Home Defense & Live Stock Security Rifle

O

OhioRedHawksFan

New member
Hi guys. I'd like to pick your brains and get some tippers here.

I live out in the country and have horses, sheep, and deers within my property. Naturally, the range is frequently visited by coyotes. We have had two friends of ours' come over and chill in our detached shed several times a month. They usually have their 223 auto loading rifles with them and have been really effective deterrence by shooting at those stinky predators.
Nonetheless, they won't be coming out any longer due to job relocation & family issues.
I am planning on taking over their plate by taking out Coyos that come on my range but I will be needing a rifle asides from my muzzle loader.

I am looking for
1) Auto loading or Bolt action 223s (cheaper ammo)
2) Under $650 (So I don't have to beg the mrs)
3) Something with Synth Stock so it can be a beater laying around farm & truck
4) Better than average reliability
5) I'd like a minimum of 5+1 capacity at anytime

My friends told me that I need an AR because the Coyos are quick, personally, I think that's kind of an over kill. I am open to entertain any ideas tho.:cool:


Thanks so much for the help. I have limited long gun exposure.
 
You can build a real nice accurate heavy mach barrel AR 15 with a match type trigger that is fast and super accurate. Coyotes are bad, bad, bad.
 
I would check local pawn shops/ gunshops buy used most any bolt action would be fine for that job. get some good optics & practice some.

But its hard to beat a good shotgun for HD. Might have to work the MRS. just a little.:D
 
There's only 2 I can think of that fit your request:
(I ruled out bolt action due to the HD factor, you could always get two guns, a cheap bolt action and a H&R 12 gauge)

Mini-14 - semi auto, under $650, shoots .223

Keltec su-16 - semi auto, around $520, shoots .223

The keltec you can break down, has synthetic furniture, uses AR mags, and the front stock folds out into a bipod. I think it also has a storage compartment in the buttstock for a 20 or 30 round mag and/or 2 10 round mags. Also uses an AK like action, with a gas piston.

The mini-14 can be bought at walmart. Has gotten a lot better accuracy wise, and is a pretty tough gun.
 
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I've dozed off numerous times with a ranch rifle in my lap.

Good for Varmints from skunk/possum size up to feral hog.

It'll be brought up about the lack of accuracy, that's just horse pucky.
 
Basically, any decently accurate rifle will do the trick for varmints. The rifle I carry in the pickup through the summer is a NEF single shot .223. Kills coyotes easily out to 300 yards. Inexpensive and doesn't show getting banged up too much. Doesn't hurt so bad if someone lifts it out of the parked vehicle. Several economical .223 bot actions on the market that will provide you with back up shots if you prefer. My thought is that unless you're a fairly experienced shooter, if you miss the first shot at a coyote, the chance that flinging lead at a running animal is going to hit it is slim.
Home Defense is probably better served by a second gun. A short barrell pump action shotgun is my preference. Several shots on board, not too hard to handle inside. VERY INTIMIDATING.
If you're really interested in an AR, there are some economical(in relative terms) choices from Olympic, DPMS, and several others that will get you started for $600 ready to use. I just think there are better, simpler, and more foolproof options for your intended purposes.
 
You can buy an AR for less than $650, less than a standard Mini-14, and get better accuracy, much, much cheaper magazines and any other accessories you may want.

If you're really on a tight budget you can buy one of the budget bolt rifles for about 1/2 what you'd pay for either a Mini-14, or an AR. No need for extra magazines, less weight and probably better accuracy. It will serve your needs for a varmit rifle, but be a poor choice for HD. The AR excells at HD, and with good optics will do double duty as a varmit rifle

A budget AR will easily outshoot one of the Mini's, and come close to a good bolt rifle in accuracy. If you upgrade to a target quality AR it will easily match even the best quality target bolt rifle.
 
We live on 90 acres and we have coyotes everywhere around us. We raise lots of livestock. Lots of birds of various types, a few steers and usually 20-30 Boer goats. You can't take care of coyotes by shooting them all. They will just adjust to your hours. If there are five coyotes that are permanent residents in your immediate area and you kill them, others will then move in. Their population is always in flux. You have to find a way to minimize their opportunities to kill your livestock while maximizing their exposure to danger. Think like a retail store operator in a neighborhood worried about robbery.

In my case, animals are in the barn at night. Except for grown steers, we don't have any predators big enough to harm them.

Here is the most important thing to protect your property from coyotes. During the day and night. It's not a gun. It's not night vision. It's not helicopters or poison. Ready? Expecting something big and expensive and exotic? Not really!

Get a livestock guarding dog. Or two. We personally prefer Great Pyrenees but lots of people down here like Anatolians. We had a Great Pyr/Komandor mix once that was great. Just be sure to get one from parents that were actually used as livestock guardians NOT show dogs. Nothing against show dogs in general but in this case you are looking for blood lines that have shown a certain genetic predisposition: the desire to protect livestock from predation. Once you've owned a really good livestock guarding dog or two and seen what they can do on your property... you would rather do without a tractor any day rather than them. They are TRULY indispensable. Once they are on the job, you can go to bed and go to sleep.

*****

As far as the rifle... I don't dislike Mini's... but my US Army background will always cause me to favor the AR. Look at the Brownell's catalog. Which one will let you be more flexible over the long term? You just never know what you might want to use it for down the road. The AR can be modified to do most anything.

Gregg
 
I live in the country and do about what you are looking for.

I have lots of guns but they are locked in my gun safe. The exception is my SE/HD revolver (642) which I keep in my pocket.

For coyotes and other varmints (including stray dogs) we keep my wife's Model 70 Win in 243.

It works for everything out of reach of my pocket revolver, and since it's wife's gun, she can use it as well as I.

Ammo is nothing special, just her deer/antelope loads.
 
While you've gotten good advise from everyone, you do know that you can order an AR from Walmart for about your price point. One buddy of mine recently ordered one from them and picked it up at the store. From what I recall, he got it for about what you're willing to pay.

LINK to WalMart AR listing.

A trip to your local store might surprise you.
 
Coyote attacks on livestock are pretty rare in most cases, they usually get caught holding the bag after a bobcat kill. If you hunt them regularly they'll stay away from that area. No, you won't lower their numbers.

I find that a dead feral hog away from the good animal keeps coyotes away also.

Enjoy your new AR, since the mini got voted off again.
 
While out in S. Dakota pheasant hunting years ago, the people that let us hunt on their property kept 5 LLama's and let them roam with their cattle. These LLama's will run off any dog or coyote trying to get into the herd, and I will tell you that if I was a rancher or farmer with cattle, that is what I would have...
 
Another vote fore livestock guarding dogs my favorite being a Sharplaninatz. Just carry a big stick when you're around them and don't expect them to be your best friend. They're working dogs with a mean streak.
 
Get an Ar, they are a really good semi auto rifle platform. The best parts availability and great accuracy.

I'd recommend www.palmettostatearmory.com if you want a quality lower cost AR. Build time is about 2 weeks after you order.

You can buy a complete PSA lower for $240.
http://palmettostatearmory.com/inde...complete-psa-ar-15-lower-classic-edition.html
A complete upper for about $450.
http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/ar-15-05/complete-uppers/psa-16-m4a1-upper.html

Just have the lower shipped to your local FFL(local gunsmiths are the cheapest, mine's only $15 to do the transfer)

If you want a complete rifle, you can buy a Stag or CMMG for about $750.
 
If you really want to keep coyotes away from your livestock. Get a donkey.

They really, really don't like coyotes and will chase anything even remotely dog sized out of the fields and stomp them into a bloody pulp if they don't run off. My dogs learned very quickly to stay on the other side of the fence from the donkeys.

Now if you want to shoot coyotes for fun. I like the AR. Lighter is better. 2nd favorite is a bolt action Marlin .22 Mag.
 
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