At the end of September my brothers and I gathered to rescope, sight-in, etc. for a few days to prepare for Deer and other seasons.
We set up a range in a small depression box canyon, firing into the box. In the box canyon brush, we checked for any cattle and set up a target (18" cultivator disc) at the tree line. Then we stepped off 200Y and put up paper targets. Then we stepped off another 200Y and set up paper targets. Finally, we stepped off 75Y and set up a paper target. Stepped off another 25 and we were at the shooter's bench.
So our range was 25Y, 100Y, 300Y, 500Y. We had a four-wheeler ATV to run & check targets and a 60 power mono scope to spot with.
On the final day before dusk, my 22-250 was sighted in and dinging the cultivator disk pretty consistently near center@500Y, aiming at the top of the disc (guessing about 10" of holdover for my 22-250 sighted 1" high at 100 Y.) My ballistics calculator doesn't agree with this holdover, and I think that the Speer #1036 bullet's BC is incorrect in the loading data.
After hundreds of rounds had been fired over the previous 72 hours, and as we were putting away our rifles, my brother noticed a coyote creeping up from behind the cultivator disk at 500Y, where he had possibly been pinned down for some time.
I loaded a cartridge into my 22-250 and hit him in the chest with a 52gn Speer HPBT max loaded with Varget.
Jump up, Spin around, Dead coyote. No exit wound.
It was nice to get an early start on hunting season with a sighted in rifle on a predator who eats our calves. BTW, I hunt with a 270WSM which has similar ballistics (read: shoots flat & far) with the 130 gn SPBT Sierra Game King for a long shot, and a heavier Sierra Pro-Hunter RN bullet for closer shots in the brush.
