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Coyoting Hunt w/ MK12

greg1147

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Sep 12, 2017
    457
    375
    Virginia
    Have a offer to do some coyote hunting, is the MK12 a good choice or just bring the everyday shooter 16" barrel with the 1-8x32 suppressed.
    The MK12 will handle it but with ranges out 300 do I need it? The MK12 is suppressed AEM5 and optic is NF 3.5-15x50 not exactly correct but makes it easy on my eyes, LOL
     
    It shoots bullets right? Should kill some coyotes. I don't see why not unless you have weight concerns or just want more maneuverability when aiming and such.
     
    Predator hunting has its own set of skills but yeah that ol’ Mk12 will do just fine. Thermals and night vision are a big plus but it can be done for sure with a red filter spot light and discipline. It’s good fun.
     
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    Just use what ever makes you happy and you can comfortably shoot at odd positions..
    Sometimes I will go hump my 13 pound 223 bolt gun around chasing coyotes. Other times I am lazy and will grab a little 7lb gas gun. Sometimes I take a bolt action .243. They all work, I tend to prefer my 3-15, 4-16 or similar scopes compared to my LPVO. With my luck the day Im running an LPVO they will hold up further out, the day I have a high power scope they will run me over.
     
    Depends on your terrain and what your hunting group plans on doing. Do they try to call them in close (inside 100 yards), or do they just take the shot as it presents itself out to 300 or more yards? Are you hunting at night or during the day? Either setup will work. I personally would think a Mk12 with bigger optic would be not quite as efficient if you're consistently within 100 yards.

    I hunt them at night and use an SBR with red dot and IR laser. But my farthest shot is 200 yards across a wide open field. Unless you have thermal, you're not going to see a yote inside a tree line from 200 yards away with night vision.
     
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    I have been hunting coyotes over 30 years in the Midwest…had a few rifles in all them years,, my favorite rifle that has killed a few dogs is my Tikka compact 22-250, Leopold Scope,, hand loads,, even at 67 I can still smack at 250-300 off my shooting sticks. I have shot my 223 auto during the rut, but, heavy, best day ever,, 3 dogs in chasing,, no dogs left.. just wasn’t there day. I agree with a lot of this info,, how I hunted determined my set up.. cold cold weather is a great deal to get them up and moving,, when they are burning up the calories, they are coming to calls, hanging around live stock etc. I always want my rifle to be lite, easy to handle,,, you never know when one or two will decide to check out a mouse in a 400 yard bean field,, eat a dam mouse,, and then move on on your call,, split up,, then the fun begins,,, enough rambling from an old dog killer,,,I will tell you one more thing,,, I have killed more dogs with a hand call than E/caller,, yes,, ecallers have there place,,, but I can carry 3-5 hand calls,, different pitch levels,, and travel fast with out dragging around the plastic box…. I buy my calls, like a need another one, from custom call makers,, I want to sound different than Johnny Walmart !! Good Luck hunting an animal that has more survival skills than a wild Turkey,,, I wish you a lot of thrills!!!
    Charlie112
     
    What ammo do you plan on using?
    I had some Hornady reloads I was considering 60 gr V-Max but I also have 69 gr Sierra TMK over Ramshot TAC. But the trip is not for another 3 weeks so I have a day or two to figure that out.
     
    I have been hunting coyotes over 30 years in the Midwest…had a few rifles in all them years,, my favorite rifle that has killed a few dogs is my Tikka compact 22-250, Leopold Scope,, hand loads,, even at 67 I can still smack at 250-300 off my shooting sticks. I have shot my 223 auto during the rut, but, heavy, best day ever,, 3 dogs in chasing,, no dogs left.. just wasn’t there day. I agree with a lot of this info,, how I hunted determined my set up.. cold cold weather is a great deal to get them up and moving,, when they are burning up the calories, they are coming to calls, hanging around live stock etc. I always want my rifle to be lite, easy to handle,,, you never know when one or two will decide to check out a mouse in a 400 yard bean field,, eat a dam mouse,, and then move on on your call,, split up,, then the fun begins,,, enough rambling from an old dog killer,,,I will tell you one more thing,,, I have killed more dogs with a hand call than E/caller,, yes,, ecallers have there place,,, but I can carry 3-5 hand calls,, different pitch levels,, and travel fast with out dragging around the plastic box…. I buy my calls, like a need another one, from custom call makers,, I want to sound different than Johnny Walmart !! Good Luck hunting an animal that has more survival skills than a wild Turkey,,, I wish you a lot of thrills!!!
    Charlie112
    You are making me feel a little old I'm 74 and still can do the ruck just not as fast. I just tell the kids I'll catch up, slow is fast LOL
     
    I hunt coyotes around 100 days a year. This year life has gotten busy for me and I may miss that mark, although my hunting buddy @338dude and I are planning at least one more dedicated coyote trip this winter. We just got back from 4 days in New Mexico that were awesome. Anyways, I have about 15 rifles that their primary purpose at acquisition or assembly was for coyote hunting. I have had a bolt gun cost me more coyotes than almost any other decision related to the rifle setup. In my humble opinion, about the perfect coyote rifle is a mid weight ar15 with a dedicated varmint bullet, with a moderate barrel length. Something maneuverable, low recoil, fast follow ups, and my ideal scope mag range is a 3x-18×. I am in love with the 6mm arc for coyotes and believe it may be the best cartridge ever developed for coyote hunting. I've had mine for (maybe 2.5 years), and have changed barrel lengths a time or two, but find that it meets every wish I have. It tips them over at 5y and it is accurate enough and has the velocity to carry a heavier bullet to any reasonable distance. I am currently shooting 87gr v-max in a 22" barrel, and I am supersonic to beyond 950y. But, having said all that, when you are new to this sport, your rifle is about the least important factor in your coyote hunting success. Your rifle will work just fine.
     
    I hunt coyotes around 100 days a year. This year life has gotten busy for me and I may miss that mark, although my hunting buddy @338dude and I are planning at least one more dedicated coyote trip this winter. We just got back from 4 days in New Mexico that were awesome. Anyways, I have about 15 rifles that their primary purpose at acquisition or assembly was for coyote hunting. I have had a bolt gun cost me more coyotes than almost any other decision related to the rifle setup. In my humble opinion, about the perfect coyote rifle is a mid weight ar15 with a dedicated varmint bullet, with a moderate barrel length. Something maneuverable, low recoil, fast follow ups, and my ideal scope mag range is a 3x-18×. I am in love with the 6mm arc for coyotes and believe it may be the best cartridge ever developed for coyote hunting. I've had mine for (maybe 2.5 years), and have changed barrel lengths a time or two, but find that it meets every wish I have. It tips them over at 5y and it is accurate enough and has the velocity to carry a heavier bullet to any reasonable distance. I am currently shooting 87gr v-max in a 22" barrel, and I am supersonic to beyond 950y. But, having said all that, when you are new to this sport, your rifle is about the least important factor in your coyote hunting success. Your rifle will work just fine.
    How is that caliber and bullet on hides?? Is the West your killing ground,, nice to have long open shots,,, 87 v max is a fine bullet…and yes,, I have learned something every time I go to the field…
     
    Have a offer to do some coyote hunting, is the MK12 a good choice or just bring the everyday shooter 16" barrel with the 1-8x32 suppressed.
    The MK12 will handle it but with ranges out 300 do I need it? The MK12 is suppressed AEM5 and optic is NF 3.5-15x50 not exactly correct but makes it easy on my eyes, LOL

    I killed several coyotes with my mk12 clone using 52gr bullets. Worked fine. Whatever you feel comfortable shooting at 300-400 yards is a good choice.
     
    No sir, I have only been out west one time to hunt coyotes, and that was last month. We hunt in west and middle TN almost exclusively. The 87gr vmax is pretty rough on fur overall. If you don't hit bone it just pencils through typically, but if you catch that shoulder, it looks like you hit them with a 300 win mag. I may load down to 58gr v-max for our winter new mexico hunt just to try to save some fur. Here in TN it's really rare that we kill one worth skinning, so I'm most often just concerned with anchoring them.

    I'm going to share a picture of the damage caused by an 87gr vmax a week ago today. This was 260y and centered the shoulder. Adult, decent sized dog, 30lb+
     

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    The one next to was shot about 20 minutes earlier, 50y same bullet. No bone. Just a 6mm hole in and out. No significant fur damage. This year's pup, maybe 20lb.
     

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    I had some Hornady reloads I was considering 60 gr V-Max but I also have 69 gr Sierra TMK over Ramshot TAC. But the trip is not for another 3 weeks so I have a day or two to figure that out.
    Although I haven’t used it on any predators/varmint the Norma 77 grain match is shooting great out of my poor man’s 16” modern mk12. I also bought some of the sierra blitzking 55gr to run in my sbr for home defense. But Iv read great things about the accuracy and lethality of that round. Midway has them on sale for about 17 a box. Any hollow point or rapidly expanding/fragmenting round should do great on the light skinned yotes. Take it from my experience m193 doesn’t work well unless it’s a head shot.
     
    A 50lb coyote?

    Did you see flyers all over the neighborhood the next week where some little girl was missing her dog? You shot a German Shepard sir.

    HA!

    Nope it was a coyote. Roughly the same height as my labrador at the shoulder. I shot him when they were nose to nose then throw his ass over the fence onto my neighbors property.
     
    The last one I saw while bow hunting was so big and dark, I thought it was someone's German Shepard at first glance. I was pissed, who the fuck's letting their dog run around in the woods!
    I watch videos of hunts out west and think "look at them scrawny little things". :)
     
    You have black coyotes? I need to swing by. I need one for a full body mount. I've only ever seen one in my life, and it had been hit by a car in southern Mississippi.