If he had not had the gun and the dog, would they have attacked him? Who knows, but 16 on 1, they could have beat him to death easily.
From what his Attorney has said, the Coyotes had run once they were caught, leaving him with nearly 24 Illegals -16 is all they could locate to join the lawsuit.
But put yourself in the ranchers shoes. He did not know if they had run or fallen back to get armed reinforcements.