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Coyote hunting shot recommendations
My state has a maximum caliber restriction for night hunting coyotes. The only firearms I own are shotguns and as such am limited to #2 shot or smaller. I cannot find #2 lead shot at stores but can find #4 and #5 turkey loads moving 1250 fps and was planning on using this. I then came across #2 steel shot moving 1550 fps and have hit this conundrum of which to use. After searching up energy retention charts it seems #2 steel shot retains as much energy as #4 lead shot, and in this case scenario the steel also moves another 300 fps. Which of these would be better for trying to draw a coyote in around 50 yds?
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1 Reply
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#2 steel and #4 or 5 lead are just going to wound coyote. I shot fox at close range with #5 magnum lead load while pheasant hunting and I still had to finish him off.
Order yourself some #2 or #4 TSS shells from Apex. They’ll definitely do the job and your range won’t be so limited. Expensive but you should only need one shot.
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hornady makes a couple shells specifically for varmints, winchester also makes a varmint load and the reliable hevi shot works well. basicly a #4 buckshot will work pretty good out to 50 yards.
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As somebody hunting in a country where we are transitioning from lead to steel (and tungsten and bismuth), the general rule is to go up two numbers. So US 4 lead gives about the same performance as US 2 steel. However, the steel shot is lighter and will lose energy faster than lead shot.
50 yards is way beyond what I would consider ethical hunting distance with a shotgun. Give yourself some more margin for error. Especially with steel shot, and at night when it is hard to judge distances. If you restrict yourself to something like 30 yards steel US 2 should work fine on a coyote sized target.
