Coyote with a 460 S&W!
03-24-2019, 07:46 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Martin, TN
Posts: 854
Coyote with a 460 S&W!
Been a while since I've been on here. I wanted to share with you guys how I managed to get my first coyote kill with a handgun on the opening day of deer season. . .
They say there's no such thing as overkill, and I have to admit, there's some truth to that.
I was in my favorite spot opening morning of deer season overlooking my western food plot. It wasn't long before I spotted a nice buck approaching to within 50 yards. He was nice enough that I almost pulled the hammer back on my Model 460. But, I realized he was slightly below my standards and still fairly young. One more year and he'd be a brute. So, I let him pass.
An hour later, I was startled by a doe appearing from my left less than 10 yards away. She was so close I couldn't move to raise my 41 Magnum Blackhawk for a shot, and as she walked directly away from me, she didn't present a good shot for the 460. Throughout all this, a group of five squirrels had been raising an absolute ruckus in the woods to my left, running around and rustling leaves so loudly it sounded like a deer thrashing around, so I had been tuning them out. Not long after the doe left, I happened to glance their direction, having heard one on the move. It wasn't a little squirrel bounding through the trees, however.
The coyote was on the other side of the treeline opposite me in the plot to my right. She hadn't seen me, likely due to my blind's mesh windows obscuring my profile. I managed to pull on my protective earmuffs noiselessly and began making a distress squeak with my mouth. The coyote fell for it hook, line, and sinker, immediately changing direction and weaving through the trees with her ears perked. As she bounded into the food plot not even 40 yards away, I swiveled the massive Model 460 her direction and yelled "Coyote!" She came to an immediate halt, perfectly broadside.
In my experience, a coyote will give you only a few seconds at most once you stop them. I wasted no time settling the crosshairs of the scope on her chest. I squeezed the trigger more quickly than I otherwise might have.
BOOM!
She took off running as faster than I've ever seen a coyote run. I sat there in disbelief. Had I missed such an easy shot? Surely that couldn't be, she was so close that even my less than perfect grip or trigger squeeze should have made negligible difference. Just before she ran out of sight, I saw her slow to a lope and flop over. I followed up with the 41 in hand, but there was no need for a finishing shot. The entrance wound was right where I was aiming. Needless to say, I didn't recover the 200 grain Barnes XPB, as it blew an exit wound hole three times the bullet's original diameter on the opposite side. Yet, despite the damage, she managed to run about 60 yards.
What makes this an even wilder story is that the very next day, I was hunting the same blind and another coyote appeared, this one only about 20 to 25 FEET away out the side window. Unfortunately, it heard my Blackhawk's hammer click into position, spotted me sliding the barrel out of the slit in the window mesh, and fled as I took aim. I've known from my trail cameras there's been a lot of coyotes running around lately, but to see them for myself has been eye opening.
They say there's no such thing as overkill, and I have to admit, there's some truth to that.
I was in my favorite spot opening morning of deer season overlooking my western food plot. It wasn't long before I spotted a nice buck approaching to within 50 yards. He was nice enough that I almost pulled the hammer back on my Model 460. But, I realized he was slightly below my standards and still fairly young. One more year and he'd be a brute. So, I let him pass.
An hour later, I was startled by a doe appearing from my left less than 10 yards away. She was so close I couldn't move to raise my 41 Magnum Blackhawk for a shot, and as she walked directly away from me, she didn't present a good shot for the 460. Throughout all this, a group of five squirrels had been raising an absolute ruckus in the woods to my left, running around and rustling leaves so loudly it sounded like a deer thrashing around, so I had been tuning them out. Not long after the doe left, I happened to glance their direction, having heard one on the move. It wasn't a little squirrel bounding through the trees, however.
The coyote was on the other side of the treeline opposite me in the plot to my right. She hadn't seen me, likely due to my blind's mesh windows obscuring my profile. I managed to pull on my protective earmuffs noiselessly and began making a distress squeak with my mouth. The coyote fell for it hook, line, and sinker, immediately changing direction and weaving through the trees with her ears perked. As she bounded into the food plot not even 40 yards away, I swiveled the massive Model 460 her direction and yelled "Coyote!" She came to an immediate halt, perfectly broadside.
In my experience, a coyote will give you only a few seconds at most once you stop them. I wasted no time settling the crosshairs of the scope on her chest. I squeezed the trigger more quickly than I otherwise might have.
BOOM!
She took off running as faster than I've ever seen a coyote run. I sat there in disbelief. Had I missed such an easy shot? Surely that couldn't be, she was so close that even my less than perfect grip or trigger squeeze should have made negligible difference. Just before she ran out of sight, I saw her slow to a lope and flop over. I followed up with the 41 in hand, but there was no need for a finishing shot. The entrance wound was right where I was aiming. Needless to say, I didn't recover the 200 grain Barnes XPB, as it blew an exit wound hole three times the bullet's original diameter on the opposite side. Yet, despite the damage, she managed to run about 60 yards.
What makes this an even wilder story is that the very next day, I was hunting the same blind and another coyote appeared, this one only about 20 to 25 FEET away out the side window. Unfortunately, it heard my Blackhawk's hammer click into position, spotted me sliding the barrel out of the slit in the window mesh, and fled as I took aim. I've known from my trail cameras there's been a lot of coyotes running around lately, but to see them for myself has been eye opening.
03-27-2019, 07:42 AM
#2
Spike
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Orange County, NY
Posts: 44
Great story and well told. It is always surprising to me that deer will still come around despite the presence of coyotes.
A few years ago, I spotted a coyote about 60 yards away. The clicking "off" of the safety (20 gauge) stopped her in her tracks long enough for me to take a clean shot. Crazy good hearing and they don't stay still for long.
A few years ago, I spotted a coyote about 60 yards away. The clicking "off" of the safety (20 gauge) stopped her in her tracks long enough for me to take a clean shot. Crazy good hearing and they don't stay still for long.
