NitroX, I used to hunt Coyotes, and Bobcats for their skins, and my favorite long range Muledeer rifle is a 243 Win useing 100 gr Hornady square base spitzer soft point @ 3000 fps! This combination bucks the wind that is always present in the North American Southwest canyon country, and kills like a bolt of lightening, on 250 pound Muledeer! This load causes little meat damage on those deer, so it follows I would try this combination on the YOTEs, and Bcats. Bad idea!!!!!!!!!!!

The first coyote I shot through the chest, not hitting the shoulder, blew a 10" hole in the chest hide on the far side. I had another rifle that used the same bullet, but was a little wildcat I made up to shoot in a little BSA Martini Kadet. This little cartridge was the 256 Magnum necked down to 6mm with no other changes! Ecentually a 357 mag pistol cartridge,necked down th 6mm. This little cartridge only pushed the 100 gr Hornady at 2200fps out of a 20" barrel. This combination did no damage to the skin other than about .45 cal exit hole!

What this all means to me is, it is the velocity more than anything else, because the bullet traveling at the same velocity, (3000 fps) did very little damage on the deer, yet blew the Yote away, while at 2200 fps the same bullet did no damage to the Yote, and killed deer very well too, at shorter range.

Certainly the bullet construction/speed combination, is a factor, but between the two factors, the velocity is the real culprit, IMO!

I use 300 gr Nosler Partitions in my 375 H&H @ 2550 fps,that pinnitrates both shoulders of a Cape Buffalo, yet I have shot little Impala stone dead in their tracks, without undue damage to the cape! However, I do stay out of the shoulder bones on the small stuff.

Then, on the other end, I shot a big Elk bull from 35 yds with a 577NE double rifle useing a 750 gr soft point,@ 1800 fps, and you could eat right up to the hole, and the elk never knew what hit him. In fact, he went down so fast, I did not see him fall, and thought I had missed, till the guy calling him in told me he was down! I never shot a coyote with the 577, however, to compare!