Good Coyote Gun
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Elder User
Joined: May 2003
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From: Canastota
Good Coyote Gun
Well, coyote huntin just opened yesterday and I was thinkin bout goin for the first time. My buddy says he'd show me a good spot and we could bag a couple. My question is, I only have 2 guns as of yet, a Mossberg 500 20ga shotgun and a Mossberg model 150 22LR. What would be the best for a clean kill and would leave me able to sell the pelt (does selling it seem a good idea?). What one would be the best and what type of ammo should I use??
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Marc150, I noticed that you live in NY. I haver never been there but it depends on the environment. I live in South Texas, coyotes here will want to run down their prey so it has to be fairly open country. If you have the same conditions, the 20 ga is going to be marginal for range. The 22 can be effective to 100 yards on a yote but the shot must be well placed. Frankly, for my area, you don't own a gun suitable. Your conditions may be different. You may want to see about borrowing a rifle of decent caliber. The 223 works well to about 200 yards and if the shots are longer, it will require more gun like a 308. I generally use a 30-338 mag but my shots are over 500 yards most often. Regardless, have a safe and good hunting experience.
New User
Joined: Sep 2004
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Depends on how close the spooky things are. Using the shotgun is probably your best bet. Use #4 or larger shot. If you think they will be under 40 or so yards. Over that I would go for buckshot and keep your shots under 80 yards. A 22lr is just not enough to get a clean kill. I used a .270 with 90 grain hollow points for years. Made a mess of them however. Have shot a couple with 22lr and they were less than 40 yards and I did not recover the first one and the second took 3 or 4 shots and fell 200yds from where I first shot him. I feel a 223 or 22-250 is best. A 22 mag of any kind might not be too bad. Out on the farm, my Dad has killed his fair share with a .410 shotgun and buckshot, but they were all in the yard. I now prefer 28" carbons with field points 
Switching to Archery is only a disease, nothing to be afraid of!
Switching to Archery is only a disease, nothing to be afraid of!
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: colorado
22-250 is a great gun for that sort of hunting. i know that coyotes have become quite a menace in most of the country, heck here in colorado you can shoot them year round and there is no limit on them. that brings me to my delima. i love to hunt, but there is something about hunting a fellow hunter that does not sit right with me. call me crazy, (AND I IN NO WAY WHAT SO EVER THINK ANYTHING LESS OF PEOPLE WHO HUNT PREDATORS) i dont want to go hunt something that has to hunt to surive.coyotes, foxes, bears, montain lions are my brothers, not my quarry
Elder User
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If you are asking about using the guns you have . I would use the 22 cal. But, If you are considering a gun purchase, .223, 22-250, 243, and 30-30 if you are in deep brush/short distances. The 30-30 is a better short distance gun- but, it has taken the most deer of any caliber to show you it's value. If you are looking to purchase a multiple use gun consider the .243. The 223 and 22-250 are more varmit type guns and in most states are outlawed usage to harvest larger game such as the deer. Although shotguns can be used and are effective on coyote- they limit you to closer range and also damage pelt more due to amount of projectiles versus 1. The only time I ever see someone harvest coyote with a shotgun is when they are out pheasant hunting and ones runs in front of them- otherwise most likely they will be out of distance in normal situations. Your 22 cal will have a little better range- but not great knockdown power( well unless you are a great heart/head shot person).
Last edited by Ghostgunn; Oct 2, 2004 at 09:41 PM.
Postmaster
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From: S/C Texas
I agree on the .243 and 22-250...very swift rounds with good take down energy. Shotgun.....I feel its a bad idea unless your talking rifled slugs. Either clean shot, or none at all.
I have a 30-30 for incidentals. Works great for me. I go one one theory for coyotes...if I cant hit it with a rock......its not close enough to be trouble. I share the land with em.....they were here first, and dont cause much trouble.
Ferrell hogs.........If my 30-30 will reach out, I'll touch em.
I have a 30-30 for incidentals. Works great for me. I go one one theory for coyotes...if I cant hit it with a rock......its not close enough to be trouble. I share the land with em.....they were here first, and dont cause much trouble.
Ferrell hogs.........If my 30-30 will reach out, I'll touch em.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Montana Territory
I'd go with a .223 or .22-250, with the .22-250 being my first choice. You only want to use full metal jackets on coyotes that you intend to save the pelts. Be aware that selling the pelts involves a lot of attention and care to the pelts, and you usually need at least 50 to get a decent price.
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Postmaster
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From: S/C Texas
By no means disagreeing with you Matt.....but an after thought......
A soft point should be fine. Let it mushroom out, slow it down, and do more concusion damamge......where a hollow point might scoop out a big hole.....and a FMJ might give you and entrance and exit hole.
A soft point should be fine. Let it mushroom out, slow it down, and do more concusion damamge......where a hollow point might scoop out a big hole.....and a FMJ might give you and entrance and exit hole.
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Homestead, FL USA
I took two Coyotes in 2002. One with a rented Dodge Intrepid and one with a Ford F150. The hit with the Dodge Intrepid was at, um, speed in excess of the legally posted limit. The car nosed over the beast on I-40 in the middle of Kansas. Neither beast nor car faired well in that event! The hit with the F150 was next to Lake Okeechobee in Florida. That pushed the animal onto the swail where I dispatched it. It is shocking how far into Florida these animals have come. I reckon they are just taking the place of some preditor that was wiped out by human encroachment.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Montana Territory
I've had far too many softpoints fracture into a million pieces inside the animal, and make it look like I shot it with a shotgun. Needless to say, this makes the pelt worth next to nothing. You can shoot them with anything you like. If you are going to sell the pelts, or make anything with them, two holes are better than 900.
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: South Dakota
I would suggest a .223. The 22-250 would be a better performer, but the .223 can do anything that you need it to when coyote hunting, and the ammunition is very cheap, so you can get plenty of target practice without wasting too much money. A .223 works for deer hunting too if it is legal in your state, as long as the range is kept reasonably short and the bullet hits where you want it to.
