.17 HMR vs coyote?

Travis in Wyoming

Travis in Wyoming

New member
Ok, here's the scoop
Im in college in Wyoming, ( God's country ) and have found that calling coyotes is the greatest thing, and it is just about all i give my time two. I called two in monday, and this next week is my spring break and instead of the beech im going on a road trip hunting coyotes places ive never been, should be a good time. This past Agust I spent some dollars on Remington's model 700 mnt rifle with the stainless laminate, very attractive, and light, I got it in the 30-06... this has shattered the security of the wyoming coyote world, but now im thinking that the 8 inch diamater exit wounds are wasting a lot of good furs, and not to mention that little gun packs a wallup if you shot it much so im considering a nice new coyote gun. I'm leaning on a .223, you cannont beat the price of ammunition and ive seen alot of our kanine friends aggree on it's kill factor, but ruger has a beautiful new gun for 2003 in the .17 HMR. Is this caliber just too light, it will push a 17 grain bullet over 2500 fps but it is still just a 17 grain bullet right? Has any one shot the 17 HMR please let me know the results, becuase my 155 grain horniday A-max 30-06 re-loads have rarley seen a coyote take another step, well thats all i have, please share some know-how with this wyoming college coyote nut, thanks
 
Travis,

Welcome to Predator Masters! You'll find more information and entertainment here than on any other hunting site on the web, IMNSHO.

A college kid in SE Wyoming...??? You must be at UW in Laramie, I'm guessing?
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Lots of great coyote country around you, that's for sure.

In the way of a little FYI, the whole ".17 HMR v. Canis Latrans" thing has been argued/discussed here ad nauseum. Being a fairly new registered memeber, there's no way you could have known that. Let me highly reccomend the search feature on this board. You will find mountains of great info on just about anything you can imagine. It's kind of exciting, to boot.

Here's a previous, now cold thread to get you on your way to resolving your question:

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000444

There's plenty more, believe me.

Again, good to have you!
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The .17 HMR is just to lite for coyote. Shot placement at very close range is very critical and at longer ranges it`s just to lite. For all around hide hunting the .17 Rem. is the best factory round, and it`s far more versital if you reload.
 
Well, it will kill a yote, if everything goes right. Pretty light/frangible bullet if it doesn't.

I held a 17HMR rifle in my hands yesterday that was used to kill a deer this season. A doe, about 50 yards, headshot. Reportedly dropped her like a rock. I don't know where in the head the impact point was, as the shooter was not present for me to ask, but even with a headshot placement would be critical. Heavy sections of bone would likely defeat this bullet.
 
I have the Ruger 17HMR and I would not use it for coyote sized varmints. It is just not potent enough to make clean realiable kills beyond 50 or so yards. Yes I know there are those that claim 100 yards kills, but that is not every coyote shot with one. I would recommend the 223 as you have already stated the ammo is dirt cheap plus you can find it almost anywhere. 223 is much more versatile.
 
Might i add that if you are still hunting coyotes the furs are not any good this late in the year. Dogs usually start rubbing their hips in February. So whatever you shoot them with does not matter.

And, the 223 is a coyote gun, the 17HMR is a varmint gun.
 
After 25 yrs. hunting predators I would suggest either 17 Rem. or .223. Truth is, i doubt you'll find much difference between the 2 rounds as far as killing ability, or hide compatiblity. I'm a .17 cal. nut so that's what i prefer, for no particular reason than simply because it is more interesting. If you're not reloading then there is only one choice for the .17, and that is the 25 gr. bullet, but if you are reloading then experiment with the 30's. They'll deliver more energy, especially down range where you need it. I believe Win is making a high-velocity 40 gr. factory load for the .223 now, and it will be the non-reloaders choice for the coyote fur hunter. The various 40 gr. bullets at high-velocity out of the .22's have transformed that caliber into one of the best for the discriminating coyote fur hunter. One little side suggestion here. If you're using a plex reticle in your scope then use a little ingenuity, and apply its rangefinding capability, and 2nd zero reference for long-range shooting. It's very simple to do, especially for smart college guys. You'll be surprised how much more consistent you'll get beyond a coyotes point blank range.
 
Travis,

Please take a little advice from a sixty year-old dude who has killed about everything from here to Zimbabwe (including one hell of a lot of coyotes). in total, something over 500 big game animals and countless varmints/predators. I write for firearms/hunting magazines.

The 17 rimfire is not a coyote cartridge. NO rimfire is a coyote cartridge. Even the .22 Hornet is very marginal.

The .223 Remington is a superb killer on coyotes and the muzzle blast is light, so you'll often get pairs. The ammo is cheap, it's very easy to handload and the recoil is practically nonexistant.

You'll find the .223 Remington is unexcelled as a prairie dog cartridge, as well. When it comes to body-count shooting (those 500-600-700 and even 800 round days) the .223 is KING. During conditions like this, you'd burn out a .22-250 barrel and leave a .17 Remington barrel fouled beyond reclaimation.

My friend, buy a decent .223 Remington and learn how to shoot it. If you are wise, you'll stick to it and enjoy the fabulous .223 Remington for the rest of your life.

Just advice from an old fart, but SO RIGHT.

Steve
 
Welcome to the board!

Laramie?? I have hunted around the Mills area if this is where you are. Great hunting.

The .17 is a kick butt round but you will have to reload for it as the commerical stuff won't cut it. This is what gives the .17 such a bad rep!! If you use the 28 or 30gr'ers(30's my choice)you will do fine with very little hide damage. Of course, this not a extremely long distance round.

Like the old man said, .223 is one of the best suited rounds goin. Cheap to shoot,plenty of options, ammo anywhere, highly accurate autoloaders available,and good to 300 if the wind ain't blowing too bad!! Out in your country I prefer the Swift but I don't do hides! .223 best bet for you to get started with. Good luck!!
 
Forgot!! Don't even waste your time and money on the .17HMR unless you are gonna shoot ground squirrels with it. I have shot everything with it and would not recommend for yotes!!
 
Originally posted by SteveTimm:
[qb]Steve,
thanks to everyone for the advice, i will definatly go with the .223 after talking with all of you and doing some more research. Steve, Africa huh? have you got the big five? is a 375 H&H mag too small for cape buffalow, you would probally have to go with the bigger 416 rigby or even 460 whetherby or 458 Lot, i would love to hear some stories, give me an email at goodmoringgill@hotmail.com, thanks

Steve[/qb]
Click to expand...
 
Travis,

Good, you'll really enjoy the .223 Remington. Later, when you have a hankering for a wildcat and are into handloading fairly seriously, you might consider rechambering or rebarreling to .223 Ackley. This would give you the functional performance of the .22-250, without any of the barrel-burning characteristics.

I've not done any of the big five. I've killed 56 heads of African game and the largest critter I've killed is the eland. The bull I shot weighed 2361 lbs, guts in.

I'll stick to the .375 H&H. It works. Trajectory is the same as a .30-06 and the recoil is manageable.

Yes, I've shot the larger guns and the recoil bothers me a lot. Better to shoot a smaller gun well than a larger cartridge poorly.

Steve
 
Sure, the .17 rimfire will work with a perfect shot - but I have found coyotes the hardest creature in the world to make a perfect shot on. I have never missed a deer and have little trouble with other game, but coyotes seem to never stand still, and if they do, it is just for an instant. They are SPOOKY! You know, I used to think I was a great shot - then I started hunting dogs. I use a .223 with good luck, but will admit to loosing some even with it. Had an easy shot through the lungs (50 yards) Sunday and the coyote still ran a good ways. Shot one near a brush pile a couple of weeks ago - shot knocked it flat, then it kicked its way to the brush pile.
Don't use the little .17 rimfire unless you are willing to pass up almost all shots you are exposed to.
 
Hey Steve,

I have a question and this is a little off travis' topic. How do you get the functional performance of a 22-250 with a 223 AI without the barrel burning characteristics? This is an honest question as I'm a fairly inexperienced handloader.
 
Ruda,

Contrary to popular opinion, hroat erosion IS NOT caused by the speed of the bullet. It is a function of the volume of gas that is generated by propellant. Basically, the .22-250 uses a lot more powder and creates a lot more gas.

The throat temperature figures of individual powders figures into the equation as well.

I've had excellent barrel life with H-335 in both the .223 Rem and .223 Ackley. Yes, my three .223 Ackley rifles have drastically burnt throats, but I shoot a lot. The point is, they are still capable of killing dogs as far as I care to shoot them. If the three barrels were chambered for .22-250, they would be toast by now.

I am NOT free to quote my firearms-indusry source (and don't even ask), but H-335 is quite capable of giving over 4,000 fps in the .223 Ackley without exceeding the SAAMI pressure limits for the standard .223 Remington.

Excellent, excelent cartridge.

Hope this answers your question.

Steve
 
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