HELP!!!! COYOTE EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OhZark Biddies]

.... So, if a .22 is not what I want in a small game rifle that doesn't have the velocity to travel six city blocks through ten houses of innocent people .... I'd intended to get a .22 for things like raccoons, which can be very difficult to discourage. So - if not a .22 - what?

I'm not sure what you are asking exactly...Do you have coyotes? Do you anticipate off hand shooting at moving coyote?

If you're thinking you'll need to put down a raccoon that you've caught, a .22 rimfire is plenty.

If you need to put down a coyote that you've caught, a .22 rimfire is plenty... I dispatch coyotes that I catch with a .22 in the side of the chest so as to penetrate both lungs... when done in this way they will expire in about 45 seconds, and will not bleed all over the trap set. When dispatched with a round to the head, they will bleed profusely which can make follow up catches difficult, so I avoid this.

The recommendation to use a round of .220 centerfire or larger, was for shooting a coyote at a distance, and was speaking about an un-caught coyote on the prowl, not a trapped one that is being dispatched at point blank range. But I'm unclear if this is something you see yourself encountering.

If it helps, I'll relate that I live in the sticks, I do not own a dog, and coyotes are common here... but yet I would be surprised if I ever had the opportunity to shoot at a prowling coyote around the coop. It would be much more likely that I would catch one at night and have to dispatch it the next day.

The mention of a round traveling "six city blocks through ten houses of innocent people " is concerning... and I understand you are saying you don't want this to happen, but I want to mention that any kind of quick offhand shooting at a running critter where there are buildings and people in proximity should be discouraged, so if you live in town or near others, my recommendation would be to trap then dispatch in a controlled manner, rather than trying to hit a moving critter in close proximity to people.

Not sure if that answered your questions, but if you provide more details about what you anticipate for critter control, then maybe a more specific recommendation might be made.

 

[cmom]

I have a .22 and a 410. I have killed bobcat several years ago that killed 14 birds then came back for more. I also killed a fox that had dug under a gate during the day and killed several birds so now I have concrete under the gates. I have slugs for the 410 and ammo for the .22. I will use either one of them. If it's a close shot there is quite .22 ammo but you have to be very close as it's not as powerful as regular .22 longs that I usually use, if your neighbors are close by. I live in a very rural area and people around here shoot their guns quite regularly.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

i use a .22 rim fire that can shoot short, long and long rifle. as a trapper i like the shorts for dispatching raccoons and any other little critter i might have to up close, its super quiet, don't use longs. but the long rifles are good for if a want to shoot a rabbit or maybe some upland game birds when am out trapping in the fall. i use the savage rascal, it was a good price. and seems to be a really nice gun.

some trappers are now using high powered air rifles to dispatch animals. not sure how good they are for the fact high powered air rifles are classified as fire arms here in Canada so there is no difference in laws shooting one of them or a .22 rim fire to even a 30-06.

 

[Eggscaping]

I'm not sure what you are asking exactly...Do you have coyotes? Do you anticipate off hand shooting at moving coyote?
Probably not, no. If it's running, I'm not that good a shot.

If you're thinking you'll need to put down a raccoon that you've caught, a .22 rimfire is plenty.
Good. Thanks.

The recommendation to use a round of .220 centerfire or larger, was for shooting a coyote at a distance, and was speaking about an un-caught coyote on the prowl, not a trapped one that is being dispatched at point blank range. But I'm unclear if this is something you see yourself encountering. No, probably not. Originally, if we had gotten the property we first looked at - then maybe. It was backed up to and joined with land that was really wild - ended up being declared a wetlands, which is why we couldn't buy it. But now, we will be in a neighborhood, so no shooting.

If it helps, I'll relate that I live in the sticks, I do not own a dog, and coyotes are common here... but yet I would be surprised if I ever had the opportunity to shoot at a prowling coyote around the coop. It would be much more likely that I would catch one at night and have to dispatch it the next day.

Are you using leg traps, then? If so, do you ever catch non-target animals?

The mention of a round traveling "six city blocks through ten houses of innocent people " is concerning... and I understand you are saying you don't want this to happen, but I want to mention that any kind of quick offhand shooting at a running critter where there are buildings and people in proximity should be discouraged, so if you live in town or near others, my recommendation would be to trap then dispatch in a controlled manner, rather than trying to hit a moving critter in close proximity to people.

Gotcha. The bullets I have in my .38 handgun are designed specifically not to go through walls if they travel through a human intruder. But no, I wouldn't do any sort of quick, offhand shooting even if I were hunting, much less in a neighborhood where people lived.

Not sure if that answered your questions, but if you provide more details about what you anticipate for critter control, then maybe a more specific recommendation might be made.

You did, and thank you for your thoughtful reply. More details can't be provided until we actually are on the property and see 'what's up' with local predators. I want to buy a rifle before we move down there, and am simply trying to figure out which one/what type is best for me to get for 'general predator control'. Thanks again!

 

[Al Capon]

You did, and thank you for your thoughtful reply. More details can't be provided until we actually are on the property and see 'what's up' with local predators. I want to buy a rifle before we move down there, and am simply trying to figure out which one/what type is best for me to get for 'general predator control'. Thanks again!

There as been great advances in shotgun shell technology over the last decade or so. Federal ammo has changed the game with their Flite Control wads. A bargain shotgun with a cylinder bore, paired with Federal Flight Control buckshot will take care of anything and everything up to the size of coyotes out to 40 yards cleanly. Might be something to consider once you get situated.

 

[llombardo]

A secured run for your flock is the only way to ensure their safety. Even if you remove this coyote another one will just take its place.

Or 20 more. If you happen to take out the Alfa female(and I've also heard male) tvere us a 75% chance it's the female at night because the females are the hunters. Once the head female is removed the remaining 3-4 girls in the pack under her breed almost immediately. They have 4-6 pups, so now instead of one pack you gave 4-5 packs of coyotes.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

....The bullets I have in my .38 handgun .....
....Are you using leg traps, then? If so, do you ever catch non-target animals?

Your .38 would certainly work for dispatching chicken eating predators that you've trapped, but might be a bit messy. Again my preferred method for a clean and quick dispatch, is a .22 across the chest so as to puncture both lungs is. I use a homemade catch pole (made of PVC pipe and braided cable... google for more details) to assist with this too.

It might just be my "pet peeve" about the term "leg hold", but there is not really a trap style by that name, it's a misnomer for what is properly called a "foot hold" trap, which include long spring style and coil spring style traps. A properly sized foothold trap catches the critter across the pad of the foot, and it should not do damage to the foot.

I do use foot hold traps, and I guess you could say I always catch non targets... this is because I'm seldom intending to catch raccoons and possums these days ... but they always work the traps sets first, so they alone are non-targets in that situation.

But I suspect you are really asking about catching pets in foot hold traps when attempting to catch raccoons or foxes. Yes this happens, and there are several things the experienced trapper will do to work around this... and many that the less experienced trapper can do.

Firstly, if you are specifically after a raccoon, you can use a cage style trap, or you can use what is called a "dog proof" or "canister" style trap instead of a foothold trap, and this will help you avoid dogs, and for the most part cats. Cats caught in the cage style trap can be turned out easily. I don't use the dog proof style traps, but my understanding is that occasionally a cat is caught in them... you can lessen the chance of this by using marshmallows, or candy bait rather than dry cat food, etc.

If after a fox where there is a chance of catching a pet, I would use a foothold style coil spring trap... but in order to be able to release non-target animals such as a cat without injury, I would use a small sized foot hold trap, that is designed with a few specific features that will prevent injury. When the proper sized and style foothold is used, the non-target animal will have a numb foot for a bit, but that's about it.

Certainly though, there are "slobs" that use the wrong size or style traps that result in injury to non-target animals, so this is where the general concern comes from.... sometimes these "slobs" are well meaning chicken owners that run to the farm store in a tizzy after having a predator attack and grab the biggest trap they can because it looks more effective, which is 'wrong headed" in a number of ways.

And I'll mention too that the use of footholds to catch fox takes a bit of knowledge to be done effectively, so if this is all new to you, I wouldn't be too concerned about that just yet.... in any case keep asking good questions, understand that half of the stuff we read on the internet is suspect ( and half of that is garbage), and understand that this site is part of the internet... and of course shoot straight!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Or 20 more. If you happen to take out the Alfa female(and I've also heard male) tvere us a 75% chance it's the female at night because the females are the hunters. Once the head female is removed the remaining 3-4 girls in the pack under her breed almost immediately. They have 4-6 pups, so now instead of one pack you gave 4-5 packs of coyotes.

If you're saying this "can" happen when population dynamics are just right then I agree... if you're saying this "always" happens, or even happens "most" of the time... I would ask that you site your sources.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Your .38 would certainly work for dispatching chicken eating predators that you've trapped, but might be a bit messy. Again my preferred method for a clean and quick dispatch, is a .22 across the chest so as to puncture both lungs is. I use a homemade catch pole (made of PVC pipe and braided cable... google for more details) to assist with this too.

It might just be my "pet peeve" about the term "leg hold", but there is not really a trap style by that name, it's a misnomer for what is properly called a "foot hold" trap, which include long spring style and coil spring style traps. A properly sized foothold trap catches the critter across the pad of the foot, and it should not do damage to the foot.

I do use foot hold traps, and I guess you could say I always catch non targets... this is because I'm seldom intending to catch raccoons and possums these days ... but they always work the traps sets first, so they alone are non-targets in that situation.

But I suspect you are really asking about catching pets in foot hold traps when attempting to catch raccoons or foxes. Yes this happens, and there are several things the experienced trapper will do to work around this... and many that the less experienced trapper can do.

Firstly, if you are specifically after a raccoon, you can use a cage style trap, or you can use what is called a "dog proof" or "canister" style trap instead of a foothold trap, and this will help you avoid dogs, and for the most part cats. Cats caught in the cage style trap can be turned out easily. I don't use the dog proof style traps, but my understanding is that occasionally a cat is caught in them... you can lessen the chance of this by using marshmallows, or candy bait rather than dry cat food, etc.

If after a fox where there is a chance of catching a pet, I would use a foothold style coil spring trap... but in order to be able to release non-target animals such as a cat without injury, I would use a small sized foot hold trap, that is designed with a few specific features that will prevent injury. When the proper sized and style foothold is used, the non-target animal will have a numb foot for a bit, but that's about it.

Certainly though, there are "slobs" that use the wrong size or style traps that result in injury to non-target animals, so this is where the general concern comes from.... sometimes these "slobs" are well meaning chicken owners that run to the farm store in a tizzy after having a predator attack and grab the biggest trap they can because it looks more effective, which is 'wrong headed" in a number of ways.

And I'll mention too that the use of footholds to catch fox takes a bit of knowledge to be done effectively, so if this is all new to you, I wouldn't be too concerned about that just yet.... in any case keep asking good questions, understand that half of the stuff we read on the internet is suspect ( and half of that is garbage), and understand that this site is part of the internet... and of course shoot straight!

yes you can catch cats in a dog proof coon trap, how ever i did catch a stray cat in mine, took two people to release it, how ever the cat ran away unharmed and i saw it for a few more weeks before it moved on.

to note dog proof traps can and will catch skunks (and heard possums but don't got any possums where i live) learned the hard way on the skunks though.

 

[papajoesfarm]

As two others have said, put up an electric fence around your yard and coop, do not let your flock out until after sunrise, and put them up before sundown. Get a 20 gauge shotgun, equip it with a Phoenix stock to reduce the kick, and load it with #4 shot shells, also known as the "law enforcement round" . This is what we ran in our patrol cars, as it will not penetrate a domicile, but will penetrate a criminal. Be sure to practice ahead of time, and know how to shoot as well as clean your weapon. Purchase a headlamp with strobe, as the strobe light will freeze game. Do not hesitate to shoot to protect your flock, just be sure to backstop any shot you take. With a shotgun, you don't have to be Wyatt Earp, just get your field of view in the general direction of the varmint. If you do this, your flock will be kept.safe. Yes, coyotes are clever, that's why you have to go to war against them. I grew up in Colorado, they have been a fact of life there since the days of covered wagons. Also, a good rooster is indispensible in watching out for your girls. My thoughts and prayers go out to you, be strong,be determined, and you will prevail.