Northwest Fishing Reports

I hunt, I have a 7mm Rem Mag, a 30-30 Win, a 12 gauge, and a .40 S&W pistol.

My buddy does not hunt, but he knows firearms safety. He has 5 cleared acres with his neighbor having another 20 cleared acres (which he has permission to shoot coyotes on) in a semi-rural area (I say semi rural because his neighbors are a couple hundred yards away). Trees pretty much surrounding.

He is thinking about getting a gun to shoot coyotes that harass his chickens and his dogs. Max range would be about 150-200 yards. At first I was thinking about a .243, .22-250, .220 swift or a .223 but then I wondered if this was more gun than he really needed.

I would think a shotgun with buck shot would be a good choice, but 150 yards is pretty far for that.

What are your thoughts and recommendations.

Buckshot is good for 50 yards, maybe. All of those calibers will work. I used to use a .222 .If you're going to sell the hide smaller calibers will typically do less damage. That isn't much land in coyote terms. You'll be lucky to see one at all so don't invest too much!

If your buddy has any inclination on hunting in this State, he will want to pick up a rifle in a caliber that he will be able to use for larger game. Our state has a minimum size restriction on bullets that can be used for hunting "big game" which includes all species of deer and is set at .24" or 6mm. A .243, 25-06, .257 or a 6.5mm would be more than adequate for coyotes and will put a deer down just as easily. The issue I see is the close proximity of the neighbors, as a couple of hundred yards is nothing when you're talking rifle rounds. If there is a zone that is free of neighbors beyond a section of his property, that would be the only real safe line of fire. You mentioned that your friend has dogs. If you have the right kind of dogs, you won't have a coyote problem and this would be a much safer method than shooting in a semi-rural area.

Great Pyrenees.

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G-Man wrote:If your buddy has any inclination on hunting in this State... The issue I see is the close proximity of the neighbors, as a couple of hundred yards is nothing when you're talking rifle rounds. If there is a zone that is free of neighbors beyond a section of his property, that would be the only real safe line of fire.

My buddy doesn't hunt, at all, just wants to kill the occasional coyote that harasses his chickens. He does have a few good lanes to fire, especially since his and his neighbor's house sits on a hill with the bottom land below. I'm kind of leaning toward a shotgun or a .22 magnum, but is that enough gun for the job?

When you are talking rimfire cartridges, shot placement is everything. I'd consider using a 17 HMR but that is me knowing what I can and can't do with a rifle and when not to take a shot. The 17 HMR is a 22mag round necked down to .17 and is a very accurate and effective small game round, coyote sized animals would be pushing it. If 150 yards is your max range, I'd be more inclined to suggest your buddy try your 30-30, it is fine out to that range and is easy to shoot. Don't try a shotgun at that range, it just won't get the job done.

Thoughts on a shotgun using slugs?

A shotgun and a slug has a pretty limited range and accuracy. If he was to get a slug gun it would take a rifled barrel and a scope with some major practice to hit anything. A shot gun with some buckshot would be a good choice for up close business with a dog.

A .22 LR or .22 Mag doesnt have alot of thump or take down power. a .17 HMR will do a better job then either of those two. and is one of the guns i would say would do the job quite nicely. Can be picked up at your local walmart for around $300

But if he is looking to get something that can also be some fun a AR platform rifle would be great for the job, and spend a little more money. My favorite manufacter of these guns is DPMS. i have owned winchesters and bushmasters and sold them to get dpms guns. they offer calibers from .223 all the way to .308/7.62 NATO. The "SWEET 16" rifle is my personal favorite for Yote arradication. Light wieght, looks bad@$$, and can drive tacks at 150 yards with ease. and with the short barrel it works good in the home defence/ tight quarters department. http://www.dpmsinc.com/SWEET-16_ep_144-1.html Pair that with some winchester Power max bullets and you can easily smoke Ole fuzz butt at ranges out to 300+ yards

Hope that helps

Unless he's a really good shot, highly recommend something with enough knock down power behind it to minimize the chance of just wounding them. I vote .243 or .270. A .223 could be used on varmints too though, so also a decent choice.
My 2 cents.

I used to shoot the chicken eating coyotes with a BB gun, high power with those lead pellets. A head shot would knock 'em dead, you just have to be a good shot, right between the eyes. As far as rifles go, I say .270, and teach him how to shoot so he doesn't put one in the neighbors window.

But if he really wants to get rid of them, either lose the chickens, or buy a dog. Where there are chickens, there are going to be more than a few coyotes, and they love chickens and don't learn very quickly. Can't really shoot 'em fast enough in my experience. But a dog will keep them at bay.

New England Firearms Handi Rifle .223 and teach him how to shoot..

One of the best coyote calibers out there is the 22-250. especially when you are shooting out further than 200 yards because it shoots so flat.. but in your buddy's case he probably doesn't need to invest in anything too expensive if he doesn't plan on using it much. I killed my first few coyotes as a youngster with a .22 mag but need to be within 100 yards to have enough knockdown power.
I would say try loaning him your 12 gauge and put a few pellets in that coyotes rear, but once they get a taste of chicken i doubt that will keep him away for long.

Have you looked int the .17 HMR round? Marlin, Ruger and Savage all make some very nice varmint rifles.
The .17 HMR is based on the .22 Magnum case necked-down to accept .172" diameter bullets. a 17 grain bullet a MV of 2550 fps and ME of 245 ft. lbs. The result of all this is the highest velocity, flattest shooting, and most accurate rimfire small game and varmint cartridge ever produced.

I have a 17HMR and wouldn't use it on coyotes to small. nothing bigger then a rock chuck. but is a great little round.

Im gonna have to disagree with a 17hmr being too small. living on fobes hill in snohomish and being able to hunt a few of the farms around here I have used my 17 many times. and killed every coyote i have hit, even if the shot placement isnt the best.

yeah i have to agree with 360 I've killed coyotes on our ranch with a 17. The velocity makes up for the smaller caliber. gotta have good shot placement though I've had a few get away. like my Tikka 22-250 a lot

Has anyone here actually shot slugs out of a shotgun? How inaccurate are they?

Yes, many years ago. Never shot a deer, but hit a rabbit when I forgot to switch from 'shotgun barrel' to '.22 barrel'. It was a Savage over under. .22 long on top, and 20 gage on the bottom with a selector on the hammer.

SoDakboy wrote:Has anyone here actually shot slugs out of a shotgun? How inaccurate are they?

Accurate enough at close range. Highly inaccurate at longer distances. They do make rifled shotgun barrels for slugs for some shotgun models, which will increase accuracy with range.

Yeah I think I'm going to recommend a 20 gauge rifled barrel slug gun shooting sabots. 2 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards will get the job done.