22lr and coyotes

[60defense]

I currently have a ruger 10/22 and am wondering if this is a responsible choice to use on coyotes. The gun has plenty for 60 yard head shots on squirrels but I am concearned about the effectiveness of a clean kill on a larger animal. I'm also curious about what a reasonable range of accuracy and killing power would be. I have a 30-06 which seems to have no problems except ammunition price, which is why im looking to get back into shooting a rimfire. If this is a poor choice could anyone suggest another alternative that would also be cheap for plinking and prefferably an automaitc or bolt action platform. Scope ideas also welcomed, as the current simmons has seen its better days, as i will be purchasing a new scope.
Thanks

[muddober]

Well placed body shots on coyotes at no more than about a 100 yards kills them dead. I do not make it a practice to hunt coyotes with a 22, only because you usually can't get that close but I have killed several with a 22 when that is all I had to shoot one with and they were no more than a 100 yards away.

Ron

[carver]

Originally Posted by 60defense

I currently have a ruger 10/22 and am wondering if this is a responsible choice to use on coyotes. The gun has plenty for 60 yard head shots on squirrels but I am concearned about the effectiveness of a clean kill on a larger animal. I'm also curious about what a reasonable range of accuracy and killing power would be. I have a 30-06 which seems to have no problems except ammunition price, which is why im looking to get back into shooting a rimfire. If this is a poor choice could anyone suggest another alternative that would also be cheap for plinking and prefferably an automaitc or bolt action platform. Scope ideas also welcomed, as the current simmons has seen its better days, as i will be purchasing a new scope.
Thanks

The .22LR will kill 'yotes, but I personally don't think that it is "enough" gun. A .22Mag would be better, but a .223 would be better yet. As to cost of ammo from the .06, you could buy a lot of ammo for what it would cost to buy a new gun! How many 'yotes are you going to kill in a year? Or how many shots do you think you will take? The .22Mag can be had in semi-auto, and the cost is around $10 per box of 50. Still, IMHO, the .22Mag is minimal for anything as big as a coyote.

[jack404]

Dingoes ( Australian wild dogs) do go down nice with .22 LR to the head , but agree a .22 WMR is a better choice at distance or if your not sure to hit the "sweet spot ( brain hit )

[Zane71464]

As said above, the .22lr will take them down within about 100yds with a well placed shot. A good head shot will do the trick everytime. Most, or alot of shots on cototes are moving shots and if it's just a shot to the body with a .22lr, most likely it's not going to be a clean kill. A 22 Mag is the best bet if your going to be doing a lot of coyot' hunting and the new hornady rounds for the .22mag work pretty well.
EDIT: Also HV ammo in hollow points.

[dksac2]

Only ever shot one yote with a 22LR, he was working his way down some rocks looking at my father in laws chickens, I was to the side of him, proned in rocks, he was about 75 yards, which my 22 was sighted in for, held on his head when he paused for a second. The bullet went right in his ear, he just tumbled. Almost too easy.
I usually go after them with a 5.56.

John K

[happy1]

Took one last year with a 10/22 80 yds with a spine shot.

Hiya John

[old semperfi]

i use a 17hmr,at 2550 fps thats a good round up to and over 150 yards.all you will see is a little puff behind the ear and their feet go out from under them.since ammo is about 12.00 for 50 rounds they are cheap to shoot. old semperfi

[Big Shrek]

I use a Marlin 25MN (.22WMR) w/ a Centerpoint 4-16x40 for 'yotes out to 150 yards.

You might want to consider a Volquartzen 1022M or other .22WMR rifle.

The Ruger-1022M has its issues, so a good Bolt-action or the Vol will do the job better.

Semi-auto .22wmr's that WORK!Volquartzen's (no issues thusfar)
Grendel R-31 (tends to need bolt polishing)
H&R 700 (tends to need bolt polishing)
Marlin 922 (tends to need bolt polishing)
Excel Arms MR-22 (has a mag issue)

For Bolt-action, I dearly love Marlins, new or used

[Nwstal]

I drive a Tractor at night in fields I see them a lot more than most people at close range, standing, or running. I like to bring my 300wsm but its a bit loud at night even in rural areas, It is one of the most effective killing methods its hard to tell you hit them besides the fact it pretty much vanish/explode on impact.

So I bought a new Ruger, and folding stock. It killed plenty of coyotes but the main problem is shot placement. If you don't kill it first shot then your glad you have 25rnds to finish it off, because of the adrenaline rush they get when you shoot them.

I'm an ethical hunter, clean kills are extremely important to me. Watching or knowing any animal is suffering is extremely disturbing to me. If I even believe I hit an animal its my responsibility to dispatch it. Try tracking a 7ft black bear shoulder shot with a .243 in the dark would have waited till day but the rain would have killed the trail. We didn't quite expect it to be that big and my dad shot it I was on point after he shot it because I was carrying my pre-64 M94 30-30 and we already knew the .243 wasn't going to stop him, this was a problem bear already bullying people in their yards and we were in deep cover blackberrys about a mile from my home in NW washington. It was extremely exciting but no matter what we didn't have a choice, wounded animals turn on people. It was a valuable lesson in bringing the right gun. Hunting with my dad has taught me a lot I watched a "dead" deer spring to life and almost run me over, covered 300 yards (we measured) quicker than you could blink and my dad calmly shot it behind the ear mid jump. The lesson there "if it blinks shoot it again"

All that being said I figured with accuracy and quick follow up shots the .22 could cut it The somewhat randomness the stock gun had outside of 65yards and the muzzle jump had to go So I built this:

The only stock components being the trigger group, Bolt, and firing pin. I can shoot flies at 75yards and if its outside 3" at 125yards its the shooter. The concept was simple, take a rest don't pull the trigger unless I was positive it was a kill shot and If I needed to I could put the whole clip into it and knock it down as quickly as possible. It is somewhat fun chasing down what should have been a clean kill with a tactical light but its pretty obvious even with dead on accuracy the .22 may not do the job everytime and there is little enjoyment in having to shoot the thing 15 times to kill it. Trust me I know what It can do I've clean killed headshot or bodyshot out to 150yards. Ive also dead center headshot some at 15-25yards and had to chase them a 1/4 mile. We have a contest through our 9mo work season I got money riding on it. My boss uses a 22/250 or a .270, my dad uses a .243, Joe swears up and down on his .17hmr, and I use my 10/22 or my M70 .300 short mag if im on days. I bought a keltec su-16 and it works but its about as accurate as My Ruger and i don't like missing

[WTC7SmokingGun]

Coyote is the upper limit size-wise for a 22LR. I don't hunt for sport and I really don't get any excitement out tracking wounded animals. Jump out of an airplane if you want an adrenaline rush, or do 150 MPH on a motorcycle... in a safe and approved location, of course, ahem. But if a pack of wolves starts circling my campfire, humanity goes out the window.

[redwing carson]

Use your .22 RF for small game. I don't think shooting "Desert Dogs" with a .22 RF is a wise thing to do. The little .22 is not enough gun to always make a sure kill on animals like the tough old Dogs. Get a .222 or .223 if you want a small varmint rifle.

RC

[whip]

With absolutely perfect shot placement a .22 is enough gun. I use one when I'm trapping all the time. However like everyone else has mentioned coyotes are tough to put down and it would be more humane to use a center fire. You mentioned your 3006 and complained about ammo cost. If you have that many coyotes share!!!! No a .223 would be ideal for what you mentioned. The ammo is cheap and its enough to put down old mister coyote. Lots of different guns available at good prices in bolt action. Auto loaders are more pricey but super accurate also. An AR platform is amazingly accurate just spendy.

[ozo]

There was an article many years ago in Popular Science titled
'From Mice to Moose' about the .22LR. It was about just what the title says.
Very interesting read, tried to find it, but I haven't yet.
I used to thin out deer with a .22LR, no doubt it can easily be done, as
well as coyotes. But consideration has to be taken in how well you shoot
and what gun you use, your experience so to speak. I do not recommend
using the .22LR in this manner if you have a choice to use a larger round.
My preference is my mini 14 .223 scoped, but sometimes opt for the Ruger 96
in .44mag, even a lever action in .357 just depends what I'm out and about doing.
I have a good friend who carries a .357 on his hip, BUT only hunts with a bow, and until recently, a long bow at that. I have been on hunts with him to Anchorage, and because it was an Int'l airport property, there to thin out the moose walking on the plowed runways, you could not use firearms. What a trip ! But he is a professional.
Another friend of mine, a guide/outfitter, hunts bear with dogs, gets in the bears face
and coaxes them to stand in defense, and shoots them in the mouth with a .357, but these are extremes, not for the average person. Bottom line is, many variations will work, given specific circumstances, but not necessarily wise.
Your gonna think I'm completely nuts, but when I moved to my current place, and the coyotes would start coming in at dusk, I really didn't want to kill any if avoidable, I would hide camouflaged until they got around me, then jump out and startle them.
Six years later, still no problem with them on my place, but they are becoming a new problem within a 30-40 mile radius of me, killing peoples pets, so we'll see.
I don't recommend this tactic either, although I was fully armed at the time.
Larger caliber and knock down is a wiser choice.

[Kent Detective]

My understanding is that this North American animal is about the same size as a European fox! In which case a .22LR is NOT the gun to use! To use .22LR on an animal this size is "tantermount" (a very English expression I believe) to cruelty plain and simple.

Yes I admit a well placed .22LR round less than 60 yards MAY kill it cleanly but anyone doing so is taking a BIG risk. Here in the UK although it's not actually unlawful to shoot a fox with this calibre (some people do wrongly think it's unlawful though), it is considered unsporting and is something decent responsible shooters (the vast majority) frown upon.

Then again you will always get a very small minority of utterly cruel & heartless people who enjoy to causing animals to suffer.... These people shouldn't be given a water pistol let alone a firearm.

I'm always very wary of people who are capable of inflicting hellish cruelty on animals - they are capable of almost anything!

Any REAL hunter with honour and pride would NEVER do such a thing.

Simple advice - Leave the animal alone if you don't have the right tool for the job.

[redwing carson]

I agree with your thoughts on the .22 RF. The Red Fox in the U.K. however is much smaller than the American coyote. The Desert Dog is a much stronger animal. The Coyote in fact feeds on the Red Fox in America. I recall from my time in the U.K. how small the Euro fox was. They are the same as the American Fox.

RC

[Kent Detective]

Wow! In that case anyone even thinking of shooting one of these animals (with .22LR) has to be a total moron. Sounds like the bare minimum centrefire calibre is .223 or .22-250.

Thanks for pointing that out.

[Old Grump]

If you can do a squirrel head shot at 60 yards you are good to go. My only caveat is use solids and not hollow points. On a larger animal like a fox or coyote you want penetration and a 40 gr solid will beat any uber high velocity hollow point. I stopped using hollow points for hunting back in 71 when all I was shooting was jack rabbits, Usually killed them dead but I had a few get away with terrible wounds, I never had a rabbit or coyote or feral dog run after getting hit with a solid.

I'll still use HP's for pigeons, English sparrows, starlings, crows, squirrels etc. but solids should be your first choice for anything bigger.