[Moose Dung]

I have a Marlin .22 Long Rifle with a 14 shot stock load (tubular) mag and an old Winchester .410. And, neither is up to the job.

I figure, I need something that will kill a coyote from 30 yards when we get an intrusion on the property. This isn't a sport thing...no blinds, no calls, just an intruder that needs immediate lethal force.

We're out in a sparsly populated area in the middle of open farm land. The nearest house is about a half mile away.

Thanks for the help.

Moose Dung.

[Clemenza]

Almost ran over one of these critters driving home from the train station one night. This is in a densely populated area in Central New Jersey BTW.

[Cuttnhorse]

You do need a .223, with a scope. What the so-called experts posting here don’t understand is after the first kill with a shotgun or .22, you will be lucky to see the next dog. Coyotes are very smart and don’t stand around to be shot at after the first time.

And the advise about llamas and donkeys is good...they aren’t afraid of coyotes and will harass them; but don’t believe for a minute a donkey or coyote will run one down and kill it. What a joke.

[Doomonyou]

You need to talk to Varmint Al!

>Varmint Al

[piytar]

If you go .223, may I suggest an Armalite AR-180B, if still legal in Cali. Easy to shoot, not too costly, fairly accurate, easy to clean, and an improved action over most ARs that tends to stay cleaner over use. Be sure of what’s behind the coyote, though - those .223 rounds go a ways...

[beebuster2000]

30 yards and under, 12 gauge with a 3in turkey load.

over 30 yards: .22-250. sweet shooting and can rach out to 300 yards no problem.

[Hacksaw]

I need some recommendations on the proper weapon to deal with these varmints.

One of these should do the job:

[Hacksaw]

Actually, after hitting 2 deer within a month on the way home from work, I am not really in favor of eliminating predators that much....

[Varmint Al]

If the coyotes are coming in to the 30 to 40 yard range, then a 12 Ga Semi-Auto shotgun would be the best choice. I would suggest BB sized shot or larger so you would be assured of a hit to the vitals. Most would be shots at running coyotes and a shotgun would work best.


If the coyotes are at longer ranges out to 150 yards, I would suggest a 17 HMR. It will kill them but about half of the well hit coyotes will be able to run off and die somewhere else. In my experience the 17 HMR is lethal on coyotes but is underpowered for reliable on the spot kills. With the 17 HMR, the noise level is a minimum and once the tiny 17 gr bullet hits the ground it disintegrate and minimizes the possibility of ricochets. 

If you want to drop the coyotes in their tracks, then a 223 Rem or 243 Win caliber would be my choice. I would suggest the 55 gr bullet in the 223 Rem and the 80 gr bullet in the 243 Win calibers. Each pack plenty of energy to reliably drop a coyote. At the longer ranges, you will need a scope sight on any rifle you choose. I would suggest a 3-9X scope. I would leave the scope on 3X power and then for a long distance standing shot, if you have time, switch to the 9X power.

The Remington Model 7 in 223 Rem or 243 Win caliber would be a good choice.

You might want to consider calling the coyotes into range for shooting. On my Coyote Hunting Page I have a number of coyote calling sounds, Hurt Rabbit or Chicken in Distress, for example, that are free downloads. One can burn them to a CD and use a Boom-Box for calling or something similar. Calling them has the advantage that the coyotes will come to the sound expecting a free dinner when you are ready for them. To help in accurate shooting you can make a pair of Bi-Fur-Pod shooting stick for a rest in the field.

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[ridesthemiles]

If shooting is dicey- Get an adult male Great Pyrennes dog. (sp)
They are herd guard dogs and despite their size and VERY gentle nature, they will take down a coyote. If the packs are large, then perhaps the gun is the best. Packs can bring down any dog. My neighbor has a Great P and it kept the coyote population away for about a mile radius. It’s owner had rabbits, sheep, and horses. When they moved to the Midwest, the neighbors looked askance at the dog’s size until he went after openly lurking coyotes in the middle of the day. NOw he is the hero of the area.

[-=SoylentSquirrel=-]

Keep in mind the importance of using the proper bait. That's her on the upper right.

Just kidding; I love her a lot.

[444Flyer]

A car is quite effective in my parts. I see dead coyotes on the side of the road lately. Trouble for the coyote and a real mess to clean up.

[Eye of Unk]

Here in Alaska I use a modern innovation of the Eskimos way, I wrap a bunch of small treble fishing hooks together in slabs of bacon into little balls and freeze it, I leave these outside in freezing weather.

[Eye of Unk]

Another piece of advice? I used to live in the San Joaquin Valley, shooting guns is bad no-no in Kallyland, better to use live traps.