Coyote/wolf defense.

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No wolves in PA unless it is an escaped from a pen. Coyotes almost never a problem and unless she just wants to shoot them 'just cause she can,' I would recommed having a 20 gauge shotgun for her defense. If they are close enough to be threatening to her kids or pets, they are close enough for the shotgun.

I hunt coyotes a lot in the winter, and believe me when I say they are wary of humans. They want no part of us and will 'get out of town' as quickly as any animal in existence. Deer seem downright tame in comparison. The only coyote to be wary of is one that is NOT wary of you, and being close would be a pretty good indication. Again, a shotgun.
 
Where is she located? Coyotes aren't really much of a threat to humans. They're a varmint. Wolves are very rare outside this state and parts of Canada. Wolf attacks are very rare even here. You're unlikely to see more than a fleeting glimpse even if you're in wolf country. They're smart and tend to be skittish. The biggest danger they pose is to your dogs.
 
M1 carbine is a lot louder than a 10/22 if she misses, packs more whallop if she hits. Weighs the same. Doesn't look evil & black.

Ruger made the 10/22 in 22 magnum for a short while, looks to be discontinued.
 
I'm in the .22 magnum camp. Plenty adequate. I also like the mini 14 idea.

Check out these NH boys!!

http://vimeo.com/13925788

I shot this video off my porch. They are really wary of human interaction around here, so I would be suprised to find they were confrontational with humans unless they were rabid or very, very hungry. Kids? Maybe...Adults? No way.
 
A Delton AR might be had for under 700, and I would take that over a Mini, another thing to consider would be an unconverted Saiga, or a Boltgun in .243 because all she'll really need is one shot, and not trying to be sexist, but I doubt she'll be holding the rifle correctly, or aiming, and I think a big bang and a scared animal is better than her shooting poorly and injuring it spraying at it.
Of course she may know how to shoot I'm just guessing as women aren't brought up shooting as men are in most cases.
So a Rem 770, 710, or a Stevens 200 or Savage edge in .243 is where I stand, It doesn't need to be all too nice I guess, and you could mount a cheap 1-4 on the boltgun and have a makeshift scout rifle.
 
Like many people, I am completely terrified of any sort of wild animal. I would rely on nothing less than a Dillon Minigun for my self-defense against scarey coyotes and woves and rabbits. Oh my!
 
I live down the road about 300 miles in VA near Upperville. I raise sheep. I have forgotten a great deal about predators. Yes there are wolves nearby. In Montgomery County, MD they were trapping coyotes and in one of the traps they had a red eastern wolf per DNA. Only confirmed wolf in the Mid Atlantic in a long time. Chances of a wolf attacking her and her kids are non existent.

Coyotes in the Mid Atlantic do not attack human and kids. I havent heard of any confirmed cases. Coyotes should not be feared. They are more scared of humans then we should be of them.

Now my livestock guardian dogs did kill a mountain lion not to long ago. And I have seen fresh tracks. My friends in PA who raise sheep or do sheepdog trials ahve not reported any tracks etc.

Bears may attack if they have cubs. A dog is better deterrent then a gun.

My advice is forget the firearm unless she has access to proper training for predator protection. I seriously recommend she get proper training first because having a firearm for protection against rabid animals and snakes would be more of a real issue.

She needs a dog. And not a any of the hunting breeds. Dog must be good with kids and easily trainable. A Dob or a Rot from a reputable breeder might work but better yet lets go with one of the herding breeds. GSDs, Tervs and Mals can be difficult for inexperienced owners as can Bouviers.
Border collies need to work. Avoid AKC registered BCs. BCs need jobs or they start using their brains which is not a good thing. A rough or smooth collie, Bearded collie, Briard or Aussie from non working lines would work. Another option and its is a big dog is a Shiloh Shepherd. Not as stubborn and hard headed as GSDs and big enough to scare just about anything at 27in or bigger at the shoulders and 175lb or larger. Herding breeds will protect labs and goldies not really. Herding breeds better with kids. They train and house break easier. No designer dogs. No pits or pit mixes with kids ever.

So she needs a dog first since she lives on all those acres and proper firearm training. Once she has the training then a revolver she can handle and either
a Savage rifle or a 12 gauge shotgun.

VA herder
 
coyotes are usually not aggressive towards humans but they are hell on deer, small dogs, cats, and calves and can be trouble for calving cows. Any animal will do strange things if hungry enough, injured or diseased. All the coyotes I have been around flat ran, but one stuck around long enough to make the hair on my dog stand straight up.
 
A good .22Mag would be an excellent choice and the 20gr XTP out of a .17HMR works well too. Or a good .25-20, .32-20, .357, .38-40, .44-40, .44Mag or .45Colt levergun would also be near perfect. As would any of the .22's from the Hornet to the .223.
 
I've caught a couple coyote pups in the wild before (as some of you may have) and when you look em in the eyes you damn well there is a difference between them and a domestic dog. They are wild animals and don't want a darned thing to do with you! First thing you can count on when trying to lay a hand on them is being crapped on and pissed on. That's automatic. This is an aromatic experience which will nearly ruin a morning. ( Do you travel with extra clothes?) They will show their teeth but they may or may not bite. That depends on you.
Getting back to the rifles: Anyone try putting a surefire on a Winchester 9422 magnum? That would be my pick.
 
Where is she located? Coyotes aren't really much of a threat to humans. They're a varmint. Wolves are very rare outside this state and parts of Canada. Wolf attacks are very rare even here. You're unlikely to see more than a fleeting glimpse even if you're in wolf country. They're smart and tend to be skittish. The biggest danger they pose is to your dogs.
Click to expand...

+1. Most of the wolves I've ever seen up here have been pretty intent on going elsewhere promptly on contact with humans, aside from the fellow pictured below who seemed to regard the cars on the road in Denali Nat'l Park as a minor nuisance that he trotted on by.

If the woman has any real fear of coyotes or wolves, I'd say shotgun -- 12 gauge with reduced recoil loads or 20 gauge. Not because either will compensate for any errors in aim and all the usual blather but just because if the concern is really defending against an animal attack, multiple pellets of buckshot are going to be a much faster fight stopper against something thin skinned like a coyote or wolf than most of the other options out there. She would be giving up range, but if her intent is to hunt the animals off her land that's not the same as "defense" and would call for a different sort of weapon.

(And she should probably check local laws and such and make sure that shooting a wolf won't land her on the wrong side of federal or state statutes protecting endangered wildlife, depending on where she's located.)

WolfonRoad.jpg
 
You can't hunt coyotes with a semi-auto in Pa.. You also need a hunting or trapping license to kill coyotes in Pa. There was one wolf killed in Pa. but it ecaped from a pen in Pa. The hunter thought it was a big coyote. I live and hunt in Pa. and use a 22-250 for coyotes. For defense I would use a shotgun with a full choke and #4 shot.
 
Id have to be their to pick a cali ber/gun but, I live in an area with a ton of several packs of wolves and they never come near town or even anywhere close. Same with coyotes, But I must ask. Does she want it as a "there are coyotes surrounding my kids and i must defend" or "oh no them coyotes are back... lets get rid of em"? Cause shooting coyotes is legal most places but shooting a wolf is big time federal stuff. (unless you live up hear cause we had a legal wolf hunt :neener:) Id guess for a gun, a .22mag would be practical, not for a charging beast but would stop em if there a bit aways. But if she need to stop a charging beast the sks sounds rather appealing.
 
There are plenty of coyotes around here, but what mauls people, including causing some deaths, are feral/stray dogs; usually, but not always, "pit" mixes.

In the city, these dogs escape from their owner's yards. In the rural areas around here, unwanted dogs being dumped by their owners is a headache for the rural folks.

In my opinion, a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle is well-suited to this task, if an autoloader is desired, and would be simpler for a beginner to learn to use than an AR15. At close range, one must allow for the AR15's line-of-sight offset over the bore. Really, either rifle would be fine. I own both, and am not trying to start any kind of battle over which is "better" overall.
 
I prefer to have a little more firepower than a .223 Rem when hunting most critters because it's not always the critter, but the stuff between you and it that causes misses and wounds.

It's not a good thing to wound a coyote or other predator because they tend to attack what they can still catch for food after that. House cats, small dogs, and other pets are easy prey for the wounded critter.

My favorite varmint cartridge is a .243 Win, presently using Barnes 85 gr. copper TSX HP bullets to prevent lead poisoning of eagles and other scavengers.

I'd highly recommend an NEF single shot with 3-9X scope as good medicine for anything larger than a rat and out to 300+ yards. In wooded areas, a 100 grain Core-Loct deer load works well.
 
I know I've killed many a coyote with my Hi-Point 9mm carbine. Little if any kick and puts em down with a head shot all the time :d
 
KelTec Sub rifle in 9mm. Compact, lightweight, low to no recoil, effective short range cartridge. Glock grip=17-31 rounds in the gun. Not a lot of money, either. Can get it in .40 if she'd rather, but it's cheaper to shoot in 9mm. 9mm is cheaper to shoot than just about any other centerfire caliber, so it's a great choice just from that perspective.

Marlin 94 or 336. .357 lever rifle is a great utility rifle, especially on a bit of acreage like that. .30-30 is more of it, and more range. Neither has a lot of recoil, and they're not a lot of money.

Ruger 10/22 in .22lr or .22magnum, or a Marlin semi, or a Remington, or ... Levergun in .22 magnum or .22 lr (Henry, Marlin, Ruger, Winchester). Close range coyotes are just a decent sized dog, and most dogs or coyotes will fall to a .22 at close range. My aunt killed a good-sized German Shepherd that was chasing a newborn colt on her ranch with one shot from a .22lr lever rifle. It didn't fall DRT, but it sure as heck ran the other direction from that foal, and didn't make it to the road before it fell over dead.
 
While coyotes are generally shy of humans, they will take a house cat or small dog, should the opportunity present itself. Not much of a leap to think that they would take a small human, too.

They are smart and they are survivors. I've got a friend who's a federal trapper. He attended a seminar out in California and told me of a video that was the hit of the week.

In a suburban office complex the local coyotes would hide in the ornamental shrubbery during the noon hour. Anyone walking by who was carrying a paper sack (which might contain lunch) would be rushed by one or more coyotes. The person would usually drop the sack and run for the door, whereupon the coyote would grab the sack and go back into the shrubbery and finish it off. (you want fries with that?)

The trapper who got the case took a few days to study the situation and discovered that he could rattle a paper sack and a coyote would stick his head out of the shrubs to take a look. He would then dispatch said coyote with a suppressed small caliber rifle.

The thing that surprised me, it being California and all, was that they didn't let the junk food take its' toll and just wait for the coyotes to die of high cholesterol.
 
varmintals website has info on coyote attacks of humans. Some of the info might be a little dated but is relevant. I live in North western Wisconsin and there are lots of yotes and a few wolves. Dont see the wolves more than once a year. The yotes are here year round.


http://www.varmintal.com/attac.htm
 
Shotgun, 12 ga. (or 20 ga., if she is petite). Lead BB. Out to any self-protection range this will be supremely effective. One blast = flattened, hardly a jerk from the harvested.
 
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