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View Full Version : Stupid... just plain stupid



lovedogs
01-03-2007, 07:59 PM
That's how I felt! Last week wasn't real good for calling coyotes here in eastern Montana. The weather was too nice. It was balmy for Dec. and we had no snow at the time. But it was supposed to be a clear, calm morning. So I had to go out and at least make some noise.

For quite some time I'd been wondering how a cast .44 bullet would do on a coyote. I knew it'd kill one; guess it's just something I hadn't tried so I had a hankerin' to do so.

Since the hunting hadn't really been too good I thought now would be a good time to satisfy my curiousity so I grabbed my Contender .44 that is wearing a TruGlo red dot sight.

It was still so dim I couldn't use my mesh face camo when I made my first call. Holy smoke! I had a whole choir of coyotes answer back. So I talked with them a while. And the whole bunch must have been hungry 'cuz within 10 minutes I had six coyotes there. Wearing my Prairie Ghost camo three of them ran right past me at only 30 yds. Another came up to the other side of a creek 600 yds. away and barked at me. Must have been previously "educated". Number five came in from my left and saw the one that was barking and ran off. But number six came straight at me. It must have been the No. 1 dog in the area 'cuz it just ignored all the rest and came right at me.

I blasted that last one at 20 yds. before it could run over me. I've concluded that the big cast bullets don't kill coyotes real fast unless you hit the spine or something that will really put it out of commission quickly. A lung shot kills them but they run off a ways.

But the biggest lesson was that a single-shot pistol isn't the thing to use when calling coyotes. I've shot a bunch with the Contender using a variety of bbls. The coyotes usually come in singles or pairs. But if they're going to gang up on me I'm going back to my magazine bolt rifles! This was fun and exciting but I sure felt plumb stupid. Six coyotes and me with one shot in the tube!

Larry Gibson
01-03-2007, 08:23 PM
Lovedogs

Well now I've never done anything that stupid calling coyotes! Yeah right! Been there done to many things like that myself when calling 'yotes. Seems everytime I think I've got the answer to the question they change the question....anyways I had about the same results with .357, 41 and .44 SWCs in handguns on 'yotes, just not real quick killers unless they were cast soft (1-20 or 1-16 tin-lead), hollow pointed and pushed fast (1400-1500 fps). However my fovorite cast bullet gun for calling 'otes is the M1 Carbine with the 313631 (105 gr GC'd SWC made for the .32 H&R) over 14 gr H110. They run right at 1940 fps so at "callin' distance" 'yote will take about all it's got to give. Shot quite a few with that load and I try to envision a baseball low between their front legs and put the bullet through the baseball regardles of the angle. Farthest 'yot shot traveled about 35-40 yards afer being shot thus broadside breaking both front legs also. He pushed himself with his hind legs that far through the snow. However, most shots I've had are frontal shots and that little SWC at that velocity does a lot of damage inside of them from one end to the other. Can't recall not ever having a through and through. Never had one drop to the shot like with a really fast J bullet will do unless the cast bullet hit the head/spine. They did drop pretty quick though.

krag35
01-03-2007, 08:37 PM
Best I ever did on late winter coyotes was 2 for 6. That was with a bolt 223. I did shoot one with a FIE 9mm once, but I missed his mate with the rest of the mag :-( If I call with a partner (becoming more often now as my son gets older) One of us carries the 223 and the other my BPS 10ga. for the upfront and personal encounters. coyotes are the only animal I know that can dissapear in ankle high grass.

dk17hmr
01-03-2007, 08:56 PM
Way to go on the coyote, are you selling the pelts?

I have been out a few time this week, here in MI we are limited to rimfire and shotguns at night, I havent even seen a yote or a fox yet. I take one of two rifles when I go out, my Henry 22lr or my AR-15 with the 22lr bolt in it, loaded with CCI Mini Mag soilds.

krag35
01-03-2007, 09:29 PM
Best "dog calling" I have ever had was at night in the snow with a full moon..give it a try fellers. the colder the better according to Waksupi, and I wouldn't doubt him a bit.

Slowpoke
01-03-2007, 09:34 PM
I don't know, I have bang flopped a many coyote with a .360 180 LBT over the years.

One nice morning in Jan. 98 I sat down to call in a coyote and with in one minute of my first call I had a 140 LB cougar all but in my lap, One shot from my Win 94 in .357 and the 180 LBT and there was dead cougar less than 10 steps from me.

The same year I bang flopped two coyotes with one shot at around 120 yrds with the same gun and load. I never seen the second coyote, total accident or luck how ever you choose to look at it.

The best calling rifle I have ever used is a Mini 14 with a Accuracy rifle systems barrel, bedding and trigger with a Leopold 3x9 compact, loaded with WC 846 and thre Rem. bulk 55 gr HP.

good luck

Bass Ackward
01-04-2007, 07:59 AM
Yep. I agree with Larry. If you can't generate velocity to do the work, then you need to go soft. And the smaller the animal, the softer or more tricks you need to do to create expansion so that you get some energy transfer through the shorter distance / lighter path of animal flesh it must travel. I really like 20-1 for this purpose in almost any caliber. It's expensive to make, but my lead is free, so I can deal with it for the relative few used in hunting.