Originally Posted by
AirBear
Since we have a lot of gun experts on this thread let me ask a quick question: I live on a .82 acre pie shaped lot in a suburban subdivision. Over half an acre is backyard. I have neighbors on both sides and behind me. We're seeing coyotes within 1/4 mile of here. I have a 6 foot fence but that won't stop a coyote. I have small pets in the back yard although we bring them in at night.
What would be the best weapon to use on a coyote without endangering my neighbors? The furtherest I'd have to shoot would be maybe 200 feet. In the 80's I owned a cheap shotgun and a .22 rifle, but gave them away when I went overseas, too much hassle to get them into the country I was based in. Never bothered to get new weapons when I xfer'd back. When I was young I did some skeet shooting and also qualified as expert on the Air Force's old .38 revolvers flight crew carried.
A shotgun is good for your neighbor’s proximity since they really run out of effective range much past 40-50 yards unless you have a really tight choke and are using large shot such as BB or buckshot. The problem with a shotgun is that they are really loud and it will most likely freak your neighbors out.
You don’t need anything bigger than a .22LR to kill a dog, but any rifle can go way too far to ever safely be used in a neighborhood. Coyotes are really shy and hard to get close to. That is why the guys who are into predator shooting use something really fast and flat shooting like a .223, .243, or even 6.5 Creedmor. They are hiding in the grass, calling them in, and making most shots past 200 yards. The last coyote that I shot was around 400 yards and he knew that I was there.
My suggestion is a better fence. Go to Tractor Supply and get stuff for an electric fence. Get a full blown cattle charger, not one of those weak ones designed for pets. Plug it in at night when your pets are inside and nothing will challenge it. An agricultural charger on a small residential yard will hit very hard. Ask me how I know about that. I set up something similar to keep our dogs from digging out. They all tried it once. I can throw a steak by the fence now and they won’t go near it, neither will I. It really hurt.