Advice for coyote hunting western WA

[COYOTE JLR]

Hey there everyone. I have a coyote problem. I live in western Washington about 40 miles west of Olympia right on the edge of the rain forest. I live a few miles out of town on 14 acres in the hills. The land is very steep and very heavily wooded with alders for the most part. I raise chickens and until recently had a number of cats. There are also 5 kids aged from 7 to 2 1/2 in the area from my closest neighbors.

In the past year I've had an increasing coyote problem and have lost a dozen chickens and all 5 of my cats. I know for a fact that there are at least 5 coyotes running around the area. I want to get rid of them. They're getting gutsy. A few months ago I had a couple of occasions where I stared these buggers down from no more than 35 yards.

Now, a friend just got an electronic predator call and has offered to come give me a hand with pegging these guys. The range is going to be short and I'm planning on using my SKS to hopefully get a couple of them in one go if possible. If there's only one, I've got a nice 7mm rem. that I'll use. I'm not interested in pelts I just want to protect my property and pets.

I'll be honest and say that I don't know a damn thing about predator hunting of any kind and I need some advice. My friend is trying to decide on a gun. He's got a decent repeating .22 LR, but even though we'll hopefully be within 50 yards I still don't think that that would be a good choice of gun. What are your opinions on using that? And do any of you have any tips at all about how to approach the situation? Any advice is welcome. I was just planning on sitting on my roof that overlooks our only field, but I don't know if that is a great plan. What recording would you suggest we use? What time would be our best bet for getting these things? And at this time of year should we even bother to try or should we wait til spring?

Sorry for the long read and all the questions. I'm clueless and from what I've seen you guys are pretty decent and know your stuff. Thanks again for any advice.

Oh and if its any help I'll upload some pics of my property so you can see what I'm talking about.

[hogdogs]

You have 2 rifles.... loan him one... When it comes to vermin I ain't so worried about speedy kills for some reason... maybe it was the 10+ years in pest control... If it were my chickens or pets I wouldn't hesitate to use a .22 if all that I had.
Brent

[CW-NH-HUNTER]

Like hogdogs said, use the sks and the 7mm that you already have.Since youre not interested in the pelts use soft points or if you do any handloading or know anyone who does buy some Speer 110 grn TNT varmint bullets and load them up for your 7mm, thats what I use in my 7mm-08 and it does a real number on coyotes. Make sure you camo your guns as best as possible as well as yourself including your face and keep the wind to into your face as best as you can. I don't know what the climate is like in your area but if you have snow you can use a white painters suit and wrap your guns in a white cloth or tape. Coyotes have better senses than white tail deer and we all know how difficult those can be, any advantage you give yourself will increase your odds for success. If you don't have any snow use a camo pattern that matches your surroundings. Also try using a decoy with the electronic call such as a quiver critter or something similar, you should be able to find some for around $20-$30 that work well, and for the 5 coyotes that you know about theres probably 20 more that you don't know about. Go get em and let us know how you do.

[COYOTE JLR]

Thanks for the input guys. Especially about the bullets and the decoy. I do some reloading so I'll see if I can find any next time I make it up to Cabelas. And the weather around here is rain, rain, rain, and rain. We'll definitely try to keep out of sight and see what we can do. Thanks again. I actually spoke with another friend and he'll lend us a .22-250 so I think my buddy will use that.

[CW-NH-HUNTER]

Check Midway USA for the Speer 110 grn TNT's, thats where I get mine and they get em to ya within several days, $25 for 100 bullets.

[SKULLANDCROSSBONES65]

G,day COYOTE JLR, welcome to TFL. What are you like shooting at 200 yards? You could set up a 'trap'. Hang some food from a branch of a tree that you can see from your home. When they come for a free feed, give them a small pill from the 7mm. You might need to feed them for several days so they get used to the spot. If you set up the bait 40/50 yards away you might string out some fishing line back to your house with a bell on it so you know when to get your gun for the fun. Just make sure the gun is sighted for whatever range you decide on. Have fun, stay safe.

[Scorch]

Drive over to Cabela's in Lacey. They have remote control varmint calls that you can strap to a tree and trigger fron 100 yds away with a remote. Put it on the tree close to a shack or other shelter so you can be out there at first light or early evening when the coyotes are moving around. If you use the 7mm Mag it will scatter a coyote.