Guns, Bows, Shooting Sports, and Hunting which gun ?

[Tractorat]

I have an open invitation to go coyote hunting on my daughter in law's uncle's property over in eastern washington. I have 3 rifles. A 30.06, a 22 magnum winchester lever action, and an old marlin 22LR semi auto (assault rifle). I know the 06 will blow them away quite well, but I think the winchester would be more fun (and a bigger magazine), and the marlin shoots a lot faster.

Are either of the 22's (magnum or LR) enough gun for coyotes ? Never hunted them before.

 

[Bob4x4]

I don't think a 22 rimfire will get the job done reliably,223 , is a different matter

 

[Tractorat]

I dont own a 223 and probably wont buy one. If the 22mag is too small Ill probably just take the ought 6.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Believe it or not, 22lr is big enough to drop pigs if you head shoot. It'll drop coyotes if you head shoot or neck shoot as well. It's easy to discount the ability of a hollow point 22r, but I'd never step in front of one.

I have a depredation permit for wild boars, and I use nothing bigger than 22lr. I only have 21 acres, but 11 of that is my motel, so I'm have to be very careful what I send down the barrel.

 

[JR]

You can't have too much firepower. Especially if your placement is off by a few inches. You just never know the type of shot your gonna get. 223, 243, 270 are all adequate in terms of fire power. A well placed .22 mag would no doubt put one down...at close enough distance. But putting them down quick and painless should be the primary focus.

 

[moparguy]

Three questions; what type terrain and distance, if expected shots are less than 100 yards then a 22 mag would be fine with proper shot placement. If open country and shooting out to 300 yards plus, then the '06. Also, how often do you shoot. Reason I ask is accurate shooting is a skill that degrades if not practiced on a regular basis. Proper head shots are not easy. If one isn't a really good shot then wounded dogs even with head shots are very likely. The '06 will give a better chance of a clean kill with a less than perfect shot.

Added in edit; leave the 22 lr at home. it's a good squirrel and rabbit gun, not really suited for anything larger. Not that one can't kill even deer size game with a 22, just not recommended.

 

[Tractorat]

Kinda open, but some trees and brush. Shots would probably 100 yards or less. Yeh, figured the LR is too small. But I wondered about the 22mag. Never hunted coyotes before. Seen some dead ones and they were fairly small. But Ive seen bigger ones walking down my street here north of seattle.

 

[Bob4x4]

They are pretty tough critters.In my USMC days we used to chase them up canyons on foot.The 22 rimfires weren't enough.223/556 were fine.

 

[The patriot]

If youre a good shot, the magnum should be OK for 100 yds or less on Yotes and PD's. IMO

 

[GrantP]

Ethically I think you need to use the 30-06. Unless you make a headshot your not going to get a quick kill with either of the 22's. The 30-06 will drop one instantly and is "overkill" for the job but if those are all of your choices then go with the big gun, save the 22's for plinking.

 

[B.G. Smith]

Lever action all the way, I got two when I was about 65 years younger wit 22lr but had to chase one down to finish the job. Two with the 30-30, one running and one sitting. bg

 

[BIGNASTY]

If your going to take ANY animal it needs to be done in a humane way shooting it with a less than adequate caliber is not humane. Chasing one down after its shot because the wrong caliber isn't a real good thing either.

 

[B.G. Smith]

Fully agree. When you are 15 years old and all you have is a single shot 22 you do the best you can. bg

 

[Tractorat]

Ill probably be using the o6

 

[BIGNASTY]

Fully agree. When you are 15 years old and all you have is a single shot 22 you do the best you can. bg

My reply wasn't directed directly towards you, just stating an Ethics Concideration