.22 WMR For Coyotes?

[markiver54]

A poorly placed shot, even in a higher caliber could fall well short of a humane kill. Shot placement is key.
.22 mag. CAN be a wicked round.

[Vaquero]

This is an old thread but my question is a continuation after a fashion.

I decided against the .22 WMR as a coyote round and settled on .223 Rem. since I have a couple of AR's and a Ruger Mini-14.

Back in the day when russian steel case ammo was readily available and inexpensive, I stocked up. I am down to only a couple of boxes of Wolf 62 gr. FMJ which I will use at the range but I have almost a full case of Wolf 62 gr. HP ammo. All steel case but even tho' it was inexpensive, I have never experienced a failure to fire with either the Wolf .223 Rem or the Wolf steel case 7.62X39 Soviet. Not particularly clean ammo but reliable. Oddly, the Wolf 7.63X39 ammo is incredibly accurate in my Ruger American Ranch rifle, more so than any quality brass case ammo. I don't use it during deer season (quality brass ammo only, due to concerns about expansion) but I use it when I try to rid food plots of feral hogs.

My question is this: Has any had experience with the Wolf HP ammo in the field in regards to expansion? I would like to use the russian HP ammo but I wonder if it will zip thru' a coyote without opening. Is there enough mass in a coyote body for expansion with any ammo even at 50 or so yards?

I hate to use my Federal brass case ammo for coyotes because I am so cheap.

Signed - Hamish MacCheap

I've used some of the Tula, steel case 62 gr., a couple times with good results. First was on a small doe at about 80 yds.
It didn't go over a few yds and collapsed. Exit wound was about silver dollar size. Second, was on a coyote at about the same distance. When hit, she jumped straight up and was biting at the entrance wound for a couple seconds, then fell over. Exit wound was about the same.
Both were shot with a Stevens 200, which I no longer own.

RP

[HenryFan]

Tula hollow point ammo I presume.

I would not be surprised if Wolf and Tula were made in the same munitions plant. I don't know that to be true, maybe/maybe not, mere speculation on my part.

I used the last of the Wolf 62 gr. FMJ ammo at the range yesterday afternoon so it is out of the equation although I would not use it in the field even if I still had it.

Yesterday, when I shot the FMJ ammo in my Ruger Mini-14, I had repeated failures to feed when the bolt would not take the cartridge out of the magazine and feed it into the chamber. I never had this problem with quality brass cased ammo, usually always Federal ammo in my case but occasionally, IMI. Oddly, I experienced the same problem, but to a lesser extent, with the Wolf gr. HP ammo. I would hazard a guess that brass cases are "mo slickerer" than steel case ammo but again, mere speculation on my part.

In any event, I will use my AR on the next coyote hunt. I never had such feeding problems with my cheapo AR (PSA lower & Bear Creak Arsenal upper) as those I had with the Mini-14.

I did have a bit of excitement Saturday when I hunted coyotes. I was using my ancient Primos call and teaser (or whatever the gizmo is called that spins a "tail") and after a few hours, a big bobcat came out and crept towards the teaser. He/she was focused on the teaser to the exclusion of anything else around. I raised my rifle (a Ruger American Rimfire in .22WMR, it was what was available) and put the cross hairs on the cat's shoulder but I just couldn't pull the trigger. It would have been an easy shot, maybe 50 or 55 yards. I was in one of my elevated deer box blinds and finally took off my hat and waved it and asked it to leave. I explained to the cat that this was a coyote hunt and he was present without my invitation. It was so focused on the teaser it paid me no attention but after a minute or two, it realized something was wrong and slunk down low and exited to the wood line from where he/she came.

I am fairly inexperienced at calling game but I am starting to put more time into it.

Last thing, russian Wolf ammo is quite dirty.