Author Topic: Question. Can you kill a coyote with a .17hmr? (Read 3718 times)

statelinerut · « **on:** March 26, 2006, 03:20:57 PM »

My answer is yes. With a well placed shot, a .17HMR will do the job. Got this gal this afternoon after 4 minutes on stand. Took her at 100 yards.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #1 on:** March 26, 2006, 04:46:04 PM »

Congrats! What weight bullets were you shooting? 17gr or the newer 20gr.

jh45gun · « **Reply #2 on:** March 26, 2006, 05:23:05 PM »

Congrats on the fine shot but not every one may make that shot or if the yote moves so your off a bit the 17 I would be would not have the shocking power to down the animal. You have a pretty impressive piece of glass on that gun I would bet that that helped a lot in your shot placement but how many guys do put on a scope like that on a 200 dollar gun or 250 what ever? I have a Leuold Mk 8 4x on my 22 mag Henry lever for the simple reason it is a compact scope and looks fine on that lever where a big scope would look out of place on it. Even using this rig I would prefer anything I shot at a closer distance to make sure of a good hit. I would liken this to Bell shooting Elephants with a 7x57 yea he did it and had success with it but it was not reccomended for the average hunter.

coyote trapper1928 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 26, 2006, 05:23:41 PM »

How much did it weigh and how far did it go after the shot?

coyote trapper1928 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 26, 2006, 05:26:29 PM »

What power riflescope is that??

statelinerut · « **Reply #5 on:** March 26, 2006, 06:08:08 PM »

To clarify my post a little I would like to make one point. If you are going to be using a .17HMR for coyote hunting, there are few things you must do to be successfull. First, you must be very familiar with your gun and how it shoots. This gun puts 5 shots under .5 inch at 50 yards, so I felt pretty confident with the shot I took today at 100 yards. Second, do not try a shot over 150 yards. This round just leaves too much room for error out past that range. Third, make sure you put the bullet in the boiler room. This must be done with this caliber to be successfull. I have shot a lot of rounds out of this gun to get familiar with it, so that is why I carried it out today. Now, my favorite gun to coyote hunt with is the Handi Rifle .243. And 90% of the time I go afield it will be on my back instead of the .17hmr. I really just wanted to see what kind of job the .17hmr would , and it performed perfectly within the parameters I stated above.

Krochus, I was using the .17 grain V-MAX. It groups better out of my Savage

coyote trapper, she ran 30 yards after the shot and she weighed about 30 pounds. The scope ia a new Tasco World Class Target/Varmint 10-40X50

mangulator · « **Reply #6 on:** March 27, 2006, 05:44:31 AM »

Great shot, I agree with you shot placement and confidence in the gun. I have had good luck with my 17 hmr.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #7 on:** March 27, 2006, 10:00:13 AM »

Yep.......no doubt you've continued a discussion that's been going on from the time the .17 HMR was announced.
Are there better choices for a Coyote rifle? Yes. Will a .17 HMR kill a Coyote....

? looks like you've proven that much.

Would I shoot a Coyote with a .17HMR? YOU BETCHA! Especially if that's all the law allows, or I had an opportunity and didn't have another rifle with me.

GOOD SHOT!

statelinerut · « **Reply #8 on:** March 27, 2006, 10:47:44 AM »

Thanks for the nice comments victorcharlie. You would not believe the lambasting I got on another forum for posting that pic :evil: . I think some people just want to try to find something to bitch at no matter what it is. There ain't nothing worse than someone trying to force their hunting values on other people like they are god :x . Oh well, it ain't my problem. This debate will go on for years and years to come. I got the same comments from deer hunters that say a .243 is too small for deer hunting. Well, I have 5 in the freezer right now that will prove them otherwise. I will never hunt with another caliber for deer. I am not from the school that more gun is better. I am from the school that you learn to shoot the gun you have precisely. You aim small and you miss small. That is all there is to it. I think there may be too many hunters out there walking around with big guns to overcopensate for their lack of shooting ability. Hey, I am sorry for ranting on like I have. I need to go shoot another coyote

victorcharlie · « **Reply #9 on:** March 27, 2006, 11:05:00 AM »

Yep....I hear ya....hey, I'm the face in the mirror every morning....I'm the one that has to like what I see......All I can tell ya is I can't live my life worrying about the small stuff.......There's people who will always do that for me!

jh45gun · « **Reply #10 on:** March 27, 2006, 03:09:17 PM »

Statelinerut, You proved your point and I do not think no one will bash you here for it like I said good shot I do think that some may disagree that the gun is too light some even consider the 22 mag too light and the 22 mag kills well for its size. But then been many a deer taken with one and the 22 lr for that matter like you said shot placement. What you said is true about the 243 but that has been proven that it is a great deer killer as the other smaller bores like the 257 and the 6.5 Swede ect. I suppose time will tell for the 17. All I can say in some ones capable hands such as yours it will do the job some one else who does not have the glass or takes a bad shot their milage may differ Of course that applies to the 22 mag too and I am a fan of that cartridge. Again great shot and like was said this debate will go on for a long time. As a side note some folks cannot shoot a centerfire worth beans too so even one of those may crippler under the right conditions. I think most guys who frequent thes forums are shooters who shoot a lot and can hit the boiler room but their are exceptions and we all know about the guy who shoots once a year and kills his deer every year and we also know about the guy who shoots once a year and misses and wonders why. Exceptions to the rule when it comes to hunting no matter how well you sometimes prepare for it. Again good shot and you have some nice equipment. Jim

statelinerut · « **Reply #11 on:** March 27, 2006, 03:20:44 PM »

Thanks Jim.

Lives2hunt · « **Reply #12 on:** August 19, 2006, 06:05:06 PM »

A picture is worth a thousand words and that picture says it all. Bullet placement with penetration and expansion win every time. Thanks for sharing the story and picture & advice.

rangerruck · « **Reply #13 on:** August 20, 2006, 01:05:44 PM »

i like to make sure , the shot is within 100 yds, if at all possible, then it has plenty of smack to get the job done. i've seen one do a backflip at 70 yds , i hit with one.

aulrich · « **Reply #14 on:** August 21, 2006, 05:23:24 AM »

I look at the hmr as a "if you must" sort of coyote round, One thing That has been floating in the back of my mind is depending on the bullet you could get too close with th HMR as well especially with the vmax over expansion will hamper a somwhat under powerd round. But then again I seen the same thing happen to a guy shooting a 223. There seem to be a sweet spot for positive hmr for coyotes from about 40 to about 100, you seem to hear alot of bad reports out side of that band.

For a while I had a 22 mag it loved the 50 grain federal load and on paper it carred way more energy down range but it seems now one uses it and I allways wondered why.

coyote trapper1928 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 21, 2006, 06:26:43 AM »

Is the 20 grain load in the .17 HMR, the maximum bullet weight that the .17 HMR can handle?

Keith L · « **Reply #16 on:** August 21, 2006, 06:28:42 AM »

It is the heaviest load I am aware of. And none of my 17HMRs (3) like the 20 grain load. Tack drivers with the 17, pretty average with the 20.

handirifle · « **Reply #17 on:** August 21, 2006, 03:41:22 PM »

Like stateliner said, yes.

But shot placement is everything, and I agree 100% on the rest of his limitations. Others will cliam farther kills and I cannot prove or disprove them but I wouldn't go beyond 100yds. Mine, like his was a neck shot, but with the CCI 20gr Gamepoint and it was a BANG FLOP ordeal. Range was about 15yds. Looked like he'd been hit with a hammer, the way he dropped, but just an inch or so low and it would have been a different story.

I was actually trying to call in a Bobcat, and this fellow showed up. His bad luck! First mammal kill with my HMR.

jim0149 · « **Reply #18 on:** August 22, 2006, 12:54:21 PM »

Nice shot, Nice pic. and yes!!!
Jim

mangulator · « **Reply #19 on:** August 23, 2006, 04:45:35 AM »

Nice dog and yes with shot placement it is possible.....I love my 17HMR

ghr · « **Reply #20 on:** August 26, 2006, 03:19:08 PM »

i would use my 17hmr for yotes after seeing what it can do to cottontails and feral cats. i know a guy who has used succusfully on several occasions and it seems to be his got to gun. i could use my 25-06 but the 17 is easier to access in my entry way closest versus the safe. my shot would be less than 100yds.

groovyintheusa · « **Reply #21 on:** December 30, 2006, 09:16:03 AM »

I have not yet got a yote with mine, (a lack of effort on my part). But with proper shot placement the .17 will do the trick. After seeing what damage it does to tree rats, I would not hesitate to take a yote with mine. Again, I must stress shot placement!!! Not just any shot, but a good clean shot. If you're not the patient type that believes in "1 shot, 1 kill", then use something bigger.

IOWA DON · « **Reply #22 on:** December 30, 2006, 09:29:21 AM »

I think any lung-shot coyote at 100 yards will die faily quick but not maybe quick enough to recover. I've shot a few with a .17 Remington. The remaining velocity with 25-grain Hornaday hollow points is 2,700 fps at 200 yards. It seemed that any lung-shot coyote at less than 200 yords died on the spot. If they were much farther they usually fell down, got up, and ran for a ways. Since the performance of the .17 HMR at the muzzle is not much different than the .17 Remington at 200 yards I would say it is definitly not the best coyote gun and that one should aim for the brain or spine, or plan on it running for a while. I've got 3 coyotes with a .17 Hornet, all nearly or not much over 100 yards and they all died quickly, but it has 1,000 fps over the .17 HMR. - DON

jack19512 · « **Reply #23 on:** December 30, 2006, 03:44:32 PM »

"Question. Can you kill a coyote with a .17hmr?"

Yes, I am sure you can take one with a 22lr also. I personally wouldn't myself.

NONYA · « **Reply #24 on:** December 31, 2006, 01:35:57 AM »

if you keep the shots under 50 yards and make sure of your shot placement and make sure the wind isnt blowing and make sure he doesnt duck the bullet and make sure you dont hit a gnat and make sure you dont have solar flares and make sure you not to close to the equator....what is the point of these can you killl { } with this under powered { } threads?

jack19512 · « **Reply #25 on:** December 31, 2006, 03:31:52 AM »

Quote from: NONYA on December 31, 2006, 01:35:57 AM

what is the point of these can you killl { } with this under powered { } threads?

I have to be honest, I never understood this myself. When I go hunting I take the appropriate rifle for the quarry I am hunting.

When I deer hunt I take my 30-06 or equivalent. When I squirrel hunt I take my 17 M2. I would no more shoot at a squirrel with my 30-06 than I would shoot at a deer with my 17 M2 even though I am pretty sure I could take a deer with my 17 M2 if within a reasonable range and I exercised perfect shot placement etc...etc...

I have used a 22lr when I butchered a hog once and one shot was all it took to put the hog down, but no way would I go pig hunting with a 22 lr.

Having said all of this I do understand some think the 17 HMR is sufficient for coyotes although I am not one of them even though just about every time one is taken for example with the 17 HMR you always seem to have the "under 100 yards" or "perfect shot" etc...etc... thing going on to justify the use of said caliber.

If the right caliber is being used for the task at hand you usually don't see this happening. I am not directing my comments toward this particular thread so much but to threads of this nature that I have read in the past.

Like I said, there are some that think the 17 HMR is sufficient for coyotes and there are those that think the 17 HMR is not.

Keith L · « **Reply #26 on:** December 31, 2006, 04:26:13 AM »

I stopped going to Rimfire Centeral because of the constant thread of this type that was going on there. My favorite was the guy who claimed to have killed a bear with his. Then there were all the guys who congratulated him for that.

There is a yote killed by a 22Mag Single Six posted on Rimfire Handguns today. Thats another one that I can live without.

People in the past told me that it is like taking fish on lite tackle. I don't see it that way. To me lite tackle is humane, that a lost fish will recover. A lost animal will likely not, and will die painfully and at times publicly to the glee of the anti hunters.

billy_56081 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 31, 2006, 04:50:01 AM »

A dead coyote is a dead coyote. I'm not for wanton waste of a game animal but coyotes are a varmint. I don't care what I'm carrying at the time if I see a coyote I put lead in it. While I'd not take a 17 HMR for coyote hunting if given a choice I'd use it on em it thats what I had when the need arises. I'd much rather see the coyote die and recover it but I'm happy when some lead gets into a coyote and it dies. To many hunters are falling right into PETA's trap of making animals as something more than they are. ( A pig is a boy is a rat) Coyotes are a nuiscience kill em however you can whenever you can.

Alot of hunters need to understand. Unied we stand divided we fall. PETA doesn't care if you are "humane" and "sporting", they will just use any division in hunters to try to trickle in laws a little at a time.

Good job on killing this fawn killer. Keep up the good work.

Keith L · « **Reply #28 on:** December 31, 2006, 10:33:26 AM »

Maybe, but what if that yote you shot and didn't kill finds its way into a neighborhood and hurts a kid? There was a guy on Rimfire Central who wanted to use subsonic 22s on yotes in his neighborhood because he did not want his neighbors to hear. Careful trapping would have been much better there.

If you can't be sure to put it down then you shouldn't shoot it. The smallest I go for yotes is my .204. And I have used my 3030 a time or two when deer hunting and the shot presented. 17hmr just isn't enough for me to feel that I can plant a yote, so I won't take the shot. You can do what you want.

MSP Ret · « **Reply #29 on:** December 31, 2006, 12:57:18 PM »

It was great to see your post statelinerut, you answered a question that was asked and had the proof to back it up. Some here just speak off the top of thier head, spouting thier beliefs and expecting others to believe or agree with them. I choose to use a .22 Mag H&R Sportster as my primarly coyote gun and a rifle in that caliber with the correct ammunition works superbly well for coyotes as long as the shooter stays within reasonable self imposed limits. I have read much on coyote hunting with the .17 HMR and will carry mine this winter a few times to try it on a coyote or 2 for myself. Your fine post containing facts has been very helpful...Have a Happy New Year....<><....