12 ga. Coyote loads

when i used a shotgun, i loaded it with 2 3/4 or 3 inch #4 buckshot or winchester varmint BB loads. drops coyotes, fox and bobcats right there if you hit them right. my kills were between 40 and 50 yards.

update: forgot to add i use a Carlsons dead coyote choke
 
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I shot and killed well over one hundred 20 to 35 pound coyotes with 3"copper coated lead BB loads and 2-3/4" lead T shot loads. The lead T shot load with less pellets hit the coyotes much harder than the copper coated BB loads that had more pellets per shell.

I never did like lead number 4 buck loads because of the low pellet count. I am pretty sure my 2-3/4" 12 ga T shot loads had 46 pellets in each shell and the number 4 buck 3" shells had 41 pellets per shell.

The 12g/cc, 15g/cc and 18g/cc tungsten loads pattern WAY BETTER than lead loads do. When I first patterned Rem HD BB loads that had 70 to 72 pellets per 3" shell and compared them to Federal Factory 1-7/8 BB loads that had 98 pellets per shell, the lead BB load that had about 26 more pellets put 16 less pellets per shell in a 12" circle at 40 yards away. The very hard HD BB pellets out penetrated the lead BB shot and broke way more coyote bones because the HD pellets didn't deform when they hit bone.

Lead shot and tungsten shot dose not need to be going over 1300 fps because it doesn't slow down real fast like steel shot dose.

Federal, Hevi-Shot and Remington didn't even know how good their 12g/cc and 15g/cc shot was, some of their waterfowl and coyote loads had tungsten shot in them that was to big, so the pellet counts were lower than they should have been.

I took the Federal Heavyweight 15g/cc #2 shot out of factory goose loads and reloaded it in 3" 1-1/2 oz loads to shoot at coyotes. The 3" 1-1/2 oz BB HD loads with about 72 pellets per shell and my 3" 1-1/2 oz Federal Heavyweight #2 shot loads with about 90 pellets per shell. These two loads with 70 to 90 pellets per shell were much better loads on coyotes than lead number 4 buck with 41 pellets or Dead Coyote loads with 50 T shot pellets per load.

When I got the KPY Shotshell Ballistics I figured I wanted at least 3.70" of penetration in 20% gel. I came up with the 3.70" of penetration needed to kill or breakdown 20 to 35 pound coyotes based off of all the coyotes I had shot and seen shot with copper coated lead BB 1-7/8 oz loads.

BPI sells lead BBB and lead T shot. I think these two sizes of lead shot are about the perfect size for shooting coyotes. If you don't shoot over 40 yards away lead BB shot will get the job done.

From KPY Shotshell Ballistics. Just to make this simple all of the below loads will be 1250 fps and 1-1/2 oz loads and the range at they get 3.70" of 20% gel penetration.

Lead BB shot, 77 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 43.7 yards.
Lead BBB shot, 65 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 52.9 yards.
Lead T shot, 56 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 62.9 yards.
Rem HD 12g/cc BB shot, 70 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 59.3 yards.
Rem HD 12g/cc T shot, 51 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 81.7 yards.
Fed HW 15g/cc #2 shot, 97 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 67.3 yards.
TSS 18g/cc #4 shot, 124 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 76 yards.
TSS 18g/cc #3 shot, 100 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 93.3 yards.
TSS 18g/cc #2 shot, 81 pellets, get 3.70" of gel penetration at 111.8 yards.

And just to show you how lousy steel shot is, at 1550 fps steel T shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 24.5 yards.

I use a modified choke when shooting TSS #2, #3 and #4 shot. I think the TSS #3 and #4 shot are perfect for shooting coyotes plenty of range with very high pellet counts per shell.

I have to shoot lead free shot while hunting. If I could still use lead shot for coyotes it would be lead BBB or lead T shot. Look above at the range you get with lead BBB and lead T shot compared to lead BB shot. Both the lead BBB and lead T shot 1-1/2 oz loads have way more pellets than the much harder kicking lead #4 buck 3" factory loads that only have 41 pellets per shell.
 
Thank you ! I’m not a big fan of #4 buck due to pellet count being lower and it’s very hard to get to pattern well for me. I tried some again this morning and just not a fan. I know some guys have great results with it tho. I’m most likely going with the BBB loads or f shot. About 13 in a 12” circle is the best I can get but with shot that size it should do the trick. I can’t seem to get 18-20 in a 12” circle like some guys but that’s ok I guess. 👍
 
It all depends on how well they pattern. If you can hit them in the head and neck at 40 yards with that load it'll kill them. Which in my opinion is the best place to shoot a coyote with any load out of any shotgun if possible.

I shot a mean ass 80+ pound dog one time at about 35 yards with 2 3/4" #7 1/2 shot out of a 20 gauge and it only made it a short distance before piling up. Hit it in the neck, face, and ribcage. There's not a coyote alive that can live up to what that dog was in its lifetime. It was big and bad to the bone. Little ol' dove shot put an end to that. If the shells you loaded up pattern good I'd say run them and shotgun coyotes in the head. Not to say a shot to the body can't or won't kill them. It definitely would. But I try to shoot them in the head/neck area. Lets say you do get a few flyers but they don't connect with the skull or neck but still hits fur. Where are they most likely going to hit? The spine, heart, lungs and the list goes on and on. Places that will stop it long enough to shoot it again. If it starts spinning just keep shooting until it falls over. If it don't, throw your shotgun in the dirt and kill it with something else.
 
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It all depends on how well they pattern. If you can hit them in the head and neck at 40 yards with that load it'll kill them. Which in my opinion is the best place to shoot a coyote with any load out of any shotgun if possible.

I shot a mean ass 80+ pound dog one time at about 35 yards with 2 3/4" #7 1/2 shot out of a 20 gauge and it only made it a short distance before piling up. Hit it in the neck, face, and ribcage. There's not a coyote alive that can live up to what that dog was in its lifetime. It was big and bad to the bone. Little ol' dove shot put an end to that. If the shells you loaded up pattern good I'd say run them and shotgun coyotes in the head.
If you have the willpower to not shoot otherwise. That is if you are depending on a head neck shot kill.

In my opinion (not worth spit or what you paid for it), shotguns just kill different. I do not rely on or expect 1 shot kills, although most have been. If not a 1 shot kill, I want shot big enough and heavy enough for penetration and broken bones to allow as many follow up shots as needed to stop all movement. I referring to lead shot here. TSS is a completely different animal.
While a pellet or 2 to the lungs or heart will most definitely produce a dead coyote, that doesn't always equal a recovered coyote.
I don't load shot shells. The only affordable options to me are 00 or 4B. Affordable being the key word here.
Of those I choose 4B in a 3". If I could find affordable shells between 4B and BB I'd give them a shot at least on the pattern board and then coyotes if I liked what I saw.

I'd never (yes, the N word) use or suggest any size birdshot unless it's TSS or similar.

Warning, I am not the shotgun guru that DABob, DAA, GC or others are.
 
If you have the willpower to not shoot otherwise. That is if you are depending on a head neck shot kill.

In my opinion (not worth spit or what you paid for it), shotguns just kill different. I do not rely on or expect 1 shot kills, although most have been. If not a 1 shot kill, I want shot big enough and heavy enough for penetration and broken bones to allow as many follow up shots as needed to stop all movement. I referring to lead shot here. TSS is a completely different animal.
While a pellet or 2 to the lungs or heart will most definitely produce a dead coyote, that doesn't always equal a recovered coyote.
I don't load shot shells. The only affordable options to me are 00 or 4B. Affordable being the key word here.
Of those I choose 4B in a 3". If I could find affordable shells between 4B and BB I'd give them a shot at least on the pattern board and then coyotes if I liked what I saw.

I'd never (yes, the N word) use or suggest any size birdshot unless it's TSS or similar.

Warning, I am not the shotgun guru that DABob, DAA, GC or others are.

Lance good post, you bring some excellent points to the discussion.
 
Lots of the coyotes we kill are running very fast coming to us or running away. If a coyote is running 30 mph or faster through the bushes or brush it is not easy to shoot them in the head. If the coyote is running away it takes larger pellets that give plenty of penetration to break down or stop them so they can be shot again.

I have killed some fast running coyotes in the 50 to 70 yard range when I missed behind them, I could clearly see the pattern hit the ground behind the coyote. So on my next shot I lead them 5 to 10 ft farther and hit them and killed them.

I kill way more running coyotes with my shotgun than I do standing coyotes. There are quite a few shotgun loads that can kill coyotes that are shot in the head at 40 yards or less. I want shotgun loads that will break down, kill or flip over coyotes that are shot in the a$$.
 


In the above video at about 4 minutes and 33 seconds I shot two times at a coyote with 3" 1-/2 oz of TSS #3 shot loads. The coyote was laying dead at 72 yards so it may have been shot at 68 yards or so. I shot behind it on the first shot and then lead it more and killed or broke it down on the second shot. There was a canyon between us and the ridge that the coyote was running on. The coyote would have died but the TSS #3 shot stopped the coyote by breaking it down.
 


In the above video at about 4 minutes and 33 seconds I shot two times at a coyote with 3" 1-/2 oz of TSS #3 shot loads. The coyote was laying dead at 72 yards so it may have been shot at 68 yards or so. I shot behind it on the first shot and then lead it more and killed or broke it down on the second shot. There was a canyon between us and the ridge that the coyote was running on. The coyote would have died but the TSS #3 shot stopped the coyote by breaking it down.

You apparently shoot lots of dogs. What would you say would be a good 10-12” pellet count at 40 yards? With F or BBB…
 
One thing I would consider is how far you plan on shooting. Are you saving fur to sell, are you hunting contest or is it purely for predator control? Is it more open where you live or thicker brush where 35-40 yards is the furthest you'll be shootin? If I were gaining anything by shooting TSS that's definitely the route I would take. If you're hunting contest or selling fur so that some of that money is coming back to you, definitely go that route. That's the only reason I'd choose TSS over lead shot.

For me I got tired of lugging both a rifle and a shotgun around. After seeing a coyote take 3 rounds of Remington #4 buck during a contest and running off I decided a .450 Bushmaster was a better deal. 100 yards and in it'll pattern better than a shotgun and break them down whether they're coming, going or standing still. If you're saving fur though, that's not the best option for sure. But I can say from 0 to 100 yards a 250 grain Hornady FTX hits harder than any shotgun load you can buy.
 
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On almost every coyote calling stand we make we have a shotgun shooter and a rifle shooter. If the coyote runs right up to within 30 to 40 yards of our Foxpro the shotgun shooter shoots. If the coyote stops between 40 to 250 yards or so the rifle shooter shoots the coyote. We don't make any sounds to try to stop coyotes when they are running towards our Foxpro.

Before we started using shotguns in open country we had a fair amount of coyotes run right up to our cassette callers and turn and run off and get away. When we started using shotguns and put the shotgun shooter 10 to 20 yards from the e-caller not very many coyotes that ran up to our e-caller got away.
IMG_0260 - Copy by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156463377@N08/, on Flickr
In the above picture, in wide open country with no cover the rancher's son is laying down on the left and my Foxpro is in the middle of the picture. On the right side of the picture is a coyote that ends up getting killed with a shotgun by the ranchers son. About 10 minutes before this coyote showed up I killed a coyote with my 243 Win laying prone.

In the country we hunt in, a good rifle and shotgun shooter will kill more coyotes than two good rifle shooters will over 4 months of coyote calling. Most of the ranches we hunt on, only 40% to 60% of the ranches are good rifle calling country. By using a shotgun or shotguns it make the whole ranch good for coyote calling.


Since we have to use lead free shot on coyotes we use12g/cc, 15g/cc or 18gr/cc shot. Steel and Bismuth shot won't work very good at all on coyotes.
 
It is strictly for predator control. Not saving any fur. Most of my shots will be 50 yards and under in the timber. There are some pine areas I could hunt which could be 50ish but as we all know in the hardwoods you will most likely not get a 50 yard shot.
I won’t be packing both firearms. If I go to the woods it will be a scatter gun for sure. Other than that it will be an AR or bolt for open areas.
Will probably stick with lead for now since I have a bunch I can load myself.
 
On almost every coyote calling stand we make we have a shotgun shooter and a rifle shooter. If the coyote runs right up to within 30 to 40 yards of our Foxpro the shotgun shooter shoots. If the coyote stops between 40 to 250 yards or so the rifle shooter shoots the coyote. We don't make any sounds to try to stop coyotes when they are running towards our Foxpro.

Before we started using shotguns in open country we had a fair amount of coyotes run right up to our cassette callers and turn and run off and get away. When we started using shotguns and put the shotgun shooter 10 to 20 yards from the e-caller not very many coyotes that ran up to our e-caller got away.
IMG_0260 - Copy by Robert Morris, on Flickr
In the above picture, in wide open country with no cover the rancher's son is laying down on the left and my Foxpro is in the middle of the picture. On the right side of the picture is a coyote that ends up getting killed with a shotgun by the ranchers son. About 10 minutes before this coyote showed up I killed a coyote with my 243 Win laying prone.

In the country we hunt in, a good rifle and shotgun shooter will kill more coyotes than two good rifle shooters will over 4 months of coyote calling. Most of the ranches we hunt on, only 40% to 60% of the ranches are good rifle calling country. By using a shotgun or shotguns it make the whole ranch good for coyote calling.


Since we have to use lead free shot on coyotes we use12g/cc, 15g/cc or 18gr/cc shot. Steel and Bismuth shot won't work very good at all on coyotes.
Many times sitting and calling I wish I had both. I generally hunt by myself. Have missed many opportunities due to them getting in close too quickly both day and night. Even with good thermal equipment if your not a hoot owl they can be right in your lap in no time as you know.
 
I think I would try a TPS wad with your Patternmaster, if you can find a load. My books are calling for Steel or Bluedot for that wad.
 

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