.357 loads for coyotes

David LaPell

David LaPell

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Anyone have a nice short range load for coyotes with a .357 out to say 50 yards?
 
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I have two loads for the 357Mag. One is what I give the wife to shoot. It is .5gr under the minimum Speer #8 load for a 158gr LSWC in 357Mag brass. It develops 1280fps from the 6" M586 and 1580fps from her Marlin 1894 Cowboy special.

Recently, I developed a load that I got from Brian Pearce. In one of the Rifle magazines, he did an article on Marlin Rifles, the 1894 to be exact. He developed a bunch of loads but the one I use is his maximum for a 158gr XTP and Lil' Gun.

It pushed that solid HP bullet to 2100fps from her rifle. Puts them into a neat one inch group at 50yards too. If that don't do it for a 'Yote, nothing will! :)

I shot my last one on the run @ 125yards with a 308, and yes, I had witnesses! ;)
 
Coyotes are not very large or particularly hard to kill. They have no really large or heavy bones. A fast expanding bullet would be a good choice. In .357, I would lean towards a good 125 grain JHP over a warm charge of W-296.
 
The yotes I have shot in the last few years were done in by either 45 acp ball or 158 gr LSWC 38 sp +P. These are what I am most accurate with out of my guns, and you do have to hit them to kill them.

Both of these loads are good to 50 yds and then some.
 
125 gr. JHP over 9.0 gr. Unique, std. primer. Very accurate load in my 586, like 1" at 25 yards just shooting over the knees in a sitting position.

Coyotes are small and pretty flimsily built. you'll need to be able to consistently hit a 6" diameter circle at whatever range you're going to set as your max. I wouldn't be surprised if that 125 gr. would go through one stem to stern.
 
A 125 JSP over 15 grains of Alliant 2400 has been really accurate for me and should take care of any coyote. Throws a really nice fireball too!
 
I am perfectly fine with a good 357mag load for white-tail at ranges of 50yds of less. I know many who agree and have kills to prove it. I haven't had the luck of getting a shot yet. So I would imagine a coyote is a non issue and practically any 357mag load should do the job if your a good shot.

When it comes to handgun hunting, I never understood the desire to use anything bigger than a 44mag for white-tail, but to each their own.
 
If you can get cast bullets, a gas check 358156 155 grain semi wadcutter bullet over 12.5 grains of 2400 was Skeeter Skelton's load (one of them). It's a good solid load. Personally I have shot 13grs 2400, not much difference. It's good for deer so I imagine it would be no stretch to shoot coyotes.
 
158gr XTP over a warm charge of H110 is very effective on coyotes . . . IF you don't care about the pelt.
 
For their 125gn choices, Sierra says 3N38 is the most accurate, 1800fps from a 16-1/2" bbl. Personally, I load 140gn, 158gn, and 180gn with this powder for a 3" L-frame.
 
I have never got a 'yote with a .357 mag (yet) but 158 gr XTPs with 16 grains of 296 are nearly one hole at 50 yards with my Henry.
 
I would use at least a 140 gr bullet and up . a max load of IMR 4227 or Accurate #9 would be my choice of powder .
Skeeter Skelton's load using the Lyman 358156 cast bullet ( has 2 crimp grooves) was 13.5 grs of then , Hercules 2400 powder . Using the lower crimp groove he seated the bullet in 38spl brass . I have shot a buzillion of these and yes , they are very very accurate .
BTW , Alliant has NOT changed the burn rate of 2400 . I contacted the company with that question .
 
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My son shot a coyote at about 60 yards a few months ago with the 4" 66 I gave him and a 173 gr. Keith SWC over a stout but not max load of AA-9. I would have expected that a dog hit with that hard, non-expanding though sharp-shouldered bullet would have run a ways before piling up. 'Yote dropped deader'n easy credit. I have killed another coyote with that same bullet and one feral dog (a pit bull that was running deer on a neighbor's farm). Both were DRN. That said, I'd agree with others that it would seem a lighter, expanding bullet would be the ticket. I like the 140 gr. Speer a lot and would think that'd be a dandy coyote bullet with a mid to upper level powder charge.
 
Been shooting at and usually hitting coyotes for over 50 years. A big male coyote in this part of the planet will weigh about 30-40 pds and the female 10% smaller. Earlier poster who talked about a 6" circle on hitting a yote has proven to be true for me.

Coyotes are "tough" way beyond their looks or size. They require a solid hit in the vitals to make a clean kill. I remember putting 3 rds of 9mm ball in a coyote at 20 to 40 yards, seeing the bullets impact by puffs of dust and the coyote ran over the hill and got away. Quit packing 9mm until the JHP was introduced to 9mm. Best long range round I ever used on a Coyote was a 100 bullet out of a 25-06.
 
Any bullets 158gr. or higher is what I been using whatever powder you like. Heck a 180gr. Remington HTP wrecked a whistle pig once and I haven't seen any coyote yet close enough to try the 357 on yet.
 
I would use a FMJ or cast bullet that was accurate and call it good. They are not hard to kill. But, if they are prime they are worth some money if not badly torn up. I use a 223 with lightly constructed 52gr HP. Usually just a hole going in. But, stuff happens, shot one with a real pointy FMJ and because of the angle it left about a 8" rip.
 
I'm assuming you're talking about a rifle load.

My preferred .357 Magnum load in a Rossi 92 rifle is 20.0 gr of Win 296 under a Hornady 125 gr XTP. That's the maximum load in the Hornady 9th Edition manual shot in a Rossi 92, which is a lot stronger than a Henry or 1873.

I get an average velocity of 2210 fps in my 24 inch Model 92 rifle and 2170 fps in my 20 inch Model 92 rifle. The XTP bullets are hard to beat for accuracy and both my rifles produce 2" five shot groups with that load at 100 yards using a Marbles tang sight with Merit #3 or #4 aperture and a Lyman 17AHB front sight.

For a 3" target radius, I zero my Model 92s so that they are 3.0" high at 100 yards. That results in a 155 yd zero, and keeps the bullet within +/-3" of the line of sight all the way out to 180 yards. The MV at 180 yards is still 1370 fps, but it's farther than most folks should be shooting an iron sighted rifle at a coyote.

At 50 yards, that zero leaves the bullet 2 1/4" high at 50 yards, which is pleasantly high enough to prevent you from covering the intended impact point with the front sight.

-----

If you're talking about a revolver, my preferred load is a 125 gr XTP on top of 8.5 gr of Unique. The maximum load in the Hornady 2nd Edition is 9.4 gr, and while I've shot 9.0 grains I chose to back down to 8.5 grs as the cases start sticking in the chambers above that point, and I prefer them to drop free.

Velocity in revolvers is a little harder to predict as it varies with chamber dimensions and cylinder gap as well as barrel length, but you can count on at least 1200 fps in a 4" or longer barrel with this load.
 
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