highPlains said:
What is a stout load for a .32? I am a total newb with this stuff.
How much should I load, and how far can I effectively shoot? I'll be hitting the range this weekend, but I don't even know where to start, or what is safe.
Thanks for the helpful advice thus far!
What I call stout loads are those that are approaching maximum for the rifle being shot in. What is safe in your rifle is the right question to get answered first, then pick a load near it or just below that shoots well in your rifle. What is safe varies from barrel maker to maker. For example, CVA lists 30 gr. of 3F as the maximum PRB load in their 32 Squirrel rifles, while TC lists 50 gr. of 3F in their Cherokee/Seneca rifles as max for PRB. Other brands of 32 barrels will also have a recommended safe max, so you need to find out what it is for your rifle.
How far is speculative. The 32 is marginal at best for coyotes, so how far depends on your ability to place your shots very well at different given ranges to start with. How far with regards to retained knock down energy is also speculative, and depends largely on how pumped up the coyote is. While it may be possible to luck a drop-in-their-tracks shot at extended ranges, the 32 RB just does not transfer much hydrostatic shock to coyotes, even when they are in your face close. So I think 50 yards can easily be stetching a 32 in most cases if your hunting ethics dictates only clean, humane kills are acceptable. A maxi-ball might make a bigger wound channel and add a little shock to the hit, but still only for short distances. With modern metallic cartridges, small projectiles going very fast can deliver considerably more hydrostatic shock to a coyote than larger bullets going slower do, expend all of their energy inside the animal and commonly drops them in their tracks even at extended ranges. HS drops coyotes faster than big holes do. Why the 17/20 calibers have become so popular for predator hunters who want undamaged pelts. But we can't push the 32 RB fast enough for it to do the same with muzzleloaders.
A 36 caliber extends ranges over a 32 for predators (my first choice), but a 40 or 45 is probably about the ideal choice for the average hunter. Anything larger destroys pelts if you care about saving them.
As for the aggressivness of the coyotes, that has also been changing here in the west the last decade or so. While I still don't see it much out on the desert, those that come into residential neighborhoods for pet cats and dogs have become very bold and very aggressive. My place borders endless miles of desert, and they come here often for the quail and cottontail that live on my property. In the last two years I have had conflicts with them twice right in my yard, being charged by a small pack once, and actually attacked once by a lone alpha male. They do not back down, so all my nightly strolls for a smoke in the cooler night air are accompanied by a 6' walking staff now days.
