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Hunting & Fishing Let’s start a coyote thread.
- Thread starter Tugboater
- Start date
Yes, 5.56 with a 77gr OTM. My night hunts consist of both hogs and coyotes so I use the same round for both.
I’ve been thinking about changing it up but it’s a balancing act since I want to stick with the AR platform and be the same setup for hogs/coyotes.
Been looking into 6mm Arc. Why that vs a 6.5 Grendel.
Looks like the Grendel performance is VERY similar, wider/cheaper selection of ammo, more barrel manufacturers and can get heavier pills for hogs too.
What am I missing?
The 6 arc has lighter higher b.c. Bullets that should translate into more feet per second meaning flatter shooting(speed kills also) which is what we are looking for when coyote hunting and seconds count!
Yeah, from what I found in comparison of the 123gr 6.5 and the 103-108gr 6mm. The 6mm offers about 200 more fps and about 3 inches less drop out to 400 yards.
Seems negligible since my night hunting is pretty much 250yds and in. Want to make sure I’m not missing something.
I’ve been thinking about swapping to a Grendel for a while. This may be my push to do it.
Seems negligible since my night hunting is pretty much 250yds and in. Want to make sure I’m not missing something.
I’ve been thinking about swapping to a Grendel for a while. This may be my push to do it.
It's probably not enough difference to matter, but I love the 6mm. The Grendel is capped by its case length.
Sig Cross 130 Sierra TGK.
Love this lightweight little rifle. Shoots very good for me as well.
I've been saying it for years. 6mm is king for killing coyotes.
It's just perfect isn't it? I've killed them with just about everything, but the 6mm's are just perfect. Flat, insignificant recoil, kills them dead without any fuss, and that 87gr V-max is my favorite coyote bullet of all time. I think the 6mm arc is the best coyote cartridge ever developed. I think it wipes the floor with the 22-250 for the simple fact that it is its ballistic equivalent with small bullets, (58gr), and does it with less barrel length. It also feeds better, runs in a smaller rifle, increased mag capacity, more efficient, and then you have the ability to shoot bullets as long as 115gr if you want to.
You nailed it. Fast, flat, little recoil, and just kills. I would get 6 arc if I wasn't so invested in my 6 dti.
I like this, I've got too many roosters as it is!
Y'all help me out. I enjoy hunting as much as anybody but I'm losing my taste for deer hunting. I guess the pace is too slow. Night hunting pigs and dove hunting is more my thing these days but I'd like to get into coyote hunting for a change of pace and to try something new.
My ao in se Texas is heavily wooded and neck deep in palmetto with little open terrain. There's another place I hunt in south Texas and it has some open areas along right of ways and a few small clearings for the feeders but not much. What are the best methods for being successful in these types of environments?
I bought the cheap foxpro inferno and called a few of the neighbors cats lol but nothing else. I don't think the call gets loud enough but I don't know. Seems to work fine on crows. What I'm finding out is there seems to be a little more to it than just turning the call on and blasting away.
Where I go in south Texas there's a gut pile a short drive from camp that gets used a fair bit during season. Think I'll try camping out on that next time I'm down that way.
My ao in se Texas is heavily wooded and neck deep in palmetto with little open terrain. There's another place I hunt in south Texas and it has some open areas along right of ways and a few small clearings for the feeders but not much. What are the best methods for being successful in these types of environments?
I bought the cheap foxpro inferno and called a few of the neighbors cats lol but nothing else. I don't think the call gets loud enough but I don't know. Seems to work fine on crows. What I'm finding out is there seems to be a little more to it than just turning the call on and blasting away.
Where I go in south Texas there's a gut pile a short drive from camp that gets used a fair bit during season. Think I'll try camping out on that next time I'm down that way.
I talked to a guy who used real chickens as bait. Live chickens!
He said he would get a length of string and tie one end to their leg while they are in a cage. I cannot remember how far away he was. Perhaps he was about 50 to 100 yards away.
The weapon of choice as the predator light on a rifle.
He would pull on the string every now and then to get the hen to cackle. (Insert Kamala Harris laugh here).
The coyotes couldn't resist and he claimed he had lots of luck.
I haven't tried the live chicken yet; just dead racoons and other dead coyotes as well as dog food.
I did upgrade to a FoxPro Hi-Jack that has brought them in really fast but because of the terrain they were on a rise of ground with no backstop. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out an alternate strategy.
I may go back to daylight calling in a different area for a change.
Hit YouTube and watch how the MFK guys do it. Tory Cook is in south Arkansas, in ground as thick as anywhere in America and slays coyotes. Get a shotgun, locate them at night, move in close in the morning and howl them in. He's been demonstrating that method on YouTube for at least a decade.
75gr Amax from the 223ai always seems to do the trick.
Love a good coyote in the snow picture. Here's one from last weekend. The 6 Creed never disappoints.
Got my other son his first night time coyote last week. I can’t tell you how bad he messed up the next stand after walking in 3/4 of a mile though!!
Two day overnight camp trip back to AZ in December to hunt with my good buddy. Called 11 in, had some funny misses but dropped 5. Goal was 7 though, maybe next year! Saw a lion walking off the side of the road on the drive home too, rare sighting in that part of AZ.
He’s shooting the Ruger American in 6CM with 87VMAXs. I’ve got my trusty Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel with a soft shooting 95 VMAX load. Both drop ‘em like a hammer.
He’s shooting the Ruger American in 6CM with 87VMAXs. I’ve got my trusty Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel with a soft shooting 95 VMAX load. Both drop ‘em like a hammer.
Anyone tried the 77gr tipped match king?
I use these for other purposes and think I’m going to load a few up to try. Seems like they would open up a little better than the otm.
If those don’t make a significant improvement I’m going to swap calibers to a 6.5 Grendel.
I use these for other purposes and think I’m going to load a few up to try. Seems like they would open up a little better than the otm.
If those don’t make a significant improvement I’m going to swap calibers to a 6.5 Grendel.
Suppose to perform real well. What caliber are you shooting them out of?
I shot 69 TMK’s out of a 223ai and it was really impressive the few coyotes I shot. NASTY
5.56 so only pushing them at about 2600 fps but the ballistic calculator shows only about a 2” variance from 25-200yds so they may work well.
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Had mixed results with the 77SMK, I’d bet the TMK would be a little better but don’t have anything to back that opinion up with.
I was in a pinch this year and loaded some 107TMKs for the Grendel and used it for deer. Dropped a doe in her tracks at 200yds with it, I was pretty surprised since I didn’t really know what to expect with that bullet.
I know 69 TMKs are pretty nasty on prairie dogs, but thats at 22-250 speeds.
I killed a few with the IMI Razorcore, 77gr SMK and they left some golf ball sized holes out of my AR out past 200 yards.
I’m taking a trip out tomorrow and hopefully will have a report back.
The last 6 months or so I have been carrying the AR9. It's light and straps to a backpack so I can ride my ountain bike back near where I'm going to explore and hunt. I had 2 coyotes in the gully, shot at both and missed, about 10 minutes apart fom each other. Now early this afternoon I was in some pretty thick brush. We saw a few pigs run into this brush last night. So I played some piglet in distress thinking some angry sows might show up. Coyote come in pretty fast. pulled up on him/her/they/them/it and was perfectly on the front shoulder. When the bang happened it jumped and then ran into the brush like nothing happened.... I can't hit anything with this gun.... I've shot paper from 10-50 yards with it and should be able to hit a coyote pretty easy. Damn things are like trying to shoot a ghost.
You might not be missing them. I've never shot a coyote with a 9mm, buy anytime you're shooting a cartridge that the average rapper has taken 5 shots from and survived to continue making shit music, it probably isn't near enough to kill a coyote quickly.
They are probably soaking up those bullets and dying a mile away. This time of year their pelts are so thick that a single entry hole won't hardly leave you enough blood to find. They often will run a few hundred yards before the first drop of blood makes it to the ground.
It's funny, I regularly say that I trust a v-max over any other coyote bullet. I've had the opposite experience. I've seen less coyotes run after being hit with a v-max than any other bullet.
What bullets are you shooting these days?
I was shooting factory 50gr vmax because I haven't had time to reload, and I should have known better. I had 2 other friends that were having the same problem. I got them switched over to nosler ballistic tips, and they haven't had a problem since.
It was a pretty slow night so I didn’t really get to test the tmk like planned. My buddy got this mangey one and I had a bobcat come in. The tmk definitely planted the bobcat.
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No pictures, but I shot two today with the 223 AI and the 75 ELDm, one frontal at 300 the other broadside at 450, both boom flop. The ELDMs perform just like the 75 grain amaxes, which I use in another rifle. I also shot one a couple days ago with the 6x47 Lapua 105 amax at 725 yds and it was boom flop as well.
To the poster having issues with vmaxes, my experience has been they are very explosive and may blow up on the surface and not penetrate to the vitals. The Nosler varmint bullets (if you handload) are more stoutly constructed and will generally (should) go through a coyote. You also may have a little better luck with the 60 grain Vmax penetrating better.
I saw 7 today, shot the two as mentioned, and missed one. I plan to head back out tomorrow and check the carcasses, although the one I shot at daylight probably had a dozen eagles on it mid day when I headed back to town, along with crows and magpies, so likely there wont be much left .
I just hope the snow cover lasts for a couple more months, or that my rancher friend adds something fresh to the year old bone yard.
To the poster having issues with vmaxes, my experience has been they are very explosive and may blow up on the surface and not penetrate to the vitals. The Nosler varmint bullets (if you handload) are more stoutly constructed and will generally (should) go through a coyote. You also may have a little better luck with the 60 grain Vmax penetrating better.
I saw 7 today, shot the two as mentioned, and missed one. I plan to head back out tomorrow and check the carcasses, although the one I shot at daylight probably had a dozen eagles on it mid day when I headed back to town, along with crows and magpies, so likely there wont be much left .
I just hope the snow cover lasts for a couple more months, or that my rancher friend adds something fresh to the year old bone yard.
Anyone have a good resource to learn more about coyote calling and behaviors?
For example, are coyote sounds more effective than distress sounds during mating season? When do you use male vs female howls? Are there certain sequences that sound more natural to coyote behavior?
I’ve had decent luck with just distress sounds but would like to learn more.
For example, are coyote sounds more effective than distress sounds during mating season? When do you use male vs female howls? Are there certain sequences that sound more natural to coyote behavior?
I’ve had decent luck with just distress sounds but would like to learn more.
They are pairing up now. So vocals and fight sounds are your friend. I lean more towards female long howls and invitation to start a stand. Less intimidating to a single coyote. Serenades work as well to start a stand, but I've had more show up to female howls than anything else. Be patient with your howls. Howl a couple times and wait a couple minutes. They will show up on howls, and they will be looking for that coyote. If nothing shows after a couple minutes, run a couple howls again and you can wait or answer with different howls. And wait again. Like I said before, be patient with your howls. I sat and watched a coyote howl for 20-30 minutes at my house one day. And eventually another coyote showed up. If nothing shows up after a few minutes, then you can go into whimpers, estrus, or a some type of pup whine. I usually start less aggressive with my pup sounds, then get into the growls and fights. Every scenario is different and the same sequence doesn't work on every stand. But that's kind of a basic scenario of what I run through.
Several of these podcasts go into the "hows" and "whys".
Crazy. I would think a 147 hollow point from a 10.5 inch barrel would punch right through a 25-50lb coyote.
Damn things are getting as tough as the pigs.....
You can say that again. The critter keeps getting flattened by a boulder the size of a house then he’s in the next scene still trying to get the road runner.
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I've punched right through a whole bunch of coyotes that never made it to the truck. Some with bigger bullets than that. You might be surprised what they will take and run off if you haven't hunted then long.
Yes, but "punch right through" is not what you want with coyotes. Ideally, the bullet enters a few inches and explodes, dropping them in their tracks.
Friday night started out slow, saw nothing on the first three stands but heard them on two. Spotted one on the 4th set, but it wasn't acting very interested. Moved closer to it and switched up to a distress and spotted two hard charging from 1/2 mile away. Shot one at 125 yards and my son in law missed the second. 3 sets later we killed 3 and missed another. The 87gr Vmax hits them hard, haven't had one take a step yet this year.
