I posted this in long range shooting but thinks maybe should have been posted here. This is not for everyone but for those of you who hunt the way i do, you will understand. Long range coyotes in open grassy hills. Cant go prone as to much grass, hard to get real steady for those 500-600 yard shots on coyotes that hang up. So, use a RRS tripod and then built a single leg monopod for the rear. Only weighs a few ounces and is out of the way when carrying to stands. I really don't have to carry it far as use an electric buggy to cover most of the distance and then just go the last hundred yards or so on foot. Also, when i do hunt cover and don't think i will need it very easy to detach and put in my pack. Just clip in on if i feel it might be needed. The biggest challenge is to modify your stock to get a picatinny rail solidly attached. I have tested a lot of stuff and i will tell you this is solid. Love the RRS tripod but getting the rear of the rifle to contact the ground directly really keeps it steady.

I don't get long range coyote hunting. I've shot coyotes at distance and it is about as exciting as punching holes in paper. Plus by the time you find them and drag them back to the truck you could have gotten another stand or two in.

Calling them in close is a rush. Having a coyote at 10' with it's hair standing up and fangs bared, it doesn't get any more exciting.

How's this for Long Range?? Knocked my sticks down, Rio7

And wasn't that a rush. You'll remember that one long after you've forgotten the on you potted at 300 yard.

I've had them rip callers out of the brush, make running leaps and grab decoys four feet off the ground, more than once run over partners I was calling for and had fox jump off a snow bank and land between my knees. That's predator hunting at it's best.

I don't discriminate. Kill em all, near and far.

That works for you and that is fine. In my case, and there I am sure are in the same boat, I need to kill that certain coyote that is killing calves, or sheep. He has been educated, by some coyote hunter before, and he isn't coming closer than 500 yds before hanging up. At that point I dial him and kill him.I can kill em close like you, and that is great, I, can kill em at distance (500 600 yds) and you likely won't even come close. If you screw one up, it makes no difference, but I have to kill that livestock coyote either with a rifle or equipment.Leaving him is not an option. Kudos to the OP for thinking outside the box and coming up with a new option.

Outside the box? That’s kinda been the trend for the past few years, shooting instead of calling.

It always gets me when folks say they are educated. I’ll admit, there are lots of coyotes that have heard the call before and seem to hang up. But you can’t be a one hit wonder and play the same sounds everyone else is from the same spots, doing the same thing. I guarantee you if you play the stand right, they will come in.

But as for shooting them long range, I bet most of the ones that are shot at over 400 yards are missed. If you’re gonna try it, buy some steel and practice, practice, practice.

I shoot steel for fun and find shots out to 500 yards easy, even 1000 is not bad once you figure out the wind but I get more out of watching a coyote running straight to me than one running away.

Outside of the box with his rifle rest. I have seen some similar that work in taller grass as well. All the OP did was share something that was working for him, only to have Erich poo poo the fact that he could shoot a long range coyote with it. It just another good tool in the tool box to be able to kill that 500 yd coyote that won't come in. I like em at 50 yds too, but am also confident in killing them at distance when they won't.

Back to the OP's original post-

I have found I am not very steady with a bipod in a sitting or standing position without a secondary point of contact. I have found that if I can get my back up against something like a rock, tree, or fence post I can be rock steady at whatever distance I need to be with the tall Harris bipod...

Interesting the direction this took. I think I am in a somewhat unusual situation. I hunt about 20,000 acres that is comprised of about 6 different cattle ranches. Other than government trapper i am the only one hunting them, located on western slope of Sierra's. First part of season they are right in my lap, but doesn't take long and they start hanging up. Not missed coyotes that have busted me but they just have heard sounds as season moves along. Later in the season i I use very subtle sounds and a lot of vocals but once the grass gets short and as season moves on they just don't like coming in. Long distance is a last resort but late in the season its all your going to get. I sneak in with wind in my face and wear a ghillie, i set up so they would have to travel a long ways to get downwind and i would see them. Have been hunting these same ranches for about 15 years and hunt at least twice a week. Some of the ranches are in the oaks and those dogs will come in much easier that the real open country dogs will. There are stands where i can see over a mile and have a lot of opportunities to watch their reactions. People seem to think that if your just a good enough caller you can bring them in but i will tell you there are a lot of times i see them and they just aren't interested in coming in.

How many shots do you take at 500-600 yards on coyotes and what is your success rate?

Sorry if my post came across as derogatory, so many people are gearing up to shoot coyotes at long range and to me it is so boring. I have the tripods and long range guns and use them where/when NEEDED but never drag them out until then. I want my coyotes up close and personal it's what makes it exciting. But then I like cold calling, hunting ground I've never been on before, I rarely hit the same stand twice in a season. I'm geared up to leave the house and hunt for a week and never hunt the same place twice. I actually my move to my new home is based partially on the availability of coyote hunting.

Apples to oranges, neither is wrong but one may be more crucial. Huge difference between calling for fun in a target rich environment and trying to pick up a pair of killers in a lamb pasture. Believe me, the second is not fun.

Hunted Coyotes in several different States, habitat and terrain, have a lot to do with how you hunt and call, and how far away you can see them, and what rifle, Shotgun, you use. Rio7

I don’t know the OP but I do know coyotes. There are better ways to kill late season coyotes.

That said, my late season gun is a 22-250 AI with a 3-9 super chicken on it. It’s a Kimber Montana shooting 75 grain Amax’s and while I have good dope figured, I rarely find the need to dial.

Since i dont own fast twist 22 cals, save a couple three 7 twist 223/556 AR house guns, my longest coyote poke was with my old 28 inch barreled 300 Win Mag firing 230gr Berger OTM's at 2860 fps over Retumbo, i will just say it was a long fuggin ways and he didnt twitch, or no movement was seen as soon as i could get the glass back on him.

I don’t remember the misses, only the hits.😉
One memorable hit with a slow twist 22-250 shooting a 50 or 55 grain bullet was 720 paces, pre range finder era. Missed the first shot, connected with the second.

right on about the wind, past 600 yds, practice and reading the wind, light bullets don't cut the mustard for me. the lightest bullet I use is 75gr-100 for Savage 22hp, 250-3000, 22-250 and sometimes load my schoenauer .270 w/100gr

Have you tried hunting at night? Seeing how you could get a depredation permit and therefore use a light on your gun you should be very successful. Try hanging a red light lantern over your head, flashing the light to ID them and then firing. Or get a night vision scope so you can shoot them in the dark.

Another thing to try is using to chase coyotes and then draw them back to you. I’m the video I watched the coyotes were so focused on the dogs that the ignored the hunter’s shots. You have to train the dogs to chase and return on command and have dogs of medium size that aren’t to weak to engage coyotes or too big and threatening.

The guy's that use dogs to hunt Coyotes, are a pain in the Butt, they want to watch their dogs, run around with a Coyote, and brag on their dog, leave the damn dog home you will kill a lot more coyotes, if that's what you are out there for. ask me how i know? Rio7

I have been calling in Fox and Coyotes for 49 yrs this fall. I have more hang up at 100 yds plus than ever get close enough to see the hackles standing up or teeth showing. I have shot 1000's of predators and it does not matter to me. I still get excited when one or multiples are coming in. I can drive by spots and think back to the time I called something in at that area.

Nothing wrong with shooting off a bipod or tripod setup. If you are enjoying it, and dropping dogs at long distance, then go for it. There will always be guys who want to trash talk.

I have heard it for years. Essentially what they are saying is that if you don't do it the way I do it then you are not a real hunter. Same old story.

Personally I like busting a dog at 500 yards. Shooting one coming barreling in at 5 yards is exciting too! Both are fun. I don't discriminate, If the dog wants to keep coming, I will let him, but if it looks like he is going to hold up or turn tail then that is where he is going to get a Scenar or a Match King.

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This Rio7

Another vote for....



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THIS

Nothing wrong with being setup to kill at 600 yards and up close in your face.

I can and have done both with the same rig, don’t need no tripod and monopod slowing me down when a coyote runs in 10 yards to my right. I had a hard enough time moving a bi-pod through the grass in that situation.

And I’m my 40 years of calling, I’ve never seen a season where all the coyotes refuse to come in. The few that do have you pegged before you start calling.

I’m not beyond taking a target of opportunity and it has nothing to do with my way or else. There’s just better ways to do things.

Im in the TWR camp, just prefer shooting them in close, but no grudge to those who like to take the long poke. Ive been calling predators for right at 45 years in southern Arizona and still never tire of it, don't hunt anywhere near as hard as I once did, but hit it for about 2 months each winter and call it good. I bet Ive shot and killed less than a dozen coyotes that were past 300 yards, but also know Ive killed in the triple digit amount that were well under 100 yards, and I like them under 50 If they cooperate. Coyotes will and do hang up way out there on occasion, but I figure maybe I'll get them next time and don't sweat it, enough come hard to the call to meet my expectations and make for good hunts. I shoot one of the BB guns, a .17 mach4, so I don't really have any business shooting past 300, which feels like a gawd awful long poke now anyway.

I will even kill them with one of my elk guns if the situations presents itself. This one presented itself, right after a nasty storm rolled though and I was coming off a mountain. I had a .300WM with a fixed 10 SWFA. It is zeroed 1 mil high @ 100, little over 300 yard zero. I saw the dog as he was going away from me and plopped down threw the bipod out, got the hairs on him and the rest was history. He was just about to disappear from sight when dropped him.

Close or far, they are fun.





Plus this was very close to a ranch, just up the road from my property, so one less calf killer.

I have a friend that says “what went wrong between me and the coyotes can’t be fixed.”

I think one killed his dog.

He’s a disabled vet, with bum feet from an accident involving heavy objects falling on his arches and toes, but moves pretty fast to get in shooting position when a coyote presents itself.

Coyotes get blamed for lots of things they don’t always do and folks claim all sorts of reasons to kill them. Killing calves is rare but killing pets is very common.

I’ve been fortunate enough to gain access to places most can’t just to thin them out but there’s one place that stands out. A guy I know married an English woman who hated guns and hunting in general. One night a coyote got her lap dog and I got to kill coyotes.

“what went wrong between me and the coyotes can’t be fixed.”

I like that.

What is your rig, caliber and scope? Looks like a great set up.


Bob

What ever gun i have in my hands or close by is my Coyote gun. when I see a Coyote, here they get about 30% of our White Tail Fawns, Rio7

Bob: Photos are 2 rifles. I carry both in by buggy and then use each one depending on the terrain. One for long range open country, the other for more when i am in cover.
1. RPR in 243, 5x25 vortex. 108 a max
2. 243 WSSM 5-20 nightforce. 69 grain bergers.

With all due respect, sir, I strongly disagree. Here in SE NM, coyotes killing calves is very common. I personally know of over a dozen killed in this county alone since the first of the year.

As far as long distance coyote shooting goes, I'll take 'em any way I can get 'em. In your face or past 500 yards, it's all good.

Ed

If we all agreed on every subject, why would we bother reading here?

They do kill calves but they also get blamed for killing still born calves too. I worked a ranch that had the best coyote hunting around years ago. Kill one and two more would show up for the funeral and decide to stay. We had more problems with dogs than we ever did with coyotes. But coyotes get the blame and that gets me new places to hunt.

No problem.

You're right, sometimes I don't even agree with myself! I come here to learn, and when I'm confronted with something I disagree with, it makes me really look at my opinion/assumption/"knowledge".

I guess, the difference between your experience and mine is the lack of feral dogs in this area. Yes, coyotes will eat stillborn calves and ranchers will blame the coyotes for killing them, but if the sign around the calf carcass is still viable, you will see signs of the calf's struggles and/or momma cow's defense of her young.

It's easy to tell the difference between a dog-killed calf and a coyote killed calf if it is not totally eaten by the time you get there. I have to do it every time I get a call about a dead calf.


With the ban on trapping/snaring/poisons on all public lands in NM starting next July 1, our only option for control will be calling & shooting.

Come out here and I'll introduce you to some ranchers 'cause we're going to need all the help we can get.

Ed

Careful with the invites, I used to hunt West Texas and loved it, used to it wouldn’t take much to make me head that way. Now I’ve got too many responsibilities here at home.

I certainly didn’t mean to imply they never kill a calf cause they do but compared to small dogs and cats, the numbers are lopsided, at least around here. I’ve just watched so many coyotes walking in among the cows and calves only to pick out the goods in a cow pile rather than chase a standing calf. But I’ve seen a momma defending her calf enough to know coyotes can be a huge problem.

I can’t/won’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the neighbors tame lovable dogs chase a cow or calf just for fun. Not always feral dogs that are the problem.

Take care.

He is exterminating them for a rancher who loses cows to them.

Have you considered a bigger caliber with heavy high ballistic coefficient bullets? 300. Win mag with 180grain bullets

I made a rifle rest out of a surveyor’s tripod which worked well.

Faith: Good for you "gettin after" the Yotes!
Long range or short - there simply are way to many predators these days and they should be thinned.
The Coyotes in my immediate neck'o the woods sometimes (often!) will hang up "way out there" - like at 400 yards when I am calling.
That is about the only time I concentrate on taking a "long distance" shot at them. It IS satisfying to whack a Coyote that has hung up way out there and is sitting on its haunches yipping back at my calling!
My area also has more than its share of wind so I prefer/appreciate the "shorter distance" shots.
And often the Coyotes in my area are "high-tailing" it when I spot them as I am travelling about. If they are running away my limit is about 200 - 250 yards and then they are home free until next time. I won't keep throwin' lead like some of my friends who Hunt with AR's do until the Yote is out of sight.
To each their own I guess but I encourage all to get out and go after'em.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Neither of two cattle farms here in Illinois have lost any calves to coyotes. They are tough on fawns though. My long range 6C is a Savage tactical. They don't come to a call like they used to. In fact if you are driving and spot a coyote anything under 500 yards, they move on. Probably because of hunters using dogs in that area.

My coyote shooting is usually under 300 yards. I either call them or spot them and take a shot. I like a flat shooter so in the short time I have to shoot worrying about trajectory is the last thing I want to do. Currently the rifle is a Savage 243 shooting 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips at a bit over 3700 fps. As for any preference as to how I shoot coyotes there is none. Kill all you can.