Coyotes to 750yd setup

[TexasBrett]

I have a lot of coyotes running through my cattle. I can easily shoot to 750yds from my front porch. Hit one this morning at 175yd. The furthest I have shot one is 290yd holding over on a standard duplex reticle with a 270. Haven't attempted anything further since I have to hold over. Would like to be able to confidently get out a lot further.

So I currently have a new sav 11 22-250 (accu trig/stock) that I would like to be able to shoot to 400 or 500 accurately with. I shoot factory hornady 50 gr SF. What should I sight this gun in at? And is it reasonable to shoot predators out to 500 with this gun and cartridge? Scope is 4-16 standard mildot. (Do I need a different scope).

I also have a 15 yr old but never shot Sav 110 270 win (I won it at a ducks unlimited function, it's one of those camo/engraved custom editions). I've bought a Vortex HS LR 4-16x50 off the Optics forum to go on this gun. This scope has the 1/2 moa elevation turret. Proabably shoot 130 or 140gr hornadys. Same questions as above but to 750yds.

I understand mil dot and MOA. I just don't want to start shooting at live animals that far out without seeking advice. I will practice on targets first at those ranges. I would rather just scare them than leave them wounded. Basically why I'm asking. Never shot at these distances. Thanks for any knowledge and help with the learning curve.

 

[tt35]

Wow. That's a pretty huge question in a relatively short post. It would probably be best to refer you to the Long Range Hunting Basics thread. The same information applies to long range coyotes but the coyotes are even smaller. Once you remove the hair from a coyote, the target area is only about five inches deep. The other problem with coyotes is that unless you have a carcass to shoot them off of, they rarely stop. It ends up being a two or three person game with someone ranging or running ballistics and the other dialing and shooting. Harder than it sounds at first.

The mildots are probably your best bet of the optics you mentioned but I prefer to use target turrets and dial for anything past 300 yards. Doping the wind will be the nemesis of your LR shots. You can use a wind meter to help but a lot of it will still come with practice. The high ballistic coefficient bullets will keep the wind deflection to a minimum if your barrel twist will stabilize them. The last thing for coyotes and cows is that a more fragile bullet will kill them better and won't bounce around the neighborhood as bad (which they can even after hitting a coyote).

I like the way you think, though. You may eventually find yourself on a long, expensive road of rifles, reloading and optics but it will be a fun road! Good luck. It sounds like you've got a great place to get your LR shooting tuned up!

 

[westcliffe01]

I think you are on the right track with the Vortex scope. I have the FFP 4-16 and 6-24 and with reasonable magnification (I'm sure 10-16x is appropriate) I love the fact that the reticle is always at the correct scale to the target. As I'm sure you would agree, situations with coyotes tend to be really fluid and being able to use a scaled reticle to hold for elevation and wind and potentially lead is very helpful.

The HS-LR has a SFP reticle, so in order to use the subtentions ,one needs to work at specific magnifications. Usually the reticle is calibrated for max magnification (16x) and then if you use 8x you just double the subtention and at 4x you multiply by 4. You could also do 12x but my PST does not have an actual magnification scale so there are only a few reference points.

The longer the distance the more time you might have to adjust the scope magnification and dial up your dope and then make minor corrections with the reticle.

The only additional thing I would say is that you would probably benefit from a good brake so that you can spot your own shots.

Buy some AR 500 targets, paint them white or tan, add an aiming point, hang them from some T posts with chain so they can swing and set them up and the ranges you speak of. Then you can practice effectively and look at groups too. Carry spray cans to touch up the paint when you go to inspect the targets.

The 270 is not a bad cartridge. Do some load development to know if the factory barrel is any good and you may need to address bedding and free float the barrel.

 

[BrentM]

Kind of a fun situation with a bad problem during calving season. I used to shoot on ranches during my college years to earn some cash. Back then I did a lot of spot lighting.
A drop compensation reticle for yotes is pretty valuable. I have one on my 204 with turrets. I would sight in at 200 or 300 depending on the scope set up. My leupold gave me lines to 600. It is quick and easy when you need it to be and then for precision I run my computer solution and dial it.

 

[F224]

Some of the previous posters made great points and you oils take their advise and kill a lot of coyotes out to 500 yards with your current rigs.

For that extra 270 rifle another very simple option would be a Leupold 4.5-14x 40mm scope with the varmint reticle. You can find these used pretty reasonably priced and have an honest 600 yard light wind condition rifle. I'd go with the 130gr Hornady GMX bullets if it were my rifle.

Just learn the limits of your new rifle-scope-ammo and remember, they are coyotes, not trophy Elk. Have fun and if there is lead in the air, there is still hope.

 

[Three44s]

TexasBrett,

You are asking to take on a pretty large task all at once!

We raise cattle as well so I understand your "love" of these predators.

Now a .22-250 and a .270 is a pretty good proposition but you are asking to go beyond normal coyote ranges. And you have think about the safety of your livestock. After all, what you lose an animal to matters not ........ I have always worried about drilling one of our stock but thus far ......... I am lucky. I hunt at night mostly.

I don't forsee you just gearing up and dropping coyotes all the way out to 750 ....... all in one big 'ole jump! I don't really envision it .......... even in the long run but certainly it can happen now and then.

If you REALLY want to max your range, I'd suggest either a heavy 6mm cartridge or a 6.5mm of the same persuasion. I have some .25-06's and notice I did not mention them. That's because the bullet makers have not seemed to produce slugs with the kind of aerodynamic efficiency that they have with 6mm or 6.5mm bore size.

Since you have a fixed location for your hunt, you might add this trick:

The fellow had their house right adjacent to an area rich with coyotes. Their bedroom was on the second floor of their house. The guy kept his rest and rifle out and set his alarm to sound off every two hours. He had yardage stakes set at specified ranges.

He'd hit his light and shoot what presented itself.

You have Savage rifles ........ a long action and a short action. You have in those two rifles the platforms for success. You don't have to spend a fortune with a gunsmith ....... buy the tools and do the work yourself! There are any number of barrels available!

Also, you will need to handload to reduce shot to shot variations.

Best of luck

Three44s

 

[BrentM]

Exllent info on this site!
I used to hunt yotes exclusively with a 220 swift and shot gun. Most was at night but I liked hunting them during the day too. My boy is 16 and we take a 204 and a 6.5 x 284 to the field for longer range hunting. Recently I shot a yote at 730, my longest confirmed so far. We are heading out tomorrow and I keep thinking about the yote we think I hit at 1300 and want to check the area. I never thought I would try hit a dog at those ranges but the 6.5 does make it a lot more possible. It might be well worth your time to look into them as an option.
Optics, my 204 has the leupold with B&C reticle and m1 turrets. My 6.5 has a night force. I struggle to keep up with moving dogs and solutions. A g7 range finder and night force combo would be pretty good if can fund it. The Leica I have does incorporate the ballistics program but it is not nearly as good as a g7 or drop comp scope for fast target solutions.

 

[TexasBrett]

I'm really appreciating the information. I do hunt at night as well and have decent success. See them about 70% of the time my twins and I go out at night. Just hard to hunt at night very much. Bought an electronic caller as I like to call just not much experience with it and very limited success thus far. Thing is, I can be driving up or walk out the door and see a coyote at anytime of the day (particularly this time the year, summer you only see them early morning or night) but distance is often further than I am ready for. I did shoot one a few days ago at 11:30am at 80 yds. They almost always stop and look at me at some point, probably because my dog starts barking when he sees me eyeing the coyote. Watched my dog play tag with one for 20 minutes at 7am this morning, craziest thing 50 yards from the house. Had pigs for the first time a few weeks ago (don't want those pasture and fence destroyers). They are around me just haven't had them on me until now.

We are loaded with jack rabbits here (and right now new born calves), and I'm sure that is keeping coyotes around. I'm 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth and the jack rabbit went the way of the horny toad (frog) around here years ago but we started seeing them again 15 years or so ago, don't shoot them, and they have made a big comeback. My kids now see them with the regularity I did as a kid. Didn't think that would happen. But it helps keep the coyotes in my livestock.

Sorry for the rambling, it's late, your responses lead to thoughts and questions that I would like to ask once I've re-read everything. I want to learn long distance shooting. Thank you.

 

[roninflag]

Texas- a coyote is a small and challenging target, even fairly close. shooting the rifles you have at paper targets at 100-500 yards will tell you your effective range ; and that you need a dedicated accurate rifle to pursue any distance shooting. the ones you mention are good for probably 200-300 yards.

 

[BrentM]

Had another challenging situation last night. I went after a pack of wolves and during my 2 hour hike up the mountain I glassed a deer being persued by 2 yotes. A big male and a female. I had my 6.5-284 with Night Force NXS and NPR1 reticle. I was trying to remain hidden from their site and still pull wind, slope, distance, atmosphere to run a solution. They started at 400 and kept moving around, as yotes pretty much always do when on the hunt, and I finally sent a round at 575. I wish I could have filmed myself, it was pathetic. This gizmo, that gizmo....geesh.

So, here is my thought. A long range scope with drop lines, a range finder with Ballistics data, and a drop chart with wind hold seems to give the best and quickest solutions. My leica has a ballistics thingy in it that I am just starting to use. I made a huge mistake and should have already had it set for my rifle before I left the truck. I wish I had a G7. I think I will try and get one this summer when I have more $. The problem with the leica is that it only goes to 850 and the drops are pre set. My thought is that the drops are based on lower BC bullets than I shoot. The drop matches in the beginning but the not the end. So I used the ending drops as the error is highest at the longest range.

To make things easier on myself I should have: 1. set the Leica to my rifle. 2. Had my wind charts with me! If I had done this I could have limited my time spent messing with shooter for both distances and slope. The yotes were moving up a extremely steep draw where slope changed from 21 to 4 by the time I sent the round. If I had done these two things all I would had to do was fire the Leica, look at the wind chart. I literally could have just held up on the MOA lines in the scope and not even turned a turret.

So when looking at your tools for LR varmint hunting keep this in mind. I hope my inexperience and education helps you.

 

[tt35]

I feel your pain. A guy needs six hands and two brains, huh, Brent? Coyotes just don't cooperate well.

 

[BrentM]

I feel your pain. A guy needs six hands and two brains, huh, Brent? Coyotes just don't cooperate well.

Well if I had two brains I would just be twice as dumb.

I made it way more difficult then I should have. I am not using the tools in my bag nor my noggin correctly. I need to get out of rock and deer/elk hunting mode and into varmint mode. It was a good lesson. I am pretty good about checking my atmosphere and wind as I move up the mountain so I suppose I am doing some things right. As LR hunters know wind is a problem so I try and get a read on it constantly. Not even one time did I think about setting the range finder. DOH

 

[roninflag]

Texas- a coyote vital area is about the size and shape of a 12oz water bottle to me. it takes great rifle and ammo to hit that at any distance. if you are going to "learn " to shoot at distance you will be better off with rifle capable of a good degree of precision to hit a target that size with regularity.

 

[biff's reloading]

I don't think it was mentioned, but my .02 is to stick with one gun and master it. If u set up 2 rifles, I promise you will get long shots when u have the little gun, and vice versa. Set up a big enough rifle to kill em clean at 850+, and you will be good for everything between you and 850. You can't kill them too dead...i use a custom 300rum for everything from woodchucks to moose. Once you do it enough, you will know most of what to do automatically. With 2 rifles, you will have to think about things when you should be shooting. The kill zone on a coyote is much bigger with a big gun and heavier expanding bullet. Actually, there's not many shots other than its lower legs and nose that won't kill it with a 208 amax from a rum. With a 222, that's not the case so, I'd suggest putting your money and time into the 270. You need .5moa max for clean 800 yard shots on a 35lb dog