Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Shotgun for coyotes

What is the lowest load you would use for coyotes. Our shots are on coyotes that are being run with hounds.

Specifically, would you be undergunned if you were using 2 3/4" shells? If not undergunned, what shot would you use in the 2 3/4 shell.

Or do you think 3" is the minimum requirement.

Reason being I want to get a new shotgun for hunting coyotes and my buddy swears by his 12 guage with 3.5 inch shells.

I would rather use some of the shotguns I've been looking at but they only chamber the 2.75 inch shell.

So, opinions?

My son shot one last April when he was turkey hunting. I think he was using 2 3/4" #4's. Dead dog, no problem.

I use the Hevi-Shot Dead Coyote rounds, and they only come in 3" and 3 1/2".

Were I you, I'd buy something with a 3" chamber, at least.

I ran coyotes with hounds for 30 years and loved the 2 3/4 #4 buck load. If you can afford it you cannot beat the dead coyote T shot by Hevi Shot. But if your hounds will bay a cripple you can get by with the #4 buck load and keep shots to 75 yards and closer. Before the deer hunters made me quit I was seriously thinking about reloading some #5 tungsten loads. You would have $5 or more a round but from guys that I have talked that shoot turkeys and coyotes and deer with them your range will lengthen considerably.

#4 buckshot 2 3/4" will do the job, 3" and 3 1/2" will beat you up if you shoot much.

I regularly shoot 2 3/4" loads in my shotguns for coyotes BUT they are combo guns and the shotgun covers the close in stuff and I have the rifle barrel for the longer stuff, my goto load is 1 1/4oz of NP BB's in 2 3/4" 12's and 1oz of NP BB's in the 2 1/2" 16. If I were in a dedicated shotgun area I'd look at shooting a load of TSS 3's out of whatever shotgun I was using, it is harder to find a 2 3/4" only shotgun nowdays. If cost is the determining factor the Stoeger 3000 with a 24" barrel and choke tubes would be a real candidate for a predator shotgun. I do have a dedicated pred shotgun, a Rem 870 Express turkey gun 21" barrel and have a stock of Dead Coyote and Rem HD BB's but haven't taken it out in 20 yrs.

It's nice to have the choice of 2 3/4" or 3" the picture of the M4 I posted above has killed the hell out of coyotes and cats at 65 yrds. past that I use a rifle. Rio7

Rio, what range you shooting those at?

websterparish47, Most of my shots are from 25 to about 45 yrds, but I have killed coyotes at 70 yrds with my M4 but it was pure luck, didn't have time to grab my rifle. Rio7

Quite frankly, the 3 1/2" loads on average pattern like crap IME. Let alone want to dislocate your shoulder.....

I recommend buying 10-20 rounds of the Remington yellow box #4 Buck, in 2 3/4 and what I shoot the 3". You might have to experiment with a couple of choke tubes to figure out what tube patterns the best for your gun. Just like working a load up in a rifle.

IME absolutely no need for the big honking 3 1/2" shells or the Hevishot stuff (which is excellent BTW if you like spending $). Those who expell the 3 1/2" virtues generally have other recompensation problems. The shotgun sweet spot is no more than 3". YMMV...

I hammer coyotes with yellow box 3" and I mean tumble them head over heels out to 60. Past that usually require a finisher but that's damn good for shotgunning coyotes which is about all I've done for the past 8 years or so. My load will put 4-6 #4 buck pellets on a 12" plate out to 65 or so.

Great information everyone, I appreciate the input.
Personally, I was hoping you would say the 2.75 is good enough. I was looking to be able to use a lightweight semiauto and buy used. Looks like I now have some great ammo options to look into as well!

3" shotguns will shoot 2.75" shells also. All in all the 3" is the most versatile, reliable and easiest to feed. There is some excellent information available on shotgunning coyotes. There is also a lot of pure bullchit out there. GregW, erich, Rio7 and a few others know what they're talking about.

I'm a huge fan of 3" 4buck

It all about the range, shot size and how your gun patterns it. You don't get many pellets of #4 buck in a 2 3/4" shell. You should have 2 or 3 pellets in a paper plate at 40 - 45 yards. A tight choke usually helps, but you have to pattern it to know.

Dad always used Super-X #4 buck out of his old bolt-action shotgun, and he would roll coyotes at 65 yards, sometimes further. The coyotes never stood a chance.

Get yourself a 870 with a modified or full and use copper plated 4Buck running with dogs just getting a few pellets in em will have them bay up.

I have hunted with a lot of different shotguns, all over the West and Mexico years ago.

Couple of things, gun fit. Pattern your shotgun to see if the pattern goes where you aim, many shotguns do not print where they aim. For instance, my 1100, 11/87, and 870 all print 1' low and 1' to the left. I use a Burris speede beade on these shotguns to hit where I aim.

The Beretta 391 with the kick off system on the butt stock is a very soft recoiling shotgun, to say the least. Point of aim for me is good on the Beretta's.

Next big concern is pattern density. People say they love this and that kind of shell, but it is hard to believe how barrels of the same maker can differ in how they pattern. So, pattern your shotgun.

I have found on Remingtons that the extra Full choke is best, and a Carlson's Turkey choke patterns 100% pattern of Remington 3"#4 Buckshot in a 20" pattern at 40 yards. The same choke patterns 00 and 000 buck in 15" patterns at 40 yards.

Chokes matter, more than you could ever imagine.

Different kinds of ammo pattern much different, so assume nothing if you are wanting to connect on coyotes at 40-65 yards and 65 yards is a heck of a long shot.

I can't say that 27Pellet of #4 buck will not work, as my own special hand loads are in 32 Pellets of #4 buck doing 1350 fps. I use Ballistic Products wads, their hard buckshot, with buffer.

I have had exceptional luck with Remington 3" buffered #4 Buck, Federal Premium buffered #4 Buck, and Wichester 3", #4 buck. Balance between Choke choice and factory load is absolutely critical.
It really does not pay to hand load buckshot, I do it for the fun of it.

When your pattern is tight, and I consider 100% pattern in a 30" circle at 40 yards, you will probably not need TSS shot for anything other than the longer distance shooting. So, spend some money on chokes, various brands of shells, and pattern boards. I shot a piece of newspaper at 40 yards, with a white circle that was a paper plate in the middle.

Wade with Bubba Round tree outdoors on You Tube has a vast amount of information on Shotguns loads and chokes. Wade likes a Kicks Butt Kicker Extra Full choke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688KkPzDXrU

I have patterned a lot of shotguns over the years. I have never seen a Modified pattern better than Full or extra full in Remington Shotguns of any kind, Nor Beretta, Nor Benelli. When using a Flite Control wad factory load, perhaps a Modified is about as tight as you can go.

For the new guys shooting shotguns with Buckshot, recoil horrendous for pumps and Benelli's. Gas operated Remington shotguns and even better the Beretta's take a lot of the punishment out of the recoil.

I don't know much about running coyotes with dogs but I have killed more than a few Coyotes with lead #2's and 4's when calling them in reasonably thick brush. Shots no longer than 35 yards. I have absolutely no use for 3" and 3 1/2 inch shells unless I am duck hunting and forced to shoot steel shot, even then 3' shells are all I have ever used for that. However my load of choice is # 4 buck from a 2 3/4" shell usually Remington. I like a Primos tight wad choke tube with a .660 diameter. I would use this out to 45 yards or as far as your gun would put 4 buckshot into a paper plate. Personally I am just too old school to be shooting at things 65 yards away with a shotgun.

This might save someone the hassle on experimenting with buckshot chokes in Reming 870’s. We sent some 870 barrels off to Barnhills Gunsmith Shop in Ashland Virginia and requested some chokes that shot Remington 3 inch #4 buck. We didn’t want the forcing cones lengthened or polished. He started at .660 and kept shooting and opening the chokes until he seen the pattern go south. He found that .675 +- .002 was about as good as we were going to get. We had around $100 a choke in them and that was 25 years ago.

As a general starting point I've found a sweet spot for No. Four Buck to be about .055" constriction from the bore size. Sometimes a bit less, maybe a bit more and you have a very usable pattern. Not all bore sizes are the same. The old standard American bore size for 12 gauge was .729" . The Italian guns were tighter at .723". But then the over bore fad became common and now bores run all the way up to .775" in the case of some Mossberg 12 gauge shotguns. You have to know your bore size and think in terms of constriction, not just an overall number. The .675" that works in the old Remington bores would be .100" of constriction in the overbore Mossberg 835. That would be a safety issue. So a general number as in ". xxx" chokes work for No.Four Buck in shotguns" is impossible to state. There are some general rules of thumb, shorter barrels trend toward tighter constriction. A 21" barrel might like about .005" more constriction than a 26" or 28" barrel. Longer barrels tend to be more forgiving and pattern more uniformly. Clean barrels pattern tighter than dirty bores. Cold weather seems to hurt patterns. Shotguns are considerably more finicky than many folks think.