Welcomed home by a coyote...

[44magHunter]

I got home from work at about 6:45 and opened the gate to drive up the driveway... As soon as I stopped the truck to do so I see a big coyote run across the driveway. Our dogs had been out all day as usual so I knew this meant potential fighting and what not... I then see all three of our dogs tearing off after the coyote. Off they go into the woods/yard and I heard grouling, barking, etc. I run up the driveway, get to the house, grab my 1911 and a flashlight and run back outside to finish the job. At this point the dogs have run all around the yard and been harrassing the coyote which is obviously scared as it's 3 on 1. I call the dogs off and they obey but of course the coyote tries to run away. Now cornered between me, the dogs, and a fence the 'yote runs parallel to the fence and I open fire when it's about 7 yards away at a full sprint past me. It tumbles after a few rounds and runs into another part of the fence. Now my mag is empty so I just stand there and watch it get back up and take off with an obviously bad limb and blood coming out of its chest.... Re-armed myself and penned dogs then trailed coyote all over our yard for about 100 yards but it seems to have disappeared. 'Yote is definately hurtin' though with blood everywhere and dirt/leaves thrown around the whole way. I backed off for now as it's dark and I don't want to pursue an injured animal in the dark alone. I know it's just a coyote but I'd rather not get rabies.

I carefully checked all the dogs for any bite mark or anything. Hope to got the yote is not rabid. It had a really healthy full coat so I dunno...

Once my pa (AJMD429) gets home we will go out together and find us a hopefully dead 'yote.

As much as 'yotes don't belong in our yard I hate to not kill them in a clean, humane way. I hope the 'yote is dead already and not suffering....

-Hunter

[ollogger]

Sounds like your gonna have a dead coyote

ollogger

[44magHunter]

Hope he's dead. Not too proud as I did not make a good, clean shot, but it's not easy when you can't see and he's sprinting 21 feet away from you.....

[shooter]

Sometimes things don't go exactly the way we want. IMO, you weren't trying to intentionally maim or torture the animal, and it is a pest, so it's not that big a deal. While we should all try to end an animal's life as quickly and humanely as possible, that can't always happen. I would venture a guess that we have all made a bad shot once or twice.

[Fircrest911]

I have had several in my neighborhood -- suburban -- and one tried to kill my dog a couple of weeks ago. Had my wife not been home, my 25 pound Shiba Inu would have been a light lunch. Last week, I chased it off again. We are keeping the dog inside. My weapons are at the ready but I am inside the city limits so I won't shoot unless my life is in danger.
Good job on your part. My friend shot one with a 22 LR and found it dead several days later.

[JReed]

By your description I would be surprised if you don't find a dead dog in the morning.

[44magHunter]

Followed blood for about 150 yards more but 'yote doubled back on tracks and trail is hard to follow. Will find him tomorrow. He's lost so much blood he's gotta be dead.

[ollogger]

What bullet did you have in the 1911?
I whacked a mangey coyote the other day with my Handi 223, sick looking thing, they get in
the barn & eat the cat food & the cats, I dont mind that, but I dont want the dogs getting the mange


ollogger

[rjohns94]

Hope you are able to recover the dead Yote. Blessings

[piller]

Hitting a coyote moving at full-bore panic mode with afterburners on, probably moving 40 mph or maybe a little more, shooting with a handgun in the dark. That is not anything to be ashamed of. Hope you find a dead coyote soon. I hate to see an animal suffer, even a pest like a coyote.

[jeepnik]

I have had several in my neighborhood -- suburban -- and one tried to kill my dog a couple of weeks ago. Had my wife not been home, my 25 pound Shiba Inu would have been a light lunch. Last week, I chased it off again. We are keeping the dog inside. My weapons are at the ready but I am inside the city limits so I won't shoot unless my life is in danger.
Good job on your part. My friend shot one with a 22 LR and found it dead several days later.

Crossbow & SSS

[Griff]

Trailing's never "easy", but in the dark it's especially so. Hittin' any mover, when the adrenalin's kicked it, is difficult. Unless one is a ardent shotgunner, not something a lot of riflemen, or pistoleers, get much opportunity to practice.

Ok, it's be light back there for 3 hours now... what's the status?

[Alphawolf45]

My biggest fear is one of my dogs getting chewed to death by a coyote .Lost one dauchund that way ..Another time my wife was present to call my weeners off the chase or they would surely have caught something they couldnt handle.

[Canuck Bob]

I'm always amazed you Yanks can hit anything with those handguns!

You did great, a desperate coyote at full throttle, dogs to watch, heart racing, and dark! I sure wouldn't want to be making you real angry.

[J Miller]

Just a couple thoughts.

>In those light conditions I would have probably let the coyote go for another day.
>I would have run out of ammo sooner, I don't have a bottom feeder with a larger capacity, just a single action revolver.
>And had I been shooting a 1911 I would have been shooting this load:
200gr H&G #68 long nose SWC over ....... 'erm should I tell the load? Probably not, it would get a lot worry worts panties in a bunch. Lets just say a healthy dose of Unique.
Back in the day when I was shooting 1911s that bullet could be used either as a sedate target bullet or a hell for leather killing bullet just by changing the power and charge.
Beautifully accurate from all the bottom feeders I've shot it in as well.

So, you posted about popping the puppy on Friday, it's now Sunday ..... didja find his carcase?

Joe

[Panzercat]

Sounds like you popped him a few times pretty well. Surprised the .45 acp didn't produce a more, shall we say, immediate result.

[rangerider7]

coyotes are pretty tough. I have shot them square in the chest with a 243 or 223 and they still run away and die deep in the cedars. I always find them the next day dead. RR7

[Hobie]

Coyotes got my grandkids' pug just a few months back. You gotta do what you gotta do.

But this post brought back some memories. I remember walking guard post at FT Hunter-Liggett with the coyotes running all around and howling most of the night. Our weapon was a just a 3' length of #4 rebar and some of the guys were REALLY scared. I was more worried about the dudes who were robbing the guards than I was of the coyotes which were after the pigs and goats. Oh yeah, good times.

[jeepnik]

You know, when I was a kid, yotes were pretty much only a southwest critter. And, they weren't seen in urban areas. Heck, it was a treat to hear and see them. Sadly today most of the country is darned near over run with them.

While I understand their expanding into territory that was traditonally wolf territory, and can accept that. But the movement into urban areas (heck one of the larger parks in Los Angeles is boiling over in them) has only happened because the goevenment entities that were charged with their control have been forbade to take action.

In SoCal, they have killed pets in uncountable numbers. And as bad as that is, and you'd think it would get action, they have killed a number of children. In what is likely the most digusting case, a man's son was attacked. He tried to get the authorities to remove the yotes from his neighborhood. The sierra club types protested and no action was taken. Several years later the same man's daughter was killed by coyotes. And you know what happened? Not a darned thing. That's right these greenie idiots figure a child is fair game for predatory animals.

I now have the darned things running the canyon behind my place. I've ask the authorities if they can remove them. Their answer is sorry, it's not our job. When ask who's job it is, they simply answer no one's. Yep, predators that kill pets and children and no one is responsible for protecting those kids and pets. Ergo my response above.

[rjohns94]

Still curious. Did you find it?

[Sixgun]

Hey! No biggie. But on another note I shot at a mangy fox last month and the thing took off. I found no signs of it being hit which made me feel a little better. That was confirmed 2 days later when the sucker came up to the front door to eat the catfood. I did not have the heart to shoot it as I figured if he lucked out on my super accurate .218 Bee, he deserves to live a while longer.

You did have some excitement though. That sounds like fun, a 1911, flashlight, barking dogs, and a running yote. You will never forget that moment. ----------Sixgun

[gak]

Snack proof your pets!
Realizing many folks may not have the luxury of this particular set up, there are parts that could be emulated. We solved the issue of pet protection with a covered yard area. My folks' situation in the desert east of Phoenix was coyotes, but of even greater concern bobcats and even occasional mountain lion (!) spotted on the property. As they didn't have a "normal" fenced yard area, just cleared/landscaped desert area around the property, we built a "mega" dog run (more proportionally a square, small yard area. Six foot (above grade) kennel chainlink, with lesser grade wire-grid fencing continued below grade a foot to inhibit any inside or outside digging (hard in that soil anyway...but no stone unturned in this design). Further detail: area dug down a foot--filled with decomposed granite, sand and topped several inches of 1/2"-3/4"-diameter "river rock" (large rounded pebbles)--good exercise for the paws btw--for drainage (think huge 'dry well') and for easy wash down and pick-up of "litter." Also, chicken wire laid down as a layer under the river rock to inhibit digging. Part of the area was "landscaped" more, including an attempt at grass, to make it a nicer area just for us to hang out with the dogs in their area which we did regularly.

The point to all this: the area topped off overhead with wire fencing...in this case same kennel-grade ('cause we could, you could use lesser), that further topped with architectural-grade sunscreen not only making the area nicer generally but provide well ventilated shade the six months a year needed here. This screen was dog-clipped for easy removal--in various amounts--during the three-to-six months it wasn't so important. Some 1/4" water line run to a couple "licks-its" waterers completed the set up.

This all sounds very elaborate and pricey, but most of the above details would not needed in many regions, or need be as spendy (still not as much as you might think with a lot of "donated" (found/surplus) materials other than the river rock and a few fence panels we couldn't scrounge up on our own...but, mostly a lot of labor and thought/design given to. Again, because this set-up was specific to this particular environment, most folks in other regions wouldn't have to do the above detail, just set aside a portion of a regular yard for additional protection. The important points aside from the obviously the impermeable perimeter fencing, the key unique part making it actually work is the overhead cover. Also consider, unless you're truly unlimited in spce and resources, the area described is a minimum size needed for when the dogs were let out on their own (actually 24-7 access with doggie door, integrated in a regular outside people door), ...since there was other property/yard area they'd be out loose regularly with family at other times. In my folks' case, since they had the space, as well as having bird dogs (spanels) that could ideally use a little stretch out space, the "dog run" was more generous--and nicer--than that of "just a kennel" space, but still certainly not huge...more like a small yard like you'd find at a townhouse. Smaller, less active dogs would need less yet, especially if there was additial yard for people time. The area could also be designed for cats (a catiary?) as I did for a friend who thought just letting 'em outside unconstrained was kosher 'til one "mysterioiusly disappeared." As someone said, you gotta do what you gotta do for your loved ones!

Bottom line, no snacks for the yotes and big cats!

[44magHunter]

Well I hate to disappoint everyone, but I never found the 'yote. I was bowhunting whitetails on Saturday and picked up the blood trail after the morning hunt but blood petered off and I did not want to spook up the woods for deer any more that needed. Coyote blood ALL OVER though. All together I trailed him just under half a mile so it's impressive how stong a 'yote is. My suspicion is that I hit him in the elbow or other part of upper leg and severed a few vains. I guess it was not enough to kill him right away. He's probably dead by now and I'll likely find his carcas when I least expect it......

As far a gak said about predator-proofing out pets that is not an issue. Our dogs would have killed that 'yote I have no doubt (70# German Shepherd, 115# BorderCollie/St.Bernard mix, and 170# Great Piranese all against a single 60# 'yote would have been over). I was only concerned because I did not want our dogs to catch any bad stuff the 'yote may have.....

Thanks for all the interest on this thread. I hope I stumble across a 'yote carcas soon!


PS. When I was hunting this weekend I saw (among other wildlife) 2 pairs of adult 'yotes trotting around the woods. Time to get out a 'yote-killin' lever gun!