{"id":7864,"date":"2021-11-10T19:46:16","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T19:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/?p=7864"},"modified":"2025-10-06T17:59:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T17:59:40","slug":"17-hmr-for-coyote-hunting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/17-hmr-for-coyote-hunting\/","title":{"rendered":"17 HMR for Coyote Hunting – A Good Choice?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is 17 HMR good for coyote hunting? Yes \u2013 but it\u2019s not ideal.<\/p>\n

The 17 HMR\u2019s suitability for coyote hunting comes with a caveat: Keep a much closer distance between yourself and your quarry than you would if you were varmint hunting. The 17 HMR does not transfer enough energy to quickly and humanely kill a coyote across its entire 200-yard effective range.<\/p>\n

17 HMR vs Coyotes<\/h3>\n

To be sure, plenty of folks have fired the 17 HMR to take hares and such at 250+ yards. But that\u2019s a much smaller critter. When it comes to hunting coyote, you would ideally have your bullet transfer at least 10 ft lbs of impact energy for every pound your quarry weighs.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a little closer look at what that means. To begin, consider what a coyote weighs. Male coyote weigh 18 to 44 pounds for an average of 31 pounds. Female coyote weigh about 15 to 40 pounds for an average of 27.5 pounds. For simplicity\u2019s sake, lets combine those two figures and say an average coyote weighs 29 pounds.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the unsatisfying conclusion to our little math exercise: No 17 HMR ammo<\/a> will transfer 290 ft lbs of energy to its target, even right out of the muzzle.<\/p>\n

So, When Can We Hunt Coyote With 17 HMR?<\/h3>\n

\"Coyote<\/p>\n

But as we said earlier, not all coyote weigh 29 pounds. Refer to our carefully collected ballistic data and you will see that a 17 HMR bullet will easily transfer the recommended energy to a 20 pound coyote at 25 yards (which is admittedly pretty close). The smallest coyote will let the 17 HMR satisfy the minimum impact energy rule beyond 75 yards!<\/p>\n

The 17 HMR has a key advantage working in its favor: accuracy. This is a flat-shooting cartridge, which lets a competent shooter group shots like clockwork at ranges well beyond 100 yards. In short, if you utilize that precision to land your bullet right in the \u2018yote\u2019s brain or ticker, you\u2019re going to watch the roguish beast go down like a sack of bricks \u2013 even if you do hit it with significantly less energy than its body weight would optimally call for.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Best 17 HMR Ammo for Coyote?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Scope Height: 1.5\"
\n<\/th>		17 HMR Hornady Varmint Express 15.5gr NTX<\/th>17 HMR CCI TNT 17gr JHP<\/th>17 HMR Hornady Varmint Express 17gr V-MAX<\/th>17 HMR Winchester Varmint HV 17gr V-MAX<\/th>17 HMR Federal Varmint & Predator 17gr V-MAX<\/th>17 HMR Hornady Varmint Express 20gr XTP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Muzzle velocity (fps)<\/td>2525<\/td>2550<\/td>2550<\/td>2550<\/td>2530<\/td>2375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 25 yds<\/td>2342<\/td>2339<\/td>2380<\/td>2380<\/td>2360<\/td>2217<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 50 yds<\/td>2167<\/td>2139<\/td>2217<\/td>2217<\/td>2198<\/td>2067<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 75 yds<\/td>1999<\/td>1949<\/td>2061<\/td>2061<\/td>2043<\/td>1922<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 100 yds<\/td>1840<\/td>1771<\/td>1911<\/td>1911<\/td>1894<\/td>1784<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 125 yds<\/td>1690<\/td>1604<\/td>1768<\/td>1768<\/td>1752<\/td>1654<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 150 yds<\/td>1550<\/td>1452<\/td>1634<\/td>1634<\/td>1619<\/td>1532<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 175yds<\/td>1421<\/td>1317<\/td>1508<\/td>1508<\/td>1494<\/td>1418<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Velocity @ 200 yds<\/td>1306<\/td>1202<\/td>1393<\/td>1393<\/td>1380<\/td>1316<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G1 ballistic coefficient<\/td>0.117<\/td>0.102<\/td>0.127<\/td>0.127<\/td>0.127<\/td>0.132<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 25 yds<\/td>-0.45<\/td>-0.44<\/td>-0.48<\/td>-0.48<\/td>-0.47<\/td>-0.38<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 50 yds<\/td>0.19<\/td>0.22<\/td>0.15<\/td>0.15<\/td>0.16<\/td>0.28<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 75 yds<\/td>0.37<\/td>0.4<\/td>0.33<\/td>0.33<\/td>0.34<\/td>0.44<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 100 yds<\/td>0.01<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0.01<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 125 yds<\/td>-1<\/td>-1.09<\/td>-0.92<\/td>-0.92<\/td>-0.94<\/td>-1.11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 150 yds<\/td>-2.77<\/td>-3.03<\/td>-2.54<\/td>-2.54<\/td>-2.6<\/td>-3.02<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 175yds<\/td>-5.45<\/td>-6<\/td>-4.98<\/td>-4.98<\/td>-5.09<\/td>-5.86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elevation @ 200 yds<\/td>-9.2<\/td>-10.22<\/td>-8.37<\/td>-8.37<\/td>-8.55<\/td>-9.78<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Muzzle energy (ft lbs)<\/td>219<\/td>245<\/td>245<\/td>245<\/td>242<\/td>251<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 25 yds<\/td>189<\/td>207<\/td>214<\/td>214<\/td>210<\/td>218<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 50 yds<\/td>162<\/td>173<\/td>186<\/td>186<\/td>182<\/td>190<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 75 yds<\/td>138<\/td>143<\/td>160<\/td>160<\/td>158<\/td>164<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 100 yds<\/td>117<\/td>118<\/td>138<\/td>138<\/td>135<\/td>141<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 125 yds<\/td>98<\/td>97<\/td>118<\/td>118<\/td>116<\/td>122<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 150 yds<\/td>83<\/td>80<\/td>101<\/td>101<\/td>99<\/td>104<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 175 yds<\/td>70<\/td>65<\/td>86<\/td>86<\/td>84<\/td>89<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy @ 200 yds<\/td>59<\/td>55<\/td>73<\/td>73<\/td>72<\/td>77<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

\"Winchester<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t like recommending an FMJ bullet<\/a> for hunting anything other than varmints. Granted, if a non-expanding bullet\u2019s wound channel overlaps with the heart or some crucial vertebra, the animal\u2019s going down pronto. (Plenty of hog hunters use FMJs to sever their prey\u2019s cervical column in exactly this fashion.) But the FMJ\u2019s terminal ballistics are just too lackluster for larger (and more intelligent) game.<\/p>\n

We recommend a polymer-tipped bullet for coyote. Hornady\u2019s V-MAX is exceptional. Its polymer tip rests on the rim of its jacket and extends deep down into its swaged lead core\u2019s precision formed cavity. On impact the V-MAX\u2019s tip builds up substantial energy before it connects with the bottom of the cavity, at which point the bullet explodes in a violent display of fragmentation. The V-MAX\u2019s terminal ballistics do tend to make its wound channel relatively shallow, so shot placement does count for a great deal when you\u2019re hunting coyote with this bullet.<\/p>\n

A JHP will do just fine as well. Hornady\u2019s high-tech XTP, which has little notches radiating from its nose cavity to promote faster and more uniform terminal expansion, is an excellent choice for hunting coyote, but a generic JHP will do the trick as well. Once again, we don\u2019t advise relying on a JHP\u2019s raw power for hunting coyote with a 17 HMR. Remember the two H\u2019s: head and heart.<\/p>\n

We recommend all the cartridges compared in our ballistic data for coyote hunting except for the Hornady NTX load. Its bullet is just a little too light and its wound channel is just a little too shallow for our liking. If you\u2019d like to order some 17 HMR for coyote hunting from our site, then we\u2019ll be happy to help you with whatever we\u2019ve got in stock! If you\u2019d like to look elsewhere, then here are our recommended rounds\u2019 SKU numbers to assist you on your search.<\/p>\n

Top 5 Coyote Hunting 17 HMR Ammo Picks<\/h4>\n