Crowklr

Greetings,
I would like to set up a 12 ga. for close range coyotes. I' m thinking #4 buck but am not sure about barrel selection, length,sights,etc. and choke, fixed, tubes, and what constriction. Never have used buckshot and need some advice, thanks.

coyoteseeker

you say close yardage so i' m going to assume 30 yards or less.try the 28 inch mod choke barrel on paper and see how it patterns,then try the 28 full choke.i have found the the 30 full tends to tear them up a bit at close yardage.now if your think you might have to reach out there 40 to 50 yards then the 30 full maybe the ticket.don' t limit yourself to just buckshot,try other combo' s like #2' s,#4' s.sometimes the smaller shot size will pattern beter then the big stuff.#4 being the smallest you should go on coyotes.for years i used the little bead at the end of the barrel but awhile back i installed fiber optic sights and love them.there especially usefull at night with lights.i once sat down at the range and test fired at 30 yards two barrels,both 28 inch mod choke barrels one fixed one screw in.i used a bufferd magnum #4 turkey load for this.i found that the fixed choke barrel concistanly patterned better then the screw in choke barrel.i really don' t know why,they should have been basicly the same.the screw in one was always high and to the left slighly.who knows maybe the barrel was bent slightly.this is why its so important to paper test any combo that you want to use.for me i use a 28 inch vent ribbed mod choke barrel mounted on a rem 1100 topped with fiber optic sights(red) for all my close in predator hunting.

Nomercy

For coyotes, at close ranges can mean a million different things. I' ve had hunts where I lay on a round bale line calling electronically, and had a coyote come up and nibble on my overall ankle cuffs! I' ve also had ambush hunts in tall grass where I wanted to cuss my cousin for moving so much, only to turn to look at him to come face to face with a yote. I' ve also had a cousin shoot a coyote as it stepped over my back (pretty LOUD to say the least). From this, I started taking two guns, an SKS for long range shooting when they run away, and a SxS coach gun, with 00-4shot, 20" bbls. When I' m hunting away from here, I take a long barrel with an XX-Full choke with 2-4shot (gives 4" pattern at 35yrds!!!!!) With that gun, I can take the choke tube out without damaging my threads and fire with a cylinder/bore choke basically, and it hasn' t failed me on a hunt yet, if they come in close I can quietly and quickly remove the choke and get them. This is just what works for me though.

WHAT MOST GUYS WOULD/SHOULD DO...use a mod choke with 4 or larger (larger diameter that is) shot, in any length barrel, in standard lengths, you WILL NOT notice the difference in pattern at that close range (35 or less yrds). I agree on getting fiber optic sights, so they are visible in low light, I mounted a large ghost ring on one of my shotguns once that I felt worked very well for close range shooting (I patterned, and then calibrated the ring diameter to about 70% of how big my pattern appears from my standard range, (25yrds) so I could VERY quickly aquire my target and fire without having to worry much about exact aiming pts) Also helps leading on running coyotes.

Crowklr

Thanks for the ideas guys. After recalling what my turkey loads and chokes will do, maybe #4 buck is a bit much. Well it' s off to the range. Later.