The “Chicken Coop” Defender. Another rifle debate.

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Remington1911 said:
I had the exact same thing. I have not read all the replies yet, so if covered already sorry.

I had my chickens in a pen area that was made with 8' tall chain link sections.....off the top of my head about 12 of them. This had a big plus of being "sort of" moveable....more on that later. On top of it I had a nylon net to keep hawks and owl out, learned that the hard way. Around the outside I had the fence setting on concrete pave stones so the furry four legged critters could not dine at the all you can eat chicken buffet. It is a never ending battle, I have seen them scale the fence chew through the net, and go down the inside like a little commando....you are always upgrading. Suggestion a rooster will die trying to defend his girls, but he will bring other things that could be good or bad, a fresh supply of new chickens, his attitude to you or your wife and kid is also likely to get him killed.

On to the gun, this is why I bought a 38-357 lever gun, this is enough for the largest mammal (Coyote) that I had issues with, is not so over powered as to be an issue no matter what direction I shot like a center fire rifle would be. I am shy on 22mag on a coyote, I want a sure fire ethical kill, and the angles and stuff in the way I just wanted more error on my side.

I said I would cover the moving the chicken area, all I had to do was hook the tractor to the fence and drag it, I used a couple long tow ropes on edges, after you remove the concrete pavers it will slide pretty easy, my chicken house was on wheels so you could roll it to the new spot to let the grass recover. I really could not let the chickens, and really chicks free roam because all the birds of pray I have around my house....and you can't kill those.
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Birds of prey are fast learners. If they think you are shooting at them. They don't come back. Wait till they land in a tree and hit the trunk. After a few times you see hawks sitting on power poles and trees on surrounding properties. But not in yours. Make sure people don't think you're trying to kill them because it's a huge fine.
 
Bfh_auto said:
Birds of prey are fast learners. If they think you are shooting at them. They don't come back. Wait till they land in a tree and hit the trunk. After a few times you see hawks sitting on power poles and trees on surrounding properties. But not in yours. Make sure people don't think you're trying to kill them because it's a huge fine.
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Is it a fine if they’re killing livestock?
 
Remington1911 said:
My issue with a "real" center fire rifle is I just did not want that much power. I see in this application little difference between 22 hornet, as well as being even more expensive over the 22mag, as not bring all that much more to the table over the 22 mag.
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For me it was more about accuracy as I can get a .22 Hornet into the .3’s easier than I can a 22 magnum. So it’s more accurate, and more than twice as powerful.

Assuming 40gn loads results will be around,

22LR: 1200 fps 131ft/lbs

add another 687 fps and 193 ft/lbs and you get to,

22 Mag: 1875fps 386 ft/lbs

add another 951 fps and 386 ft/lbs to that and get.

22 Hornet: 2826 fps 710 ft/lbs.

Along with that, they bring a hell of a lot of noise. Even in the day, I have to do something to mitigate the noise if Mrs. Morris is at home. She would probably kill the chickens herself if it’s all I had to defend them with when she is sleeping.

A8BFC0D9-4D71-40CE-B7A5-67202C7801FF.jpeg
 
KansasTrapper77 said:
Those Ruger American Rifles are pretty slick and surprisingly accurate for the price.

.22 Hornet would be a serious brass chaser to me. I’d take a shot then be chasing brass across the patio to make sure I didn’t lose it haha. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a .22 Hornet.
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.22 Hornet would most likely be a bolt action.If you could find an Encore or Handi Rifle in it, they'd be good ones to have, too.

Nice " suppressor" jmorris. ;)
 
I would like to try loading a 223 down to like 2000 ftp with a 50 grain TNT, but as of right now I don't have a suitable gun to shoot it in anyway since my only 223's at the moment are AR's. My dream gun for this sort of thing would be a savage model 25 chambered in an FN 5.7x28 necked down to .204 cal. Maybe someday I will actually pursue it.
 
Good discussion… kind of reminds me of the storming and norming small groups go through at the beginning of a process improvement event.

Ok all those of you that feel that a .22 Mag can meet the OPs stated criteria within 50 yards while ensuring a humane kill sit at this table.

Those of you that feel you need more accuracy, FPS, and penetration than the .22mag can deliver sit at this table.

You 9mm fanboys sit at the third table and don’t touch or try to eat the crayons until you’re told to do so.

Just kidding…Either round will do...I’m partial to the .22 Mag as I believe it’s ideal for that 50 yards or less criteria on a coyote or fox. I’ve seen javelina dropped with 1 shot to the head by a Savage SSV in .22 Mag so I know it will suffice. That said, I wouldn’t be averse to using a 9mm if I could find a Marlin Camp Carbine at a decent price.
 
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CraigC said:
No way. If they were, I wouldn't have bought two suppressors with plans for two more. A 24" barrel is certainly quieter than a 20" or 16" but not 'that' quiet. Unless we're talking about CB's.
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I disagree. CCI standard is well below hearing safe from a 24" or longer barrel. Not quite as quiet as a suppressor on a 16" barrel, but quieter than a suppressor on a pistol barrel
 
someguy2800 said:
I disagree. CCI standard is well below hearing safe from a 24" or longer barrel. Not quite as quiet as a suppressor on a 16" barrel, but quieter than a suppressor on a pistol barrel
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Random 8 said:
B.S.
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It's not BS. I can walk right out my back door and find out any day that rolls. Which is what I just did, five minutes ago, just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. I shot the green 10/22 I posted above, which is a 16" and the Charger below with an 8" Volquartsen barrel right alongside a 24" Remington 541 and both suppressed guns are quieter than the 24" Remington. You may deem standard velocity out of a 24" or longer barrel as "hearing safe" but I do not. I don't take any chances with what hearing I have left so I wear hearing protection unless shooting .22LR with a suppressor. That includes shooting 9mm and .45ACP with a suppressor.

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Remington%20541%2003.jpg
 
I would go with the 22 magnum, it can drop big or small.
HOWEVER, I have bought my LAST BOX of 22 magnum ammo.
We got about 8 boxes left and they are all the same, cci something and work great.
I had just about given up on the only 22 mag I have until -SLAMFIRE- gave me advise that
made it reliable again.
Sight it in every year and might get a fox or two with it but now the stupid price of the 22 mag ammo =WOW!
Enjoy shooting it but I can't reload it like the centerfire rifles, and I also enjoy the space
between me and high price of center fire ammo, per my reloading supplies being way ahead of the curve.
Got a 22 hornet that kills more fox and other critters around the fields here, as well as the 22 caliber rifles.
 
My chicken defender is a Henry 22 mag- I used to use 22lr but I think 22mag is more humane(at least for me shooting moving targets at night)
 
Frulk said:
Back in the day when we saw a really good looking women we’d call them a ‘hammer’. That 541 is an absolute hammer.
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That thing was 30yrs in the making. Bought it in the 90's and after the walnut stock got dinged up, I refinished it in automotive trunk paint. Killed a hell of a lot of game with it but always regretted doing that to the stock, even though it actually turned out really good and held up really well. After years of looking for a replacement stock, last year I found that one on Ebay and paid double the cost of the rifle for it. Then topped it with a nice Leupold 3.5-10x.

Remington%20541%2002.jpg

Think I like this one better. It's the most figure I've ever seen in a 541 stock.

Remington%20541%2006.jpg
 
I didn't realise these critters had toughened up so much over the years. I killed all of them in my youth with a simple 22 LR. Put the bullet in the right place and DRT. IF I had to use one of the choices given in the OP it would be the 22 mag. Since I don't it would still be the lowly 22LR at the distance given.

I will never need to as there are two animals that will never be on my property. Chickens and sheep.
 
My chicken coop is about 50 yds. from my back door and has been for the 16+ years we've lived out here. In the laundry room gun rack is an M1 Carbine, an SKS and a Savage Axis .223, and leaning in the corner is an old scoped 10/22. Lately I just grab the 10/22 because the largest chicken-eaters around here are feral/stray dogs and I've found a .22 LR works just fine.

If I were to need something for the task I'd probably go to a pawn shop and just buy a used Marlin Model 60 and a cheap 4X scope. My chickens run loose all day but are locked up at night so there's no need for NV or anything like that. And honestly, a good cow dog will do more to protect ones laying stock than most firearms.

35W
 
I have seen some really big coyotes of late. Not sure a 22LR is up to the task of a (big) coyote. All those chickens y'all been feeding them makes them fat and sassy ;).

3C
 
I never had as much a problem with coyotes as I have with coons, possums and stray dogs. Only the latter come out in daylight.
 
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