Ethical distance for a coyote with a .223

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Frostbite

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I just come back from the shooting range and wanted to ask you what you think is an ethical distance for shooting coyotes (the four legged kind) with a .223. I am asking because a guy there argued that a .223 could cleanly kill a coyote at 600 yards with a boiler room shot. I personally would be inclined to think this is a little far, but I lack knowledge about two important parts of the equation: the .223 round's potential and the toughness of coyotes. What do you think?
 
I think the shooter matters more than the chambering. What's easy for some is not realistic for others... practice at the distance you're hunting, and you'll know more about what you can, and cannot, do.

As with all ethical hunting, if you are hesitant, don't do it.
 
So, I guess I should understand that the guy was absolutely right then, and that if the shooter is good enough to shoot a coyote in the boiler room at 600 yards with a .223 the coyote will die fast.
 
Not fast, but it will die sooner, or later.

I personally think the max range for the .223 for bang-flop DRT kills is about 250-275 yards.

I shot one running 5 times years ago with a .222 at about 250 on out to 300+.
Found his bones about 1/3 mile away in our hay field the next spring.

Once the .223 runs out of speed for explosive bullet performance, it is no longer a bang-flop coyote killer.

rc
 
I've had a couple yotes 're-animate' after what was a bang-flop from a .223. Two that I'm thinking of, one was at less than 50 yds and the other a little past 300. Both looked to be boiler room shots, but I didn't dissect to confirm.

I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them at 600 or further, but I wouldn't expect to get a quick kill (or even a hit).
 
1,000 yards. (a coyote killed my big old cat). He came when I called and he acted like a dog. KILL ALL THOSE DAMNED COYOTES YOU CAN. :cuss:
 
I have seen a literal truckload of snared outta the fence row coyotes. Most of them didn't look all that quick.
 
They struggle. If the snare is a locking type or if there's something there (like a ~3" sapling) the snare tightens and cuts off blood to the brain.

On the .223 for yotes. Shooting a critter that tends to not stay still at that distance with a cartridge that has a lot of drop and drift is not ideal. Just getting a hit would be tough. Putting one right through the heart would just be pure luck if I were behind the trigger.
 
Ethical?? for a coyote??? I didn't thing coyotes had anything to do with ethics. The more dead or wounded coyotes, the better in my book.

If you think you can hit it and it's a safe shot, have at it.

Perhaps you meant adequate or possible, not ethical.
 
Colt Python Elite, could be just deer and bear. I havn't been a field in couple of years due to health and I might be disremembering.
 
Ethical?? for a coyote??? I didn't thing coyotes had anything to do with ethics. The more dead or wounded coyotes, the better in my book.

If you think you can hit it and it's a safe shot, have at it.

Perhaps you meant adequate or possible, not ethical.
While I pefer to kill em dead right there, I must admit, that after on more occasions than necessary I have tracked young calves in the snow, with coyote tracks coming from both sides, the longer the trail the more blood and hair, and the trail finally culminates with a dead calf with only the liver taken out.. In the spring when antelope fawns are plentiful they start out teaching the pups to hunt, at first they eat all of the fawn, then as time goes by they may just run them down killem and leave...
Ethical about coyotes,, I got to think about that one for a bit..
 
At 600 yards, a 55gr Vmax going 3,100 fps at the muzzle will be going around 1,200 fps. At that velocity, round will probably act like FMJ and pencil thru. If it stays in, it is carrying 175 ft-lbs of energy.
 
That would be like shooting it with a 22 LR at the muzzle. I would do it with an accurate rifle. I have shot targets at that range. But I am an old timer, we shot coyote and any other varmints on sight usually with 22 LR.
 
Regarding ethics and coyotes: I am not one and do not suffer their work, that is why I was asking about an ethical shot.
Also, I suspected that the .223 round did not carry enough energy down that range to make a quick kill. I do however understand that some might shoot them knowing they will suffer and die further down the road without any afterthought. I have no problem with that at all.
The two coyotes I saw up close (way too close to my taste, within 20') did not make me feel sympathy for them, but they just changed direction when I stood up.
I did not shoot them because I was hunting deer with my muzzleloader and I did not want to waste a shot or the run that was going on, they are not worth it to me.
Also, being a foreign guest when I hunt in the USA, where that happened, and not knowing if they can be shot all year round or else (upper NY, 5a if I am not mistaken), I would not have taken the chance to kill one, although I am absolutely certain the farmer who owns the land could not have cared less.
The guy at the range was young, most likely a good shooter and definitely not a seasoned hunter from what I could make out of that conversation. Shooting a moose in the eye at 200 yards is just bla bla to my ear, and he seemed convinced he could do that. Well, good for him, I know I can not, any day of the week. I do not hunt from a bench rest. :banghead:
 
I do however understand that some might shoot them knowing they will suffer and die further down the road
I don't understand it.
Every living animal deserves a humain quick kill.

Nothing deserves a lingering painful death.

Coyotes are actually quite beneficial in keeping rodents under control.
They are just out there trying to make a living they way they have evolved.

Just like all the rest of us.

rc
 
At 600 yards, a 55gr Vmax going 3,100 fps at the muzzle will be going around 1,200 fps. At that velocity, round will probably act like FMJ and pencil thru. If it stays in, it is carrying 175 ft-lbs of energy.

Actually a bit more speed with a much heavier bullet than a 22LR at the muzzle. Most folks consider a 22 just fine out to 50-100 yards.

If it doesn't kill him outright the other coyotes will finish him off with as much mercy as they give a rabbit, fawn or other animal they kill and eat.
 
Every living animal deserves a humane quick kill.

Nothing deserves a lingering painful death.

Coyotes are actually quite beneficial in keeping rodents under control.
They are just out there trying to make a living the way they have evolved.

Just like all the rest of us.

rc

I could not agree more, that was the premise of my disagreement with the guy at the range.

What I understand is that not everybody thinks this way. I do not have farm animals to take care of, for example.
I can understand that people with different lives envision the world in different ways. I understand does not necessarily mean I encourage something.

I do however maintain that my close encounters with two specimens did not make me want to hug them. Ethically killing an animal is still killing an animal, but my opinion is that the suffering and agony should be avoided.
 
If it doesn't kill him outright the other coyotes will finish him off with as much mercy as they give a rabbit, fawn or other animal they kill and eat.

Really? Are coyotes known for cannibalism?
 
Coyotes are actually quite beneficial in keeping rodents under control.
They are just out there trying to make a living they way they have evolved.

Brings back memories,,,, my bachelor uncle used to preach that all the time, then one day he had a calf that was born with just one eye, so he kept it in the barnyard, and bottle fed it. One morning he went out to feed that calf , and there he laid stone cold dead with his liver ate and gone.... That was the last of that good coyote sermon we heard..
 
I was born, raised, and grew up on a cattle farm in Kansas.
I know exactly what coyote's can do to livestock & family pets.

Still, I always respected their work ethic, and survival skills through eons of life on this earth.

I killed every one I saw within 500 yards of the cattle or farm buildings.
And actively hunted them for furs for 40 years.

But I always strove to kill them cleanly, and not make them suffer any longer then necessary.

One that survives a poor shot with a front or hind leg crippled for life will become a worse menace to mans animals then a healthy one that can hunt normally.

If you plan to shoot them, plan to kill them DRT, and find the body where you shot it!

Otherwise, you could be adding to the problem of domestic animal predation by an otherwise healthy coyote that can no longer run faster & jump higher then his peers any longer.

rc
 
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