Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 2015 annual dead critter and fur thread

Last Sat. we were on our way to pickup our new golden retriever puppy, when I spotted two coyotes harassing some antelope.. I stopped the truck and glassed around.. I spotted one about 50 yards to the left of a buck antelope..

Got the .270 out and took a solid rest. The coyote looked to be about 400 yards away. Put the 400 yard dot on the coyote and squeezed.. At the shot the coyote ran over the hill out of sight.. The buck continued looking down the draw where the coyote went o a long time..

Checking around, I spotted the second one looking at us from about 300 yards.. Holding a bit high I sent a nother 140 gr. Sierra hpbt on its way.. Saw that coyote drop..

Headed over to check the scene.. Came to coyote # 2 first.. He was down but not out.. Shot from the .44 put him out..

Walked over the hill to the second one.. Kate ran a head and stopped.. There lay the first coyote.. No more antelope harassment for these two...

Wyo,

you put the swat to those two!

great job--and with the good 'ol .270 round...

they can be very tenacious, and a handy sidearm is always good medicine when walking up on them.

i shot my first several coyotes with a .270--great performer.

Hi Vel, thanks.. Got the .270 out of an estate.. Has a fairly heavy #5 barrel on it and has made me a real fan of this cartridge.. Have a good one...

Nice shootin' WCH!



Travis

Travis, thanks.. One of my better days..

an estate sale--was the rig a special build by someone back in the day? initially, i was just guessing it was likely an older pre 64 model 70 rig when i read your post.

when i first started hunting yipper dogs, i used the .270 with Speer 100 gr spitzers--that pill was not a good choice. i switched to the 130 Sierra bt, which was pretty fair, and made a couple long shots with it. something i discovered by chance was that a good pill for performance on the hides was the 130 Nosler partition--a nickle to quarter size hole, and it was accuate enough to at least 300, though i never shot one farther away than that with the partition pill. the rig was a Remington model 700 with a straight 6X scope.

did you ever read the article by William "Pom" Ainsley? it was in the January 1968 of Outdoor Life magazine. he used to hunt coyotes on skiis back in those days...good hunting.

great to know you're out there having fun with those critters--the best hunting there is. but then again, big whitetails, hares, cottontails, and chucks are right on their heels...

Hi Vel, I often used 110 gr. Sierra's in the .270.. They work pretty good. When they are used up and the 140's, I was thinking of trying the Sierra 130 BTSP..

This 270 was made just the way I always thought I would like to build one.. The guy also had a .300 Win. built exactly the way I have mine.. Would like to have know him..
Right now the .270 is competing with my .25-06 as one of the 3 favorite calibers.. I enjoy hunting all the game you mentioned there.. Have a whitetail hunt coming up late this mth. or early next mth..

I did read that article by Ainsley.. In fact if I havent lost it, it should still be in my varmint file.. I believe he used a .220 Swift a great deal.. You still do much varmint hunting????

Wyo,

great to know you have a "varmint file". i started one many decades ago--great medicine for the soul. in fact, Bob S. came by yesterday and the day before, as we were talking about these older reads, and i gave him copies of 4 older articles--which for him is a slice of heaven. i occasionally visit with Tim H. who is a constructor by trade, though he spends his winters in his little trailor, swatting yotes all winter out in eastern Montana and west No. Dak. he often sends interesting pics. he has been written up in some of the magazines. Bob considers him to be one of the best there is.

Pom was, according to the article a "Swifter", making his own stocks with a very high comb, and using 6X glass. but he zeroed at 375 yards--a strange system, and it worked for him. i found early on that i could not use a zero such as that--and Bill B. taught me to zero 1/2 high at 50 back in the early '70's, something i did for some years. for the most part, i've used .22 CF (Swift and 22-250), and 6mm rounds (usually .243 Win). the .22-250 is my favorite.

the 130 gr Sierra is a good pill. while out hunting yotes with a relative back in the mid 1970's, i nailed a badger out in the snow with that pill--which back in those days--was something considered to be "long range". had to walk the shots in, with the Cisco Kid spotting. made a fortunate shot--something a song dog won't hang around for. when Scenarshooter skinned it, he found the pill in the neck. Pat calculated the shot at about 900 yards, give or take a few.

yes, i still enjoy all of the varmint hunting, but coyotes are becoming much harder to score on around here. as Bob maintains, there are very few left. same with fox--they were everywhere back in the 70's, but seldom seen here these days. to consistently find yotes, one has to travel from here heading north--and east, to areas such as Lewistown, etc.

great find on that rig, and i'm guessing it will likely swat a few more crafty canines in months to come.

btw, it sounds like the specific pill you are presently using in that .270 has a habit of finding its intended target...

Hi Vel, very nice information there.. One nice thing about this site, we can visit with folks we may otherwise never have met..

That was quite a shot with that 270.. Things like that make for great memories.. Like you the .22-250 is my favorite.. Still have mine I got in the mid 70's.. It is on its third barrel.. Have several Swifts now and a .22-250 AI.. Still the old .22-250 has been everywhere with me.. Our coyotes are much more scarce than in the 90's til about 2010..

I remember those details about Pom now that you mention them.. He shot a 52 gr. Match bullet, I believe, over a charge of I4350..

One fun article I found in an American Rifleman from the 1940's was the use of 22 CF on coyotes.. The guy had been shooting coyotes and other stuff with CE .22's since the early 1900's.. He also mentioned the .25-35... It is a great read.. I got it in a stack of magazines someone gave me.. I think I can locate it if you are interested..

Have a good one..

yes, that article sounds like a very good, interesting read.

i'll send you my address in the next day or so, and i'll be happy to pay you for two copies--as i think Bob would like one too.

Pom used the 53 gr. Hornady hp, which is how i came to know of using it. went and tested it out, and right there found the Holy Grail of coyote pills. his charge was 42 gr. 4350. like Jamison, he also employed a squib load too. his was a 41 gr. Sisk bullet with 18 gr. of 4227. btw, he also used the .270 Win and the .240 Super Varminter for a time early on.

never have used a squib load, but i always carried a S&W model 60 loaded with 158 gr. hardcast when walking up on them--though now it's a Ruger sp101. something like this does a good job at giving them the "third eye"...

Excellent.. I will check around for the magazine.. No charge glad to do it.. Hope you enjoy the article!!!

+ 1

Yeah, you can tell he's not a "worker" ! Check out his soft looking hands !

Definitely doesn't have the rugged good looks of Gruff, either !

Golf Foxtrot Yankee

I don't work and never go more than 50yds from the vehicle.




Dave

now the truth comes out..

Had a great hunt this morning.. Called in 5 total, but only got this double. It was pretty cool, they came charging in from about a mile off, and I shot them both at under 50 yards.





Ben

Cool beans Ben!

I like those hills behind ya. Cool calling country, especially when you first see them coming from a mile away. It's like, here he comes,..... where'd he go,.... oh there he is, now where'd he go, .....oh here he is over here now, dang it, where'd he go, and then BAM......in your lap.