Coyote Shotgun?

[Findal]

Hi

I'm really enjoying this coyote hunting and have been thinking of adding a shotgun to the pursuit.

Budget ~ $500 -Would rather have quality than newest bells and whistles
I think a pump action would suffice.
Trying to keep with less expensive lead shells and settle for 40-50 yd max. pattern.(rather than going hopefully 60 yds with Dead Coyote shells @$'s each)
12 gauge?
3"?
Shorter barrell?, ~24", non-rifled
Chokes? Does one of the barrel 'specs' make some difference?

rifle sights on barrel?
Red Dot sight?
Synthethic for Lightness and weather resistance;paintability.

Have you put together a coyote shotgun or wanted to and have some suggestions on what makes a better predator calling shotgun?

I've no idea about shotguns, so any models and makes info that might come close to being a good predator gun, please let me know.

Thanks

[AB2506]

For cheaper shells, try 3" copper coated BB. Guys like Rick Jamison and Gerry Blair recommend that load. Dense pattern and the holes aren't too big. Probably try to get a shorter barrel with interchangeable chokes, so that you can try which one works best with the load you purchase.

Don't necessarily require sights. If you watch the coyote videos (Operation Predator for instance), they mainly use shorter barrels with bead sights.

[fiducafe]

It's a personal choies which gun you use,I have a 870 26"' BBL FULL CHOKE.
40 yards is all I'll shoot # 4 buck or lead BB's. Don't use steel they won't penetrate as well as lead and you will have too many wounded animals.

[yellowknifedave]

I have two favourites:
My savage 24v in 223/20 and my Baikal IZH 94 in 6.5 swede/12.......

Cheating, I know, but if they hang at the tree line 100 yards out, I can still take them.

ykd

[duffy4]

I see a guy on Wild TV from time to time who is calling Coyotes mostly in Montana I believe. He has a 12 ga. shotgun with a different kind of short bypod on it so it sits up handy beside him out of the snow. He uses a Howa 22/250 for the long stuff and the shotgun for close work. Not sure what kind of shotgun or shot he uses.

Robin in Rocky (I use a Sav, 24 in 222/20ga. with AAAA buck shot)

[Findal]

Thanks for the replies and keep it coming.

Having watched a few videos I have seen the guys using shotguns, but not alot of info on models. Come to think of it I have never noticed any of them using a sighted barrel or red dot...hmm

I'm definately looking for a shorter barrel, but how short is too short for those 40+yd shots?
Does barrel length make a difference or can it be controlled with a choke? Say a 20" vs 26" barrel.

Thanks

[AB2506]

Barrel length makes no difference in power, just handiness. Choke makes a difference.

[Pinhead]

On "Predator Quest" on WildTV they use Escort Shotguns and Howa Rifles.

Whatever you buy, you might want to consider buying a "Dead Coyote" Choke from Cabelas or find an extra full or turkey choke. Using LEAD you should be able to dump them out to 70 yards.

[sbtennex]

Actually, barrel length makes much the same difference a with a rifle - longer barrel, more velocity. We've shot quite a few, years ago, with a 12 ga semi, using nothing more than a good 3" goose load with the lead full choke, BB's seem to give the maximum kill range while still keeping the pellet count high enough at long shotgun ranges. With my 10 ga I've killed beaver out to 75 yds with T steel, and coyotes out to 75 yds with a full load of lead BB's. The Federal Black Cloud in the biggest shot you can get might be real interesting - lots of "cutters" in it and I've seen what it does to Canadas. Lot more immediate effect then any other steel I've seen at work. Steel penetrates better, but if the incident my neighbor recently had when he accidentally shot his lab with a load of steel means anything, steel does what we've always complained about - doesn't deform and stop. transferring it's energy to the target like lead does. It passes right through, which in this case turned out very well for the dog - she's fine and not even gun-shy! The older style Benelli Nova's getting pretty cheap, around $500. and they can be had already camo'd. Almost any cheaper pump gun would work fine, the Express 870's are tough and pretty reliable. If you load your own, stick to a powder like Blue Dot. It goes BOOM even when it's nasty cold out. Big lead pellets are getting a little tough to find, components or factory ammo so if you stumble across a bunch of something like Federal Premium magnum BB's or even 2's, better grab them.