Whats the minimum Ft lbs of enery needed to kill a Coyote?

Dultimatpredator

Dultimatpredator

Well-known member
I have heard of people talking about killing Coyotes out to 600 yards with 60g Vmax bullets at .223 velocities. At 600 yards my tables tell me the bullet only has 212.8fps of knock down. Is this enough? If so what is the farthest ethical distance with this bullet? I know people shoot 1000 yard matches with 223s but are they lethal at this distance? My chart is telling me 103fps of knock down at this range. Deer they always recommend between 900-1200fps if I remember. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
212.8 fps of energy is sufficient to kill a coyote, or a human. The deciding factor depends on what part of the anatomy you plan to impact.
 
sheet man /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I hear people use 22rf and 22 mags so the field is wide open /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
What's not mentioned is how many runoffs happen at those ranges due to poor hits. Often the same folks that are shooting at coyotes at 600 yards with the 223 are shooting at deer at 800 and wounding them too.
 
Nope, not enough, it will bounce off at that range. LOL

In simpler terms, would you let someone launch a 60 grain V-Max at you at 600 yards and not expect to die, if hit in the chest and no medical attention was available?
 
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212.8 fps of energy is sufficient to kill a coyote, or a human. The deciding factor depends on what part of the anatomy you plan to impact.



That's right and it's very difficult to "PLAN" to shoot the brain or the heart or some other small vital organ at 600 yards.
 
Obviously, there is not and can not be any hard fast rule. My own personal preference is for a minimum of 400 ft/lbs downrange. But! I don't shoot at long range coyotes, either. If I were thinking about making a regular habit of shooting at coyotes 600 yards distant, or even further, I'd increase my minimum signficantly - in anticipation of bad hits becoming exponentially more likely at distances beyond what I'm normally comfortable with.

- DAA
 
Living in the East, I really don't have that problem. Sure, I guess a 600 yard shot is possible around here but it would be extremely rare. Seeing the coyote come out of the woods into the field that far off and having him stand around long enough for me to get a fix on him is highly unlikely. I know that things are different in the West where one often sees them coming from great distances.

Landrum
 
dultimatpredator...why don't you quit screwing around with table's..ft..lb's..& other internet information & just go shoot some coyote's..& tell us what happened.. i really don't think anybody can answer your question's..& still..somehow..please you ??
 
Dude, when are you going on this "hunt out west" you keep mentioning. If you don't get out in the field soon you will analyze this whole coyote hunting thing to the point that you will insure failure.

I thought your shots were close, now they are 600 yarders.

No offence intended but you can't seem to settle on a bullet (except you will be [beeep] sure to use a V-max), you can't settle on a needed speed, you can't settle on a needed ft/lb, you can't settle a distance needed but it has to be fur friendly. Pick or choose your battles. A .223 is not going to have all the numbers that you seem to want. Just get a friggen .300 Win mag and scrap the fur off the sagebrush but at least this will be over.
 
I have killed a couple of coyotes this season with a 55 V-Max lumbering along at 200-225 ft lbs upon impact so obviously there is enough energy to kill them at those terminal velocities. Whether or not it is ethical is for you to decide. FWIW, a 55 V-Max leaving my 22-250 at 3500 fps then impacting a prarie dog at 600 yards plus, usually doesn't even expand. Considering the number of prarie dogs I have "crippled" with a .22-250 between 500 and 800 yards, I would say the round is definitely inadequate at that range for a coyote. That's why I prefer to use a .260 AI or 7mm Rem mag...for both P-dogs and coyotes when playing sniper.
 
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Obviously, there is not and can not be any hard fast rule. My own personal preference is for a minimum of 400 ft/lbs downrange. But! I don't shoot at long range coyotes, either. If I were thinking about making a regular habit of shooting at coyotes 600 yards distant, or even further, I'd increase my minimum signficantly - in anticipation of bad hits becoming exponentially more likely at distances beyond what I'm normally comfortable with.

Yep!
 
Geeze, you guys are brutal. I just wanted to find out what would be the suggested minimum foot pounds to kill a yote so I can make ethical shots. I thought this was a forum to ask questions I don't know the answers to. I guess I'll buy a book. Instead of answers I get smart a$$ replies, it just shows your intelligence. I have a few more weeks before I go on vacation yet and nice to know that there are a few posters that have way too much time on their hands and no lives as well to track all my posts. Thanks for caring.
 
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dultimatpredator...why don't you quit screwing around with table's..ft..lb's..& other internet information & just go shoot some coyote's..& tell us what happened.. i really don't think anybody can answer your question's..& still..somehow..please you ??



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif Niiiiiiiiiiiice, this is a good way to sour a new hunter into giving up on the sport. If you don't like this guy or the next, you don't have to reply to his posts. You ol'grumps need to start your own forum or something. These types of replies are getting old.
 
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The main question is "Can you reliably HIT a coyote in the vitals at 600 yards - (or X - yard range)? Under field conditions.
Mark



And that, is what it boils down to!
 
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Quote:
The main question is "Can you reliably HIT a coyote in the vitals at 600 yards - (or X - yard range)? Under field conditions.
Mark



And that, is what it boils down to!


And people who can do that are very few and far between. You would have to hold 1 MOA and read the wind, mirage and distance perfectly. Even from the prone position, that is a rare person. I hold a master classification in high power and I could not do it reliably.

Jack
 
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Quote:
Quote:
The main question is "Can you reliably HIT a coyote in the vitals at 600 yards - (or X - yard range)? Under field conditions.
Mark



And that, is what it boils down to!


And people who can do that are very few and far between. You would have to hold 1 MOA and read the wind, mirage and distance perfectly. Even from the prone position, that is a rare person. I hold a master classification in high power and I could not do it reliably.

Jack




Yep, if you do it with regularity sure you will get a few kills. But I think doing it with a .223 you will be in for more heartache than it's worth. Shooting at those yardages you need to error on the side of a not so good hit, and be packin enough steam to do the job properly on a less than perfect shot. You can drop an anvil on a yote and not kill'em if you hit'em bad enough(just ask the road runner)it's true I used to see it happen every saturday morning on TV when I was a kid /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif But if thats your thing have at it, I won't hold anything against you if you do.
 
If you can hit what you aim at (providing you know where to aim) a .223 will kill a coyote out to the Army's stated kill range of a human target of 550 meters. Some say 800 meters but that is for an area target so I'll stick with the 550 meters. Now, let the discussion be can you really see a [beeep] coyote in their environment at 550 meters and if you could would you bother taking pot shots at it w/o a stable rest?
 
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