# 22 rimfire long rifle?



## bigwhitetailbuck (Dec 13, 2007)

Who on here hunts coyotes with a 22 rimfire long rifle? Im looking to hunt coyotes with a ruger 22 with a 40 grain bullit and am wondering where to shoot the coyote and up to how far?
thanks
mike


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

This has been discussed time and time again. Not many people are going to use a 22 as their main coyote gun. I would suggest using a centerfire.

With a name like "bigwhitetailbuck" I am guessing you have a deer rifle laying around? Use that.


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## 308 (Jul 10, 2007)

I wouldn't use a 22 at any farther than 25yards. Shoot it in the eye or ear. :sniper:


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

and if you miss....










BE AFRAID......BE VERY AFRAID!!!
:lol:

GOod Luck,
Dan


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## jason_n (Dec 30, 2006)

it can be done but the margin of error goes way up, do what you like but if you use a 22lr be ready for follow-up shots


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

I'll tell you a story.

The only coyote that I've ever shot in my life was in Ohio. I shot this animal while ground hog hunting one balmy day with a buddy of mine.

We were walking along a creek, heading back to someplace, from someplace and this coyote leaped out of the brush and headed strait away at around a hundred yards or so. By the time I got my .22/250 up and the crosshairs on the animal it was a pretty good end out and I'd guess it between 150 and 200 yards. Not a long shot for a 250, but considering it was a coyote, and it was running, it was a long shot. Add to that that I'm a pretty bad shot.

Anyway, at the shot, this yote went a$$ over apple cart and piled up. That's when its sidekick bounced out of the brush and took off across in front of us at a good end. I don't think I've ever seen an animal move that fast in its flight of fright. My buddy racked a couple rounds off at it but didn't have any luck.

Anyway, we walked down to the one I'd shot and I was vary sad. I had hit the animal just above the tail and the 55 grain BTHP had done a good job of immobilizing the animal. Unfortunately, though dying, it hadn't given up the ghost yet. The poor thing had its tongue just about bitten in half, I'd guess from pain. It was trying as hard as it could to gain it's feet and make a get away but the bullet had pretty much gutted it and the bowls were dragging hanging out and it was losing a lot of blood.

Needless to say, I wasn't very proud of myself at that moment. I quickly chambered another round and shot the coyote in the head to put it out of its misery. To this day I'm still not very proud of that animal and the way it died. No animal, coyote or whatever, should suffer like that one did. On that day I vowed that I wouldn't shoot another coyote unless I was damn sure that I done everything that I could to make the kill quick and humane.

So, I would say that while you can do as you please, I'd feel pretty under gunned with a .22 long rifle. You're asking for crippled yotes that end up getting away and suffering an agonizing death.

My two cents worth.
Dan


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## ay tee (Jun 11, 2007)

save your .22lr ammo... get something that will knock it down with 1 shot... if you are doing this to save money, think about this a proper coyote round costs what... 70 cents(for conversation sake) so you have a yote coming in from 200 yards, closes to 50 yards... you have a perfect shot for the kill, you pull the trigger and realize you didn't calculate the cross wind and you shoot just a touch low, you get it poorly in the neck area, it starts taking off, you pop 3 more rounds off trying to take it down before it goes somewhere and dies, you manage to get its rear leg with the 3rd shot, it slows to a limp, you follow it up with a few more rounds and after you know it you have 80 cents of 22 rounds burned up, and an animal that died a bad death because of your selection of round... sure maybe you will get some with two or three shots and not exceed that 70 cent price, but is it really worth that gut feeling that you will get... the same one that dfisher stated.. if you want to be proud of your kills then take them with 1 clean shot...
am i saying killing a coyote with a 22 will not work with 1 shot, no, i have done it, i will mention it was a yearling and i was 99% confident that i could make the 80 yard shot... i will also say i was not using bulk ammo, it was using lapua hollow points, and would have used nothing less...
this is my .02 :sniper:


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Dan

Thanks for the story. Its experiences like yours, pleasurable and painful, that mold us into sportsmen.


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