Night hunting question

neyote

neyote

New member
Alright I have a night hunting question and might get a lot of "we've already covered this look it up concerning the .17hmr". But I have read alot of those comments about the hmr and seems like the ones that use it use shot placement like I do and most others with their archery equipment meaning you can't shoot them in the a** and expect them to die like if you hit them with your 300 mag and blew out their back. And I know I haven't posted much here but I didn't feel like I need to say anything I'm still learning this whole sport of predator hunting. See I don't hunt deer with a rifle unless it is for filling the freezer and I use my .22-250 with 55 gr. vmax bullets (my coyote hunting rounds) and it drops them on the spot with no exist hole and no meat damage. But alot of people tell me that is too small of a gun to do that. [beeep] most would say .270 or larger (kind of like here .223 or larger). If everyne was worried about killing everything dead why don't we all put down all the different cals and what not and just all carry a .50 cal that would kill about everything then. I am looking for a clean kill using shot placement I dont want to blow a hole. I want the animal to look like it is asleep just like all are relatives do at their funerals. And seeing how at night your distances is cut in half just because of what you can see and also their eyes being the easiest to see. Why not use the hmr and center the crosshairs between the eyes? Just saying 100 yrds or less at night put between the eyes isn't that enough? I don't know just asking because I haven't tried the hmr yet but in my mind makes sense to me. Just looking for some thoughts. And humor me what do you use to Deer hunt with.
 
Deer hunt with bow.
Coyote with 223 and 40g v-max. They do not exit. Most of the time you can't see the entrance hole either.
Coyotes around here don't stand still long enough for head shots at rimfire range they move a lot more than a deer.
Pound for pound a coyote is a lot harder to drop than a deer.
 
The only advantages an HMR will give you over a centerfire is that freak ricochets (which imo are very rare with an HMR) will cause less damage and the report is less alarming to sleeping neighbors.

I've used the hummer to great effect for around the house pest control with safety and noise concerns being my priority.
You still have to be aware of what's beyond the target etc...use common sense.

The disadvantages would be less range and less forgiving shot placement. You need to be patient and need to not force the shot.

I went 7 coyotes on 7 shots with the HMR in 18 months around the house. All were headshots.
In the same time frame I passed on at least that many shots, due to range, angles, an the inability to get the yote stopped.

I'm kicking around the thought of using 410 slugs out to 75 yards, which will allow me take more shots on moving coyotes and at odd angles, while still using a frangible round that bleeds energy quickly.

Without noise and safety limitations, I'd use centerfire or a 12 gauge.

I'll hunt deer with any legal centerfire or a slug.
It's a lot easier to get a good shot with a smaller caliber on a deer from a blind than it is to get a yote to stand still for a rimfire headshot.

This is all just opinion....

 
I would not use a HMR 17, nore would I shoot at eyes unless I had a positive ID, two many deer and local dogs have come to my calling. I use to use a 22mag and gave it up because of the shots I could not take. an yes I tried a few and it didn't work well. stick with your 22-250 even with lights like the xlr 250 you can make shots out to 250 yards, get a high quality NV scope and you can make hits out to 500 yards in the right conditions.
 
NE,head shots on called coyotes is great theory on paper,but does not work in the field.Coyotes are cagey(seems everytime they show their mug,someone shoots at them)Up here I use an AR-15 and I have dropped many drt,and many that ran two hundred yards then piled up,shot placement was in the sweet spot,coyotes are tough.I have also dropped a bunch with the .22-250 50 grain vmax. Dont think about the HMR for a calling gun,you will wound to many dogs.I think reading your post I think your concerned about bullets down range at night,(a very important concern)am I correct? If thats the case I would use a .223 with a light bullet or a scatter gun,up here at night the coyotes get agressive and come in close fast,and if your dickin around trying to get a head shot,they will be leavin faster!! Use a scatter gun...
 
I hunt exclusively with night vision and most shots are typically in the 100 to 200 yard range. I read an article in NPHA Group Howl this past weekend and it referenced some research that supported the notion that coyotes hunt using vision first, scent second, and audible last. Seems to be a reasonable theory since I've only had a few that charged into the call from the upwind side at night. Most of the time they like to circle around to the 100 to 200 yard downwind side before making their approach. I think at night they just have to rely more on their scent and audible senses to zero in on the potential meal. Trying to stop them for a standing head shot when they are intent on getting downwind is probably going to be difficult. Kevin
 
I hunt Mule Deer, Antelope and Javelina with my Mathews Bow.

Coyotes - .223, .243, 22-250 and 12 gauge with oobuck.

I would not reccomend a .17 HMR for coyotes at night! That is my opinion and i do a lot of night hunting. 100% ID of your target and what is beyond your target is key too hunting at night, a great light such as the XLR-250 or NV.
I use a Green XLR250 and a SUBZERO ND3X50 mounted on my rifle and i can positively id a critter at 300+ yards. I hunt around a lot of cattle at night and i must make sure that i have ID'd my target and what is beyond prior to pulling the trigger. I usually shoot my .243 suppressed at night.

Kevin
 
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