Need coyote help please
 

So we have them around here. I can hear them at night and when we were talking to a guy when we were buying fence tonight he told me that just one road over they are killing calves.

What is the best kind of rifle that will kill them? I assume I won't see them til it's dark but I plan to lie in wait with the goats so I figure I'll be fairly close - I just want to make sure they die and the goats are safe. Yes, I plan to get a couple of guard dogs or a donkeys but I need to do something now. It's faster to get a rifle than a dog that is used to being around goats right now.

Thanks.

Try to poke around and find a local hunting forum - you might be able to get someone to come take care of them for you.

If you do decide to shoot them yourself, make sure you do it in accordance with state law - some states do not allow shooting them at night.

22-250 is a good varmint gun. For close range I would go with a shotgun. Just make sure coyotes are the only thing in front of you. You dont have to 'aim' just point in the general direction and pull the trigger. Again, check your state laws, they regulate the guns you can and cant use, even season dates - regularly in accordance with deer season. Your state game and fish commission website should have that information.

Is there such a thing as a season on wild life killing or otherwise harrassing your animals?

if they really are killing calf's it is going to take more than you with a gun. in order to kill a calf with a mother close by they would need to pack up to get the job done, they have all night to wait, do you. call in a pro that knows how to call them in, most will do it for the hides and the fun. we had a problem around here awhile back with losing some calf's and when the hunters were done that year they had killed over 100 coyotes in a 2 mile radius. a good perimeter defense would be your best bet, tall fences and set some bait and traps. good luck and keep some lights and music on in the pens, some people think that works as a repelant.

There is a man on the central Missouri Craigslist who asks for rights to hunt coyotes if you are having a problem. He says he's a former employee of MO Dept. of Conservation which oversees such things and claims a lot of experience in both trapping and calling coyotes in. Do you have someone in your area who does this sort of thing? Also check to see if you have a trappers' association in NC.

In Missouri, you can shoot any animal, wild or domesticated, that is harassing livestock. I got permission to shoot a fox that had killed one hen and continued to hang around the place but it was a matter of calling the local office then being referred to the appropriate wildlife agent.

very few states regulate coyotes or other invasive pest species.
fortunately NC allows you to take them year round. pelts ain't worth spit from that part of the country unless you get an off color & then it's only valuable to a taxidermist. i may be wrong but i believe NC recently changed the law to allow night shooting with a light. used to be only coons & possum could be hunted at night. check the WRC website the regs are on it in PDF form.

I too would reccommend a shotgun w/ smaller buckshot and moderate choke for better range. however DO AIM.

I have an M4gery to use this year as well as a .243 bolt gun.

I would recommend finding a local trapper. He will set snares and traps which are effective, and lethal. There are a lot of guys looking for this kind of work. I'll ask on a forum i go on for you if you want. If you insist on shooting them, at close range a .22 rimfire is lethal in steady hands... or a shotgun. For farther shots, a .222 .223, .243, .22-250, .204, or the like is very potent. Best of luck. They can be sneaky beggars...

I'm a coyote hunter and know lots of coyote hunters.
I'm not in your area but maybe I know someone who is.
email me at randy@meinersolutions.com with more info and I'll see if I can find you some
help.

If you're not used to firearms now is not the time to hurry, get a gun and try to shoot
coyotes. Not a good idea.

For dogs, if you have that many coyotes and they are killing calves, you will need more
then 1 dog. We run 3 great pyreneese with our goats.

The best kind of coyote rifle is a dog, a livestock guardian dog. Better yet, a whole pack of dogs.

The problem with shooting the coyote is then another one comes to take its place. Additionally you could accidentally shoot someone's dogs who weren't being a problem. Our livestock guardian and herding dogs look just like wolves and coyotes and people mistake them all the time.

The advantage of good dogs is they work 24/7 guarding your property, your livestock and you. They care and they thrill to do their job. I don't have any desire to go out and sit in the cold at 3 am waiting to snipe a coyote. My dogs love doing it. Our dogs mark their territory along our fence boundaries. The coyotes that stay outside our fences they simply talk to. Any coyotes foolish enough to come in get killed and eaten by our dogs.

By the way, one dog is not enough if you have serious predator pressures. In fact, it may get killed by the predators. This is a gang war. Who's gang is bigger and tougher. Who's gang can hold the territory. Canine's know this game deeply.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

LOL

Wrong

Get a good 223 rifle and AIM if you want to actually kill something

No and in NC coyotes can be shot any time

I concur with the .243 bolt action rifle. (Browning BLR is a lever action in .243 that would also be good).

I agree with some of the others. Find some local coyote hunters or trappers in your area & I'm sure they'd be happy to hunt all the coyotes around your place.
They'd get the coyotes & you'd have less worry.

There's a group around us that hunt them every year. They usually start after firearm deer season. Last year they got 35 or so in our general area, not just our property of course.

What I meant was you do not have to aim a shotgun as you would a rifle. And yes, just pointing in the general direction, so long as you are within range, WILL get the job done. Ive done it enough with squirrels, and never got it wrong.

Coyote is much bigger then a squirrel.
Much harder to kill.
You also can't use birdshot on them like you would a squirrel.
#4 buck would do the job but then you better aim.
Coyote would also need to be fairly close up.

But if the OP doesn't have much firearm experience now is not the time to learn.
That's how people get hurt and killed. Training is needed.

Where I used to live ( backed 3 sides of forest land and no neighbors), Coyotes packed up and killed all kinds of livestock. 20 in a pack was pretty normal.
Even with the heavy duty night pasture I wanted to be careful. While they couldn't get in with my animals at night, they did get bold in the main pasture.
They won't run off, when I was out working in the hay field... usually in the spring... it was time to cull. Believe me, they had plenty of food and very healthy looking.
Fat and happy living off all the livestock in the area.

I usually killed 1 to 2 in the spring, with anything from a 22 to my 30-30. Husband tended to favor his shot gun.
However, with the 22 you need to know how to shoot to get a clean kill.

After that, they steered clear of us for another year.
Fish and Game had no problem with us killing predators.

Miss living in the Wilds. Even with the animal predator problem.

Anyway, my husband and I were raised hunting and shooting. I mostly just shoot predators when they get bold towards my animals.

If someone hasn't, they need to learn, take a safety course and lessons. Will help save a human life.

It would help much to know where in NC you live.
I know trappers statewide. Maybe you can post
what you need here.
http://nctrapper.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general
Someone may be able to help you.

If you are serious as a goat header I know a lady that just sold her herd off and has 4 pryenense dogs just loafing. THese are experenced dogs and they have handled many coyates. We are in a Coyate heaven (orHell)
PM me and I will check with her.
I am in Middle TN

Actually you DO have to aim it just like a rifle if you intend to hit a specific target.

It also limits your effective range on coyotes to about 30 yds, whereas any suitable rifle will be good out to at least 300 yds.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot20.htm

If you keep your goats in a secure pen then most of your problem will be solved. Coyotes hunt during the daylight hours too, so it's best to keep the goats penned up all the time. I keep my goats in a pen made of 5 ft high livestock panels (4" squares top to bottom so they don't get their heads stuck in the fence). I have had no problems with dogs or coyotes. I hear coyotes nearby sometimes, but they are mostly eating rabbits, mice, neighbors' cats, etc.

Depending on how many neighbors you have, and how close they are, you should be very careful about shooting at coyotes with a rifle. You sure wouldn't want to accidentally hit a person, an animal, or somebody's house. Having said all that, I would recommend a shotgun for close up coyote shooting (less than 40 yards) and a .223 rifle with a scope for anything out to 300 yds. But become competent and safe with these guns before you go charging out of the house blazing away at coyotes some night.

I totally agree with Gila dog.

Where there's ione, there's more so killing one won't really solve your situation permanently. Plus coyotes eat rodents & other annoying animals.

Plus - not even knowing what kind of a gun to use, tells me you're pretty much of a novice around long guns & that's an accident waiting to happen,

Good husbandry means protecting your animals - again, I agree with Gila dog - fence, fence & fence and house your animals -with a good LGD.

Another perspective........a few years ago, I saw pieces of rabbit skin right beside one of my goat pens. It was obviously the "leftovers" from a coyote kill. I was a little panicked.
There was a sheep seiminar coming up.....and there were several presentations on dealing with coyotes. The presenter had been studying coyotes for 30 years, and had traveled all over the country.
He said a couple things ......1. Coyotes seldom very their diet......unless their usual prey is disappearing, or they are raising babies, and there is not enough of their usual prey. 2. If you kill the coyotes, other coyotes will just move into their territory.
After the presentations, I went up to talk with him. I told him about my situation , and asked him for his opinnion as to what I should do.
He said that he would not do anything. He said that, apparently, the existing coyotes do not have a "taste" for goat meat. He said that if I shoot them, that another pack will just move in.......and the new coyotes may love goat meat.....and, then I will have real problems.
That has been a few years.......and almost every year, the people that hunt deer in my woods tell me that they see coyotes.
Around here, I am much more concerned about stray dogs.....and have asked the hunters to shoot any of stray dogs!!!
The coyotes and I seem to have an "understanding".........if they leave my animals alone, I will leave them alone.
(A couple interesting "tidbits".......according to the presenter, even though coyotes lives in packs, it is only the "alpha" male and female that will make the actual 'kill.' The only technique that they have found effective in reducing the population of coyotes........trap the "alpha" male and female....spay and neuter them and turn them loose again.)

And to quote the old story, did an old rancher stand up and say, "Son I don't think you understand... they are killing our sheep, not raping them."?

Don't we all start out as a novice? Or are only the competent shots born with the knowledge of what the best gun would be?

Thanks just_sawing. I sent you a PM. :)

I guess I don't understand PP, are you having problems during the day with coyotes? We have the all over the place here, partly because of the dug ditch that runs the edge of my land, yotes love to run the ditch and use it as a highway.

I have goats, chickens and several barn cats. The reason I have never lost an animal to the yotes is because all my animals are all locked up tight and sound at least a 1/2 an hour before dark. I have a Pyr that stays out with them during the day, she is also locked in the barn with them at night.

Why don't you just lock your goats up?

Annie

Over twenty years raising sheep and killing DOGS tell me these two have it right!

We have not brought them over to the new place yet, as we do not have the fence secure. I am preparing to have a problem instead of waiting to react "incase" we do. I am actively looking for guard animals as well but we have to get the goats out of the current location before the 30th of this month due to town rules we broke unknowingly.

I was given 90 days to find a place to live where I could raise my animals and children or I had to rehome my goats. I was not willing to give them up after we were already granted a permit from the county to have them that the town trumped, after having them for over a year. I will be darned if I'm going to move my family 45 miles away to lose goats to animals I should protect them from. I am doing the very best I can with the situation, including learning as I go. I have found tremendous amount of support here on this site and was hoping I could find out what I could use to kill an animal I am not familiar with that could not only carry off a goat but also my 2 year old. I have not seen them yet, I have heard them and as of last night found out the are in fact taking out livestock just 2 roads over. I am trying to be prepared, that is all.

Thanks for the help.

I would pick a 223 caliber. Ammo is available and relatively cheap and it will kill a coyote to 300 yards easily. A single shot rifle would be the cheap route and they are usually fairly accurate. You will also need a scope and have someone help you sight it in about 3" high at 100 yards. Then you can aim at the middle of a coyote out to 300 yards and so pretty good hitting it. And practice, learn to use a rest, control your breathing.

Even with a good fence, everybody needs a good rifle, too.

Pretty Paisley
where in NC are you? i just thought about this, but in a certain part of NC you might be dealing with red wolves rather than coyotes. they aren't protected to the degree the greys in the yellowstone region were. but they are protected & there are rules to follow before shooting them. this includes getting permission from the WRC/USFW.

See how explaining more of the situation actually helps!

There are several men in my area that hunt out coyotes each fall, sometimes killing upwards of 30 and each summer there are just as many if not more than the year before. That is the problem, kill out one pack another pack moves in to take it's place, possibly a bigger pack.

I feel for you dear, I do. But being untrained with firearms and sitting out in a field alone at night is a scary thing! If, I were in your situation I would pay someone who had a secure place to keep my goats until I had a secure place of my own to keep them.

I am sorry you are having so much trouble!

Annie

Good luck getting permission here to shoot
a wolf. North East part of the state has plenty.

The Red Wolf is only in a few counties in extreme Eastern NC

Shannon,

I agree with the folks that advise turning a local hunter loose on them.

However, If you are determined to get a gun and go after them yourself, I recommend a shotgun. In order to kill a coyote with a shotgun you have to be within about 40 yards. After the pellets have gone about a hundred yards they won't break the skin. A rifle, even a 22, can be leathal out to 4 miles. When you shoot a rifle you have to be sure you have a backstop. You don't want the bullets flying several miles and doing damage. A shotgun does have to be aimed but not as precisely as a rifle. Please take a firearms safety course.

Dogs are the long term solution.

This jazz about killing one and another takes its place is nuts. Where do you think the coyotes come from, thin air? If several people are hunting them, they act as a wild animal should, with a healthy respect for humans. This alone can keep them away from human habitation. And if they are being hunted in several areas, there will be fewer to take the place of the previous ones. So don't believe the "experts" who say more will take its place. This makes no sense at all, if you keep showing the new guys what this new territory is like. As you thin them out some, the coyotes that are apparently growing out of thin air eventually are reduced enought that there are not enough to take the place of the previous individual, pack, or pair...

Just don't let this disuade you. The experts were probably studying these animals in a park where they are half tame, and there is no livestock. I know for sure I have coyotes here that eat beef, lamb, mice, fish, deer, moose carcasses, rabbits, squirrels, woodpeckers, foxes, my chickens, my turkeys, my ducks, etc. They feed on whatever they can catch and is handy. They sure do prey on more than one animal type.

If you can remember back years ago the U.S. govt. decided to get rid of the coyote.They did just about everything anyone could think of doing to kill coyotes. They failed. Actually made the problem a lot worse than it was originally.

If you have no gun at all, consider this: if you're going to lie in wait, in the dark, near the pen, then a rifle that's scoped to shoot one bullet at something 900 feet away from you in the dark would be pretty useless, huh? and when you do get your protective fencing up, what the heck will you do with that kind of a gun anyway. Soooo, my recommendation is the Mossburg 500 youth model, in 20 g. or maybe even .410 that later on you can put to use as a home defense, next to the bed, weapon. It is a pump action 5 or 6 shots depending on the length of shell, and you can shoot No. 4 shot, or slugs in 3 inch loads--I think that would be pretty effective at the close enough range you'll be in, and the noise would scare them away if you surprise them, in case you missed......

At 5 1/2 lbs it's pretty easy to carry,to shoot, and the short barrel makes it possible to use it inside where you have a short swing area. Also good for rabbits, pheasants, turkeys, stray dogs, maybe even feral pigs? $300 to $375 at your gun dealer, and they could probably have it shipped pretty fast.

http://www.mossberg.com/products/def...&display=specs

My opinion,

geo

I have a .380 I am comfortable shooting at the gun range and look forward to practicing behind the house. I have one neighbor to the left and no one remotely close to the right or for 94 acres behind me. But I'm fairly certain that's not what I need for coyotes.

We are in Stanly County. That's southeast of Charlotte a ways. Thanks again for the help. It's just not easy for me to sit back and wait and see. I would have made a heck of a BoyScout.

No question, we will never get rid of coyotes completely. There is no reason to do this at all. I don't think anyone wants them eradicated, just controlled somewhat.

I live in Anson county. I know some trappers
in Stanly and Rowan if you want info.