Looking for a 50-yard shotshell specifically designed to take coyote? Â Consider the brand new Heavy Magnum Coyote load from Hornady.
The new Heavy Magnum Coyote load is a 3″ Magnum shell loaded with 1.5 ounces of 00-buck or BB shot. Â The shot is lead with nickel-plating. Â From the muzzle, these loads are making 1300 fps. Â Expect that they might kick a little bit.
Hornady claims these loads are good to 50 yards as they use a special Versatite wad that provides tighter patterns at longer distances. Â Several other manufacturers are also making shotshell loads that estimate good patterns up to 70 yards. Â These are all a lot better than the 25+ yards I am used to with “standard” 00-buck loads.
I’ve never hunted coyote, much less done so with a shotgun. Â Assuming there are no hunting restrictions, I would think an AR chambered in .223 would be an excellent coyote gun. Â However, I see no reason why this load wouldn’t be deadly effective on them as well. Â If the patterns hold to 50 yards, that’s a darn fine load.
Hornady makes special mention that this load is an economical choice when compared to tungsten options. Â I presume the cost on these is roughly the same as other premium hunting ammo, but I do not have any MSRP information currently. Â By way of comparison, a box of 10 Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote shells goes for $41.99 at Midway USA. Â Midway also has the Winchester Xtended Range coyote shells priced at $15.29 for a box of five. Â So, I would guess Hornady may try to bring these in under $10/box.
Currently, there aren’t a lot of choices on the market for coyote-specific ammunition. Â In addition to the Hevi-Shot and Winchester loads mentioned above, Federal also makes a coyote load. Â Coyote loads for the 12 gauge definitely seem to be a small niche, and it is interesting that Hornady is jumping into this market. Â Presumably, the cost of manufacturing isn’t too bad, but developing the loads has to take a significant amount of man-hours.
Are there a lot of people taking coyote with 12 gauge shotguns? Â I presume that if you kept a Remington 870 in the truck while you were on the ranch, it would be helpful to have some long-reaching shotshells ready to go for predator control. Â Beyond that, however, I just don’t know how big the market is for these shells.
Sound off in the comments section if you have some experience in taking coyote, either as a sport or as predator control. Â Are you using a shotgun? Â AR15?
Its a small niche, but growing, particularly east of the Mississippi, where the hunting is done in heavy woods or close to population. Also, night hunting coyote is becoming more common, and often there is a rifle prohibition, or if not, a hunter (smartly) opts for a shotgun.
I shot at one with an arrow and the coyote ducked under it.
With high antimony, nickel plated pellets, versatite wad and 1300 fps velocity, the 12 pellet 00B version should provide superior patterns for deer hunters. Yes, from Vermont to Florida and even in Washington State, Buckshot remains a popular and effective load for deer hunting. Good move Hornady – How about some deer hunting videos for this great new buckshot round!
And Iowa only allows shotgun or muzzleloaders during firearms deer season.
I believe Hornady has a winner in these shells at the MSRP price of just under $15.00. We have coyotes here, but so far I have not had any issues with them. But these shells have two attractions to me; the first is the fact that I intend to use them as Home Defense loads. Since there is no extended family in our house, and our nearest neighbor is over 200 yards away, I have no concern about limiting collateral damage to other property or personnel. So if I have to use my HD weapon I want it to do as much damage as possible with every pull of the trigger. The fact they reach out effectively to 50 yards is a plus not a minus for me.
Secondly, if I do have issues with our local coyotes, they will come in hand y as well.
I do not understand the person that doubted that there was much of a market for these shells. I guess the fact that they are currently unavailable from any supplier says I may have more folks thinking like i do than those that think like Richard does in the original article.
I just ran across this while searching for reviews on this ammo. I think there is a big market for such ammo. Rich says “Are there a lot of people taking coyote with 12 gauge shotguns?”. Well here in the northeast when we run hounds we use almost exclusively 12 gauge for bobcats, fox, and coyote. Also calling coyotes, fox, and bobcats in cover a shot gun is much more of an asset than a rifle. Also the AR is not even a legal hunting choice here. I hope this round pans out because $45 for heavyshot is a little pricey for this poor boy.