Made a few stands yesterday

[tt35]

I prospected a few stands yesterday on some ranches I do business with. I carried the shotgun only on the first two stands--a rarity for me but it was tight cover. The second stand had a young coyote come in on a line straight towards me as he went downwind of the caller. Unfortunately, it realized my form was out of place and switched back and forth between looking at me and the caller. I was pinned and waited for him to turn to leave before I could move. The first shot left a tuft of hair but no coyote.

Third stand is a spot I've wanted to call for some time. It was a great set-up along some willows about 150 yards from the sage. I set the Shockwave in the shade of a small willow with the Jack Attack a few feet behind it. Maybe two minutes into the stand this nice female comes in fully committed to Jackrabbit Distress. She stopped to check out the call and Jack Attack decoy then looped towards the downwind before stopping about 30 yards from the caller and 80 yards from me. I love this stuff!



Seven coyotes in seven shots with the new .243AI. She gave me a frontal shot. There was evidence of some splash on this coyote again. Maybe a 50 cent piece sized entry hole. I hope my suppliers get some 75 grain V-maxes in soon. I'm thinking I may step up one bullet weight.

I have a date for another 1000 yard coyote attempt tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from No Off Season!

 

[jt183]

I hope the 75 V-Max works out for you. I used them for two years out of my 243 at max velocity and had a lot of fist sized holes. This year I've been shooting the Sierra 60 gr HP and 58 gr Z-Max at 3400 fps and haven't had an exit yet (except for the one I hit high in the back leg but even then the hole was smaller than a silver dollar). I've only shot about a dozen so far but things are looking encouraging!

 

[tt35]

Thanks a lot for the info, jt So, the fist sized holes were exits, I presume? Broadside ribcage shots? My 65's did very well on the coyotes that I hit midship at AI velocities. The only issues that I've had were on the shoulder. We had pretty good luck with the 58's on the few we shot with them also but all the shots were midsection hits. We didn't shoot enough with them to see how they did on shoulders. Thanks again for the input.

 

[jt183]

Yes, the fist sized holes were broadside shots through the ribs. However, if I remember correctly (wish I would have kept better notes but it was back in the day before I bothered to save any fur) it only happened on shots inside 100 yards. Actually, I killed my largest and prettiest coyote ever with the 75 gr V-Max load out of my .243. As he was quartering towards me at 250 yards I hit him in the corner of the mouth and the bullet shattered his skull but did not exit.




This shows him next to an average size adult in the middle and a pup on the bottom. The pup was shot with a 75 gr V-Max at 150 yards and it wasn't torn up at all. It just looks bad from bleeding out while riding around in the back of the truck. The coyote in the middle was shot with the shotgun.

 

[tt35]

Yeah, that top coyote is a pig! So, no splashes with the 58's on shoulders? Thanks for the info.

 

[jt183]

Haven't shot one in the shoulder with a 58 yet. I'll give it a try asap and let you know how it turns out. Which Leupold is that on your AI? Do you use the Varmint Hunter reticle?

 

[tt35]

It's the VX-6 2-12X with the lighted long range duplex reticle. Anxiously awaiting your report....

 

[jt183]

Wish I had some info on the 58s but in order to keep my 12 yr old fired up about coyote hunting I have to leave my .243 in the truck. He doesn't take kindly to me shooting coyotes out from under him. Go figure. So I packed the shotgun and he had the M77 .223 shooting a 55 grain Speer sp. Fifteen minutes into the first stand this big male showed up and gave him a 125 yard quartering shot into the shoulder. The coyote was instantly flattened. Tiny entrance hole, no exit.



Five minutes into the second stand this guy came sprinting in from our left flank. I rolled him at 20 yards with a load of 3" lead BBs before he was able to eat the caller. He didn't even wiggle. It was nice to finally get to use the shotgun this year.



Third stand produced nothing. Eight minutes into the fourth stand this big round male came walking over the ridge towards us. Another quartering shot into the front shoulder with the .223 at 120 yards. The bullet entered on the point of the shoulder and at least part of it exited out of a dime sized hole in the top of his back. The pictures don't do him justice. Honestly the fattest coyote I've ever seen. It looked like he had just swallowed a watermelon.



The rest of the day was a bust but it was still a great time.



The boy's back in school this week so hopefully I can get out and get some info on the 58s.

 

[tt35]

Nice, jt! That is one fat coyote! I understand. I started calling with my youngest son when he was eleven. It's a fine line you walk as a father. Good on ya'.

 

[jt183]

This one was running full speed straight at me when I hit her at 45 yards with a Sierra 60 gr HP from the .243. The bullet entered three inches below the chin. It shattered several vertebrae but did not exit out the back of the neck. She slid close to 6 feet in the snow before coming to a stop.



I'm liking the Sierras but that was my last one so I'll be shooting the 58 gr Z-Max for the rest of the season. I'm assuming the Z-Max is basically the same as the V-Max, just a different colored tip. I'll keep you posted.

 

[tt35]

Love the skid mark, jt!

 

[jt183]

Finally had the chance to shoot a couple with the 58 grain Z-Max. The first coyote was a young female and the shot placement wasn't ideal. First shot was 370 yards through the middle of a back leg. Finished her with a Texas heart shot at 50 yards. Both shots hit lots of bone but neither left a hole bigger than a silver dollar.

Then I shot a big male quartering towards me at 90 yards. The bullet hit right at the point of the shoulder. It shattered the shoulder and killed him drt. .24 cal entrance hole and no exit. Doesn't get much better than that.

I'm only using 40.5 grains of IMR 4064 which the Hornady manual says should produce 3500 fps from a 24" barrel. It's not a screamer but it still seems to hit with authority. I still keep a couple 87 grain V-Max loads in the bottom of the magazine just in case I have a long range opportunity. Fortunately my gun shoots both loads to the same point of impact.

Any more luck with the 65s?

 

[tt35]

Thanks for the info. The last several coyotes were shot with the 87 grain V-maxes which is my contest load. It does what you would expect...tears the heck out of them! (One frontal shot stayed inside.) A client took a couple with the 70 grain BK out of his 6mm Rem. The end-on coyote was perfect, of course, but the broadside shot was high in the back and had a pretty big exit. Can't blame the bullet for that though. I'm wondering if the last quartering-on coyote that I took with the 65 didn't deflect and fragment before it got into the chest when it clipped the high "elbow" joint on the front leg. lightbulb

 

[jt183]

Today I shot an average sized female broadside behind the shoulder at 330 yards with the 58 Z-Max load. I was surprised to find that the bullet exited leaving a quarter sized exit hole. Wasn't expecting that! Velocity must have been slow enough that the bullet held together instead of violently coming apart inside the critter. I'm not complaining, the coyote is plenty dead and not torn up. Just making an observation. Did you ever have any passthroughs on broadside shots with the 58s?