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Coyote Problem
HighNoon
Member Posts: 444 ✭✭✭
Well, I have a coyote who decided to run off with one of my barn cats last night. Since I'm more comfortable with handguns, it's probably time to look into long guns in order to prevent my other 2 cats from disappearing.
I'm in the backcountry of northern Colorado so disturbing the neighbors is not a problem. My potential target/s will be anywhere from 50-300 yards out. I was thinking .243 or .223. What about the .17HMR? Any suggestions/success stories?
Do coyotes tend to be night stalkers? If they got a taste for one cat, should I expect a "feeding frenzy"? I've got two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers that would tear them apart but I've seen as many as 6 coyotes traveling together and don't want the dogs attacked.
Thanks.
I'm in the backcountry of northern Colorado so disturbing the neighbors is not a problem. My potential target/s will be anywhere from 50-300 yards out. I was thinking .243 or .223. What about the .17HMR? Any suggestions/success stories?
Do coyotes tend to be night stalkers? If they got a taste for one cat, should I expect a "feeding frenzy"? I've got two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers that would tear them apart but I've seen as many as 6 coyotes traveling together and don't want the dogs attacked.
Thanks.
Comments
"When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend."
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
SALLY
Committee member-Ducks Unlimited
Second, I don't mind coyotes in singles and pairs, but when they start running in packs of 5 or more, then they need to be "thinned a little." A few coyotes are not a bad thing--in fact, they can be beneficial. It's the abundance of coyotes that is a problem.
My 2-cents worth,
Rafter-S
"What is truth? No wonder jesting Pilate turned away. The truth, it has a thousand faces -- show only one of them, and the whole truth flies away! But how to show the whole? That is the question."
--Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" (1934)
But if it were up to me, I would buy a .270 or 30-06. Then if I decided to hunt something larger, like deer or elk, I would have the gun for it.
Rafter-S
257
You're a statistic whether you want to be or not.
Once a coyote (or pack of them) knows there are cats (or small dogs) around, they will keep coming back until you either discourage them with a lethal does of lead, or the food supply is gone. After losing two cats in the past few years, the wife locks them up at night. I did manage to get one of them using a Winchester Model 12 loaded with No. 4 Tactical Buck. Nailed that sucker at about 25 yards, broadside shot on a dead run... 8 of the 27 pellets hit him. For long distance shots, I use my 222 Rem Mag. (50 gr. hollow points are devastating!)
Bert H.
Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
Since I have seen packs of up to 6 coyotes, I assume that they would go after my dogs even though they weigh about 120 each. Correct assumption or would they stay away and go after easier prey?
Thanks again.
A couple of weeks ago I popped two one with the Mini-14 from about 125 yards...........the preban clip is the secret. The other with a .357 Ruger revolver while doing hay.
I like the Mini-14 for it's handiness and the ability to put enough rounds out there for more than one target. Get the rifle that will fit your particular needs the best.
Good hunting and kill one for my poor cats Skimpy and Buggzy.
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
Thin 'em out, and keep the pups in 'till you do.
"A blood trail is life" (Ted Nugent)
Love them Beavers
SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN
with the .243 you can shoot heavier bullets and smack them way out there really good,like 300+yds
I was wondering, is it possible for a Great-horned Owl to fly away with a cat? My guess is the cat weighed about 4-5 pounds and I don't know how large a payload an owl can carry. We have them here which would mean a 12 gauge if they tried to grab another. But I got to thinkin' that there was no fresh coyote scat like I've been seeing the last couple of weeks. They were marking their territory (I assume) by dropping presents all around the barn. I thought that a coyote might want to brag a little after a fresh catch and leave a fresh present.
BTW, Rafter-S, I do have a .270 and was fine-tuning it today. I just never had to deal with predatory varmints before. But I may go with a .243 as my varmint gun. I suppose if I can get close enough I can vaporize one with my Ruger.454. Tonight could be interesting.
As to your coyotes, I don't know the terrain. If you're calling them in over an open area, then any flat-shooting rifle will probably do the trick. In semi-open brush I might choose my trusty old 8mm VZ33. Cheap to shoot, deadly accurate, and enough lead to stop a small tank.
With any rifle, though, it's almost always going to be a one shot deal. No time or targets left by the time you rack another shell.
And then there's close quarters out to about 50 yds... For that I'd choose an A-5 with buckshot or very heavy birdshot. The latter will do little damage to "things & stuff", but will put a fatal hurt on your coyote.
My vote is the barnyard, a mostly full moon, a distressed rabbit call, and a nice 12 ga. A-5 stuffed to the max and just a bit of patience. Somewhere just after dusk or in the wee hours before dawn there's going to be one h#$$ of a rucus. You'll have had the time of your life and multiple dogs will be down or hurting.
Nord
If you are using a 12ga try the Sellior & Bellot 00 buckshot, it will kill the dog dead at 40 yards with a full choke.
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
I am confused at times.
We park on driveways,
and drive on parkways.
"A blood trail is life" (Ted Nugent)
T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
And then there's close quarters out to about 50 yds... For that I'd choose an A-5 with buckshot or very heavy birdshot. The latter will do little damage to "things & stuff", but will put a fatal hurt on your coyote.
My vote is the barnyard, a mostly full moon, a distressed rabbit call, and a nice 12 ga. A-5 stuffed to the max and just a bit of patience. Somewhere just after dusk or in the wee hours before dawn there's going to be one h#$$ of a rucus. You'll have had the time of your life and multiple dogs will be down or hurting.
Nord
A5[?] Dammit how many times do I have to tell you... use a WINCHESTER!! (I am a bit surprised that you didn't say to use an Elcee SxS). A 12 Ga. Model 12 loaded with Tactical Buckshot is deadly once you get them in range... and the one I got last year rolled about 3-4 times before coming to a stop... dead!
Best,
Bert
"What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith,1787.
If God didn't want us to eat animals, then he wouldn't have made them out of meat.
but dont let that stop you from getting another rifle, no such thing as having to many guns [:D]
Oregon Fish and Wildlife has recently published a warning about confusing coyotes with wolves. Wolves are protected. Do NOT shoot wolves, it would be bad for you.
it is good that we meet in the struggle of life or death.. .....it shall be life!
The coyotes are taunting me by howling early in the morning at sunrise. Our barn is about 200 yards from a small stream with very thick brush. Past the brush it becomes somewhat mountainous (we're at 8000 feet elevation). Tonight I'm going to walk through the brush to try to find their den. What should I look for? Hole in the ground, some kind of brush piled up? I'm so temped to fire into the brush at the sound, but with bow and muzzle loading season going on I don't want to get a hunter into harm's way.
Am I more likely to catch them at dusk or dawn?
If you don't have the time or inclination to call the coyotes up, ask around the gun shops for an avid predator hunter. There will be a GHD around for sure and they'll appreciate the opportunity to hunt your place.
Be a great way for you to learn the tricks of the hunt/calling.
These coyotes here often watch me from afar when I am working in the fields. last month while forking over some busted bales in the field I noticed 3 on the stonewall behind me and one adjacent to me watching me. Kind of gets the blood going near dusk when down in one of the back fields and they start howling a hundred yards away.
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.