finally caught a yotie

Mobuck · Jan 21, 2026

We'd set two coyote traps in spots I can see from the barnyard and yesterday morning, I noticed a darker spot next to one of them. Got the dogs fed and gathered up GA as she'd never seen one in the traps. Fairly big, older female in prime condition. I did have a bit of difficulty reducing the yote to possession as the 17 HMR didn't seem to be working up to par. That RAR only functions reliably with CCI non-tox 'green bullet' ammo --all other brand/type ammo I've tried results in stuck cases. Yesterday, those little 15.5 grain HP's didn't seem to be expanding effectively. Beginning to wonder if those 'alloy' bullets can age harden?
Later in the morning I had to work on a stock water tank at the north farm and as I was leaving, I spooked a pair of young bobcats from an old shed. I know they weren't there when I passed an hour earlier but they squirted out and were gone before I could get the rifle lined up. Son has several pics of cats on his trail cams up there.

contender · Jan 24, 2026

Good one, getting a female!!

bobski · Jan 24, 2026

do you hang yours on the fence line?
they do down here.

Mobuck · Jan 25, 2026

When we were hunting them with hounds, we'd skin them in the field and hang the carcass on a fence post. Hunted a lot around sheep farms and the owners claimed the skinned carcasses kept other coyotes away.
I don't skin anything these days--Son does that. I just check traps and collect what's caught.

don765 · Jan 28, 2026

Congrats on the trapper win big, prime female coyote is a solid take, and good on you for letting GA see it up close.
On the 17 HMR performance: Yeah, the CCI TNT Green non tox copper alloy 16gr is known for being reliable in picky Ruger American Rimfires RAR many owners report it's the only ammo that extracts/ejects consistently without stuck cases, while other brands Hornady V Max, jam up due to case hardness tension issues in that chamber. Your experience matches forum chatter exactly.
Expansion on coyotes: Those little alloy greens are designed for varmint pest work squirrels, prairie dogs, not big predators they often punch through with minimal expansion fragmentation on tougher hide bone muscle like an older yote, especially beyond close range or angled hits. That's why it felt underwhelming no dramatic pop, harder to drop quick. Real hunters say .17 HMR is marginal for coyotes anyway great for headshots under 100-150 yds with expanding lead VMax, but greens are even less effective on anything bigger than rabbits foxes. Alloy bullets don't age harden noticeably in storage no major reports of that causing lost expansion over time; issues are more about ammo production quirks like neck cracks in old stock.

Mobuck · Jan 29, 2026

Thanks for that input.
Caught another coyote this morning. Used different gun/ammo and was quite impressed. I have to admit that the optic wasn't quite as well aligned as I hoped for. Been hauling this little shooter around on the UTV seat for a month and the 1-3x scope had shifted zero a bit(as determined just a few minutes ago at my range). Shot distance was approx 50' and I hit the big dog coyote high behind the left shoulder and maybe pretty close to the spine as the coyote dropped at the shot and stayed down. The tool was a folding braced Charger with muffler and the ammo was Winchester 'super suppressed' 45 grain HP. Bullet did not exit.
Hoping to get the traps reset so I can do more bullet performance testing.