Coyote Vs. Mosin-Nagant M-44 7.62x54R

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

It took three years of frustration, but I FINALLY got rid of one of the coy-dogs (Coyote-Dog hybrid) that’s been plaguing our property and putting our pets at risk (a few cats, a mini Dachsund and a chihuaua (sadly, they wouldn’t let me use that neurotic yappy thing as bait… :wink: )

A crisp Winters day, fluffy Cumulus clouds in the sky, a blanket of snow on the field, my Sis calls up and tells me the that “Wile-E” (no, not the SDMB poster, I have no problem with that Wile-E" :wink: ) is out in the field, so, the first question that springs to mind is “what gun to use”, I don’t want a replay of the disastrous “Fox Incident” (search for my “Hunter’s lament” thread for that one)

Ruger 10/22 .22 with a 25 round mag of CCI Velocitors? nope, not powerful enough, would annoy the animal
CZ-75B 9mm pistol? nope, need more range, and the CZ is sighted in for close up work
Kimber Custom II .45? nope, see the CZ for why…
Mossberg 500 12-gauge? hmm, possibly, but it would require getting somewhat close, less than 60 yards…
Mosin-Nagant M-44? that seems like the best choice, accurate out to 1000 yards, and tosses a good size (30 caliber) projectile, drop in 5 rounds and deploy bayonet (the gun is sighted in with Bayo out…)

I grab my binocs and hearing protectors (the M-44 is one loud monster of a gun…) go into the field, doing my best Elmer Fudd impression…

“Be vewwy vewwy quiet, I’m hunting coydogs, hehehehe…”

after about a half hour of careful stalking, I see a flash of gray behind the woodlot, I raise the binocs up, sure enough, it’s the coydog trotting out of the woodlot, and into my line of fire

I check my background, it’s safe, open, rolling hills, good backstop, and estimate distance, about 200 yards, slide the sightbar to “2”, and raise the rifle, leading the sights just enough to compensate for the coy’s gait

I squeeze the trigger

the first round strikes the coy a little low, and he runs, I quickly work the bolt, loading the next round, bring the sights to center-mass, and lead the target, squeezing off round 2…

the Coy drops, prone, not moving, Success!

I approach my prey, waiting for signs of movement, it’s legs start to twitch, like it’s playing possum, I raise the rifle and fire off round 3 into center mass

all movement ceases

I approach my prey, it’s dead, three bullet holes, one in the left rear flank (shot one), one just to the left of center mass (hence it trying to get up again, I think…), and shot 3, through the heart

I’m still pissed at myself for needing three rounds to dispatch the animal, it suffered needlessly, but once again, I made the mistake of using FMJ (full metal jacketed) rounds, they tore through the animal instead of mushrooming inside, problem is, the only rounds available for the Nagant are FMJ

using this as a learning experience, i’ve learned;

1; leading a running target is critical for accuracy
2; USE HOLLOW POINT ROUNDS for a humane kill, FMJ are inhumane and not appropriate for hunting
3; in this case, I should have used the 12 gauge with rifled slugs, the M44 fires a 7.62mm projectile, essentially a .30 caliber, a 12-gauge slug is a .70 caliber projectile even if it doesn’t expand
4; I will be picking up a set of reloading dies, primers, and hollow point bullets so I can reload hunting rounds for my M-44, FMJ are only good for target shooting
5; I should have carried one of my pistols with me, in case I ran out of ammo for the M-44 or the coydog approached too closely, as the M-44’s minimum sight-in distance is 100 yards, if it got closer, or charged me (it is a predator, after all, and a wounded predator is unpredictable) it would have been difficult to snap off a close range shot with the M-44, and bayoneting it would be too messy…

I don’t like killing animals at all, I’m a live-and-let-live kinda’ guy, but this coydog family (there’s at least two of them) has been bothering our animals for the longest time, and these coys are not intimidated by humans in the least, the last thing we need is one of them attacking my niece or nephew

oh, and to give you an idea of how loud the M-44 is, I was easily 1/4 mile away from the house, and my parents asked me “what were you shooting, it sounded like a cannon!”

I’m sorry, Mr. Coydog, I really did not want to shoot you, but we gave you plenty of chances to leave of your own volition, I only hope your ?mate? decides to leave our property, neither of you are welcome here, but I don’t want to have to shoot your compatriot, but I will if I have to, be warned…

2

Good job. Too bad this wild dog was running around your property, but I’m glad you dispatched it quickly and safely. I enjoy the sound a a coyote chorus and don’t have a problem with them if they stay out in the brush, but I guess there aren’t enough mice to support a very large population and they would rather eat chickens, cats and chihuahuas.

3

By co-incidence, MacTech, I had my M44 out yesterday, just to get out a bit, and pester the trash at the local dumpsite/range.

Your FMJ, was that some Brown Bear, or that corrosive Bulgarian surplus?
(Those are the two I seem to find in 7.6254R.)

If you do re-load, PM me. I could send you brass.

4

I’m no hunter, that much is clear, and I definitely need to work on shot placement if I want to be good enough to do a one-shot-kill, but what I can’t figure out is this…

the M-44 fires a 30 caliber projectile, the 7.62x54R is one of the oldest centerfire cartridge still in production, made back in 1891, it’s killed millions of humans, as well as game animals larger than a simple coyote, it’s a known, effective round, there’s no debate there

so why did it take me three rounds to put down the coydog, which is a much smaller animal than a human, or even a deer (the 7.62x54R is used succesfully as a deer cartridge), I “brought enough gun” to the fight, the only thing I can think of is that I really need to work on my shot placement for moving targets

I’m pretty sure the failure/weak link in this hunting experience is ME, then again, this is only the second time I have ever raised a firearm to end the life of another animal, I really hate doing this, but what really disturbs me is that I’m becoming okay with this, killing this coydog disturbed me a lot less than when I had to kill the potentially rabid fox a few months back, heck, I still feel bad about that one to this day, I don’t like the idea that I’m becoming desensitized about ending the life of an animal, that truly disturbs me…

then again, I’ve always seen the coydog as a threat to my niece and nephew and our small group of pets, so maybe the reason I don’t feel as bad killing the coy is because I saw it as a predator, an “equal” if you will, wheras the fox seemed more “helpless and innocent”

I don’t think I could hunt deer, unless I was starving and needed food, as they also seem to have that “innocence” about them but I have less resistance to hunting a predator, as we’re a little more on “equal terms” as it were…

5

It was Winchester white box ammo, my local gunshop doesn’t have any surplus ammo in stock, just commercial

I’ll PM you about the brass, are you a reloader too? if you are, or if any Dopers that reload are interested, I have a bunch of 9mm Luger brass that I don’t reload that’s available, I reload mainly for my .45 ACP, but I’m thinking of picking up some 7.62x54R dies as well

I’m also torn between putting a scope on the M44, or staying with the irons, the coyote was taken with irons, and I do like the unobstructed view of iron sights, but I also like the accuracy of scopes, they just make it really tough for moving targets, even on minimum magnification…

6

I think your problem was using a such a small caliber. When I’m hunting coyotes, I use a slightly larger projectile.

:wink:

Incidentally, I also have a Mosin-Nagant M44. Lovely rifle, though unfortunately I haven’t had much opportunity to practice with it beyond ranges of about 50 yards. I’m not sure I would have been able to even hit a moving coyote on the first shot at 200 yards, notwithstanding the fact that I’d also hate to have to shoot a fuzzy woodland creature, even one with sharp teeth that was threatening to eat my fuzzy domestic creatures…

7

Wouldn’t a sound “like a cannon going off” and a shell into the ground near the coyote, have been sufficient to deter the animal from approaching your property? Perhaps you could try this out with the one that is still alive?

8

As a former South Dakota resident, I will guarantee that there is no noise that will scare away a coyote for good. If you want it gone permanently, you either kill it or trap it and take it a few hundred miles away before releasing it.