Shots over 300 yards on coyotes

[uncle buck]

I was so neat...To call in a coyote that hung up on my brother, nephew and I..He circled down wind of us and it was 300 yards away at night time....Truly a long shot.....There I was with my 17 Fireball Encore.  It was only a short time prior to departing for the hunt that I even said to my wife....We are only hunting coyotes... I think I will take my Encore 22250.   I did not...I took the 17 Fireball..So there I was ......I called in a coyote but he was not 200 or 250 yards away... He was well over 300 yards..... I fired and I thought no way could I hit that coyote at that distance....I checked later and I could not find a coyote..  Ignorant....I started to say....I missed that coyote because I was using the 17 Fireball and not the 22250 with a 55 grain bullet.. Later I did some research and found out that the 17 Fireball 25 grainer and the 22250 55 grainer point of impact were not that much different...So it was not the 17 fireball fault that I did not anchor the coyote.   However what I did notice on the ballistic charts was the energy the 22250 had over the 17 fireball... There was a lot more power in the 22250 compared to the 17 fireball...   What made me feel a bit bad...I returned to the farm a week earlier to call coyotes again... However coming from the upwind side to my down wind side was the smell of death... I started thinking... could it be that the 200 pounds of energy of the little 17 Fireball did kill that coyote but it had a death run...Possibly....So many lessons learned this year...When fox are no longer in season it's best to leave the 17 centerfire at home or better yet... I need to see what energy the 17 Remington has compared to the 17 Fireball using the same 25 grain bullet pass the 300 yard mark.  To make a long story short...When distance is involved most calbiers are about the same where the bullet strikes... The good thing about going to a heavier CF is the additional energy that the bullet has....

[Buckwheat]

Some were I read that 400 foot pounds is needed to cleanly kill a coyote. My chart shows my 223 with 52 GR bullet has 413 foot pound at 350 yards.  My 17 rem has 412 foot pounds at 300 yards. The 22/250 has 400 foot pounds at 500 yards. Your fire ball has 400 foot pounds at 225 yards. So it would be max shot at a coyote is 225 yd 17 fire ball, 300 yd 17 rem, 350yd 223. 500 yd 22/250. Yea the 22/250 should of been your gun that night. These charts can be changed some but it is some help. 

[TFC2223]

UB this is what I have found to be correct over the years and what prompted me to jump up to the Tactical 20 when fox goes out of season.  The fireball is extremely flat shooting and does well at 300 yards but, not in the energy department.  It sheds energy fast which is why I try to keep my shots at 200 to 225 or under.  I have killed plenty of fox out to 300 but for yotes its a different ball game.  My rule of thumb is 350 foot pounds with a well placed shot for coyotes.  The 17 Fireball is an awesome cartridge and I won't ever bash it but, its time to put it in the safe and break out the 22-250 since fox are out.  Good posts.  Spot on by my opinion.

[jeremybrua]

what kind of light were you using that you could positively identify a coyote at 300 yard.

[foxpro51]

I limit all my shooting to under 100 yards at night. Don't want to chance wounding and loosing an animal. During the day is a different story if you have the ability to make those shots. Most don't.

[uncle buck]

what kind of light were you using that you could positively identify a coyote at 300 yard.

I was using two  red 250 kill lights. One on the rifle one for scanning.. The coyote showed real easy since it came over the horizon in stubble corn..  However I knew they were there...I was going round and round with this bunch of coyotes all fox season..



 Also made another mistake using a Primos trigger styk tripod... (Oh that night I should have taken E. Wilson rest)  However I was hunting with other hunters and there just was not the room... However there was room... See E. Wilson rest folds up...So so many lesson learned that night..


For Ernie Wilson....This was the farm that we hunted with the doc and you...  Remember the one that I knocked my E. Wilson Tripod to the ground and it made a loud clank.... The one with all the stubble corn in...We all got up against the buildings.   I just want Ernie to understand just what kind of shot I had since he did hunt this farm with me...


TFC223...You are so right on gun selection.   Maybe I should have even taken the 243 or the 2506 with varmint bullets.




By the way  this is one reason why the 17 Remington would be better then the 17 Fireball... People kind of always give the 17 Rem a slam because they say it foul barrels.. It, 17 Rem does have more energy..Also it can be loaded down to the 17 Fireball energy too..If one desired..

[jeremybrua]

the 250 kill light would hardly glow eyes at 300.  let alone let you be sure of your target.  the 17 has plenty of power to kill a yote at 300 with a well placed shot.

[uncle buck]

See this is the good thing about this site...This is your opinion about the Kill Light not seeing eyes out to 300 yards..... I  can see eyes well over 500 yards away with most red lights...This is my opinion on the Kill Light...

[jeremybrua]

the eyes are not the whole problem.  it's what the eyes belong to.

[jaspr1]

Exactly so....

[Buckwheat]

jeremybrua
With good scopes and a clear night and off my rests I can clearly see and place a shot on the shoulder of a fox at well over 200 yards with a kill light. I can go farther and have, but everything has to be right. It is not going to happen with out good equipment.

[coyotenightmare]

Buckwheat is right on there, nothing beats a good quality scope when you are night hunting. A good quality scope to me is one that will cost more or at least as much as your rifle. A perfectly mounted 250 kill light will also perform amazingly well.

[uncle buck]

what I am excited about is how the Red 250 Kill Light illuminates when it's attached to a 3 X 9 40 MM Leupold scope... In other words.  You do it right...You won't even need an illuminated cross hair scope like the Muller's.  This allows you to use others rifles that you don't normally use for night time hunting..Like a 2506 or a 243 that you use for chucks  you can use them for long shots at coyotes...  I do like the Leupold scopes and I have one on my Encore 22250 barrel..

[Buckwheat]

unclebuck
Good point about the cross hairs especially for new guys that has all day time hunting equipment and wants to night hunting. He would still have to purchase a 250 kill light. But that is cheaper then buying a new illuminated cross hair scope and a new light.