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Coyote Tricks Of A Spot And Stalk Guy |
Two or three coyotes out there sleeping is a different story. If I yell or whistle, heads come up. I could shoot one but the others would know right where I was and would be gone in a flash. So I will pick the farthest critter and shoot it sleeping. Almost invariably the other coyote will jump and run, nearly always away from the thud of the bullet hitting the other poor soul. I will quickly and quietly work the bolt and be ready when the second coyote, which has run in my direction, then stops to look back at its partner. Two down. Usually a third coyote is a low percentage opportunity, but I have taken a third one before.
I also have learned to always look for a second or third coyote when a first one is spotted. Many times during the learning process I was given away by a second critter watching me as I concentrated my sneak on the original one. Guess my advice would be to not get too excited and to assess the entire situation before making any decisions on the sneak or ambush.
Just a little on my varmint calibers. Around 800 of my coyotes have been taken with the 17 Remington with 30-grain Bergers, many with the 223 and 40-grainers, and many with the 222 Rem. Mag. AI. But within the past three years I’m getting the job done with a 22 Middlested and also a 20/250 and Berger 40s at 4,340 feet per second. Have always liked the wildcats.
I was a fan of Bob Hagel and read his books on game loads and ballistics. One thing I gathered from his experiences was how to sight-in for coyotes. The treasures gained from his writings increased my kill success from 60 percent to around 85 percent, where it is today. This past ’07-’08 season I was 74 kills out of 86 shots. I’ll use a 22-250 and 40-grain bullet as an example. I would sight in two inches high at 175 yards, an approximate midrange, with the zero being around 290 yards. A number of years ago I measured from top to bottom of the thoracic area of 25 skinned coyotes, with the range being 6.5 to 8.25 inches. So with this information I would hold dead center rib/shoulder area and would kill out to around 320 yards and possibly a little farther. Figuring the average coyote kill area to be 7-8 vertical inches and it happened to be standing at midrange, you’d hit 2" above center. If it were standing at 290 yards, you’d hit dead center, and if it were standing at 320 yards you’d be down 2-3 inches. If the critter was a little over 320 or out to 375, a top-of-the-back hold would be lethal. With the velocities I get out of my Middlested and 20-250 I can hold on to 350 and top of the back to 400 ... with a midrange of around 2.3 inches. Checking all this can be easy with a present-day ballistics program.
A thought on powders. I use exclusively Hodgdon “Extreme” powders. These powders are the four-digit powders, plus Varget and Benchmark, and even one of their three-digit powders. The canisters will have little labels on them that says “Extreme.” These powders are very temperature insensitive! During my early years I had problems with bullets not getting to their intended targets because of temperatures dropping into the single digits and below. Loading the Extreme powders has completely eliminated this problem.
For many, many years I’ve skinned in the field. I carry a few items in a fanny pack and will skin on a nearby tree limb or tall fence post. Takes around 8-10 minutes. The critter skins so much easier when warm and there is no odor to deal with. The pelt goes into a bread wrapper and into my fanny pack to prep later. No taking a stiffened and smelly coyote home to smell up the garage or workplace!
Well, there you have it. A few little tricks from a guy who is, when the equipment is put away in early March, planning for the upcoming winter with renewed vigor!
The VARMINT HUNTER Magazine, a 208-page publication put together for shooters by shooters. The Varmint Hunters Association, Inc. hosts several 600-yard IBS matches, a coyote calling contest, and an annual Jamboree in Fort Pierre, SD. The Jamboree is a week-long shooting event known as "a summer camp for shooters".
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