.38 special vs Coyote
- Thread starter Gman686
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white cloud
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I live in very rural SC. Coyotes, hogs and armadillos are fair game if you have a valid hunting license and no Tac Team required. A .38 with any decent load and good placement should work fine on coyotes. I use a 158 grain lead hollow point loaded to about 900 FPS in the 686 I carry around the farm.
THE PILGRIM
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-BTM-
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I hear that the Roadrunner carries a Model 60
AveragEd
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My carry gun is a 2-1/2" Model 66-4 loaded with 125-grain 38 Special +P loads. My intended targets are people only if necessary; we live across the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania's capitol city of Harrisburg, where nighttime shootings seem to be a popular sport so it accompanies me if I have to go there after sunset. I think the possibility of over-penetration with magnums is too risky; I certainly do not want to injure or kill an innocent bystander.
Ed
Ed
My part of SC......I have a dedicated scoped Ruger 10-22 for yard varmints......Have 7.62x39 AR with night vision for the bigger varmints way out yonder.
There isn't a dog anywhere that a good .38 spl won't put his nose in the dirt.
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Hoosierville IRN
Member
Seems to me that would be a Most Excellent carry gun!
I will agree 38 would definitely do the trick. As long as he doesn’t have a rocket strapped to his back but that will probably backfire on him and send him off a cliff. I carry a model 10 for my woods gun most of the time. Shot placement. Works good for snake too with shot shells.
If I walked the woods where there were "wild things"with my Dog I would carry something that held a LOT of cartridges with big bullets.
Jimmy (the coward.)
Jimmy (the coward.)
OutAtTheEdge
Member
Just my 2 cents...
I can't imagine any scenario in which a .38 special wouldn't stop a coyote attack. Even a poor hit - and possibly even a complete miss - would likely result in the coyote choosing to cease and desist.
And for what it's worth: As an ethical outdoorsman, I always strive to make any shot a humane, one-shot kill. However, when it comes to coyotes, my personal philosophy is this. If I'm out and about and see a coyote, it is not necessarily gonna get shot, but it is absolutely gonna get shot AT!
I can't imagine any scenario in which a .38 special wouldn't stop a coyote attack. Even a poor hit - and possibly even a complete miss - would likely result in the coyote choosing to cease and desist.
And for what it's worth: As an ethical outdoorsman, I always strive to make any shot a humane, one-shot kill. However, when it comes to coyotes, my personal philosophy is this. If I'm out and about and see a coyote, it is not necessarily gonna get shot, but it is absolutely gonna get shot AT!
We have lots of things with great big teeth up here in the North Cascades...I carry one of them G-word 10mms. As you say, lots of bullets!
A 3" J frame is a wonderful size for what is still a pretty small gun - if you can find what you want. In the 2" models I prefer the Magnum caliber because you get an extra 1/4" of barrel which comes with a 1/4" longer extractor throw - almost enough to completely clear a 38 Special case, which is all I shoot in these guns.
Also +1 for a laser grip for accurate aiming, and green for visibility in brighter light including daylight - you'll be surprised how far you can see it on a target.. But you have to keep in mind that lasers are only precise at the sight-in distance, and for anything farther away you not only have to hold up but left, because the laser is offset from the centerline of the bore. You'll have to practice with it to get a feel for how far off it gets at various distances.
Also +1 for a laser grip for accurate aiming, and green for visibility in brighter light including daylight - you'll be surprised how far you can see it on a target.. But you have to keep in mind that lasers are only precise at the sight-in distance, and for anything farther away you not only have to hold up but left, because the laser is offset from the centerline of the bore. You'll have to practice with it to get a feel for how far off it gets at various distances.
Anything a .38 SPL cartridge can do, a .357 Rem. Mag. cartridge can do better.
Doug M.
Member
I am pretty sure that any decent load in .38 will do fine; as several have noted, the coyote is a relatively small critter in most cases. (Coyotes crossed with dogs or wolves are a different critter, but placement and bullet shape will usually prevail.) Our BostonXBoxer is the smallest adult dog we have ever had, mid-40s at the vet. She's feisty but would be in trouble with coyotes. (Answer: Rottweiler is the smallest breed I find appealing, and I am seriously considering a Boerboel in the future after I recover from my transplant.)
My default ammo in a .38 is standard velocity SWC; easy to shoot and a decent performer for almost all uses. It would be fine for this. The big issue is that coyotes in packs try to trick dogs into chasing them; unless your dog is trained to a professional level reliable recall (mine have never been), there is no place outside your fenced yard that the dog should ever be off lead. (And I mean a real lead, not a flexilead, one of the worst clown shoes devices ever invented. Watch a few vids from Garrett Wing at American Standard K9.)
My default ammo in a .38 is standard velocity SWC; easy to shoot and a decent performer for almost all uses. It would be fine for this. The big issue is that coyotes in packs try to trick dogs into chasing them; unless your dog is trained to a professional level reliable recall (mine have never been), there is no place outside your fenced yard that the dog should ever be off lead. (And I mean a real lead, not a flexilead, one of the worst clown shoes devices ever invented. Watch a few vids from Garrett Wing at American Standard K9.)
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