# Coyote in my yard.......what to do?



## kaotiktribe (Nov 7, 2010)

So this morning my wife calls me from her cell pulling into my driveway on her way back from getting groceries and says theres something in our front yard. She says it may be a fox or stray dog. I peek out the window and its a nice size coyote.

Now to some of you that live in more rural areas this may be more common, but i live 5 minutes from Town Center Mall in Kennesaw. For the folks that dont know this area in very populated and theres not much for "woods" out here.

The wife is scared to open the garage door so i grab a rifle open the door and step outside. The coyote is now in my back yard at the edge of my neighbors fence. My wife lays on the horn an scares it away, but is now running towards my neighbors house.

Now......if it was coming towards me or my wife could i put it down?? Would i be in trouble for blasting a rifle within city limits?? Need a hunting liscense for any of this? 

Called animal control. Got an automated line that pretty much said they couldnt help me on Sundays....Call 911. Would an officer put it down? 

Theres a ton of small kids and dog/cats all over my neighborhood. I left to come to work, but told the wife to let the neighbors know and call 911 if she saw it again.


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## Nicodemus (Nov 7, 2010)

If it messes with you, kill it.


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## Coastie (Nov 7, 2010)

The amount of trouble you might get in is going to be up to the city/county in which you live if they catch you. A deputy may or may not attempt to put one down it just depends on the situation, firing any weapon in a crowded area is always a hazard and you have to balance the threat to the individuals from a coyote to the possibilty of a round ending up in somebodies livingroom, or worse, somebody. If you have a shotgun, that would be better for the situation you describe than a rifle or a handgun but it is still a risk but at least the range is much less. The situation you and your wife went through this morning is not all that uncommon in urban and suburban areas today and will become worse rather than better in the future. I don't know of any city or municipality that has a guideline for homeowners to cover the situation but I may be wrong in that. As a general rule I would suggest that if you feel threatened, do what you must to remove the threat but be prepared to answer to the law if you do. A rabid coyote or other animal is nothing to be fooled with and must be stopped, but a healthy one is another story, even if you observe it stalking a child in the area, shooting should be a last resort due to the crowded conditions in most towns and cities or subdivisions.


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## JohnK (Nov 9, 2010)

A shotgun would be better.


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## bfriendly (Nov 11, 2010)

Kennesaw is pretty gun friendly from what I hear.......I would get the shotgun and BLAST it!  One Shot, dead yote..........prolly will hear nothing of it.  That is of course depending on the situation. Do you have any room behind your house, like a yard, maybe a tree buffer between your house and the ones behind, or are there house and houses and more houses?

I have a Buck that has been coming through my back yard. Very cool to watch him, but I would not even consider shooting him(Hes a good 7 pt)..........I DO HOPE a Yote comes through, because I will just deal with my cool neighbors after I show them the dead yote!!


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## stev (Nov 11, 2010)

Suppressed pistol


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## vol man (Nov 11, 2010)

if you shot a gun that close to people in a neighborhood you are asking for trouble.  that dog ain't gonna hurt you.


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## watashot89 (Nov 11, 2010)

Shoot it. I would try and head shoot it with a .22 if I were you. It would cause less attention. But I live on the marietta/kennesaw line and I hear gun shots from my neighbors house about 1 a month. I dont think anyone will even say anything.


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## Catfish369 (Nov 11, 2010)

Would make a nice bow kill.


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## lbzdually (Nov 11, 2010)

Find a good place to shoot from the house.  Pick a big tree and put out bait where the coyote will have it's head with the tree as a backstop to stop the bullet.  Use a .22 with headshot.


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## bfriendly (Nov 13, 2010)

watashot89 said:


> Shoot it. I would try and head shoot it with a .22 if I were you. It would cause less attention. But I live on the marietta/kennesaw line and I hear gun shots from my neighbors house about 1 a month. I dont think anyone will even say anything.



EGGSACTLY!  Shoot him with whatever ya got, but yes, even the .22 will do the trick, but I will still go for the heart/lung area.......bigger target!  A head shot needs to be precise......dont want to blow off a jaw or anything like that.  Puncture the heart/lung and you will have a dead yote!


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## HuntinDawg89 (Nov 14, 2010)

There is probably a law against discharging a firearm inside the city limits.  You would not need a hunting license as they are not game animals, but varmints, the same as a rat.  There are also laws in Georgia about how close you can be to a residence (or maybe any building) and discharge a firearm.  If you try to shoot a coyote in a subdivision there are a whole lot of ways that could go poorly for you.  If I were to try it I'd want something comparatively quiet like a .22 and I'd want to be shooting at a steep downward angle so I knew the bullet wasn't going anywhere if I missed.  Good luck.


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## bfriendly (Nov 14, 2010)

Have you killed that thing yet?


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## kaotiktribe (Nov 14, 2010)

bfriendly said:


> Have you killed that thing yet?



Havent seen it again. Several of the neighbors did see it roaming around the day after. Theres trees in the back yard and my deck is off the second level of the house so if it comes back by i could fire at it without any rounds going anywhere else besides the yote and the ground.

Now my problem is i dont own anything small enough to not make a ridicolous racket.


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## bfriendly (Nov 14, 2010)

kaotiktribe said:


> Havent seen it again. Several of the neighbors did see it roaming around the day after. Theres trees in the back yard and my deck is off the second level of the house so if it comes back by i could fire at it without any rounds going anywhere else besides the yote and the ground.
> 
> Now my problem is i dont own anything small enough to not make a ridicolous racket.



 Solitary BLAST? I would not sweat it,  just shoot it.....hope to see pics of that dead yote!


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## childers (Nov 17, 2010)

if you are seeing it regularly, i will come and shoot it. i hunt at kennesaw mtn. also remember that is a coyote is attacking you or somebody or something on your property you are more than legal to shoot it. just hope you dont have some crazy peta neighbors


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## bfriendly (Nov 17, 2010)

childers said:


> if you are seeing it regularly, i will come and shoot it. i hunt at kennesaw mtn. also remember that is a coyote is attacking you or somebody or something on your property you are more than legal to shoot it. just hope you dont have some crazy peta neighbors



Shoot them too


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## childers (Nov 17, 2010)

haha, lets just put them in a chicken coupe with the coyotes or fox


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