. I'd tell the story but at this point I have wasted too much time at work typing this so il end it there 😂

PXL_20261015_235326919 by der, on Flickr
 
I shot a few coyotes with a .17 Remington AI.
25 grain Hornady about 4100 f/s.

Standing broadside from 100 to 250 yards dropped dead in their tracks. Hard to fine an entrance hole, with no exit.

Running away at 100 yards... saw the flinch when the bullet hit but it kept going around a bend and I don't know when he died.

Switched back to my hunting rifle and others after that. Best long range killer was a 6mm - 280 Improved.
 
medvedqc said:
223, 222 and 22-250 works great on wolf so i do not see why not on coyote unless it is the new kevlar generation one lol ...

222 and 22-250 worked great on roe deer and chamois even if i preferred my 7x64.
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It's crazy nowadays with thermal getting big in the state's there's mountains of guys who will argue that you need 80+gr bullets to reliably kill a coyote and that 223 is just plain unethical. They don't stop arguing when you tell them they suck at shooting 😂
 
Yotarunner said:
It's crazy nowadays with thermal getting big in the state's there's mountains of guys who will argue that you need 80+gr bullets to reliably kill a coyote and that 223 is just plain unethical. They don't stop arguing when you tell them they suck at shooting 😂
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ah ah no it is the new specy with kevlar lol ... nothing to do with shooting skills lol
 
Depends how far you want to shoot them I suppose. Say the coyote is 20 kms out, a standard 155 shell would fit the bill just fine. At 200 yards it would probably be considered overkill though.

I shot 24 last winter. Three with the shotgun I think and the rest with the .222, all in front of the hounds except for one I called in. No issues whatsoever dropping them with that little rifle.

Hornady superformance varmint shoots great out of my .222 and the 50gr v-max come flying out at about 3275 in the winter. Good to about 300 rebiably if they're not moving but on a slowish moving coyote that's just trotting way ahead of the dogs I don't generally shoot if they're out over 250-260. The vast majority are one and done.

I choose my shots carefully though and don't just blast away at 'em. I'd rather stay quiet and not give up my position in case it circles back my way and gives me a better shot the second time around, which happens often enough.

If you want to plug 'em out to 5-6-700 yards by all means upsize on the fire power but you better be a good shot because a coyote isn't a very big target at those distances.
 
I use a shotgun mostly. Just because I like shotguns and I hunt small woodlots. The open fields I bring a 223 but its 16.5" barrel would likely come in behind the 222. I shoot 55gr sierra game king hp. Never checked the velocity yet but it works well
 
I have a family of coyotes on the other side of the river where I live. Figured I should thin them out before the river freezes up and they walk across into my sheep pasture.
I walked across the river after sun up the other morning. River was a lot deeper and swifter then I thought but using my shooting sticks for balance I managed to get across without getting a booter. I spooked two coyotes out of the little pasture on the other side as I was setting up but thought I would call anyhow.
Turned pup distress on the Foxpro and 2 mins latter I had a big female coming charging hard across the field. She stopped at 50yds when I swung the rifle to get lined up and I dumped her on the spot. Kept the pup distress going and I had another coyote barking from behind me where I walked in. Played with her for about 5 mins before she came out of the bush and showed herself at 120 yds along the river. Dropped her on the spot as well.
Sat there for a few more minutes and figured nothing else would come so I got up and walked the 10 yds to pick up the caller. Looked over to the direction that the big female came from and there is another coyote trotting in. Dropped down and got on the shooting sticks. When he stopped at 200yds I thought I better take him and I pulled the trigger. This one started to spin and took off but piled up in about 30 yds. Turns out I hit him just a touch too far back.
I was using my little Browning Stainless Stalker in 204R and I had loaded a bunch of 30gr Bergers when I was running low on the 35s. They worked just as well as the 35s with no signs of an entrance or exit hole. Planning on going out this Sunday to an old spot that always produces then going to check out a new farm where I see coyotes almost every day when I'm there with the school bus. Will take the phone and take a couple pics if I go. Didn't take it this last time just in case I fell in the river when I was crossing. That's also the reason I took the Browning instead of the Sako or Cooper.
 
BLCB said:
I would say anyone questiong .223 for such small animals doesn't know much about guns. It can take Whitetail and Mule deer with a decent shooter behind the gun, why couldn't it kill a small dog?
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It's shocking how many people think you need Thor's hammer to kill a little coyote. I'm on a bunch of American coyote hunting pages and since thermal became huge people have been making sub optimal shots and blaming the cartridge for it. If you go on there asking for best coyote bullet for 223 you will get a pile of guys saying to switch to 22creedmoor 6arc and even 6.5 creedmoor
 
I would use my 17 Fireball on yotes. A 20gr VMAX going at 4000 fps will kill any canine in N America. Even at 200 yds the little Fireball is still doing 3000 fps.
 
Nice read. Good story. I will say a 222 shooting a 40 grain at 3000 fps is seriously neutered. Im getting 3600 fps out of mine with 20.5 gr of imr 4198. Its a great coyote killer!! But once you start shooting coyotes that are running away at 250-350y+ distances the 223 and 222 really struggle. For calling they are both plenty though
 
BLCB said:
I would say anyone questiong .223 for such small animals doesn't know much about guns. It can take Whitetail and Mule deer with a decent shooter behind the gun, why couldn't it kill a small dog?
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You definitely can, ive shot plenty close up with the 17 hmr and 17 wsm. Its when you start shooting runners in the rear that the 223 struggles for me. Around the farm when I see them they are usually running away already. The 243 works great
 
With the shotgunners I'm curious as to choke and shot size. I'm guessing it's lighter buckshot - Number 1,4 or 0 buck and a full or extra full choke. Would iron sights or red dot be the ticket or is a bead adequate?
 
Crowbar64 said:
Nice read. Good story. I will say a 222 shooting a 40 grain at 3000 fps is seriously neutered. Im getting 3600 fps out of mine with 20.5 gr of imr 4198. Its a great coyote killer!! But once you start shooting coyotes that are running away at 250-350y+ distances the 223 and 222 really struggle. For calling they are both plenty though
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Yep it was literally the starting load and it shot so dang good I kept it. Think it's 18gr of 4198. I think if you are taking marginal shots on coyotes then there is no real good option. This gun and load has claimed coyotes to 300 yards bang flop.
 
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