Posted on 06/09/2011 7:33:09 AM PDT by Notary Sojac
This fall, we are moving from the city to the country, and I've been told by all my new neighbors that coyotes are a problem.
What I want to do is bring them down quickly when they are in the house and yard area (about 7 acres). I'm not going out to the far reaches of my 100+ acres of woodlands to look for them, and I really don't care about messing up the pelts :-).
Other considerations
This will be my first long gun. I've strictly been a handgun range shooter up till now.
I don't need to go to the cheaper side when buying the rifle, but the cost of ammo is an issue as I don't handload and want to be able to practice a lot (I already have a 400 yd range site cleared).
Appreciate any advice.
Prepare for disposal before shooting coyotes is good advice.
If you’re going in for that much labor, might as well look into putting up fencing that will keep the coyotes out.
Yes, it can be expensive. But so can losing calves, lambs, chickens, and well-trained hunting dogs, as well as the emotionally draining prospect of continuous warfare with a damned wild canid.
Maybe it will take awhile due to the expense, but even doing it in stages is better than doing nothing, since you know eventually it will be complete and you won’t have to worry so much.
We fenced to keep our hunting dogs inside our property. Since creating a palisade was not our priority, we put up a 6’ metal fence that looks like black spears with arrowhead points at the top.
Everyone told us it wouldn’t keep deer and coyotes out, but it does! In fact, because coyotes can’t or won’t get inside, we’ve had wild rabbits set up housekeeping in a juniper-covered embankment. They come out at night to graze.
Your coyotes must not be particularly motivated because of good eating outside the fence. I knew a woman with an 8’ block wall, who was working in her backyard when a coyote made it over her wall, snatched her small dog, and with a running leap hurled back over.
Add to that the price of fencing 7 acres, and bullets are a whole lot cheaper.
I think you’re correct. Coyotes won’t make an effort unless they have to do so.
My fence (just measured it) is 7’ tall with spear points. Those pointed things would be painful in the belly if the coyote was impaled.
Concrete block walls aren’t much of a deterence and a wild canid or feline can leap to the top and then leap down.
.45-70
I bet! Have a friend who let me shoot his .45-70 pistol once... That was enough!
;)
40 mm High Explosive (No Clean Up Required!)
Even in a lever action Marlin that 405gr comes back on ya.
I've mostly switched to 300-350gr.
What a smart dog, and a cutey, too!
That 50 fat mac is real scary looking what do it go in ?
If I were going to spend the rest of my life hunting Coyotes and could choose any gun ammo scope etc. withing reason it would be:
A Colt AR-15 H-BAR with a 3X9 Leupold or even a 4X Leupold. I would shoot commercial .223 55 grain hollow point boat tails.
I could get by just fine with a rifle I once had. It was an H&R Handi-gun in .357 maximum. It was a break barrel single shot and I was not expecting it to be accurate but it turned out to be a great shooter, more accurate than most of my bolt actions. That .357 Maximum with a 158 grain jhp out of the 22 inch barrel was hot, quite a bit hotter than a 30-30. Than main thing is it was light and carried like a dream.
Another possibility would be one of the HK .22 magnum auto loaders. They are probably getting hard to find but were uncommonly accurate.
Winchester 94 in 30-30 or a Ruger 10-22
The 22 LR ammo is real cheap. The 30-30 ammo is a little expensive but you can use it to take deer and hogs too.
I’d get both.
“That 50 fat mac is real scary looking what do it go in ?”
My understanding is that it was a test round. Apparently it was so hot that it burned up barrells. Barrell life was estimated at 100 rounds. I don’t think anything i currently designed to use it.
The .270 is designed to fly very fast and with very a flat trajectory - something it does very well. Large game - long distances.
The better option is a reliable platform in the .223 - .243 range.
“The better option is a reliable platform in the .223 - .243 range.”
Which is what I first suggested. Those cartridges are nearly as powerful as the .270 so there isn’t much difference in this application.
Lots of great advice here. I’ll add my rambles. I just moved to the country myself (not my idea, but you need to follow the jobs in the Obama economy). If I have a coyote issue (and I might-we can hear them at night), I will introduce them to a Yugo SKS in 7.62x39. .22 LR is a little anaemic, especially against coydogs. .223 is probably the best choice for the money. I’m hoarding my 223 for the coming zombie apocalypse-I don’t want to waste good ss109 stock on four-legged varmints.
The 300 Whisper would work well too. Get a suppressor for it and the neighbor's might not even hear it.
Rare that the SHOOTER gets a hydrostatic shock!
Rapid firing a Marlin .45-70 with 405 grainers will just about blow it out of both ends of the shooter.
Learned my lesson.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
