I don’t think you will find the Ruger PCC 9 to be a tack driver. When gun folks talk about a “varmint” rifle, they are usually talking about something more accurate than the 2 Ruger PCC 9s that I’ve seen and shot. I’m sure that group sizes would shrink if we were not in an ammo shortage and could find and try enough different loads, but that is not today or the foreseeable future.
With the PCCs and ammo that I have shot, I would not take a 100-yard shot on a coyote, simply because I could not guarantee shot placement for a humane take-down. I would limit my shots to 50 yards or maybe less. Your mileage may vary.
The PCC9 with self-defense ammo would make a great home defense weapon against “larger critters.” I would definitely use one for that purpose, when shots should be 20 yards or less. But for smaller targets at a longer distance, I’d want something else, maybe even just a .22 Magnum.
That’s interesting. It turns out I can get a lightly used .22 Magnum for a song. But (I’ve just started reading at a site called LuckyGunner.com), the best measure of stopping power / a quick kill is probably “Wound Cavity Volume”, and a typical 38 Special round (much less a 9mm or .357 Magnum) is 2-1/2 times better than the best .22 Magnum round.
It may be that the best bet is to go ahead and grab that .22 Magnum (even already has a scope on it) for the occasional coyote seen at the east end of our property - as that’s sometimes going to be an 80 - 100 yard shot. Dense woods and no humans close in that direction (also the source of the coyotes we hear often and see occasionally.)
That said, I should check on ammo cost and availability.
Then wait for a good sale on that HighPoint 9mm or MAYBE a .357. That’d be for the shorter range situations in other directions.
I’ve not ruled out a 20 g. shotgun, but, the noise and use-by-wife factors are not positive, there. I think wifey would fire a 20 ga. or even a 12 ga. in an imminent danger to US scenario, but otherwise... probably not.