Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 565 yard coyote with the .243 WSSM

Went out this morning to do some calling before the wind started up.
Saw the 6X6, 4 calves and 2 cows pretty much before sun up.�



I drove some roads that I never had been on that took me to the top of a big mesa.� I started down the North side, looked to the left over a huge expanse and saw 4 or 5 cows and 3 bulls.� Two are pictured.





I made it down off of the table top mesa and basically had made a big loop from where I had started in the morning.� Pretty flat and grassy.� As I drove toward the main road, I noticed a nice huge open expanse at the foot of the mesa I was on.� There was a little knob by the road so I decided to make the first coyote stand of the day.��
Made my way around the side of the knob, set the call up below me, glassed and waited.� The call finished its sequence and I was ready to leave.� I gave one more look with the glasses and spotted a coyote walking to my right waaaay down in the flat expanse.� I ranged him at 625 yards.� The call started back up again and on every sound he'd stop for a second and look my way.� I struggled to get prone but didn't have my bipod.� I kept ranging him when he would stop.� He was hanging around 575 yards.� I dialed in the correction to the scope and decided to use my bipod for sitting.� Got a pretty good rest as he stopped facing to the right.� Little 5mph wind from the right...let one go.� Recovered to see the coyote spinning a couple of times then drop.�
�
He was about 5 feet off of the road.� Shot him from the knob over the top and behind him in the picture.





.243 WSSM 95 grain Nosler BT at 3150fps , 565 yards

Saw a herd of antelope on the way out.�
�
Glad I got out of bed this morning!!

Now that's a cool story !! good shootin'

That looks like New Mexico.

Nice pictures.

Now that's a great morning and a nice shot! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks

Looks like you had a good day.

I'm glad you had your camera with. Nice shot an the 'yote. Pretty fair poke for a target that size, when you take away the fur...

Awesome shot thanks for sharing

It was a great day outdoors! I had so much fun seeing/photographing the elk and making the long shot on the dog was icing on the cake.

That rifle also has a 934 yard coyote to its credit. It's great!

What kind of scope did you use?

The scope on the rifle now is the Leupold VX3 6.5-20 LR model with the side focus, target knobs, and the VH reticle 40mm objective

The scope I had on the rifle when I made the 934 yard shot was also a Leupold, but a lower end model. It was a VX2 with the LRV duplex 6-18. I simply added the Stoney Point aftermarket target knobs to it and was ready to go! It works great and it's mounted on a .300WM right now

I like the 20 power VX3 and the fine reticle (VH). The LRV duplex has a heavier reticle. I think it will be easier seen in low light conditions than the VH

Both scopes function flawlessly

Great shot. What model rifle are you using? If you ever see those antelope kind of stacked up at a fence corner in the evening do a good scoping of the grass around and near them. you may see a couple of coyotes laying low after herding them up and waiting for dark to attack.

Thanks for the tip. Coyotes are smart. I really enjoy hunting them as it probably requires more hunting skill than other game.

The rifle is a FACTORY Browning A-Bolt Varmint Stalker with a handload. My factory Brownings are some of the most accurate rifles I own even compared to my customs.

rcamuglia,
That is some fine shooting!

I truly agree with both of the statements above. I don't think that anyone on the forum will argue with the first but there is a clique of Browning haters that will excoriate you for the second. I have been shooting A-Bolts since the early 1980's and have nothing but appreciation for them.


Johnny $

They sure shoot well johnny. Everyone has their favorites and their blacklisted.

I've got 3 A-Bolts. All are 1/2 MOA rifles with a handload. My custom rifle maker who is a buddy gets pissed when I bring it up!

Lots of folks turn their nose up or backs on abolts, had a micro in 7/08 that shot w/my 700V....TIGHT. I am not a big fan of short throw bolts....less you never seat bullets into lands

I would rather see more steel and less alloy, etc. in an Abolt action, yet the barrels and attn: to fit/finish are very good and MY experiences w/them, they flat shoot. A 270 medallion was another than impressed, sighted in for another guy. Can't knock accuracy however you get it, at least to my eyes they look better to the eye than Savage...IMO.

Funny you should mention a couple of things.

First, I called a friend of mine @ Browning to talk to him about the exceptional accuracy of Browning rifles. I asked him about where the barrels are made thinking along the lines of how quality barrels usually mean accuracy.

Browning barrels are made in Japan and are of high quality. The quality control of barrel manufacture, action fit tolerances to the center of the bore are painstaking he says and as you have stated. He and I believe that they are the best shooting rifles "right out of the box"

The second funny thing from your post was about the A-Bolt Medallion you sighted in for your friend!

I too just recently sighted an A-Bolt WHITE GOLD Medallion in .270 WSM for a friend! One hole, hundred yard accuracy with the Winchester 130 grain Ballistic Silvertips even with the 3-9 Leupold! I was blown away!



....and a heck of a lot better looking than a savage!

I'm guessing that Coyote isn't glad you got out of bed this morning!

With the varmint reticle, are the hash marks accurate at 300 400 and 500 yards?

I'm looking for a 1000 yard scope for my winchester 25 06 and am leaning toward a scope like yours

With your scope cranked up all the way do you find any disadvantages with a 2nd focal plane scope?

.

Short answer: Yes!

The Leupold VX3 with the VH reticle works, but YOU have to do your homework. You can't simply mount one, sight it in, and expect the aimpoints to work out in nice little 100 yard intervals. It takes some time at the range and some "noodling it out" mentally to use the tool effectively.

Fortunately for you, I've already done the work with this particular scope, so pay attention; I may be able to help

First of all my gunsmith performs the best precision scope mounts that anyone is capable of. He has built a jig that rigidly holds a barreled action and a board is mounted on the building next door across his parking lot that is accurately marked in MOA and mRad on a vertical line that is laser-leveled and plumb.



He is also a long time friend who lets me use the jig and board

It is very important with the second focal plane scope to know the reticle subtensions at a given power setting for you to be able to make hits with holdover. I have checked the subtensions and am happy to tell you that they are exactly what the Leupold manual says they are set on the big triangle. I like to use my scope at full power, so I checked the subtensions at 20x. In a pressure situation, it's easier to reach down and crank your power setting to full magnification where the power ring stops than it is to look down and make sure the triangle is perfectly lined up with the witness mark.

At 20x, the first aimpoint is 1.8 MOA, second is 3.8 MOA, third is 6 MOA and the top of the prarie dog ranging mark is 8 MOA

Now that you know this, there are a couple of ways to go.

Look at your CONFIRMED drop data to determine a sight in range that makes the aimpoints work as closely as possible for 100 yard aimpoints like 3, 4, and 500. Your sight in range may be a weird number like 230 yards but it's ok.

Or sight in at 200 which is what I do for my hunting rifles. Most of the shots in the field at game will be 300 yards and under and the 200 yard zero pretty much will make 300 a PBR shot. After sighting in at 200, look at the drop table for your load and find the yardage that corresponds to the MOA drop to the first aimpoint at the power you will use. For my .243 WSSM, it happens to fit at 300 yards. Look at each successive aimpoint's subtension and match it to a range. It may or may not be exactly 100 yards. The "400" yard aimpoint is 3.8 MOA from the center intersection and equates to 390 yards for my WSSM's load. Continue till you assign a range to each aimpoint at the power setting you know the subtensions for.

I then put a piece of masking tape with a reticle drawing to remind me for quick reference.



You can also use the directions for sighting in that Leupold suggests to make the reticle "fit" the load, but you will be using the scope on some other power than max more than likely.

Make sure you get it with target knobs though, as dialing is the most accurate. This coyote I shot gave me time to range him and dial the correction. It was in the wide open and a quick holdover shot with the reticle was not needed.

thanx for the info