I'm a newbie and have a question - coyotes!

this is just personal preference but 40-50 yards is a bit of a stretch for any shotgun, not because they don't have enough power but because the patterns expand too much but reliably hit an animal, especially a small animal like a coyote at that range. as you're not after meat it's not quite as big of deal if you end up getting a couple balls in the legs or backbone, and immobilize it long enough for a couple followup shots, but as hunters, it's our duty to make the animals suffer as little as possible in the process of harvesting them. a rifle would make this much easier to accomplish. 20 gauge is actually a pretty decently recoiling caliber, a 223 remington or 7.62x39 would be well within the range of your tolerance level if you are comfortable with the 20 gauge. if you really don't want to spend a lot of money on a rifle that's just going to sit in the tractor for coyotes then might I suggest something like a cheap Chinese SKS? they usually can be found for about $250 and would easily dispatch problem puppies at 40-50 yards as long as you do your part.

in the end, it's your decision, not mine, or any other member here, what you propose will kit coyotes, just not reliably at the ranges you specified.
 
I've shot some yotes with a shotgun-the first nearly 1/2 century ago. The only two I can remember killing DRT were shot while hunting other game. One was while turkey hunting and took 2 ounce of copper plated #4 @ 25 yards. The other was while doing a pheasant drive. The coyote was crossing in front and took 1 3/8 ounce of #4 @ less than 30 yards. The rest, shot at longer ranges with #4 buck, #2, or BB either ran off crippled or ran a fair piece before going down or were bayed by the hounds.
I just don't have a high regard for the effectiveness of shotguns on coyotes unless you're literally on top of them.
 
Well like someone else mentioned the likelyhood of a steady shot is very slim!
A off hand head shot in the twisted position offered from a tractor seat with open sights at 50 yards is a task. Add an unsteady platform and the odds that the one .22 bullet hits it's target gets even slimmer!
However a 3" 20 ga has 18 .24 diameter pellets that travle around 1100 fps! So it would be like you have 18 22LR rifles on the tractor with ya!

You would need to pattern the shotgun to see what choke tube works best in your shotgun.
You might also look at some BB and BBB loads! They are still close to the >22 size and they would allow you to launch even more rounds in the air!

And unless you are wanting to recover them, them running off to die keeps you from having to deal with them! ;)
 
What part NC do you live in? If the piedmont like me, I would use a rifle over a shotgun, as coyotes tend to be at moderate to long range over here. A Savage Axis in .308 would suit you well, moderate recoil, and most of it is absorbed by the recoil pad. They're fairly good shooters (good enough for coyote with a good scope and they're very well priced. Of course, this is all from my experience. Heck, might even want to look into a good lever action like the marlin 336. The 30-30 is a good round for coyote and doesn't have much recoil, they're good up until about 150-200 yards with standard flat nose ammo and greater distance with Hornady's new LeveRevolution ammo. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to purchase.
 
Foxes and coyotes get used to a tractor/shredder mowing a pasture. I've had foxes and hawks work on field-mice within shotgun range. Fun to watch them. No coyotes in my part of CenTex, back then. East of me ten or fifteen miles, different story.
 
yep, some farmers actually prefer the coyotes because they'll also eat field mice and other varmints that eat crops, so the coyotes aren't nearly as skiddish on those properties because they know that humans aren't a threat.
 
Well, I got two shots off with my shotgun yesterday at about 60 yards and I couldn't reach the coyote, who actually gave me a chance with my Browning pump with #4 in it! Sooooo, today I bought myself a birthday present that didn't break the bank and I can strap on my ROPS of my tractor for the next time - a Savage .243 bolt with a scope! Those dogs are closing in and I'm going to war! They were in the horse paddock last night right up close to the house! Going to sight it in today - wish me luck!
 
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.243 Vs. coyote at 60 yards, thats gonna leave a mark as they say. Do you hve an ATV boot type case you put it in and strap to the ROPS?
 
I'm smiling. When you expect those critters to be at 40 yards, they'll be at 60. It's some obscure rule of the universe that causes those type problems. I think that 243 will do just fine. Since it's scoped, it would be good to have it in something that won't transmit all the bounces to the gun. It might put the POI off just a bit, which brings in another one of those laws of the universe. That ATV boot, if it's foam lined, should work pretty well. The scabbard might work Ok too. Sight in the rifle, bounce it around in the tractor for a while and recheck the sights.

Now that I put an Air Soft seat on my tractor, I'm riding in comfort. Anything else on the tractor, however, is still bouncing. I've had to put my Margaritas in a sippy cup (kidding).

Send pictures of the first couple of coyotes. We are all following your coyote-blasting with interest.
 
Just be careful with the rifle... back drop and all. Want to really go to work on them, get a caller. I love calling yotes, got these behind my house here in central Florida.





 
Nice yotes ! Here they are smaller. Just dropped 2 nights ago with my ar
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I usually take my 22-250 to hunt and really really like that rifle.
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To the op, a 22-250 will get the job done easily and very little recoil. First I was going to suggest a used 30-30 as they can be had for around $300 and will definetly get the job done but the recoil is a lot more than a 20 g
 
@Panfisher - I bought a military foam lined scabbard and modified it somewhat and rigged it so I can pull it out quickly and smoothly. I'm going to set up a night camera tomorrow near a path I think they're using to see what's out there.
 
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