# What would you have done?



## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Coyote hunting is made up of choices: Do I shoot now? Will the target be better if I wait? Can I call that yote closer? Will this be the best shot I have?

Ran into this situation the other morning. I'll tell you how it worked out after I get a few opinions.

Here's the scenario. I went out the other morning, temperature just around freezing, slight breeze from the south. I set up on the east side of a quarter of wildlife land. The land was cut forage with small islands of popular and willow. To the west, probably 400 yards away, was a bigger stretch of bush running north-south. I was expecting to call a yote out of that bush, with me facing west and working a south cross wind.

After about 8 minutes, I noticed a flick of movement coming in from the northwest. YOTE. He disappeared behind a slight rise, giving me time to swing the .204 CZ American to the spot I expected him to appear. Sure enough, he appeared there, just about directly north of me, coming along the tree line. I was tucked into that same tree line but I knew he couldn't see me.

He topped the slight rise, only about 50 yards away. Problem was where he stopped, his chest which would have presented nearly a full frontal was obscured by grass and a bit of shrub.

Here was where the dilemma came in.

1) If I called, I could probably have moved him enough to get an unobstructed frontal shot. But because of the southly breeze that was almost directly blowing toward him, there was a chance he'd get my wind and duck into the treeline and be gone before I could touch off a round.

2) If I attempted a shot through the thin grass-shrub obstruction, would the 40-grain Berger humming at about 3780 hit the target or would it be deflected?

3) Should I attempt a head shot knowing that my rifle was sighted in dead-on at 50 yards but not sure if the banging around in the truck the last couple weeks could have thrown it off an inch or two which may have resulted in a miss -- or worse -- a wounded yote that escaped?

I made my decision and lit the fire.

Was it the right decision? I'll tell you later but first I'd like to know what you coyote hunters would have done in the same situation. After I get a few opinions I'll tell you what I did and how it turned out.

Good luck and shoot straight :sniper: Saskcoyote


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I would have shot right then and there and aimed at his chest, even with the shrub and grass. I had this same thing happen last year and I shot through partial obstruction twice, and it resulted in a solo triple with my 223. My second trip of my life!

The chance of him winding you and disappearing in that treeline would be too great. That is my opinion.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

buy a bigger caliber so if this ever happens again, you will have less questions. oke: I've had this happen only in corn stocks, calling off the side of a hill and shooting down at a coyote and running a 50g Nosler BT through corn stocks don't hold up to well.  The 308 with match ammo works really well.

I'd do a bit of lip squeaking or just sit and wait patiently, kind of depends on the situation. He'll want a better look anyhow and start moving in, even an extra step or two will help you out considerably.

Honestly the head shot would be the best, it's only 50yds. If you're confident in your shot take it.

Or if you're not confident in your shot, just leave it alone and come back and call him again from a different angle.

xdeano


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## Snowgooser (Mar 28, 2008)

That's a tough question to answer. I would say of you could thread the needle, then let her fly. I have a very similar location that they hang up in at 90 yards in some scrub before committing to the wide open. I usually give an ever so soft lip squeak, just enough to perk his ears and then wait for the shot. If you shoot and wound him people would say you should have waited. And a couple (and I do mean a couple) would give you grief if you didn't shoot and he got away on you. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Ethically you don't shoot if you can't kill em.


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## kdog (Mar 13, 2007)

Sask,

Given the givens, I would have drilled him in the head. I would not wait or try to get it closer. 50 yards is already too close for my comfort, as the ability of the coyote to see something, here something or smell something it does'nt like at that range is just too great. IMHO an unobstructed shot is the best choice.

Thanks for asking. I look forward to hearing the story.

KD


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

50 Yards?

Id of put the front bead of the old benelli right under his chin and let her buck! :wink:

Scatterguns come in handy. I find myself carrying mine more and more, especially in areas with lots of cover.


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

going over your senario, i'd'a shot him right in the peepers :sniper:


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## kkaldor (Mar 5, 2007)

bearhunter said:


> going over your senario, i'd'a shot him right in the peepers :sniper:


+1

Assuming you had a pretty steady position, this should be a pot shot. If your gun did get bumped around and was off, you miss. Oh well, no big deal. He'll be there another day for you to hunt.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

NO,"oh wells" in my game, if you don't feel comfortable in a high percentage shot you don't take it. This on the other hand would be a very high percentage shot. Like i'd said earlier, plink him in the head.

xdeano


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## duckmander (Aug 25, 2008)

One shot to the head at 50 yards. No problem. DRT..... :sniper:


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## johngfoster (Oct 21, 2007)

I shot a coyote in the head once from 140yd and it hit him in the jaw. Knocked him out, then he got up and ran off, leaving a faint blood trail. I'll never intentionally shoot a coyote in the head if I can help it. I would have tried to shoot him in the neck though if I could have, or just blast one through the grass, depending on how thick it was.


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Now for the rest of the story. After quickly weighing the options I lined the crosshairs on where the yote's chest was, hoping -- and expecting -- the 40-grain Berger to zing through the shrub-grass obstruction. At the report of the .204, the yote hopped into the thick hedgerow. Not believing he wasn't DRT (the obstruction wasn't that thick) I walked over but couldn't find any blood or hair. I even checked the shrub and couldn't see any sign of the bullet deflecting off a branch.

When I got back to the truck, I set up a target 50 yards away thinking the scope had been jarred but, nope, it was dead on. I still have no idea where that bullet ended up. If I had a do-over, it would be the headshot, obviously, because the rifle was on target but at the time, the chest shot seemed the best choice.

I packed up, went about a mile and set up about 100 yards west of the southwest corner of a big block of bush. The breeze was still from the south but I thought if I pull something out of the bush, from the east, I could get off a shot before it would pick up my scent. After abut 10 minutes calling with the Foxpro 50 yards to the the north/northwest, I noticed a yote a couple hundred yards away, loping in. But he was coming from the worst possible direction.

Darn, instead of him coming in front the east ornortheast from the big bush, he was coming across a gently rolling field, slightly from the northwest. He disappeared behind a hill about 100 yards out. I swung the rifle and covered the spot I expected him to appear at. He did appear, trouble is he was headed away from me, going north. Obviously he caught my scent on the southerly breeze. I barked, he didn't stop, so I gave him another bark and he stopped, presenting a broadside from 180-200 yards. I touched off a round and anchored him, dead as dirt.

That made me feel a little better but it's the shots I miss -- not the ones I make -- that I remember. But I'll put the first one in the memory bank and if that scenario repeats itself, there's going to be a coyote with a whopping big headache.

Saskcoyote


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

very good Sask. Those little 40g bullets are very easy to fragment on even a blade of grass. I've shot a lot of 17 cal and i know they come apart very easily on grass with high velocities. That's another reason why i don't shoot coyotes with a 17.

Another spot that you could have hit would be the throat, if the head is bouncing around to much trying to locate you. The neck will kill them just as fast as a heart shot.

nice work, keep it up.

later,
Deano


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Yo,Xdeano: Thanks for the reply. I'm still stumped as to where the shot ended up. Because the yote was positioned so close to the obstruction, I was thinking even a slight deflection should have still anchored him. Oh well, I'll get him next year.

Up here we've had a good dump of snow and cold weather, factors that should make for good calling. The fly in the soup is that deer season started last Monday and once that starts, calling gets tough.

I went out earlier last week to a farm owned by a fellow who runs about 500 sheep. He told me he lost 10 of them the last couple months and with sheep prices at $300 for a bred ewe it's a big hit for these producers to lose even one. Even though the provincial Sheep Board sends out hunters, they can't whack all the problem yotes.

I went out there, set up, knocked off one of those bad guys that have been messing with his sheep. There'll be plenty more before the winter ends. In a sense, yote hunting has been changing for me. It first started out for fun but as I became a little more successful at it, I started getting calls from cattle and sheep producers inviting me out to their spreads. Don't get me wrong -- it's still fun and I'll never let go of that factor -- but it's also taken on a little bit more of an importance, perhaps because I was born and raised on a farm and I realize the effects predation can have on the bottom line.

I'll never suggest I have the skills, nor the time, to become anything other than a recreational hunter, but with fur prices being so low, it gives me additional incentive to help the producers when I can, and I know they appreciate what little I can do to help them.

Always appreciate, Xdeano, what ever info you and other knowledgable yote hunters like Kdog can pass along. Makes it more fun for me and the knowledge I can gather is in turn appreciated by the fellows whose land I hunt on.

:sniper: Saskcoyote


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## Snowgooser (Mar 28, 2008)

xdeano said:


> very good Sask. Those little 40g bullets are very easy to fragment on even a blade of grass. I've shot a lot of 17 cal and i know they come apart very easily on grass with high velocities. That's another reason why i don't shoot coyotes with a 17.
> 
> Another spot that you could have hit would be the throat, if the head is bouncing around to much trying to locate you. The neck will kill them just as fast as a heart shot.
> 
> ...


I was gonna mention that same thing in a post. I shot a coyote the other night in the throat just as you described. Dropped him. Kept calling for another series and went to pick him up. My bullet had apparently went just to the side of the spine, and also missed the carotid and jugular. He was not in good shape and was quickly retrieved, but what a magic bullet!


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

I'm a little late to the party here since I have been away from any internet access for awhile (hunting of course!) but would like to add this. I have lost coyotes due to deflected bullets (not just my 17's) and avoid obstructed shots at all cost. A few weekends ago my partner took such a chance during a tournament and that one coyote missed, dropped us out of the money. We ended up tied for third and lost the tie-breaker. He shot and the coyote actually leaped to the side and looked where the bullet had zinged by. It was an otherwise easy shot that he never misses. The coyote was gone before another shot could be fired. Brush will hose you every time. If you have an opening big enough to "thread the needle" through and can deliver on it, take it. If not, go for the head. The only head shot coyote I ever lost was shot with a .22 long rifle round. I actually heard the bullet ricochet off of his head. It knocked him dizzy for a moment, then he was gone. I have had horrible results at times with neck/throat shots at times, even with the .243 and .270. I had to try to choke a coyote that didn't even have any throat left for me to get a hold of back in my college days. The head is a bigger target than the spinal chord, take the head when a body shot is not presented.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

'Brushbusting'isn't a factor of speed or bullet size as much as it is bullet construction.Thin jackets fragment or 'catch' on brush at times regardless of 'size'.
Shoot em in the head.


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## Bowhunter57 (Nov 28, 2010)

saskcoyote said:


> Now for the rest of the story. After quickly weighing the options I lined the crosshairs on where the yote's chest was, hoping -- and expecting -- the 40-grain Berger to zing through the shrub-grass obstruction.


saskcoyote,
I've missed animals by shooting where I "thought" their chest, head or other vitals MIGHT be and did NOT connect. The lesson learned is, always shoot what you can see.

Also, I read that you're questioning your rifle, in both accuracy and ability. *Confidence is a must with any weapon!* I spend a silly amount of time at the range with my Stevens .25-06, until I know where it's hitting at all of the ranges/yardages that I intend to hunt. 8) I use my quarter bore instead of my .223, because it hits harder...no runners. :thumb:

I do the same thing with my shotgun, with concerns to patterning. Paper doesn't lie! Knowing what my shotgun will do out to 50 yards, is very important. Nothing worse than shooting at a standing coyote, watching him run off and sitting there wondering what happened. :roll:

My personal belief is... There's no such thing as too much rifle.
I've never like watching something run off, when it could be laying on the ground in front of me.

Good hunting, Bowhunter57


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

I hate stitching hides and have discovered my .243 ackley to be TOO MUCH RIFLE!  If pelt damage didn't bother me, I would agree with you completely. I doubt saskcoyote is doubting his rifle. He has made clear in the past that he has great confidence in it. He has been the cause of much concern to his local coyote population with it, to say the least. He was just having a lack of confidence as to whether he had knocked it off "zero". :sniper:


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Bowhunter, as Kingcanada says, I didn't have any misgivings about the rig I was shooting, I was a bit concerned about a couple of the inevitable bumps a rifle-scopes take during the course of a few hunts. Regardless of what caliber you're shooting, an out-of-zero scope will result in a miss or worse.

I don't want to re-ignite the caliber debate but I'm completely satisfied with the .204 and 40-grain Berger combination. In fact, while I'm not shooting at the distances some of you guys are, I've been able to extend my range with the .204 and with good results. In the meantime, I traded in the yote gun for my Montana pheasant gun the last little while but come this weekend -- weather permitting -- there could be a few Wileys that wished I'd have stayed in the good ol' US of A.
Have fun, shoot straight. Saskcoyote


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