Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Shot size performance on coyotes

I realize what 90% of you guys are going to respond to this thread with. That I should use either #4 buck or HTL #T, #BB, or #2 such as Hevi Shot. While I do not doubt the effectiveness of those shot sizes and tungsten shot and I in fact have #4 buck and Federal 15g/cc #2 shot. But I am interested in the performance of the larger lead birdshot sizes (#F-#2) on coyotes and what sort of range I could expect to achieve with them?

In factory loads I've used #4 Buck 3" Mag and Hevi Shot T 3" mag DC loads out of my Pump, I don't remember ever taking any long shots, most have been in close do to the cover I'm in.

I've shot #2 Hevi Shot in my 20ga but again never had to try and stretch it out as I was shooting a combo gun with the other barrel 223 for anything that wasn't up close and personel.

I load 2 1/2" 1 oz nickle plated BB's in my 16 ga Drilling, haven't shot anything with it yet but it patterns good to 40 yrds and again I don't have to stretch it out as I have a rifle barrel for the longer stuff.

I've tried 2 3/4" #4 Buck in my 12ga combo gun and while it did the job a finisher shot was required both times, it never patterned that well at 40 yrds. I've handloaded a great 2 3/4" load of 33 pellets of nickel plated F shot and 1 1/4 oz of nickel plated BB's and they both pattern well at 40 yrds. I just loaded a batch of 2 3/4" 1 oz ITX BB's and patterned them yesterday at 40 yrds and they looked good. Again all of these are for combo guns so getting extra distance isn't a big deal.

So I guess for me in a shotgun only area it is #4 Buck in lead areas and Dead Coyote in lead free areas out of my pumpgun. Luckily I was in a store in WI and they were trying to get rid of their DC and I picked them up for $19/bx and took 5 bx so that should last me a long time as little as I use a shotgun only.

F-BB should be effective on coyotes and add 2's in fox areas. The only way you are going to know how they work it to get out and pattern them, every gun is different. Try different choke tube, the tightest isn't always the best.

Here is a long running post on shotgun chokes and patterning for predators.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=777351&page=1

Copper-plated #4s

Kroo88 I hope your talking CP #4 Buck cause #4 birdshot sucks on coyotes unless they are pretty close..

I had a bunch of old lead BBs that I picked up at a garage sale one time. They worked very well out to 40 yards on both coyote and fox when predator calling. I�ve also tried dead coyote 3.5� on a couple of coyotes and they were both DRT.

I used the 12ga with 3� #4 buck combined with a patternmaster choke tube when hunting coyotes with dogs because you never really knew where you might end up and I didn�t want to skip bullets willy nilly over the countryside. I�ve rolled them out farther than I care to admit with that setup but often requiring a second or being caught by the dogs.

I never found better than the pattern master choke but the rem extended turkey choke did pretty decent with #4 buck.

Mass X velocity = terminal results.

7 1/2 shot at 50 feet will kill a predator

Slugs at 150 yards will kill a predator.

Use what you have at the appropriate range.

4 Buck.

#4 buck for me. I have killed them with #4 and #5 turkey loads before but ranges were less than 25 yards, one at around 8 yards so essentially shot with a slug as the wad was hanging in the fur.
I was at the gun shop picking up powder a bit ago and he had some Hornady 1 1/2 oz. Nickel plated BB lead that he had just gotten in, I would have tried it but the 1 1/2oz. load turned me off although they may be just fine.