Coyote problem, need advice

[1shot]

Had a scary event just take place and I would like some advice on NV equipment to eliminate the problem. I'm not a yote hunter so to speak, but three yotes chasing my 105# pittie around the yard will not be tolerated. I'm looking for an operational unit for use under 200 yds. that won't break to bank.
thanks in advance for your help,

Lloyd

 

[NF1E]

My choice for clearing them up. AR Five Seven upper added to a spare AR lower, suppressed with Zeise Z point. 5.7x28 is a very effective rnd out to 200. Whatta Hobby!

 

[1shot]

I have plenty of suitable platforms to do this job, looking for advice on night vision optics and probability a caller.

 

[17cal Fan]

I have a Sight Mark Wraith that I have been happy with. Mine is the 4-32 but a lower start power would make for easier close range locating. I shoot off a Bog Pod. All in for under $700

 

[koger]

I have 2 of the DNT Zulu, 5x20 digital, day/night scope. Easy to use, holds zero, works great in day or night. I have one on a AR .223 that I use with 68 gr HPs for yotes at night and one on a Ruger Gen 2 American 7/08 that I use for hog hunting at night. Both do great out to 300 yds and the scope cost around $500, comes with 3 lithium rechargeable battery that get 8 hours run time on each battery. It weights 19 oz total. Me and 5 of my buddies have been using them weekly for over a year, with zero issues.

 

[Lefty2506]

I'm all for you shooting as many coyotes as you can. With that said, given your recent experience, I'll share a short story in hopes of helping you set some reasonable expectations. The property that I normally hunt is about 250 acres located on the west side of Indiana. There are lots of little creeks that run through this part of the state so there are quite a few ravines and woodlots mixed in with the tillable ground. Great habitat for wild game. Across the road is what we call a hog market. Its a place where local hog farmers bring their hogs and processing companies pick them up. Coyotes are pretty thick in the area. The winter before last, while deer hunting our late muzzleloader season, over a period of about 15 to 20 min, I shot a tree limb (oops) and 2 coyotes with my ML and had to pass on 2 other occasions because I was busy reloading the gun. During archery season its' pretty common for us to see 2 or 3 at a time. They seem to scatter a little more during our firearms season, but we do consider them to be targets of opportunity and rarely allow one to pass by. There is a guy who traps on some of the surrounding property. Several years ago (maybe 20 now), the owners of the hog market let the guy put a couple of sets back behind the building where the dispose of anything that dies before they can get it loaded. My understanding is that he took over 75 coyotes that season from those two sets. It did put a dent in the population, but after 2 or 3 years the population had fully recovered. My point here is that depending on what kind of an area you live in, you might not be able to shoot enough coyotes to effectively impact the population.

Most of the people around here who live in the country and have small dogs have lost at least one to the coyotes. The cure seams to be having larger dogs. The family that lives on that property lost a couple of yorkies back about the time that the guy was trapping all those coyotes. After loosing the 2nd one, they got a bullmastiff and they no longer had problems with coyotes. A co-worker of mine used to have a great pyrenes. His neighbor also had some kind of large dog. Local coyote hunters didn't care for the dogs because they were known to team up and track/hunt coyotes at night and kill the entire pack. I wouldn't consider a pit to be a small dog, and it would surprise me for a single coyote to try to tangle with one. It would not surprise me at all to have a single coyote lure a pit out away from the security of the house so the entire pack could attack it.

 

[std7mag]

Sometimes using a light is better.

 

[jpjulian]

Call the guys at Eurooptic. They have had thermals on sale recently and I'm pretty sure they can put you into something decent within your budget and in your hands in a couple days.

 

[1shot]

Thank you all for your replies, I'm learning a lot. A fellow AS member contacted me and saved the day. I now have a Zulus 5-20 HD headed my way. Does anyone have any real time feed back with their experiences with this unit?
Thanks,

Lloyd

 

[dantiff2]

This Mini Sightmark Wraith should be right up your alley! Cheap and works great. You can get to 150-200 yards with the el'cheapo IR flashlight that comes with it but any decent aftermarket IR light will go much farther. The limitation is with the IR light and not the NV unit. I see people using these out to 800 yards with high power IR lights. Internal battery power is decent. You can get a few hours of continuous running however, I run a removable external batter pack which will run the unit for days. The 4k video recording is OUTSTANDING!! The price is hard to beat also

Edit: You will need to buy a good quality micro sd card if you want the 4k recording. Also, this is the cheapest price that I've ever seen on this unit. it used to sell for 800$ for a long time and was hard to find because of its popularity. 449$ is a steal!!

https://palmettostatearmory.com/sightmark-wraith-4k-mini-4x-digital-night-vision-riflescope-sm18042.html

 

[dantiff2]

Sometimes using a light is better.

This also! I have a giant D cell Maglight with an LED bulb kit and that sucker will shine an intense beam out to 150 yards when dialed in tight. I have not found any critter stop though they do look at me and continue to do what they were doing but have never shined a dog with it, either.

 

[Wind River]

The first thing I’d pull out of the safe is my shotgun! Some heavy shot loads and a full choke. I have hunted coyotes extensively and have honestly taken about as many with a full choke scatter-gun as I have with a varmint rifle.

 

[1shot]

The first thing I’d pull out of the safe is my shotgun! Some heavy shot loads and a full choke. I have hunted coyotes extensively and have honestly taken about as many with a full choke scatter-gun as I have with a varmint rifle.

Great minds must think alike! When this happened I grabbed my Browning A-5 full of #00 buckshot, know that the shooting was going to be fast and close. A head lamp and a scoped carbine would have be worthless in this scenario.