Post like this merely add confusion to new sportsmen unsure about the lethaltiy of the round. They are also usually started by those equally unsure and inexperienced.

Any time lead passes through the bloodstream and clips veins, arteries and opens up the flesh therecan besevere health risk. Factor in that coyote's cannot walk in an immediate care center and you have a fairly high risk of death when they absorb a high velocity bullet.

Lungs do not have to be blown wide open and drained in order to kill an animal. The way the diaphram is balanced, a pierced lung will deflate (or collapse) the other lung to some degree. Blood leaking in will result in a drowning of lung tissue- and an insufficient amount of oxygen sustained in therespitorysystem.

Shoulder, hip or footdamage resultant from any firearm can cause problems with a coyotes ability to crouch down while stalking prey, run at high speeds and walk in their streamline technique. Without those abilities their safety and efficiency are minimized. In the cut-throat world of wild K-9's an injured coyote is not nursed by his friends or family... he is targeted for his weakness and killed before he can starve to death.

So yes, the 17Hmr will kill coyotes in many cases. A few shots will drop the animal, others will result in 40-100 yard tracking jobs with little or no bloodtrail to follow. The rest.... well, just come back in a few days and look for buzzards circling.