Coyote shotgun ammo and choke test

I am not sold on the #4 Winchester buckshot or the 00 Remington buckshot. Jerry, if you or some else that uses and has had good luck with a factory Buckshot load please share it and the choke diameter. Thanks
 
Here is my 2 cents on shot gunning coyotes. I have used about everything out there over the 45 years I've hunted these critters. This is what I use, it's not for everyone and expensive. My shot gun of choice is the Browning 10 ga auto loader with a 26" barrel.(the one with the soft camo coating) I use #4 buck with a Kicks BK X Full choke. Any coyote within 70 yards is in deep crap! I also use copper platted BB with a Kicks GT .690 choke but limit my distance to 60 yards. Both are serious coyote medicine and you will not be disappointed. The 10 ga hits very hard. I shoot as many coyotes with my shotgun as i do with my rifle. Good hunting.
 
Winchester may have just come out with the best Coyote load to date. Winchester Varmint X, 3", 12 gauge, BB with 1.5 ounces of shot traveling at 1300. These are a take off of their very lethal turkey xr load. Here are their results using a 20 inch circle. 40 yards 70 hits--- 60 yards 40 hits Their gel test showed 12' penetration at 40 yards.
 
So Santa brought you that new shotgun for Christmas. Please do not just grab whatever diameter choke and shells I had the best luck with and go hunting. Here's why. While patterning the last shotgun I bought it kept shooting four inches to the left at 30 yards. I tried different ammo different chokes still four inches left. Long story short the factory had installed the vent rib incorrectly. They replaced the barrel and I was in business.
 
If it's a good load and good tight choke for turkey it should be fine for 'yotes. Test all loads and sights before heading out.

Try using a pistol grip shotgun stock for better control in sitting & kneeling positions.

Eric B.
 
"... all chokes act different on different guns with different shot sizes."

AMEN! And different brands of chokes of the same "choke type" (i.e Full Choke. Modified Choke, etc.) act differently on the same gun.

But the advice for using a larger choke for Heavy-Shot and steel shot is correct. Being harder and having virtually no deformation in the shot sleeve that pass through the choke differently than lead shot of the same size and number.

Eric B.
 
If it's a good load and good tight choke for turkey it should be fine for 'yotes. Test all loads and sights before heading out.

Try using a pistol grip shotgun stock for better control in sitting & kneeling positions.

Eric B.
Turkey loads are not fine for coyotes. Turkeys are at least 5 times easier to kill or put down than a coyote is. A good pattern doesn't do anything to a coyote if the pellets don't weigh enough to break bones and penetrate through lots of guts and meat.

You can't always shoot a coyote in the head so you need dense, heavy and hard shot to penetrate very deep into a coyote. A good coyote load will break down a coyote going away at 40 yards.

Just because you can head shoot a coyote at 40 yards and kill it doesn't make it a good coyote load.

Shooting coyotes is nothing like shooting turkeys, waterfowl shotguns make much better coyote shotguns than turkey shotguns do. Shooting at running coyotes is much more similar to shooting flying pheasants or waterfowl than it is like shooting a standing turkey in the head.

With the KPY Shotshell Ballistic Software they recommend 2.50" of gel penetration to reliably kill geese. I have killed lots of coyotes with copper coated lead BB shot so from what I have seen in the KPY Ballistic program it looks to me like 3.70" of gel penetration is a good reference for reliably killing or stopping coyotes.

Below are the numbers I got out of my KPY Shotshell Ballistic Software. All of these loads are at 1300 fps at 1,000 ft elevation. 2.50" of gel penetration is for geese and 3.70" of gel penetration is for coyotes.

1300 fps lead #4 shot gets 2.50" of gel penetration at 33.2 yards.
1300 fps lead #4 shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 8.5 yards.
1300 fps Hevi-Shot #2 shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 31.3 yards.
1300 fps lead BB shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 46.1 yards.
1300 fps Hevi-Shot BB shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 62.4 yards.
1300 fps Fed HW BB shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 115.5 yards.
 
Sorry for not explaining about my personal turkey load. I use #4 shot from my Benelli M1 with a choke that gives me a 1 ft. diameter pattern at 50 yards. I won't try shooting any animal at much beyond that B/C the velocity of the shot is too slow, even when using 00 buckshot.

Beyond 50 yards I better be shooting slugs from a rifled choke.

Eric B.
 
So Santa brought you that new shotgun for Christmas. Please do not just grab whatever diameter choke and shells I had the best luck with and go hunting. Here's why. While patterning the last shotgun I bought it kept shooting four inches to the left at 30 yards. I tried different ammo different chokes still four inches left. Long story short the factory had installed the vent rib incorrectly. They replaced the barrel and I was in business.
Sorry, I just caught a mistake I made in the above post. The above shooting four inches to the left at 30 yards was actually 16 yards. Here is a great way to start out working up shotgun ammo, choke combo. Start at 16 yards with the choke you want to try. Shoot three shots of any ammo at the same bull. If your centered your golden. Move on up to 40 yards. If not you may have a bad cheek weld, canting, bad choke, or the vent rib installed incorrectly. After you find a combo you like add an EO Tech. These are outstanding and will help in getting the most out of every shot.
 
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