Best gun for coyote protection on farm?

RobertMcC said:
Steven 200 in 223 bolt action....
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If you're going to store the rifle in barn....get something cheap ;) Stevens are proven shooters as well.

You may also look at the Ruger Ranch rifle, they were designed for people like you that need a decent rifle for livestock protection.:)
 
I vote for handi, it is the easiest thing to load quick, and get a shot off, probably the qickest off the line ( meaning empty to one shot off)than any other form of gun. If noise an nieghbors are a problem go 22 hornet, thought there is only about 100 yards of effective range. If noise is not an issue anything from 204 to 243 will do.

A Stevens in 223, 22-250 or 243 would not be a bad selection either.
 
What? nobodys mentioned the winchester 94 "Trapper" in .357mag,you can also use .38spl = cheep practice,this is vary important with any firearm.
this is a great farm rifle,easy hits out to 100yds,little recoil(less with .38spl)shoulders well ,small and handy,
It has a positive image(cowboy like) 9rd tube magazine and over 100yrs of proven reliability.and thier fun.but like any center fire,its loud,but nomore so then a .223Rem

A.22mag would not be as loud
 
A ruger 10/22 with a 25 shot clip....3 of them........


better yet a donkie or 2....they will kick the #### out of a wolf never mind a yote...no lie...I had 2...

my 204 likes yotes allot and it dose not kick at all ...chick friendly...

Just my .02
 
sxyglock17 said:
What gun can she use against a pack of 5 coyotes? I'm not sure if she wants to kill them or scare them, but I assume kill.

I was thinking shotgun with buckshot, but I'm not sure how close she wants to get to them.

The gun will be stored in a locked locker in the barn, so it'll have to be heavy duty and "rust resistant"
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My own situation isn't dissimilar to this one and I've given this some serious consideration.

The problem with a shotgun whether using buckshot or slugs is the risk of ricochets. In our case, the nearest neighbours are 200 meters on either side and while I have used shotguns for predator control I do so with some caution about the backstop and ricochet potential.

What I use currently is a .223 rifle with a detachable magazine and 40 grain Federal Premium ammunition. This cartridge is also known a the "Blitz" round and it is designed to fragment if hits a hard object. Our land is quite rocky and in the event of a miss the likelihood of a ricochet is much lower than with a shotgun. The ricochet issue also ruled out a .22 rimfire.

Because my rifle's magazine is detachable I can keep it unloaded and at hand with a loaded magazine separate from the rifle. The rifle's scope is a 2.5x-8x although I have considered going to a 1.5x-5x or even 1x-4x.

For a brief period I used a Mini 14 Ranch Rifle with a 2.5x fixed scope. My problems with the Mini were poor accuracy and lousy trigger. Within 50 yards it would have been fine but out further I didn't have confidence in it.

A lever action trapper rifle was also considered but they are slow to load and unload and I like the quickness of being able to snap in a magazine when required without having to fumble with individual rounds.

Eventually I settled on a Tikka Whitetail Hunter in .223 and then upgraded it to a Sako Model 75. Of the choices you mentioned if I had to choose among them it would without question be the Remington 7615p in .223 with a light frangible bullet.
 
I was thinking .223 bolt action, removable mag as well. But after reading the thread I think the .22mag is sound advice for a newbie, not to loud, no recoil and the distance isn't a problem, as she likely will only engage at close range. Again I suggest what Claybuster said, get a bolt action with detachable mags that can be left loaded near and put in the rifle on short order. A .17 HMR might be nice too but .22 mag is a simpler cheaper choice.

Also tell her to get a dog, a dog will work and if a dog doesn't work they really are a nuisance and should be shot.

Oh and tell her to get her restricted at the same time (often you can take both at the same time). For a few pennies more she is set for life cause you never know she may get the bug...;) :)
 
A lever action trapper rifle was also considered but they are slow to load and unload and I like the quickness of being able to snap in a magazine when required without having to fumble with individual rounds
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I agree that a mag feed weapon is quicker to get in to action,But seriously,how fast do you have to have load for something like this?I can load 4 or5 rds in a 94 pretty quick,and if you drop one in the top,thats 6rds.
I don't think you're going to get off more then 2 or 3 shoots before their gone.
still like the ideal of the .22mag,and the .17HMR(although costing a little more,but still cheeper then a center fire.) is ,from what I hear,one of the flatest shooters around,like a laser.

Just my thoughts.
 
Most shots with a 22 mag only wound the coyote and make it that more dangerous. Seeing she works on a horse rescues says she does not like to see an animal suffer, probably even old wiley. At least get her into a centerfire of some sorts, a .223 is cheaper to shoot then a .22 mag anyhow with UMC ammo.
 
22 mag hollow point will do the job better on coyote than a 223 with UMC ammo.FMJ ammo is for paper not animals.
My father & grandfather have killed countless wolves/coyotes with a 22 Mag on the trap line.The little mag is plenty for yotes and dont let anyone tell you different.
 
captonion said:
22 mag hollow point will do the job better on coyote than a 223 with UMC ammo.FMJ ammo is for paper not animals.
My father & grandfather have killed countless wolves/coyotes with a 22 Mag on the trap line.The little mag is plenty for yotes and dont let anyone tell you different.
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I dont know where you're getting your info but the UMC 45 gr HP will outperform the pitiful 22 mag any day. Even 22 short will work on a coyote in a trap.
Ive never used the UMC Hollow points, I reload but I mentioned it to keep costs down.
 
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If in a snare they are already dead if not you kill it with a stick of back of your axe.You shoot the ones that arent in a snare and the 22 mag works fine.

I am sorry I didnt know there was UMC hollow points I have only ever seen FMJ.My mistake.
 
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captonion said:
If in a snare they are already dead if not you kill it with a stick of back of your axe.You shoot the ones that arent in a snare and the 22 mag works fine.

I am sorry I didnt know there was UMC hollow points I have only ever seen FMJ.My mistake.
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I guess it all stems down to how far you are going to shoot the coyote. Im sure a 22 mag would limit out at around 100 yards vs a .223 that can easily reach to 200 yards.
For pretty much the same cost a .223 will out perform the mag, has lady friendly recoil and is chambered in way more guns. But to each his own:)

Cheers!!
 
I don't think controling these critters is a good job for the lady anyway. She will have to put to much time in to be effective. I would suggest a fellow gunnut that understands all aspects of safety around the farm , ie don't spook the animals, find locations where the coyotes are entering the property and setup. If the property is wooded along a part of it, get along there far enough away from the horses, and other animals to take care of the problem.
 
I would only use a .22WMR on a coyote if I didn't have other alternatives. If the .223 is too much round for whatever reason, a .22 Hornet might be worthy of consideration. A Ruger 77/22H with a detachable magazine and a low powered scope would be a good choice. Quieter, less recoil but with a good selection of varmint loads available.

Until she gets her licence however getting someone on the property to shoot a few coyotes is a good idea. They've identified her place as an easy food source and will keep coming back until either the food is gone or are otherwise dissuaded. Getting rid of coyotes entirely isn't possible but I've found if you drop a couple it does tend to reduce the frequency of return visits by the rest of them.
 
You said "she" so, I can reasonably assume that she's more prone to recoil than the average guy. So I'd leave the big bad stuff out.
I note that your local is Oshawa, and that means she's likely in the area of the province that doesn't like big noisy stuff either.
I think the 222, 223, would be fine, or, if you think just maybe she might be visited by the odd large dog, the 243. Scoped with a 3x9 should work fine.
She likely doesn't want to spend a heap of $, so look at the Savage bolt guns.
 
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