SmallCaliberCentral

I went out behind the house because Rhett said he heard coyotes when he was shooting hoops, getting ready for his game in the morning, so he says. We got the kids down for bed and I wasn't gonna go out because I got alot to do but couldn't take it. Glad I did. Hit this one around the 10 minute mark. He had some mange and I wasn't gonna bring this one back. Also the 39 BK made a nice exit.
Sorry for the pics, left camera at house and I used my Blackberry.



Thing is Melvin as shot one or two that had it and I have shot two. Hope this doesn't get any worse.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Song Dog--You sure messed up that coyote's day!! It appears you made the shot right through the neck. Was there a splash wound? What diameter was the exit wound? I've been using the 39 gr. Sierra for a couple coyote seasons now and haven't had any splash wounds and seldom get and exit. The red fox I shot on Monday, had a nasty exit wound though, but I think the 39 gr. Sierra is the wrong bullet for fox.

Thanks for posting the photos and story.

No plash. I did have to kick him over to see where all the blood was coming from and found the exit. Its about a 1/2 dollar or so.
I am liking the 204 more and more. Especially when you hear the whack and watch the drop.

In Christ,

Song Dog

song dog what distance did you hit him at?

Funny you wouuld ask that.
There was a feild road that I expected them to come down, which was to the left of me. When I saw him (eyes) I got on him and noticed that he seem rather small (I knew where my scope was) so I was sure he was at the feild road. Well when I shot. I went back to calling, nothing else showed up so I made a B line to the field road and walked down it.
I couldn't believe it, I couldn't find him but I knew he went straight down. I tooked the red lense off my Lightforce and shined across the field, there he was about 50 yards off the road. Which was closer to me. The shot was around 75 yards give or take a few. The reason he looked small, is that he was

In Christ,

Song Dog

Nice shooting....

Hi Silverfox, you say you think the 39g is not best for fox! What would you recommend? Fox where i live are around 10 to 15 lbs, would like a bullet to get inside and froth em up but not exit. Do all small fast bullets get thwarted by a bone on the way in? thanks KB.

kenbrofox--Are you reloading your own shells or buying them off the shelf? I don't think there's any off-the shelf .204 Ruger ammo that I'd take out fox hunting if I intended to save the hides. My personal opinion is that the .204 Ruger is just a bit too much for consistently saving red fox hides. I'm not sure there's any 100% guaranteed "no damage bullet" out of a .204 Ruger for fox. If you are reloading I'd say a 35 gr. FBHP Berger loaded down in speed (just guessing, but something in the 3,300 to 3,500 fps range) might be a good choice. I have my 39 gr. Sierras loaded so they leave the muzzle at around 3,866 fps. That's been excellent coyote medicine, but IMHO it is just too much power for the fragile red fox.

Heavy bones will often deflect the path of a bullet and maybe even fragment it, but I wouldn't generalize and say that "all small fast bullets get thwarted by bone on the way in." Again, it depends on the construction of the bullet, IMHO. If your projectile has a very fragile jacket or a tip that is intended to make the projectile "explode" on impact, then bone will most likely "thwart" the bullet. I wish I had a good recommendation for you as to what bullet to use on fox. Maybe someone else will chime in here who has had more experience with the .204 Ruger and saving fox hides.

Song Dog -

Good Shootin'! I noticed your are located in Palmyra, I'm originally from Auburn but live up in Bloomington.

Squatting Wolf wrote:Song Dog -

Good Shootin'! I noticed your are located in Palmyra, I'm originally from Auburn but live up in Bloomington.

Yep, I know where Auburn is I have a good friend in Bloomington who likes to call coyotes. How long have you been gone from Auburn?

In Christ,

Song Dog

Well I came up to Illinois State to go to school and ended up getting a job in town. I've been up here 4-5 years now. I still get back "home" a fair amount. I still enjoy going to to Left Handers gun range there in Loami. I'll be headed down that way this weekend to meet up with my brother to head to Pittsfield to go deer hunting.

Get a chance maybe we can meet. I'll get Melvin and have a small forum get together
You can get me off my site.
Good luck on the deer hunting.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Silverfox, thanks for that. Up to now i've only used hornady 32g factory loads but i'm just getting the tackle and components together to try reloading ( all down to joining this excellent forum) but hav'nt sourced auy bullet heads yet. I'm not bothered about hides as there is no market for them here, i'd just prefer the bullet did'nt exit so that i know it's not going anywhere else after the fox. Cheers KB.