Removed another killer last night. Was a very nice large male coyote, nice blondish summer coat. Caught him coming down this drainage from the ranchers barns where his stock is. Calving barns behind this one. 160 steps to him, 55g vmax handload. Click video to play.
Very Nice. I have the Pulsar Trail XP38, too. However, I am awaiting my first kill with it soon! Here is a compilation of various kills with Pulsar Digital NV and Thermals in the past..
Just remarkable you have the technology and expertise to use it so effectively. Thanks for sharing this. Makes me realize I am clueless on this stuff. Keep doing it and showing if off. Great.
Coyotes in this area have evidently been called with electronic calls to the point where they won't come in at all any more. I ran six dogs out of a 122 acre field while plowing it a couple of weeks ago, so there's no doubt we still have plenty of coyotes around. I've more-or-less given up on trying to call them in with my mouth calls, instead just walking them up, which is a pretty poor technique if you're out for more than just the exercise. Have been looking at the Trijicon Mk III 35mm thermal unit, but it's a bit above my pay grade. If I were able to swing the purchase, I'm not sure what rifle I'd mount it on - most I've seen were on AR15s, which I have no problem with. But I've also got a couple of good bolt rifles that would work, and which are considerably quieter suppressed than an AR is - there's a lot of noise that comes out of the ejection port on a suppressed AR. I just finished a Howa Mini in 20 Tactical in a Boyds ProVarmint stock, and threaded the muzzle of its 24" bbl for a TBAC 1/2-28, 22 cal compact brake/mount for my Ultra 7. Put about 30rds through it yesterday afternoon while zeroing the scope & gathering chrono data for the little 20 cal round - very light recoil & pretty darned quiet. 32gr bullets were doing 3800fps, while the few 40s I ran through it were doing 3500fps - this is a 1-9tw Bartlein that I intend to try the Berger 55 BTHPs in - after I get the bbl throated a bit deeper for the 55s. Would not be wild about going after coyotes with the light little 32gr bullets, but have heard several guys say the 40s - and especially the 55s - were very good on these dogs.
^^^ Yea don't use the 32g bullets. I built a 20P and had several run offs using 32g bullets. Sold that rig and went back to the .223 and 55g bullet. I did have my NV scopes on a bolt gun, quieter, but bulkier & longer so I put them on AR15s I built since they are more compact and lighter overall. I did have to use a cheek riser on the bolt guns since the NV untis will sit pretty high for your eyes.
I removed this big ol prime male the other night when I caught it and its partner trying to separate a calf from the cow. Cow was doing her best to keep them at bay while the calf stayed put laying next to her. I was walking into a drainage the rancher had cattle in and saw this from the crest. They never knew I was there, so I sat down readied my rig and mouthed a few distress sounds. This guy broke away from the calf on the spot and trotted right at me, stopped and I dropped it, its partner lickity split, circled back around at my male barks, but said I aint a coming any closer yapping for its partner.
No question, I've killed more coyotes with various AR15s in 223 than with all my other rifles combined, and we're talking history that goes back to 1968. Have had very, very few dogs that failed to drop dead right where they were shot with 223s - either bolt rifles or ARs. I typically use Sierra 60HP Varminter bullets - heavy enough to do the job, yet light enough to get good velocity in an 18" bbl AR. But...I still want to try this 20 Tactical. Had reservations about even trying 32s out of this 1-9tw bbl - figured there was a chance they'd blow up before getting to the target. If I do use them, it won't be on targets larger than a badger or armadillo - which would both be another good application for a thermal scope. At least the dogs in your photos are healthy - we're still seeing some mangy ones out here. I shoot them whenever I get the chance, just to put 'em out of their misery if for no other reason.
