Night Hunting Coyotes
I just wanted to share my opinions about using a .17 HMR on coyotes. I would agree with every single person on this forum that believes the .17 is too light for coyote, if and only if you are planning on taking a shot to the chest cavity. I see no reason why a .17 HMR would not drop a coyote in its tracks with a well-placed shot to the ol' noodle within 100 yards. And to all of those who suggest a larger centerfire rifle, I would agree if you plan to do your hunting during the daytime, but predator hunting is a little more effective at night (at least in the farmlands of the midwest where coyotes have a lot of human contact.) And in many states it is illegal to use anything but a rimfire rifle after daylight hours. Just my two cents worth. If you can confidently make a head-shot at 50-100 yards then by all means use your .17 HMR, otherwise take everyone else's advice and get a bigger bullet.
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I personally won't use a rifle at night. No telling what/who may be down range of your target.
What I do use is a high velocity 3" 12 gauge with 1 1/4oz load of nickle plated T's.
It's much easier to call song dogs right into your pocket at night. Anything under 45 yards is one dead song dog with my gun/load combination.0 -
I have personally seen 22lr bullets skid of a coyote's skull w/o cracking the bone from only a few yards away. The coyote was killed by another shot and dogs and skinned so we actually saw the skull and inspected it. Coyote is one of the few animals which I don't worry about whether it is killed outright or wounded to die later. Unless you're selling the fur, just shoot them however you can. 0
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