FMJ's on coyotes

[dstark]

I am wondering if anyone has much experience shooting .30 cal FMJ's at coyotes. My 308 loves 150gr FMJ's and since I don't reload and factory ammo is hard to come by right now I was thinking that my stock of fmj's might still do the trick. I know that 223 fmj's are no good on dogs and even .308 fmjs are probably less than ideal but possibly adequate. Anyone done it?

 

[westcliffe01]

Is it legal in your state ? I believe in MI the only limitations on shooting coyotes is that there is a "season" since the DNR regulates them as a "game animal" and at night (during the even shorter Night hunting season) we are limited to a rimfire cartridge or shotgun with shot smaller than 00 Buck. Usually, if an animal is NOT classified as a game animal, it is open season.

I'm pretty sure that a 308FMJ will kill a coyote pretty quick. A 223 55gr FMJ at 300 yards, not so sure...

 

[Young-Gun]

I am wondering if anyone has much experience shooting .30 cal FMJ's at coyotes. My 308 loves 150gr FMJ's and since I don't reload and factory ammo is hard to come by right now I was thinking that my stock of fmj's might still do the trick. I know that 223 fmj's are no good on dogs and even .308 fmjs are probably less than ideal but possibly adequate. Anyone done it?

My experience with .223 and FMJ's are the first one knocks them down and the follow up one or two keeps them that way. so I would say shot placement would be key the bullet wont do extra work for a misplaced shot.

 

[blksno]

Using a FMJ is always a crap shoot when it comes to coyotes...weathers its from a .308 or a .223.
You're going to get a lot of clean one shot kills with little pencil hole exit wounds, but dead none the less.
AND, the longer you shoot, the more you'll see those same types of shots hit a bone and send fragments out a hole the size of a soft ball.
AND, then again, you'll have a perfect double lung shot that passes between ribs that will have them run off 500 yards and die of blood loss.

Do they work? Yep...especially if your gun shoots them well, but as said before. Don't expect your bullet to bail you out.
Send them through the shoulder blades for more positive drops, but expect more damage.
If you're using them specifically to keep fur and want minimal damage...expect a lot of runners.

 

[land308]

In 223 its a definite no go for me. too many lost dogs and runners. 308 might be better but still not good. If you decide to hunt wolves then that's a whole different story

 

[Reno1]

I called in a yote to within 75 yards where he stopped, facing me, and I nailed him with a 150gr Nosler Partition from my .270. The round went through his chest and out his hip with no more than a quarter sized exit wound. Not enough mass to mushroom. He was dead on impact. Your .308 FMJ would do the same.

 

[varmintH8R]

I agree with the general consensus of the post - a 308FMJ will kill yotes. One thing I would add - all that extra energy in that little critter is likely to give you a gory cavity explosion on occasion, should you place a bullet a little too far back . . .

 

[tomestone]

In Canada we can:t hunt anything with FMJ bullets (copper jacketed] they are designed to wound not to kill,thats why the military uses them, 2 men for every wounded man to carry out. buck up ,be humane, hunting with FMJ makes us all look bad.

 

[Reno1]

I use my deer rounds for coyote. As I stated earlier, there's not enough mass on the yote for the bullet to expand, especially on a sub 100 yrd shot. The .270 round just blows straight through it. Relatively small entrance and exit holes. I believe pretty much what any larger caliber (.308, .270, etc) FMJ would do. These rounds even though they may not expand on a coyote have so much energy that the hydrostatic(?) shock destroys them. They go down immediately from my experience. Wider would channel, much more ft lbs of energy. I don't believe a .22 FMJ would have nearly the same effect and results. That's why in my opinion a FMJ or deer/pig round in .270 or greater cal is very effective on yotes. I can't imagine with a double lung shot with a .308 FMJ that the dog would go 20 ft.

 

[westcliffe01]

So this won't kill a little bitty coyote ?

[ame]http://youtu.be/sGYF8DTLcj4[/ame]

 

[Reno1]

Nice vid, westcliffe. That's a dead dog.

 

[dstark]

thanks for all the great input. I'll try it out next hunt and hopefully get back with some results.

 

[xdeano]

I've shot a few coyotes with FMJ's, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've shot far more coyotes with a match bullet then i can shake a stick at. They do a much better job. A FMJ will pencil through on a broad side shot and 9 times out of 10 the coyote will run a ways even if they're hit in the boiler room. If you're shooting the length wise they will start to tumble and rip things up and if they come out the side they will rip up a lot of fur. If you're just shooting coyotes to kill them, use a better bullet. If you want the fur shoot them with a match bullet.

It's always more fun to walk up to a coyote ($50 bill) that is dead, not half alive, and that's if you catch up to him after running a mile. You can't have a $50 bill if you can't put them on the ground. Moral of the story, use a better bullet.

xdeano

 

[OKIE2]

With bullets hard to find now take a file and file off the tip until you see a lttle lead they will open up fine.