Been having coyote trouble. We have 12 acres, so not enough room to shoot a big rifle. I've been using 12 ga., which obviously i

[rockylizard]

Been having coyote trouble. We have 12 acres, so not enough room to shoot a big rifle. I've been using 12 ga., which obviously isn't a long-range firearm. Anyone have any input on the best equipment for nailing Mr Sheep-Killer to the wall? Both gun and ammo suggestions more than welcome.

[FirstBubba]

rocky

If your 12 acres is square, a long shot down one side is about 225 yards +/-.
A .22 Hornet would do the job if you can keep the range within about 150 yards. Other than that, a NEF Handi-Rifle in .223 would absolutely handle the chore.
There isn't much between those two that have readily available ammo.
Maybe the .17 HRM?

[steve182]

A .22 mag would give you better range and won't scare the neighbors.

[Sarge01]

You might try some #4 Buckshot in your 12 gauge. I have shot wild deer running dogs with that at 130+ yards with a lot of success.

[RJ Arena]

A ranch rifle sounds pretty good to me.

[RockySquirrel]

I vote for 17HMR with 20gr bullets. You may want to think about a coyote call and shooting from a tree stand. That way you are shooting down and know your bullets aren’t going into the next county.

[DakotaMan]

If you call, the 12 gauge with #4 Buck will do the job just fine as long as you can get them inside of 50 yards. I've seen daylight shine through hefty coyotes hit with that at 45 yards. You should also be able to use a .223 with 40g varmint bullets. Those like the Barnes Varmint Grenade and Sierra Varmint bullet are so frangible that you don't have to worry about ricochets in the event of a miss. They will seldom exit a coyote but it will be dead with a decent shot. If you need more than 250 yards of range, you can use 50g bullets if necessary. I shot a fox in the chest last year with a 50g V-Max at 220 yards and it never exited. The fox was dead instantly and never wiggled. Even the 40g bullets are deadly on coyotes.

[Pray- hunt-work]

I have seen very good success with the very expensive Dead Coyote shells (I always shot the 3 1/2" 12 ga.Varity). Are a box of 10 way to expensive? Without a doubt, but can I justify shooting expensive ammo at a critter that I'm lucky to get 10 shots at if it provides a good shot to kill ratio? I sure am! Good luck to you.

[labrador12]

I ran a sheep operation with 300 ewes in upstate NY. I never lost a animal to coyotes. I built a 5 strand fence with a New Zealand type low impedance charger. I used intensive rotational grazing and accelerated lambing. Shooting is more fun, but the objective is keeping your animals alive and productive.

[Bioguy01]

Forget guns and ammo, because they will never get the job done when it comes to coyotes. A trap works for you 24/7, and is the best solution for coyote control. If you're serious about getting rid of coyotes, invest in a coyote trapping starter kit (www.buckadvisor.com/product-category/trapping/)

[rockylizard]

Thanks so much everyone for your input, I sure appreciate it. The Dead Coyote shells...I was a little shell-shocked (haha) at the price. Does anyone know if there's something fairly equivalent without the hefty sticker shock?

The varmint rifles are also great ideas. I really appreciate the suggestion from DakotaMan on the .223 with varmint rounds. I think I will be asking for that for Valentine's Day.

The trapping suggestion is an excellent one, but I'd also trap my guardian dogs so it unfortunately won't work for me.

I also really like the idea of electric fencing, but can't afford it right now. I just have a small hobby flock of an endangered breed of sheep so I don't have the working capital to fence out my acreage.

Thank you again, all, and I'd love any more info that anyone may be willing to share.

[Bioguy01]

So you have guardian dogs and they're not taking care of the coyote problem? Have you consulted with USDA Wildlife Services? If not, I recommend doing so because incidental shooting is NOT going to solve your problem. Your problem is not that you have coyotes, it is that coyotes have access to your sheep. Remove the access (i.e. bring in your sheep in at night), and you'll fix a lot of the problem.

[FredMcIntire]

I'd suggest an H&R Handi Rifle in either .22-250 or .223 Remington, in that order. These little single shot rifles are a great value ! You can sometimes find a nice used one for around $200-$250. Put a good variable power scope on it. MidwayUSA has a Simmons 8-Point Rifle Scope, 3-9x 50mm Truplex Reticle Matte Finish on sale for $45 right now. A .22-250 zeroed in at 100 yards will allow you to shoot dead on out to about 250 yards, maybe a little further. I'd run any good 40 to 55 grain bullet. The Hornady V-Max bullet is an excellent choice for accuracy and terminal performance. A .22-250 will perform well out to 400 yards if you do your part. Can you tell I'm fond of the .22-250 ? As far as a shotgun goes, any 12 gauge shotgun with a full choke, loaded with 3 inch, 00 Buck, will get the job done out to 50 yards. Good Luck !

[rockylizard]

Hi Bioguy, yes, I do keep my sheep in the paddock at night, and I've been in touch with the USDA wildlife guys. Our local USDA guy came out last year to help (I'd lost 4 sheep) and we haven't had any more trouble until now. The guardian dogs have kept us from actually losing any. But...I don't WANT to lose any more sheep or chickens, and having them this close and this bold is really worrying me. I had coyotes singing at 3:00 yesterday afternoon at my next-door neighbor's place! My ewes are lambing right now and I'd rather keep the evil little beast-turd coyotes miles away from my place. If I'm hearing them, that's too close, let alone seeing them. Hence why I want some effective gun/ammo combinations. Thanks for your input, though!

[WA Mtnhunter]

You should be able to shoot across 12 acres with a .22 WMR.