Coyotes and wild dogs.

[Buddro]

Next time you have a runner try to recover it and identify If the problem is penetration or shot placement. If you are getting through and through shots that just aren't in the brain changing your gun up wont help. If you are under penetrating look to heavy fmjs or a 22 mag.

 

[JIsbell40]

I hate to say it and I know your response but quit head shooting them. Do a whole bunch of research on professional hunters and head shots and you will find it's just never going to be a consistent way to kill animals with any cartridge. As people have already said it's one thing to dispatch a dog in a snare and a whole other to get one walking around. the long and short of it is that with head shots you have a higher chance of letting wounded dogs walk than shooting them in the lungs.

Since I am sure you are going to stick with headshots anyhow underpowered cartridges dont preform well with expanding/fragmenting bullet designs. consider trying a higher grain load in a fmj to eek out a little extra penetration if you can find anything that fits that bill.

I'm perfectly fine without seeking out head shots. But that doesn't mean the land owner 4 houses down is okay when a mixed pit bull dies in their backyard on their kids play set... the double lung shot I've had animals run 100 yards.. and that's what we are looking at

 

[dan1953]

I'm a deputy for a very rural county in TN. Over the last few years we have been getting more and more calls on coyotes attacking pets. On wild pit bull mixes doing the same. These dogs can be up to 70 lbs. coyotes much smaller... as our animal control guys are totally undermanned and overwhelmed, many deputies like myself have started carrying a rim fire gun in the trunk to take care of the problem when it's in a subdivision etc. it's very frowned upon to cut loose an AR 15 in a subdivision... my question to you all is, would you be comfortable with a 22lr for this? 17hmr? 22 mag? Right now I have a 22lr loaded with stingers and i have made several headshots that did not instantly incapacitate big coyotes or big dogs... this has me Kind of down on my 10/22 and making me consider a 22 mag or maybe 17wsm... what say you all?

17wsm is an incredible coyote round, it is running 3000fps and it hits hard. Hit a feral dog or pit mix in the head, neck or boiler room and I believe it will do the job. 50-75 pound pigs don't stand a chance. I shot a 200 pounder between the eye and the ear and it did a back flip. I used a second shot while it was laying on the ground kicking to be sure.

 

[nicholasjohn]

I'm perfectly fine without seeking out head shots. But that doesn't mean the land owner 4 houses down is okay when a mixed pit bull dies in their backyard on their kids play set... the double lung shot I've had animals run 100 yards.. and that's what we are looking at

The high shoulder shot would probably knock them down reliably, but doesn't always kill them - another round through the chest cavity may be necessary. A solidly-built animal like a pit bull cross would be a good candidate for the 22 magnum. A number of guys have commented that the 17HMR would be their preference, based on their experience with coyotes. That sounds pretty good to me. Since shot angle and wanting to drop them right now is a big factor, I wouldn't feel confident in the 22LR for this kind of work. While I've killed some surprisingly large animals with the 22, it is not a reliable knocker-downer.

 

[redneckdan]

If you are looking for knock down power, the suppressed SRT 77/44 is an option. They also do encore barrels.

265gr subs are a factory option or you could load +300 grain flying ash trays cast from soft lead that will open right up.

 

[Revolting Peasant]

Just my opinion. Lotta years in law enforcement. Most people don't understand LE budget and dealing with management/public.
Forget pistol rounds, suppressed or not. If you are shooting in subdivisions too much chance of ricochet unless you are extremely careful. One bullet hole in a wall and you know...
22 mag has much better bullets than the lead pills in 22 lr killing power is much better for not much increase in noise.
Suppressor on rifle rounds would be optimum. Other post mentioned LE agency option avoiding tax stamp. Try your local 100 Club or other law enforcement backers. A lot of them get plum giddy to buy exotic stuff for a real need. Good luck and be careful out there

 

[johngibbs222]

I was going to suggest a martini 310, but the american version is equally as good, 32/20.
The cartridges are virtually identical and I had a guy next to me shooting one at the range on the 100 yard stand and I swear all I heard was the hammer drop on the cap, he had a 28" breakbarrel single shot, 120 grain lead bullet at subsonic velocity will cull the largest dog at short range, about 320 ft.lbs of energy at the muzzle. Hyper velocity not needed.

 

[johngibbs222]

Meant to say 30 cal size holes MUCH more effective than knitting needle size holes anyway.

 

[Revolting Peasant]

Guys, you gotta think a little different to get a decision past law enforcement management.
We have a deputy who sounds reasonably competent with a gun and a skillful, cautious shooter. All good with some of these ideas. Surgical strike.
It sounds to me like he is asking for department options, not personal options.
What about the dogcatcher/ animal control person/deputy who doesn't have a real clue and is spotlighting a problem coyote at 0300 in a subdivision.
Lowest bidder supplying the
lowest common denominator.

 

[JIsbell40]

Guys, you gotta think a little different to get a decision past law enforcement management.
We have a deputy who sounds reasonably competent with a gun and a skillful, cautious shooter. All good with some of these ideas. Surgical strike.
It sounds to me like he is asking for department options, not personal options.
What about the dogcatcher/ animal control person/deputy who doesn't have a real clue and is spotlighting a problem coyote at 0300 in a subdivision.
Lowest bidder supplying the
lowest common denominator.

Exactly this... our animal control deputies are doing as good as they can... it's just a problem that is too much for the two of them to handle county wide.

 

[Revolting Peasant]

My personal choice and many used the same, was a lever action 22 mag. Heavier bullets. Worked on auto/livestock incidents as well as animal control. Horse, bull, cow, deer, hog, gator, coyote, dog. It wasn't ideal but covered a wide range of needs.

 

[Revolting Peasant]

With a threaded muzzle added now lol. Times have changed.

 

[redneckdan]

Guys, you gotta think a little different to get a decision past law enforcement management.
We have a deputy who sounds reasonably competent with a gun and a skillful, cautious shooter. All good with some of these ideas. Surgical strike.
It sounds to me like he is asking for department options, not personal options.
What about the dogcatcher/ animal control person/deputy who doesn't have a real clue and is spotlighting a problem coyote at 0300 in a subdivision.
Lowest bidder supplying the
lowest common denominator.

Good point, predator drone & hellfire missile for the win....

 

[Revolting Peasant]

Everything has to be multi purpose also. Not just canines. Picture this.
0200
Horse with broken legs. Thrashing around. Stuck in a car windshield. With two injured people in the front seat. Animal control is first on scene. Or your deputy is first on scene. What do you grab?
If you are lucky your animal control may have a rifle and a shotgun. Most here had just a 22. Pistol or AR are far from ideal in this situation. Your four wheel office doesn't have room for a lot of options for every situation. Time is precious. And you have to live with the results for the rest of your life.