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Coyote Hunting

meth0d said:
If you're looking for a rifle at night, one popular suggestion on the site I mentioned in my first post is the .17 remington or .17 fireball.


And for coyote specific shotgun loads:
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(b) during the hours from ½ hour after sunset to ½ hour before sunrise, handguns are restricted to those chambered not larger than .38 caliber, and rifles to those chambered not larger than .22 long rifle;

Based on that I think the Fireball is out as it's a center fire round, by this interpretation the .22 WMR rim fire might be illegal as well. Its hard to tell if the law means rim fire only after hours or anything smaller than. I might call DCR on this one.

The hevi shot was what I was thinking of, 3.5" shells and has a picture of a coyote on the box. $30+ for a box of shells if I remember right.
 
Magsrgod said:
(b) during the hours from ½ hour after sunset to ½ hour before sunrise, handguns are restricted to those chambered not larger than .38 caliber, and rifles to those chambered not larger than .22 long rifle;

Based on that I think the Fireball is out as it's a center fire round, by this interpretation the .22 WMR rim fire might be illegal as well. Its hard to tell if the law means rim fire only after hours or anything smaller than. I might call DCR on this one.

The hevi shot was what I was thinking of, 3.5" shells and has a picture of a coyote on the box. $30+ for a box of shells if I remember right.
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Yea, I guess it depends on their definition of "larger", are they referring to the projectile, over all round size, etc. If you do end up calling, please let us know what they say?
 
Had a pretty good talk with the DCR guy and basically what we came to the conclusion of was; rim fires only after dark, no .17 Center Fire's so no 17 rem or 17 fireball. The 22 WMR is a gray area, and would mainly come down to the officer that was asking questions. Technically the 22 WMR isn't illegal as its not bigger than a 22lr caliber but it just has more powder. Ultimately it would come down to the officer.
 
Magsrgod said:
Had a pretty good talk with the DCR guy and basically what we came to the conclusion of was; rim fires only after dark, no .17 Center Fire's so no 17 rem or 17 fireball. The 22 WMR is a gray area, and would mainly come down to the officer that was asking questions. Technically the 22 WMR isn't illegal as its not bigger than a 22lr caliber but it just has more powder. Ultimately it would come down to the officer.
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Hmmm, that's unfortunate. I re-read the abstract and do see in the Coyote section it specifically says "rifles chambered to take larger than .22 long rifle rimfire...are prohibited...(night time)" so I guess the .17s are larger than the .22LR rimfire specifically mentioned.

Thank you for contacting the DCR office and the follow up. I'll be sticking to my shotgun at night since I don't have a .22WMR and I'm not sure I'd want to play the odds of how any given officer feels about the confusing and well named abstracts, haha.
 
I might actually purchase a 22 WMR. I was looking at who makes these and came across this, I wouldn't buy it from Gun broker but its a good resource for looking crap up.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=192281075

I looked at it like this, the law states you can use a 12 gauge with no larger than size T shot. It makes no statements about 2 3/4", 3", or 3.5" shells, just as long as the pellets are T or smaller. I'm pretty sure the 22WMR uses the same bullet as the 22LR. If thats true then just as with the shotgun you can get variants that have a little more powder, same punch but more push.

I think if that point was discussed nicely with any game warden they would completely understand your view, not ticket you, and tell you if you could continue using it or not. Or, I could be completely off track about how nice your game wardens are out here!
 
Makes sense to me, I haven't had any interactions with the game wardens beyond checking licenses so I can't say either way what they'd make of .22WMR vs .22LR.

I also wonder why they chose to restrict it to .22 LR? Certainly wouldn't be my first choice for a coyote, or even a raccoon for that matter. Perhaps I will call them this afternoon to inquire.
 
Magsrgod said:
Had a pretty good talk with the DCR guy and basically what we came to the conclusion of was; rim fires only after dark, no .17 Center Fire's so no 17 rem or 17 fireball. The 22 WMR is a gray area, and would mainly come down to the officer that was asking questions. Technically the 22 WMR isn't illegal as its not bigger than a 22lr caliber but it just has more powder. Ultimately it would come down to the officer.
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+1 to you Magsrgod. Thanks for calling and shedding some light on this
 
Sparkey said:
Does anybody skin the coyotes for pelts ?
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Why else would you hunt them?


vtrj said:
I personally hunt dogs with a 22mag. all the spots i hunt you wont get a shot outside of 100yds. It's quite and it's a tack driver.
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Dogs? Quite what? Rimfire isn't really humane on coyote.



boilermaker said:
This thread made me read the regs again as well and I realized the same thing - night hunting is limited to .22lr. I don't much about rifle calibers but I assume 22-250 is larger than .22lr? So this would be a no go at night? I guess I will stick to shotguns.
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Shotgun is the best bet for night hunting coyote in MA.


whtmtnhiker54 said:
So, what do you guys do with the coyote once you kill it? Do you eat the meat? Just wondering - inquiring minds want to know (just curious). Thanks!
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See above.


meth0d said:
Hmmm, that's unfortunate. I re-read the abstract and do see in the Coyote section it specifically says "rifles chambered to take larger than .22 long rifle rimfire...are prohibited...(night time)" so I guess the .17s are larger than the .22LR rimfire specifically mentioned. ...
Click to expand...

Again, avoid the rimfires. I highlighted the "long rifle", as that precludes the WMR or .22 Magnums.

.17 Fireball, .204 Ruger, and .17 Remington are the most popular choices, with .22 Hornet following closely behind.


Go sign up on www.coyotegods.com and see what they have to say.
 
Coyote33, I agree with you, the rimfires aren't humane to get the job done on the coyotes. We were talking about the regs regarding night time rifle use, that is why I highlighted the section regarding .22 LR rimfire, and followed up with the fact that I will be sticking to my shotgun and Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote loads at night. I also suggested visiting coyotegods in my first post, haha.
 
whtmtnhiker54 said:
So, what do you guys do with the coyote once you kill it? Do you eat the meat? Just wondering - inquiring minds want to know (just curious). Thanks!
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In general, people don't eat predators. They pick up parasites and diseases from their prey. I think pigs are the only (semi)predators commonly eaten, and even then, pork is always well cooked.
 
Yep shotgun is definitely the way to go then. If you after pelts the shotgun is pretty damn hard on them, but still fun is fun. I'm gonna pop a couple off in the next coming months!
 
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the info. I also wish the law was a little more clear when it comes to what rifles you can use at night. If anyone talks to the EPO and gets a definitive answer they will definitely have to let us know. Is there anyone close to Douglas that may want to go out together once the season starts? I have a good piece of land abutting a large farm and alot of other land. I have permission to hunt it all. There is a large hill behind me and it was recently logged of so especially with snow on the ground you can see a long way.
 
I use a cheep mp3 player, recorded calls, and a battery powered amplified loud speaker for a call the setup works well and is cheep. There are all kinds of predator call mp3's that you can find on the net and you can set up a play list of your favorite calls.
For cover i like to use natural cover and a ghillie suit and we set up down wind from the call. I use a howa 1500 22-250 20" varminter , my son likes to uses his winchester 94, i plan on using my new tc venture 308 on our next hunt and let my son use the howa
 
I've been trying to figure that out myself. Right now in MA I'm pretty much limited to the different state parks that allow hunting. I have some land in NH and RI that people have given me permission to use but I still have yet to go scout it out and see what they have to offer.
 
Brian5582 said:
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the info. I also wish the law was a little more clear when it comes to what rifles you can use at night. If anyone talks to the EPO and gets a definitive answer they will definitely have to let us know. Is there anyone close to Douglas that may want to go out together once the season starts? I have a good piece of land abutting a large farm and alot of other land. I have permission to hunt it all. There is a large hill behind me and it was recently logged of so especially with snow on the ground you can see a long way.
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You may use a .22 rimfire. Nothing larger. What's unclear?
 
Glasgow Grin said:
You may use a .22 rimfire. Nothing larger. What's unclear?
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.17 rem is a smaller projectile but larger case, the DCR rep that Magsrgod talked to said it's illegal at night. The .22WMR is the same size projectile as .22 LR, but a larger case, the same DCR rep said it was a grey area and ultimately would come down to the officer you talk to in the field. That is what's unclear.
 
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meth0d said:
.17 rem is a smaller projectile but larger case, the DCR rep that Magsrgod talked to said it's illegal at night. The .22WMR is the same size projectile as .22 LR, but a larger case, the same DCR rep said it was a grey area and ultimately would come down to the officer you talk to in the field. That is what's unclear.
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PROHIBITED:
Rifles chambered to take ammunition larger than .22 caliber long rifle rimfire,and pistols and revolvers chambered to take ammunition larger than .38 caliber, between the hours of ½ hour after sunset and ½ hour before sunrise.

Both the .22 WMR and the .17 Remington are illegal for night hunting coyotes. The .22WMR because it is LARGER than .22 LONG RIFLE rimfire, and the .17 Remington because it is a center fire. Pretty clear to me.
 
I understand what the regulations say, I've read them frontwards and back dozens of times. You're missing the point of my question, I'll just talk to the DCR instead of repeating myself.
 
re: night hunting

Regardless of the regs, neither .22LR, any .17, nor .22WMR would seem to be an ethical choice for killing an animal as large as a coyote? Shot placement would be crucial. I suppose if you've got some kickass nightvision optics and the right opportunity?
 
I just use the shotgun at night. Its stupid a 22lr. is not an effective way to kill a coyote at night. Or in the day for that matter. Can it be done absolutely but as anyone who has ever hunted knows you don't always get the perfect shot. Especially with coyotes they always seem to be going a hundred miles an hour add on top of that out other law of no artificial lights and it just gets stupid.

Man I love this state!
 
Magsrgod, unfortunately I don't have any good spots for ducks. I have wanted to build a small pond on my property in a small valley all it would need is a small damn on one end and there is a seasonal brook that would fill it up but I have a feeling the town conservation commission would be on me rather fast.
 
Brian5582, I am pretty close to douglas and would be interested in going out with you this season if your looking for someone to head out with. I haven't gotten to big into coyote hunting, mostly just deer and turkey but wanted to get into it a lot this year. I am not sure how much I could bring to the table with knowledge other than what I have read on this site and others but if your looking for someone to head out with I would like to go. There was also a few spots I found while deer scouting and turkey hunting this year that I found plenty of tracks and some big ones too that we could check out too if interested. (Also close to Douglas). Let me know what you think
 
How big are the average coyotes in this state? 25-30 lbs? Within 0-50 years the WMR has enough power to kill a coyote, outside of that range it would start getting tricky and you would need excellent shot placement. I've never shot any of the Coyote shotgun shells but I cant imagine the range being that much superior. It's a moot point but I would honestly rather shoot one bullet and know precisely where its going, and lets be honest as well, if your hunting at night your not taking 100+ yard shots.

I'm going to buy some of the hevi shot and pattern it at 25, 50, 75 and 100, Ill post up pictures of the patterns.

Half of this is irrelevant because we already determined that the 22 WMR is illegal to use here in Mass, but for the sake of this conversation I think it's more than enough round to do the job at night. Realistically its hard to get one within 75 yards of you, which is why I like my 22-250 :)
 
Rogue we will have to go out some time after deer season. Here or there I just recently ordered a foxpro so I am hoping it will turn the odds a little more in my favor. I have heard good things about them and seen good results on (I know I know) TV.

Magsrgod you make a good point of shot pattern verses' placement. Also shot distance I don't think I have ever got one within 75 yards of me except once and the thing was moving so fast and making so much noise coming through the woods I thought it was a bear charging me (keep in mind I was 16 and this was my first year on a stand alone)[rofl]. I wish someone at the EPO would pull there head out of their ass. I am shore this law only leads to mortally wounded animals suffering for awhile and going to waste when it dies (I make the same argument of using buckshot for deer but thats another argument in itself)
 

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