Help choosing yote gun

[Chum_Bucket]

I shot a deer last year and the yotes ate half of it within the 2 hours it took me to get back to camp and get some help. I hate yotes! I want to kill yotes! I could possibly get a 200 yard shot at most where I hunt but most would be within 100. A rimfire would have to be my choice so that I could hunt at night if I wanted. I know just about nothing when it comes to hunting coyotes.
I would prefer to use a centerfire of coarse but it is not legal at night. As far as I know they come out at night. 22mag or 17HMR? This looks like what I want. The price is right and it seems like a quality gun to me. http://www.savagearms.com/rimfire/magnum_s...es/93fvssxp.htm (http://www.savagearms.com/rimfire/magnum_series/93fvssxp.htm)
or has anybody used the remmington premier 22mag ammo? It has a 33gr. V-Max and shots a little flatter. Not as good as the 17HMR but alot more knock down power. And with only a 4.3 inch drop from 100 to 150.
http://www.remington.com/ammo/ballistics/r...e/22winmbal.htm (http://www.remington.com/ammo/ballistics/rimfire/22winmbal.htm)

[Elkein]

Either of those rimfires will kill coyotes, neither of them will drop coyotes consistantly. The 22 mag has the advantage of a bigger chunk of lead out there, that seems pretty obvious to me, since that sounds like a culling only operation.

['da law]

Hey Chum,

Have to agree w/Elkein, both will drop 'yotes but run on the light side. I have killed 'yotes w/a .22 WMR but they were taken at fairly close range. Most were shot inside 50 yards or so w/my Ruger Single-Six which was a constant companion on the farm. As for the Premier Ammo, the stuff shoots good and is accurate to boot. However, I'd try to keep the range down as close as I could get 'em in. A 'yote is a tough critter and I have seen 'em take shots that would down any other critter and keep truckin' to the next zip code. Have you considered using a shotgun and calling in the thickets? A 12 bore is "bad wampum" in the thickets at close range. Anyhow, just my .02 cents!

'da law

[Handloader]

I would look at one of the heavy barrel handi rifles in 223 Rem. I shoot a Ruger MKII Varmiter in 223 but the little singleshot handi rifle is allot less expensive and are good shooters. The 223 will wack a yote out to an over 200 yards.
Much farther out I shoot Nosler 55 grain Ballistic Tips in my 243 Win. It's kinda like At&T it will reach out and touch them. Good luck and good shooting
:rolleyes:

[S.Frame]

Chumby, no rimfire is suitable for coyotes. If no other type of firearm is a viable legal option, use leghold traps or snares.

Trapping is a far more efficient method of eradication, and it certainly doesn't sound like you are too concerned about the sporting challenge of calling anyway. That actually requires respect for the animal you attempt to pursue....hate doesn't help

No animal deserves to die a slow agonizing death, and that is exactly what you will accomplish. Save the rimfires for rats and bunnies, and heed the late Elmer Keith's advice:

"Always use enough gun"

[Rich]

I prefer to shoot my coyotes in the daytime. Coyotes are tough critters. Pound for pound, I believe that a coyote is harder to kill than a white tailed deer. I use a couple of .25-06 rifles and one .257 Ackley improved which shoots about same velocity as does the .25-06. Since I sometimes save the fur, I choose a bullet with fairly heavy jacket. The 90 grain Sierra HPBT "Gameking" has been a long time favorite of mine. Good hunters I know who prefer the .243 or 6mm Remington are great lovers of the 85 grain Sierra BTHP "Gameking". I would not shoot coyotes with a rimfire unless I was trapping and just popping them between the eyes from six feet or less.

[the long ranger]

OK guys, this is a touchy one and I dont want to walk away sounding like an idiot, or worse careless.
Here in Michigan nighttime hunting is restricted to use of bow and arrow, .22 rimfire, or shotgun only. Shotguns cant be loaded (you cant possess as well) with buckshot, slugs or cut loads. So that leaves you with BBB or smaller if Im not mistaken. BBB will do the deed pretty good, but Im not too fond of the patterns from my shotgun with it, in fact Id be better off throwing rocks. I wish that I could use a centerfire at night but I cant, so what do you do? Technically you cant use the .17HMR either, I contacted the DNR a couple weeks ago about the legality of using a .17HMR at night and they dodged the question saying "the .17 rimfire is not being considered a unique caliber at this time". That doesnt say its legal or illegal does it?
Im not shure where Chum Bucket is hunting at but if its Michigan hes stuck with those choices. It sucks, but its the law here. Hope I didnt come off wrong.

[S.Frame]

TLR, you came off just fine.

didn't say he HAD to use a rimfire. He said: "A rimfire would have to be my choice so that I could hunt at night if I wanted."

Notice the "if I wanted"

For calling at night were the ranges are much more limited, a 3" 12 and big dose of buffered Copper plated BB's is VERY effective. All you need is the right choke. Right Rich?

There are a lot of aftermarket choke tubes that will throw very dense killing patterns out to 40 or 45 yards.

Rich, if my memory is correct, you have done a lot of testing with a "Kick's" tube, didn't you?

Enlighten us Mr. Cronk. I know you have probably killed more coyotes with a scattergun than I have seen.

The new Remington "Hevi-shot" in #2 is awesome at calling distances too, albeit very expensive.


I have killed quite a few things this year with the .17HMR, and I assure you that it offers no advantages over the .22 mag when it comes to coyotes. Both are not an ethical choice.

[Rich]

S. Frame,
Yes sir, I have done a lot of testing with both ten and twelve gauge shotguns. I have never tried the new Hevi-shot, but I sure would if I didn't already have a good supply of copper plated BB's and #4 BUCK.:) The owner of a shotgun which accepts screw-in choke tubes has a very versatile tool indeed. The twelve gauge shotgun loaded with Federal "premium" or Winchester XX Magnums in either #2 birdshot, BB or #4 BUCK can tune the shotgun to roll a coyote reliably at 45 yards. Twelve gauge fodder in 2&3/4" magnum loads will kill just as far as a 3" load but is harder to find these days. Most of my close cover coyotes are rolled with 2 ounces of BB's from a 3" magnum shell. My Browning BPS likes the Hastings .655" card shooter choke tube, and also the Kicks "BuckKicker" tube. The best thing about the Kicks tube is that it seems to shoot everything from #6 birdshot thru 00 BUCK with very satisfying patterns.:)

[Chum_Bucket]

Well guys I sighted in my new Ruger 77/22 VMBZ with remington premier 33gr V-Max bullets. It shoots less than 1" groups at 100 yards. I set up a 10" thick semi frozen rotten log with a 2x10 behind it at 75 yards. You couldnt see a hole going in the log but the back side had a large hole blown out it. The 2 x 10 had a 3/8" hole going in and a 3/4" hole blown out the back side. This gun will be killing some coyotes. I do plan to retrieve them with minimal pelt damage that is why I dont want to fill them with holes from a shotgun.

[Rich]

Chum Bucket,
Did you say that this was a .22 rimfire and 33 grain V Max bullet that penetrated a semi frozen log and continued on through a two inch thick pine board? Something sounds not quite right here.

[Chum_Bucket]

.22magnum rimfire with remington premier 33gr v-max. The log was not rock hard more like frozen sawdust.

[S.Frame]

why did you bother to ask then?

Sounds like you are ready for hunting rotten logs and 2X4's, all right. Attaboy!

Shooting holes in inert stuff, is a much more reliable indicator of a bullet's terminal coyote performance than opinons from guys like Rich that have actually killed a gazillion of them.

I guess the coyotes will be the ones to pay the price for your ill advised adventure......... and that is a shame.

Have you ever tracked a wounded coyote at night?

You said: I know just about nothing when it comes to hunting coyotes.

For the coyotes sake that's not all bad. You have to call 'em first before you can cripple 'em and if you take hunting advice like you do shooting advice, that day will be a long time coming.

Spare me the wonderful, glowing field reports, OK?

[Chum_Bucket]

You guys are nuts if you think this gun wont take out coyotes. They will have a third eye and scrambled brains or a hole ripped through their heart out to 150 yards. That bullet is carrying 121 fpe at 150 yards. A pellet from a shotgun that weighed 15 grains(not sure how much they weigh but I bet they are less than 15 grains) at the muzzle travelling at 1350 fps only has 61 fpe. Killing them is fine they dont have to be gutted and Im sure they wont suffer.

[Chum_Bucket]

S. Frame you need to adjust your attitude. I am so sorry that I have become such a thorn in your side for asking for some advice on a rimfire. I can see that you and other as well fell that it is not enough gun.no rimfire is suitable for coyotes. I will be hunting at night and the legal firearms are rimfires and shotguns.didn't say he HAD to use a rimfire. He said:QUOTE
"A rimfire would have to be my choice so that I could hunt at night if I wanted."

and i wont why did you bother to ask then?

You have proved that you are rude and that is all.

[S.Frame]

Chumbucker, I really wasn’t trying to be rude (well, maybe a little); sometimes when a person asks for advice, they do not necessarily get what they want to hear. You didn’t really want advice anyway; you were apparently looking for corroborating opinions to support a decision that was already made.

When someone asks me for my opinion I give them just that; it is based on my actual experience, and not sugar coated regurgitated “warm fuzzy” PC pabulum.

I also hunt in areas that are closed to centerfires from Oct. 1st to Jan. 1st, each year, and I have shot a few coyotes with a .22 mag semi-auto, but I had enough respect for the animal to stop using it after loosing a few that were well hit multiple times. I could be more explicit but it would just waste both our time.

What you choose to do is your business. I couldn’t care less whether you take my advice or not, and my attitude is just what I intend it to be. If you have a problem with that, its too damn bad for you. Get over it, or move on.

Making clean kills and having at least a modicum of respect for ALL the animals we hunt are two issues I feel very strongly about, and you apparently don't.

If I've offend you, relief is but a right click away, and you can take up shop elsewhere. The net is a big place; no doubt you’ll find a place that fits a little better, and gives the kind of "advice" you seek.

Further discourse or belaboring this point will serve no usefull purpose, so I'll lock this up, but since it is my forum, I DO get the last word, OK?
;)