Ricochet distance?
 

I live in the flat land of central Illinois. We have a lot of coyotes and a lot of coyote hunters. I have a friend that uses a 30-06 to hunt them and he uses 150 gr. bullets. We have to be very careful around here with a high powered rifle due to the flat land and proximity of rural houses. My question is: is it safer to use a heavier bullet or a lighter bullet when you have the potential for a ricochet? My feeling is the lighter bullet should lose its velocity much quicker than the heavier bullet after a ricochet thereby reducing the range of the projectile and making the lighter bullet safer to use in this area.

RE: Ricochet distance?
 

My rule is the much lighter bullet and more frangible. Use varmit type bullets, like blitz. They should fall apart pretty easy. If you use a heavy bonded bullet, well, it has momentum.