[Kevinbear]

One of my friends and I both had doe deer tags for the late season, it's not particularly good tag for my place because the deer are herded up and move to the neighboring wheat fields for the winter. It is however a pretty good time of the year to hunt coyotes, a few of the ranchers cattle die and the cover offered by brush and trees makes the creekbottom irresistable to them.
Per normal I carry my Sako Quad with the 17hmr barrel and suppressor on it, mid morning I spotted a decent size dog run over the railroad berm right at me with something in his mouth, he turned slightly and at about 125yds I barked and he stopped. I gave him a 20gr CCI gameking dead center between the front legs, he went down and flopped around for a few seconds. A few minutes later another scroungy looking coyote came from the left and thrashed the dead one around by the muzzle, when he turned broadside I gave him one behind the front shoulder, he went down but recovered to run a couple of hundred yards before expiring. It's pretty rare to see a coyote drop on a body shot from a 17hmr or bleed much, this one certainly did, btw the prize he was carrying was another coyotes skull.

 

[recoil junky]

Very nice! Dead mutts equal live fawns next spring!!

That 17 is very impressive, I'd like to get a mutt in the scope of the 17 Hornet 👍 I'd probably miss though.

RJ

 

[mikekoch]

This reminds me of winning a new Savage .17hmr. I took it out for its maiden hunt and did not clean it new out of box. it was about O* out and this coyote comes out of cover 200 yards away and moseys around as if nothing is going on. I'm using an injured bunny call and he dosent even look my way. so I drop that and use the howler. he comes at a trot to within 30 yrds. Click goes the gun and off he trots kinda looking over his shoulder. I bolt another round and bark, at which he stops 80 yards out. I rest it right behind his ear and the gun goes off this time. That bullet did not exit . Just scrambled his brains. He never so much as wiggled. I like that round. The gun never misbehaved again after washing her with carb cleaner. Now I think I could have taken that 200 yrd shot. At the time I thought that was stretching it, and maybe it was.

 

[Kevinbear]

I've shot about a dozen coyotes now with a 17hmr, no doubt it's not my go to cartridge for hunting them, the only reason I choose it is when there's an issue with quietness.
The first couple I shot 5 years ago were with the 17gr. varmint bullets, I never recovered either one of them because the bullets failed to penetrate into the vitals. I did some penetration tests and found the 20gr. CCI gameking did the best. When using that bullet you have to have the right mindset, the shots have to be perfect, either straight on or perfect broadside shots will kill them. They almost never drop instantly either, that bullet will completely penetrate a broadside coyote leaving a 50ct. size exit wound that bleeds like crazy but as anyone that's hunted coyotes much they can run dead on their feet for 50 to 200yds easily pumping every ounce of blood in them out along the way. Shots inside 50yds puts them down pretty quickly, less than 50ft often times, outside 50yds and they run like their asses are on fire until they drop dead. Of course head shots will drop them but imo they movere heads around to much to risk them.
An interesting note on hunting with a suppressor on a 17hmr, it's pretty loud when your behind the gun or in close proximity but 100yds away in the open the signature of that little bullet is almost nothing, at 200yds coyotes aren't spooked when shot at and missed. In scrub oak or sage brush it's really quiet.
One wouldn't think there would be a difference between the 17hmr bullet and the 22mag bullet but it's significant. I have 22 mag barrel and don't use it because it's so much louder.