Effective coyote range for .223?

Quote:
Wow, looks like things turned kind of ugly.

Quote:
I have a hard time understanding how anyone can, on any given day shoot a live coyote at 500...with any degree of certainty.

I left out the other distances because for me anything over 500 requires mojo, ju-ju, and a bit of voo-doo for good measure. Disclaimer, I post under my real name and location so no Internet anonymity here. Legitimate references provided on request. Now that I got that out of the way.

Here's how you pop a living coyote at 500 yards. First off, you need to have the gear required. For me that means a pocket PC running Exbal, a really good range finder, a wind meter (I use Kestrel) and I enter the relative humidity, barometric pressure, and elevation before I leave home. Also, you need to know the velocity of your ammo at temperature, you need to verify the drop from the ballistics program before hand, you must be able to correct for the drop. I use come ups instead of the reticle for elevation and I hold windage. A sub MOA rifle is also required with a spot on zero. Then there is the matter of mirage. If it's boiling all bets are off.

So, you get this really patient coyote. Range the critter multipe times (I also have the spotter range with a second Leica. You then take a wind reading. If the wind isn't almost a zero value (for me) all bets are off. Now that you have the distance nailed, little or no mirage, and a zero value wind (preferably in the form of dead calm) you run the numbers. Then dial in the required elevation and prone out with a bag or bipod under the front and another bag in the back. If you can't get the wobble zone down to minute of coyote, all bets are off. Then you whack the coyote.

Last month I was doping loads for my 7mm mag and I took a self resetting steel target along. As I moved back to verify the drop on my 7mag, I shot one round from my 22-250 at 200, 300, 400 and 500. I shot two rounds at 600 because I didn't call the first shot and I didn't here the ding. I then put the yardages on the target in Photoshop with the intent of posting the target on this site. The hits show what is possible when the yardage is known and they also show the effects of slight shifts in wind along with improper corrections in windage.

I didn't bother to post the target because I figured folks would holler BS, call me a liar, and so forth. Afterall, this is a calling forum and long range shooters are not welcome here. At times this is not a very friendly place. The target is shown below. Yeah, I know the hits are all over the place, but I think a coyote would have been in grave danger depending on which way he was facing at the time.
steel hits.jpg


PS I have 20 of those resetting targets for sale if anyone is interested,



Not to shabby brother, I believe ya.

Chupa
 
Boy, almost sorry I checked this one out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Effective range of my .223 is more in line with the
 
What we have here is a post that simply got drifted all over the place. Just start a post on any hunting forum with words like "best", "ethical", "longest shot", etc. and the testosterone is going to flow and the fur will fly.

I think everyone that shoots a lot knows the "effective" range of a .223 is commonly accepted to be 300 yards or less. I also think we all know the maximum effective range of most coyote hunters, under worst case field conditions, is a whole lot less than 300 yards.

Fact is, this entire thread could have been summed up with the original post and a one sentence reply. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
Quote:
Fact is, this entire thread could have been summed up with the original post and a one sentence reply. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif



Sorry, Ron. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Wow, what a thread.

As someone who lives in NV and shoots a lot, I have an opinion to add.

1) the ops question I believe asks if .223 is effective at distance. Honestly I would think a Black Hills 77 TMK would be plenty effective out to 500 yards. (If you can hit vitals)
2) furthest I've killed a yote with .223 is 360ish yards and it was with a 62 Fusion MSR. It was effective.
3) almost all dogs I shoot past 200 yards I use a .308.
4) the biggest part of all this is how good you are with your rifle. Honestly to take a 400 yard shot with a .223 you better have done a decent amount of training. Putting a 77 TMK into a soft ball size target past 300 yards is hard.
5) personally I'd recommend a good 4-16 scope (I never got the 3-9 thing, 4x is perfect and you can go up to 16 if you want, usually I'm happy at the 10 or 12x. But why limit yourself to 9 with a 3-9 unless you're into weight savings) and a case or two of the exact hunting ammo you'll be using (77 TMK or 62 MSR) and then go shoot a LOT of it at long range.
I think you'll discover that it doesn't matter what the bullet does because you aren't going to be confident taking those long shots when you can call them in closer. Seriously put a coyote "vitals" size target at 400 yards and fire 10 rounds. I doubt all ten will be inside that target and if only 6/10 are good, then that means you shouldn't do it on a live animal.
I understand long shots, here in NV you could take a 6 mile shot if it were possible, but realistically with a .223, especially a .223 AR, you're going to want to be around 150 yards.
The long shots we take we use .308 bolt guns, and even that's just for fun.
6) effect on target can be weird. I've had some animals DRT with .223 and some I never recover even when I connect with a good .308. Using a good bullet helps a lot, but you still never know. You're best bet with .223 is inside 200 yards.
And haha oh man a 500 yard .223 coyote hit would be something to remember. Before you pulled the trigger I would bet most people that they would miss.
7) please don't be inhumane. Respect the animal. I know you can lob a round out there at 500 yards but why risk blowing his leg off and then having him suffer.

 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotOriginally Posted By: desmanWow, what a thread.



wow. what a revival of a thread. only about 5 years old.
lol.gif


Yeehaw!
 
I have taken hogs with the .223 and a 62 gr tsx exits a 150lb animal to atleast 200 yards. I can't see how people think it will not take a coyote past 200. Long shots are rare even in wide open country. They are masters of slinking through the depressions in the land and popping up right in front of you. I believe it is best to optimize for the easier and more common
 
I mean a .223 will probably kill a dog at 1,000 yards, but, it's probably not humane.
At 500 yards with a good shot it will definitely kill one. Again though, it depends on your shot. I think it's inhumane to shoot an animal and wound it, and at 400 yards there's a high chance you'll just wound it and it will die 3 days later.
A few years ago I shot a cat, about 8 pounder (we have lots of pests), I hit it with a 75gr .223 subsonic (about 1,000 fps). It was a perfect shot at about 15 yards away. The cat jumped and ran off, 3 days later that cat was lying in my yard sick and dying. It was horrible, and I swore I'd never shoot an animal unless I could guarantee it would die within a few seconds. It's just not humane.
So, with a .223 at about 500 yards it would be going fast enough to kill for sure, but it would have to be a good shot and I think past 200 yards it's hard To guarantee that you won't just blow his hind leg off. I mean a 75gr projectile going 1900fps (at 500 yards) will def kill. (As seen by the fiveseven pistol using a 40gr Vmax at 1600 fps was still deadly).
A 75gr projectile at 1,000 yards is still going 1,000fps and I wouldn't want to be hit by one. .223 is no joke, but shot placement is key.
With a nice .308 bolt gun it's a whole different story, so I put down the AR and use a bolt gun for anything over 200ish yards. In Nevada I usually see them around the 300 yard mark. At night their eyes are everywhere especially after shooting a few rabbits.


 
Last edited:
Back
Top