Coyotes - .410 or .22LR?

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GamingOrb

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Hello all, this is my first post. I've been enjoying the abundant knowledge here at TFL for a couple months and now I have a question of my own.

I'd like to help take care of a coyote problem on my in-laws farm. Fortunately they don't have anything smaller than adult horses right now, but it's still disconcerting. Anyways, I'm limited to using the guns they have (I don't have any of my own yet): a .410 H&R Tamer and a Ruger 10/22. They aren't afraid of humans (yet ;) ) and generally show up in one of the horse pastures, so lets assume a range of <50yds with no brush in the way.

My question: Which of those 2 guns should I use and what type of load should be in it? You can probably guess that I'm leaning towards the .410, since I'm posting on the scattergun forum.

Thanks in advance for the advice!
 
I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know when I say that neither weapon you are considering is ideal. Most would consider even a .22WMR or .17HMR as marginal for coyotes at best. A .22LR will kill one, but you've got to be very precise with shot placement. I think headshots would be the order of the day here. As for .410 bore shotguns, I think your biggest barrier there is going to be ammo availability. From what I've read in other forums re: shotguns for yotes you would need to look at smaller buckshot sizes like 3 and 4 buck as opposed to 00 or 000. The reasoning being that you're gonna need a denser pattern to kill coyotes and larger size shot doesn't pattern as well. I've never seen smaller buckshot sizes anywhere for .410 personally. I've seen and have some 00 and 000, but it doesn't pattern very well past about 20-25 yds. Slugs are available but they aren't terribly accurate from my H&R past 20 yds or so.

If I had to choose between the two with no other options I'd go with the .22LR with a heavy for caliber bullet. Look at some 60 grain subsonic rounds or some solid 40 grainers at least. Is there anyway you can borrow someone else's gun?

Also want to check your local game laws and see what is legal to take coyotes. Some states have restrictions, some don't.

Best of luck whichever you choose.
 
I would go with the recommendation for using the .22 and go for a head shot. You might want to be sure to use a hollow point round in the largest grain size you can find. Also, be sure to do plenty of target shooting at 50 yards and try for tight groups. A coyote head at 50 yards is a pretty small targe, especially with open sights. I would differ from the previous responder on the .410. Even with #2 or 1 buck shot (if it's available at all), 50 yards is not a reliable killing range for even larger shotguns with a lot more pellets going down range.
 
I hope this comes across as strong, not mean. The .410 shotgun is good for nothing beyond teaching little kids how to shoot. It is not a killing load - it is a crippling load. Shooting anything other than tiny little ground squirrels with it is unethical. The .410 is actually a caliber. That same barrel diameter expressed in gauge is 67! Think about that in terms of the guns you know... 12 g., 20 g., 28 g. I wouldn't shoot yotes with a .22 either. If you're gonna kill something with a gun... KILL it.
 
Indeed I agree with Jazz. I didn't really mean to imply that a .410 loaded with smaller buckshot was a 50 yard killer of coyotes, though I realize now that my post did make that implication. Even with a 12 ga 50 yds is close to max with smaller buckshot, though I've seen claims that the new HeviShot Dead Coyote is supposed to be a 75-80 yd effective load. (I'll believe that one when I've personally seen it).
 
Take advantage of this opportunity to tell your in-laws that they need to give you some money to buy a better firearm more suited for the purpose.

There's plenty of used rifles out there that'll do what you need and not cost you (or them!) alot of money.
 
The .410 is a good shotgun - skeet shooters, sporting clays shooters shoot them a lot in competition. However, unless you can find a .410 slug ammo - and get to within 25 yards of the coyote, which is not likely - the .410 is not a good weapon. You will also need to make a clean head shot with the .410 slug or OO buck.

If you go with a .22LR hollow point - use the heaviest grain bullet you can find - and only take a solid head shot right behind the eye so you don't glance off the bones of the skull. But a .22 is not the way to go / and personally I would refuse to kill a coyote with a .22. Get close - and be prepared to make a 2nd or 3rd shot for a kill. Seriously - you need to go up to a higher caliber - something more of a "hunting load" or a "varmit load" in a suitable caliber .223 7mm something that shoots flat and will hit pretty hard. Then a shoulder shot is probably ok. Personally I like the 30-06 with a 125 or 165 grain bullet for coyotes at about 50 yards.
 
I built a coyote gun in gunsmithng school: baby Sako in 6mm/.223. Haven't shot it since '82, but coyotes having killed a couple of my cats I'm ready to get out the reloading press and go for it.
 
What about a Savage Model 24? Rifle barrel over a shotgun barrel. The poor-man's drilling. There are lots of variations -- .22LR/.410, .22 Mag/20 Gauge, .357 Mag/20 gauge, even .308/12 gauge combinations. Take a look on www.gunbroker.com and www.gunsamerica.com. One of them strikes me as what you're really looking for, best of both worlds.
 
Thank you everyone for your input. Honestly, I had a feeling that both options would be too light for the job. I'm planning on shooting a lot targets with their 10/22 and 22/45 as things warm back up. If (and this is a big if, seeing as I'm fairly new to shooting) I can work myself down to some really tight groups at 50-100yds with the rifle, I'll come back to the advice on heavy HP's. And I'll check into the local regs in the meantime, thanks for the reminder, RR!

As far as my in-laws getting a larger rifle for the task, I doubt they'd find it worth it, since for now the coyotes are more of a nuisance than a threat. If things get worse, there's 2 uncles in the family that occasionally hunt deer on the property and could probably come in to clean up.

I would love to get a real hunting rifle for myself (along with 5 or 6 other guns, just the get the collection started;) ), but college budgets being what they are it's just not in the cards right now, and getting a HD/SD handgun for my wife and I is a higher priority anyways.

Thanks again for the great suggestions and information.
 
Coyotes are tough animals. I shot one two years ago with my .30-06 with 150 grain ballistic tips and it dragged itself 50 yards with its spine broken. I killed two more with a .50 cal muzzleloader this past deer season and a third with a 12 ga.

If you do run across some extra cash you could pick up an NEF single shot rifle for about 250 and add a 50 dollar scope to it. Get it in .243 Win and you're good for coyotes and deer. Or you could pick up a Savage 111 with scope for about 350-400.
 
The .410 shotgun is good for nothing beyond teaching little kids how to shoot. It is not a killing load
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A little of topic here but you have no idea what you are talking about. The .410 shotgun is a great competition skeet gun and a great quail gun. That's why the professionals use them.
 
I still shoot squirrels with my .410. It reaches out pretty far to knock those little buggers out of the trees. My only complaint is the price of the ammo.......:eek:
 
.410 shotgun is a great competition skeet gun and a great quail gun. That's why the professionals use them.
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Sorry Clayfish. We're never gonna see eye-to-eye on this one. As far as I'm concerned, "professionals" know how to bring enough gun for the job. Sure, everybody can break 200 strait with a .410... from their keyboard. I know there's a class for that gun in skeet and trap and whatever. That does not make it an adequate load for hunting. Most shooters can't effectively and ethically bring down food-sized game with it. Look at how it patterns compared to actual gauges. The original poster is asking if a .410 or .22LR is o.k. for yotes. Telling someone with that level of experience and knowledge that a .410 is a real go-getter is not cool. I respect the critters - even the varmint - enough to kill them if I'm going to shoot them.
 
Not real humane but if all you have is a .22 and you shoot a coyote in the body, between his front and hind legs he will most probably run off but not return.
 
You should get a scope for the 10/22 and sight it in at the range for 50 yds and then practice at both 25 and 50 yds. Then shoot em up.
 
.410 slug as far out as you can reliably hit like a 3" circle in field conditions. any shot, or the .22lr is too small. Be humane, even though coyotes arent highly reguarded, you still should strive for the cleanest/most reliable kill you can get.
 
the .22 will work if you do your part. Get good with it and don't take long shots. a good lung shot with a Velociter or Stinger will put one down.
 
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Me in about 1934 - I considered only head shots for rabbits (22 shorts were two bits for 50 and LR were four bits in those depression days) and I had a Winchester 94 in Winchester 32 Special (ballistically similar to 30-30) for coyotes. I think a .223 would be adequate though personally, I like the 30-30. I knew a lot of coyotes were shot then with .22 LR but I felt that, if they were killed, it was a slow and lingering death from a marginally fatal wound. I had no love for coyotes but feel strongly that, if we choose to shoot an animal, it deserves a one shot kill and, as was mentioned, those coyotes were indeed tough critters.

:D
 
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