Firearms Advice - Coyote Problem (Vanity)

Vanity ^ | 12/09/2007 | Moose Dung

[Moose Dung]

Sorry for posting this in the main area, but I need some advice quickly.

Over the past few weeks I've been having a real coyote problem. We're in the San Joaquin Valley and have always had issues with the coyotes, but this year seems to be expecially bad (even traveling in small packs, which I've never seen before). I need some recommendations on the proper weapon to deal with these varmints.

[Iron Munro]

I still like a lever action 30/30 for a job like this.
They are simple, lightweight, short and handy.
Either a Marlin model 336 or Winchester model 94.
If you want to use a scope get the Marlin because the Winchester is top ejection.

You can usually find a used 30/30 for $150-$165 or so.

If you make a good head shot or body shot on a coyote with a 30/30 that varmit isn't going anywhere.

Marlin Model 336A with Mounted Scope

[Moose Dung]

Thanks for the great advice...except the donkey thing(!?!?). The problem with the .22 is that I need it at night, the coyotes move pretty quick, and I’m on foot with my maglite.

dung.

[blackdog]

Great Pyranese guardian dog. You won't have a coyote problem any more. Just show them the perimeter of your farm and bond it with your livestock.

[2111USMC]

LOL!

(Except he’ll kill his own dog.)

[Army Air Corps]

I know many a sheep and goat rancher who’ll agree with that. They’ll kill a coyote pretty damned fast.

[saganite]

One more suggestion. If you decide on .223 you can pick up a single shot for less money. You’re not likely to get a follow up shot at night holding a mag lite anyway!

[fish hawk]

Just call the local Shaman. He will build a small fire and say some secret formulas, sing a song or two and sprinkle some glittery stuff on the fire and then shout real loud. No more coyotes. Give him some tobacco as he will not take greenbacks.

[AnAmericanMother]

.308 Win (7.62 NATO) is my standard prescription for every ailment short of bear or elk. It shoots fairly flat, ammo's available everywhere in any load you want, and you have a wide choice in rifles. I have a Ruger M-77 with a 4x scope, and it's more than adequate for anything here in GA. 30-50 yards is probably about typical for a shot at deer or varmints in our area. The .308 will ruin any coyote's day.

If you want a very flat-shooting round with more velocity, I would say .25'06 or the .22-250. Either one has less recoil than the .308, the .25'06 has a little heavier bullet. But at just 30 yards either one would be total overkill, those are 300 yd plus varminting rifles (are you sure you're not actually shooting at 100 yards?)

[razorback-bert]

Yep, of course this does a nice job.

[Klondike]

Donkeys, mules, and llamas are death on coyotes.

[stainlessbanner]

I know you asked about firepower, not mule power.
For some reason coyotes don't like donkeys - they tend to steer clear of them. A jack or a jenny in the paddock might help. Ask some old cattlemen in your area, that's who I learned from.

[brytlea]

That reminds me of a funny story about my husband and an armadillo... Well, it probably wasn’t funny to the armadillo.
;)
susie

[RKV]

When ya get him, skin him and leave the hide on the fence near your place. It’s a Sicilian message to all his kin. ;>)

I was raised on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, and it worked pretty good (usually we put the skins on the fence in the creekbed).

In your case a good used shotgun or an inexpensive new one (Remington 870 for about $350) should do the best. Set him up. String up lights some distance from your house, and leave meat. Illuminate your target and take your shot. Max 35 yards. Full choke. Maybe #2, 3 or 4 buckshot. Make his day.

[Moose Dung]

He may not get along with my two springer spaniels.

dung.

[Rudder]

I had your problem trying to use a marlin .22 LR w hollow point-—not enough punch at that range. So I used a .222 with a scope (coyotes wouldn’t get close to me) and bagged 7 in a week-—one shot one kill. This is in Ohio.

[U S Army EOD]

Get you a Ruger 10/22 Mag. That should do the trick.

[RavenATB]

“The problem with the .22 is that I need it at night, the coyotes move pretty quick, and I’m on foot with my maglite.”

Put a laser sight on the rifle. You’ll be faster to the shot, and you won’t have to bother shouldering the weapon. Trying to sight in a moving animal when the light is poor can cause you to lose track of the critter altogether. Just put the red dot on the coyote and squeeze...

[Rudder]

I should add that the coyotes at my place wouldn’t get closer than 100 yards to me.

[blackdog]

I've got coyotes all around in huge numbers. I open graze my flock of sheep on 80 acres. They spend all year out there. My largest predation losses have been from owls after their chicks have hatched in May(they kill lambs at night and eat the soft tissues of the head/brain/face to feed the chicks) and eagles who will peck the eyes out of the real old ewe and then spend a week carving out strips of flesh while it wanders around blind until it dies.

The guardian dog has not been much help on airborne predators. The Bard Owl problem only lasts a few weeks in May and those ewes who lose a lamb immediately breed back and pop out lambs in september/october. After the third coyote carcass left in the feedlot by the dog, we've never had a coyote problem since. No shots fired and no antifreeze.

[Moose Dung]

“I had your problem trying to use a marlin .22 LR w hollow point-—not enough punch at that range.”

Bingo!

Maybe my problem is the load. The single-shot .410 is just too slow.

dung.