Too much gun?!?!

but looked like half its innards were trying to follow the bullet out the exit.
only half?.....
IMG_5923.jpeg
 
Yep, IMO if you have to ware ear plugs its too much gun.
I always wear hearing protection, regardless of chambering, when I hunt. I also wear hearing/safety protection when I use my mower, snow blower, leaf mower, chain saw, etc., a good habit after working at the flighline generating A-10s and F-4s for a decade - prolonged exposure at high noise levels; >140dBs.

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I do not actively pursue coyotes, but I have a few hunts that turned into one.

1 of 2 coyote.jpg

2 of 2 coyote.jpg

Chest shot taken at 525Y with 175 Matrix VLD out of .270 AI.
Coyote take with 225 NAB .338 WM.jpg

Broadside shot taken at 338Y with 225 NAB out of .338 WM.
 
I don't think you can have too much gun for coyotes. I think it's in the bullet selection and shot placement, often the bullets we want to use on other animals don't perform well on coyotes and other smaller predators. I do believe that you can be under gunned, however, for the situation.
 
My son and I were out in the mountains of southern Arizona today scouting for his upcoming Coues hunt. we always bring a rifle because you never know when you're going to see a lion or coyote. Today, we watched 3-coyotes chase a Coues doe up a steep canyon. The coyotes were relentless, fortunately for the doe, they finally gave up the chase as she hit the saddle of the hill and crested over. The coyotes were about 800-yards away but never presented a good shot opportunity as they were running the entire time. On our hike out of the area, my son, saw another coyote, standing broadside across a small canyon. The coyote stood still for a little too long, which allowed my son to get his ear plugs in and take the 112-yard shot. He was shooting a 300 PRC with handloaded Hornady 230 Gr. A-tips pushing about 2,900 fps. Needless to say, the coyote dropped in it's tracks.

View attachment 498391
Did the bullet gouge that hole in the rock behind him?
 
I decapitated a doe last year with a 168 Amax out of my 20" barreled AR 10. She ran straight away from me, stopped, and looked back at me over her back which left me a Texas Heart shot (not happening) or base of skull/top of neck shot at 85 yards. The bullet hit the top of the white throat patch, penetrated, centered a vertebra, and that was that. 1 swipe with my 3" pocketknife and the head was off. Absolutely zero meat damage.
Coyotes and bobcats don't tend to hold together well at all. A 168 Amax or ballistic tip is devastating on them. Even at my whopping 2620fps muzzle velocity.

My absolute best too much gun story was a 7mm REM mag on a cotton tail rabbit. We were looking for meat for the pot, preferably larger, when we spotted the rabbit in a bean field. I made a perfect 80 yard shot at the base of the ear with a 139 grain sst. Again zero meat damage. The fried rabbit put back in gravy and some grits made for a very good supper. I did not recover the bullet on this one so I'm not sure whether it failed or not 🤔
 
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