Coyotes and .22 WMR stories

[Lefty SRH]

I have a Savage 93G in .22WMR that i truelly enjoy! Its crazy accurate and very reliable. I took a squirrel and a rabbitt yesterday between 50-55yds. This morning i took 5 more squirrel anywhere from 30-60yds. Ive been shooting CCI 40gr FMJs and they seem to anchor these rodents. Theres enough tissue damage that makes me reluctant to swith to HPs.
I am wanting to use my Savage on some coyotes. Should i stay with solids or switch to the HPs? Id like to try some soft points but WMR ammo is more scarse than LR ammo. What are some of your success stories with a .22 mag and coyotes?

[77ruger]

If you don't get any/many replies, may want to consider a larger caliber for coyotes. I don't use less than a 220 swift

[Lefty SRH]

I have a .223 but was curious about my WMR

[Oldtimer45]

I have shot two coyotes in my back with a 22 mag. Both were DRT at about 50 or 60 yards. 40 grain soft nose Winchester and a good hit will do the job.

[Mk42gunner]

My experience with coyotes is that they are easy to kill, if (and that is a big if) you hit them right the first time. The hard part is hitting them exactly right the first time.

If you do not drop them DRT, they can take a lot of killing.

Robert

[Bullshop Junior]

I have shot quite a few coyotes with my Savage bull barrel 22mag, and actually bought it just for that. I use what ever ammo I can find, although, I try to avoid FMJ for coyotes. they work ok for fox. The round I prefer for coyotes is the any of the 50gn bullet options, but Federal is my favorite. I have probably shot 6 coyotes with it since I bought it, and they have all run about 20-30 yards and peeled over. All the fox I have shot have just dropped in their tracks, even with the FMJ bullets.

[Rangefinder]

As with all things that go bang, shot PLACEMENT is your key to success. I've taken a number of 'yotes with a 17HMR. Never had a run-off, all well-placed shots. Any 22WMR with a placed shot will do the job. A bad shot with a 300Win Mag would not suffice. You get my point. ;)

[Lefty SRH]

I have shot quite a few coyotes with my Savage bull barrel 22mag, and actually bought it just for that. I use what ever ammo I can find, although, I try to avoid FMJ for coyotes. they work ok for fox. The round I prefer for coyotes is the any of the 50gn bullet options, but Federal is my favorite. I have probably shot 6 coyotes with it since I bought it, and they have all run about 20-30 yards and peeled over. All the fox I have shot have just dropped in their tracks, even with the FMJ bullets.

I have yet to see a 50gr .22 mag round. But ill definately keep an eye out for them.

[kenyerian]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/953429305/federal-game-shok-ammunition-22-winchester-magnum-rimfire-wmr-50-grain-jacketed-hollow-point Midway is out of them right now but if you can find these Federals be sure and try them. Federal Game-Shok Ammunition 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) 50 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point 's do a nice job on GroundHogs. Haven't got a shot at a coyote with them yet.

[Lefty SRH]

Well ill be darn, thank you.

[Bullshop Junior]

I have yet to see a 50gr .22 mag round. But ill definately keep an eye out for them.

I know for sure that Federal and CCI produce 50gn rounds. I have a box of each, and they are both fairly new boxes.

[357maximum]

Once upon a time near Edmore Michigan I was rabbit hunting with a max vel. 1oz handload of magnum #5 shot in a mossberg 500 20 gauge. I was approching one of my favorite brushpiles and when I was about 55 yards away from it a 40lb male yote took off from the other side of it. I squeezed one off at about 60 yards, then one at 80 and another at about 100 yards out(hail Mary's) He went up a slight hill over a knoll in the popple thicket I was in and vanished. After I collected my thoughts I could see blood in the snow at the top of the knoll. I sat down a and waited 1/2 hour and then slowly ventured up the knoll. The yote laid there stone dead about 160 yards from the brushpile. I could see no visible wound when I rolled him over and over..just a blood spot in the middle of his lung area. After a total skinning, consensus was that I put one #5 shot into his lungs (just one piece of #5 shot) presumably on the first shot. It did not exit.

Is a 20gauge a yote gun...NO....but........hit em in the right spot and it ruins their day. I know a few guys that night hunt for yotes and BY LAW they must use a rimfire only round...they all choose the 22MAG and they kill quite a few yotes. Most guys I know that do the night calling thing will tell you a raccoon clings tighter to life than a coyote and I have killed coons with my bare hands...is a 22 mag enough?....I would not hesitate.

[Lefty SRH]

Once upon a time near Edmore Michigan I was rabbit hunting with a max vel. 1oz handload of magnum #5 shot in a mossberg 500 20 gauge. I was approching one of my favorite brushpiles and when I was about 55 yards away from it a 40lb male yote took off from the other side of it. I squeezed one off at about 60 yards, then one at 80 and another at about 100 yards out(hail Mary's) He went up a slight hill over a knoll in the popple thicket I was in and vanished. After I collected my thoughts I could see blood in the snow at the top of the knoll. I sat down a and waited 1/2 hour and then slowly ventured up the knoll. The yote laid there stone dead about 160 yards from the brushpile. I could see no visible wound when I rolled him over and over..just a blood spot in the middle of his lung area. After a total skinning, consensus was that I put one #5 shot into his lungs (just one piece of #5 shot) presumably on the first shot. It did not exit.

Is a 20gauge a yote gun...NO....but........hit em in the right spot and it ruins their day. I know a few guys that night hunt for yotes and BY LAW they must use a rimfire only round...they all choose the 22MAG and they kill quite a few yotes. Most guys I know that do the night calling thing will tell you a raccoon clings tighter to life than a coyote and I have killed coons with my bare hands...is a 22 mag enough?....I would not hesitate.

Great story, thanks

[Rick Hodges]

I have used it at night...WW 34gr.hp. 22mag. Inside 50 yds. it will work. My choice is 12ga. lead BB's for night hunting in Michigan. #4 buck is not legal at night. I feel the 22mag is minimal. I use a .223Rem daylight.

[EDG]

You might want to check the accuracy of 50 gr ammo before you use it.
It is widely known to the the most inaccurate .22 WMR ammo by far.

[357maximum]

I have used it at night...WW 34gr.hp. 22mag. Inside 50 yds. it will work. My choice is 12ga. lead BB's for night hunting in Michigan. #4 buck is not legal at night. I feel the 22mag is minimal. I use a .223Rem daylight.


Curious........How many feral house kitties do you call in?

Everytime I go with the guys I bring some kind of no yote but multiple feral cat curse. Last time I went with them we called in 3 different feral cats and a bunch of raccoon, did get to watch a lonely and fearless greyfox try to get cozy with a friend though, that was uuuuber neat. They claim it is me and their kills without me say they might not be wrong.

I would much rather use the 223 also, and do so when chasing yotes with hounds in the daytime, but as you well know our hunting regs need not make sense to us peons.

[Bullshop Junior]

You might want to check the accuracy of 50 gr ammo before you use it.
It is widely known to the the most inaccurate .22 WMR ammo by far.

Thats odd, as it is one of the more accurate ones in my rifle, although mine js a fiarly new rifle with a bull barrel.

[Lefty SRH]

I looked at CCIs website and dont list 50gr mag ammo.

[juzme]

Does lucky count? Quick off hand at night from about 15 Yds. by the parrot barn at our old place in west TX. Old Marlin with (I think) 45 gr.HP.
juzme

[Bullshop Junior]

Does lucky count? Quick off hand at night from about 15 Yds. by the parrot barn at our old place in west TX. Old Marlin with (I think) 45 gr.HP.
juzme

Lucky always counts. I show a lynx a few weeka ago that was deffinatly a luck shot.

I have a Savage and I bought it just over thia last summee and never got around to winterizing it. It was about 40 below And I got tired of being in the house so I grabbed up the rifle and took off. Got out back of the hayfield and sat down and called For a bit, brought in a nice fox. I raised up the rifle, clicked off the saftey, squeezed off the triggee and....click. Dammit. Jack in anothee round....click...rack the bolt...click...recock....click. It aint gonna fire. Looking at the case bottoms i was just barley leavinf a dent, so I knew it was frok the grease in the bolt beig frozen. So I got up, and heading home. About half way, i spot a lynx off to the side of the trail just sitting there. I deside to give it a try, raise the gun, and click. Dammit. Rack in anothee round, and he takes off across the field. At about 35 yards I touched off the trigger...click. I always practices follow through when shooting at moving targets so after the click i kept the scope in where I wanted it for lead, and just when I was gonna lower the rifle, BANG! He piled up at about 60 yards.

[Bullshop Junior]

I looked at CCIs website and dont list 50gr mag ammo.

Thats odd. I am pretty sure CCI has a 50gn maxi mag round and im pretty sure I have acouole boxes, but they may have dropped it. I know I have Federal 50gr. There is a box right in front of me.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

As stated in numerous previous posts of this thread, placement counts. I shot a several coyotes with .22 LR using both solid and HP bullets as a kid before I got a .308. Put it in the heart/lung area, and you'll have no problem with the .22 WMR.

[grizzlyadams]

before we were allowed centerfire rifles here, i used to use my marlin 922 auto with the federal 50gr HP out if it....it accounted for many coyotes each year.the feds were also the most accurate out of that gun, by a wide margin. they will put the smack down on a song dog provided you do your part. as was said earlier, you have to hit them right the first time. i have seen them run with a poor hit from a 30-06, and a 264 win mag, once their adrenaline starts pumping, they can take a real lickin and keep on truckin. that being said, with good shot placement they are not hard to put down with the 22mag, i take several each year with pre charged pneumatic airguns.

[Changeling]

I have a Savage 93G in .22WMR that i truelly enjoy! Its crazy accurate and very reliable. I took a squirrel and a rabbitt yesterday between 50-55yds. This morning i took 5 more squirrel anywhere from 30-60yds. Ive been shooting CCI 40gr FMJs and they seem to anchor these rodents. Theres enough tissue damage that makes me reluctant to swith to HPs.
I am wanting to use my Savage on some coyotes. Should i stay with solids or switch to the HPs? Id like to try some soft points but WMR ammo is more scarse than LR ammo. What are some of your success stories with a .22 mag and coyotes?

Hi Lefty, to answer your question, I have never shot a yote, but I do have very extensive experience with .22LR on fox/Racoon/squirrel/ and 1 deer.
My father was an engineer and would only buy me "Solids"! His reasoning was penetration was the key to any animal, and especially the larger of the smalls. like fox and coon. Also used them to kill hogs at butchering time with head shots to the ear or between the eyes.

Being the teenager that I was (I was smarter then everyone!) I decided HP's were the way to go since everyone was using them! So, I bought some with my own money, hard lesson to learn! They killed the small stuff with authority like squirrels and rabbits.
However it also wasted a lot of meat witch I was chastised for!

I soon found out that my Dad was a lot smarter than I thought in only buying me Solids.
A big hole relative to "body size" will anchor anything, especially with a pass through of the projectile.
Later after a lot of experientation I found that that a flat nose did a better job of killing/saving meat than any other .22 projectile in existance.
Within reason it would penetrate deeper/disable/better accuracy (my rifles). That's what penetration does for you!

So, do what you want. These were my conclusions.

[Lefty SRH]

CCI makes an excellent small game bullet in .22LR dubbed SGB, it is a flat point solid.
I have both .22mag solid flat points and HPs in CCI which the rifle prefers. I was asking simply because if the opportunity presents itself ill know what to take.
The hole solid vs. HP penetration aspect is another reason i asked. I kmow the .22mag is a hot little round for its small size. So will an HP pass thru if no bone is hit?
I want to get some CCI soft points but havent found them yet. I feel like those would be the best of both worlds between solids and HPs.

[Bullshop Junior]

Withe the solid FMJ they shoot right threw. The 50 gr will about 50% the reat usually dont, but will on a fox

[ironhead7544]

Thats odd. I am pretty sure CCI has a 50gn maxi mag round and im pretty sure I have acouole boxes, but they may have dropped it. I know I have Federal 50gr. There is a box right in front of me.

Speer dropped the 50 gr some time ago. It used a Gold Dot bullet that always expanded in tests, even with the mini revolvers and a 1 and 1/2 inch barrel. I guess it was too slow to be popular. They now have a 40 gr Gold Dot load, IIRC. Sold my 22Mag rifle and revolver some time ago so havent kept up with the ammo.

[ironhead7544]

Thats odd. I am pretty sure CCI has a 50gn maxi mag round and im pretty sure I have acouole boxes, but they may have dropped it. I know I have Federal 50gr. There is a box right in front of me.

Sorry, duplicate.

[300savage]

i have killed em with a 22mag out to a couple hundred yards and if you stick a hollow point in their ribs it will roll them up pdq.
the solids are not really solids, they will expand very well under 100 yards .
the worst bullet is the 34 grain tipped piece of stupidity, it loses its poop really fast.
squirrel/ gopher round, but do not underestimate the 50 grainer out to ideally about 125 yards max.

[35remington]

I'll opine that it will work at calling ranges but a 150 yard coyote round it is most assuredly not. When it has speed similar to a 22 long rifle it starts killing like one, which is to say not very well. This means beyond 100 yards is quite questionable. Simple common sense tells you that trajectory gets iffy at the longer ranges as well. My personal preference is 75 yards but oftentimes a called coyote is within that range.

I've shot a grand total of nine coyotes with a 22 WMR, all but one with the 40 grain Winchester JHP, which is dependable and predictable. At said close calling ranges it expands but never comes apart and always exits unless the critter is lengthwised. At most there is a fairly short run especially if double lunged. If single lunged they run somewhat farther after the shot.

The one coyote was with a CCI 30 grain TNT, which was a big mistake. A frontal shot hit what humans would call the sternum area, and instead of penetrating the bullet pancaked and slid between ribs and skin, winding up at the back of the ribcage with no vital tissue pierced. I was darn lucky and the coyote turned broadside and allowed me to shoot him again. The bullet went between two ribs and took him out pretty quick, but given that one cannot predict what angle the shot will take I will not use the fragmenting blow up bullets again, and when seriously hunting coyote I pick a .257 Roberts or 22-250.

When hunting small game in less settled areas I will sometimes call a coyote at the end of the hunt at dusk and I now use a 25-20. It does not offer a huge improvement in trajectory over a 22 magnum, as my single shot will push a 75 at 2200 or a 60 somewhat faster. But it does offer 2 1/2 times the striking energy of a 22 WMR at any calling range likely to be encountered. I would pass up a 150 yards shot at a yote with a 22 WMR that was not killing something dear to me, but I would not with a 25-20, in simple acknowledgement of the difference in killing power.

A 22 mag did get me by on a few hunts and I'm not about to fail to acknowledge that. But it is range limited, and better to hold one's fire at longer ranges unless some stock raiding critter is at hand and nothing else is available.

[35remington]

And BTW, the 40 grain hollowpoints of whatever make will all penetrate quite adequately. There is no need to go to a solid to obtain the requisite penetration.

[northmn]

No coyotes with a 22WMR but I remember seeing a smaller deer go down with a lung hit from a 40 grain Winchester HP.
Dropped a fox with one pretty handily also. Fox was about 100 ayrds away but the deer was fairly close. For what its worth. Had to order 22 mag ammo as nothing is available locally. Midway expects the Winchester to be in in August and the CCI in late March.

DP

[mikeym1a]

Does lucky count? Quick off hand at night from about 15 Yds. by the parrot barn at our old place in west TX. Old Marlin with (I think) 45 gr.HP.
juzme
Pardon my ignorance, but, what's a parrot barn? How would you herd parrots??? Never heard of a parrot barn before, no, really. :???:

[mikeym1a]

On a different note; in another thread, .22s were being discussed, particularly the Aguila (sp?) 60 grain load. On responder to the thread was a property manager to a large estate, and said he used the 60 grain load to kill coyote at 100yds. Because of its low velocity, he said it took some getting used to, but even at 100yds he got good penetration and 1 shot kills. The .22 WMR is a very versatile round. I guess there hasn't been any demand for a 60gr load. It would make an interesting experiment. mikey

PS; for those of you unfamiliar with that Aguila round, it uses a .22short case and a 60gr heel base boolit. The boolit is nearly as long as the case. Really odd looking, but, its designed to be used in the .22 long rifle chamber. Some people have reported poor accuracy with them with the standard 16" twist barrels, while others said they worked just fine. I bought a new 14" twist barrel for my old AR7, and got really good results with them, although that is a very limited trial.

[HawkCreek]

My step dad carried a .22 WMR in his truck as his ranch rifle. He had many many one shot kills on coyotes with that gun. I only saw him miss once and that was a clean miss, I never saw him wound something.

[samwithacolt]

I used to have a .22 wmr when I lived in the UK. When I moved to Alberta, I filled that niche with a .17HMR. I shot a lot of red foxes in the UK, they seem to be a little bigger there than here. Maybe because there's no coyotes in the UK.
Anyway, my Ruger 77 .22 WMR loved 35 gr vmax. I found that 125 yds was about max for it on lung shots, and they usually were short tracking jobs. I loved that little cartridge, might get one again. Yotes would be a target of opportunity with a rimfire, not the primary target. My k hornet pushes that buller 1000 fps faster, and it's about where I would start for yotes.

[Lefty SRH]

On a different note; in another thread, .22s were being discussed, particularly the Aguila (sp?) 60 grain load. On responder to the thread was a property manager to a large estate, and said he used the 60 grain load to kill coyote at 100yds. Because of its low velocity, he said it took some getting used to, but even at 100yds he got good penetration and 1 shot kills. The .22 WMR is a very versatile round. I guess there hasn't been any demand for a 60gr load. It would make an interesting experiment. mikey

PS; for those of you unfamiliar with that Aguila round, it uses a .22short case and a 60gr heel base boolit. The boolit is nearly as long as the case. Really odd looking, but, its designed to be used in the .22 long rifle chamber. Some people have reported poor accuracy with them with the standard 16" twist barrels, while others said they worked just fine. I bought a new 14" twist barrel for my old AR7, and got really good results with them, although that is a very limited trial.


I have some of those, very interesting load. My box says SSS, Sniper SubSonics

[Lefty SRH]

Im lovin the .22mag stories. I really enjoy my 93GL, i just came in from outback and I was finally able to take the problem opossom to the next world. I made a beautiful head shot at about 55yds.

[Larry in MT]

I've killed several (maybe 5) Coyotes with a 22 Mag -- a Ruger Single Six -- simply because it's the firearm that's always in the farm pickup and often ends up on the 4 wheeler. I should say I've lost some too; hit too far back or maybe only getting one lung. Coyotes can be amazing in their toughness and difficulty to put down.

The silver box WW 40 JHP does 1200 fps out of my Single Six, but kills much better than a 40 grain 22 Long Rifle HP coming out of a rifle at the same speed. I obviously wouldn't hesitate to use a 22 Mag rifle.

[DLCTEX]

I haven't shot coyotes with 22 mag but have killed many with 22 LR. Admittedly all but two were trapped. All I have killed were one shot kills including two that I shot while cutting hay at about 25 and 30 yds. Back then all I used was the Remington Golden bullet HP loads as they were deadly accurate in my High Standard Sport King rifle. Wish I could get a shot at the low life who stole it.