What’s a good inexpensive rifle for coyotes?

[Ky hills]

I think I’ve asked that a few years back and never did get one. For a few years now we haven’t lost any calves to coyotes but have in the past. Back in n the winter some stayed close to some cows we had next to a grown up abandoned railroad. The last week or so my wife has been woke up by coyotes carrying on at night close by our house. I’m very hard of hearing and rarely hear them anymore unless I’m outside and they are close by. We often see them in the daytime too. With so much activity we are thinking it’s just a matter of time before they cause problems again.
What kind of rifle would y’all recommend for coyotes?

 

[TCRanch]

I have a .223 for 'yotes.

 

[skyhightree1]

I have a .223 for 'yotes.

I have a sling shot for yotes... I gotta be in close though and use a big ball bearing.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

A #12 treble hook with a straightened barb in a piece of frozen meat in the winter is what I have heard.
Apply strategically.... or any good high velocity centerfire cartridge if thou art so inclined,,,,,,,,,

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

A #12 treble hook with a straightened barb in a piece of frozen meat in the winter is what I have heard.
Apply strategically.... or any good high velocity centerfire cartridge if thou art so inclined,,,,,,,,,

We snare them and dispatch them as soon as we discover the catch. I can't condone the use of baited treble hooks. Pretty cruel even for a Yote, a buzzard on the other hand...well...all's fair in love and war with those varmints.

 

[bigbluegrass]

My first two choices would be 22-250 or 220 swift - but really any varmint rifle or even a deer rifle will get the job done. If your terrain is anything like ours, you probably aren't going to get many shots over 300 yards. Most will be in the 100 yard or less range and running.

Snares and traps are more effective at long term population control.

 

[callmefence]

We use fence snares when we had sheep. Very effective if you have a netwire fence. Pretty useless on a few strands of barbwire.
I've got handirifle in 223 a 300.00 Dollar rifle but with a 500.00 Leopold scope it's seldom more than a few steps away. Coyotes and pigs die before the sound gets to them.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

We use fence snares when we had sheep. Very effective if you have a netwire fence. Pretty useless on a few strands of barbwire.
I've got handirifle in 223 a 300.00 Dollar rifle but with a 500.00 Leopold scope it's seldom more than a few steps away. Coyotes and pigs die before the sound gets to them.

We are 90% fenced in netwire so we look for places where it's clear they are going under and put the snares there.

 

[callmefence]

We are 90% fenced in netwire so we look for places where it's clear they are going under and put the snares there.

That's how it works..

 

[Ferd]

I read that if you have coyotes that aren’t killing anything, you want them to stay. If you kill them different coyotes will take over the territory and they may be calf killers. If you kill a lot of them and there is a lot of territory and few coyotes,they will have bigger litters to fill the void. To feed the big litters they will kill something bigger than rabbits. Like sheep, goats and calves. I haven’t done that myself, but thought that it made sense

 

[puzzled in oregon]

I read that if you have coyotes that aren’t killing anything, you want them to stay. If you kill them different coyotes will take over the territory and they may be calf killers. If you kill a lot of them and there is a lot of territory and few coyotes,they will have bigger litters to fill the void. To feed the big litters they will kill something bigger than rabbits. Like sheep, goats and calves. I haven’t done that myself, but thought that it made sense

A federal trapper explained that to me a long time ago. Some of my cousins that ran sheep had a fox denned up in one of their large holding areas, never bothered any lambs on their place,but would poach off the neighbors.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I read that if you have coyotes that aren’t killing anything, you want them to stay. If you kill them different coyotes will take over the territory and they may be calf killers. If you kill a lot of them and there is a lot of territory and few coyotes,they will have bigger litters to fill the void. To feed the big litters they will kill something bigger than rabbits. Like sheep, goats and calves. I haven’t done that myself, but thought that it made sense

The guy who runs our farm is big into turkey and rabbit hunting. He’s on a jihad against coyotes because of the damage they do to his preferred game. I can safely say we’ve never lost a calf to coyotes. We lost 6 one year to Mexican Buzzards though.

 

[TCRanch]

I read that if you have coyotes that aren’t killing anything, you want them to stay. If you kill them different coyotes will take over the territory and they may be calf killers. If you kill a lot of them and there is a lot of territory and few coyotes,they will have bigger litters to fill the void. To feed the big litters they will kill something bigger than rabbits. Like sheep, goats and calves. I haven’t done that myself, but thought that it made sense

I've heard that as well and tend to believe it. During the winter but before calving, the main herd stays primarily around the bale area (plus, there's a lot of protection from the elements). Years ago, a big, male coyote showed up every day after I fed cubes. Cows completely ignored him and he would make his way around, eating residual cubes - and fresh poop with 20% protein. But it was getting close to calving and I was getting nervous. Neighbor, who happened to be a sniper in the military, came over in full brush camo and waited for the 'yote to make his appearance. Except my cattle are dog gentle and flushed him out - multiple times, every day, over the course of a week (Heeeeey! Got cubes??). And any time I saw him, at the time, I didn't have the .223 on me (a .22 won't do squat) or was in the tractor putting out bales, etc. Anyway, he mysteriously disappeared shortly before calving. Did the cows take him out en masse? Or something else happened to him? Or just an understanding between him/his pack and my cows? Never saw him again - until the next fall. I'll be damned. Same thing over the next two years, but haven't seen him since.

Knock wood, I've never lost a calf to a coyote. And we have tons of them. But we also have a lot of deer, turkey, quail, rabbits, varmints, barn cats - you name it.

 

[Buck Randall]

I've heard that as well and tend to believe it. During the winter but before calving, the main herd stays primarily around the bale area (plus, there's a lot of protection from the elements). Years ago, a big, male coyote showed up every day after I fed cubes. Cows completely ignored him and he would make his way around, eating residual cubes - and fresh poop with 20% protein. But it was getting close to calving and I was getting nervous. Neighbor, who happened to be a sniper in the military, came over in full brush camo and waited for the 'yote to make his appearance. Except my cattle are dog gentle and flushed him out - multiple times, every day, over the course of a week (Heeeeey! Got cubes??). And any time I saw him, at the time, I didn't have the .223 on me (a .22 won't do squat) or was in the tractor putting out bales, etc. Anyway, he mysteriously disappeared shortly before calving. Did the cows take him out en masse? Or something else happened to him? Or just an understanding between him/his pack and my cows? Never saw him again - until the next fall. I'll be damned. Same thing over the next two years, but haven't seen him since.

Knock wood, I've never lost a calf to a coyote. And we have tons of them. But we also have a lot of deer, turkey, quail, rabbits, varmints, barn cats - you name it.

He probably just moved on when he was able to find better food than cubes and manure.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

To each their own but an inexpensive rifle was never on my bucket list.
To me, your post implies cheaply made. Precision may not be cheap but it should have lasting value built in....

 

[Atimm693]

Mossberg Patriot, Savage Axis or a Ruger American in .223, 22-250, 25-06, whatever you prefer.

I have a Patriot and have had an Axis in the past. They are really good shooters, and it's not a big deal if they spend their life in the truck getting beat up.

I also have a Savage Bmag in 17 WSM that has taken a few yotes, but it doesn't quite have the punch of a .22, and can be a little lacking at longer ranges.

Trapping is a lot more effective than shooting them. You'll get a few but the rest will just get an education and get sneakier.

 

[Ky hills]

To each their own but an inexpensive rifle was never on my bucket list.
To me, your post implies cheaply made. Precision may not be cheap but it should have lasting value built in....

I reckon what I was trying to say was something akin to I don’t have to have the Cadillac of guns, when all I need is a Chevrolet.

 

[Atimm693]

To each their own but an inexpensive rifle was never on my bucket list.
To me, your post implies cheaply made. Precision may not be cheap but it should have lasting value built in....

The market is flooded with $300 MOA or better bolt guns.

I appreciate a nice rifle as much as the next guy, but also see the utility in a cheap truck gun that doesn't need to look the part but can put a bullet where it counts nonetheless.

 

[libertygarden]

A 243 will kill coyotes all day long, and it's a good deer rifle, too. Consider it off season practice.

 

[EasTex]

A 243 will kill coyotes all day long, and it's a good deer rifle, too. Consider it off season practice.

25.06 as well