Close encounter with a large 'yote

jill jackson

jill jackson

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Sep 5, 2006
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I just came back from walking my 4 dogs and as we went up the trail, they was acting agitated about something. The little Jack Russell "Trixie" was barking and sniffing the ground. The old yellow Lab Bigwig(11) had ran as fast as he could to get ahead of us and the little Mt. Cur x Coonhound "Newly" was going everyplace bristled up, in his super fast hyper manner. My 60 pound Pit Bull "Nyla" was the only one on a leash.
So the dogs go over from the trail in a thicket and are trying to attack something with buff charges. I go back with Nyla and try to see what it is. Suddenly a large Coyote pops out on the trail not 25 feet in front of me barring his teeth at Newly, as he buff charges him. I drop Nyla's leash and she heads straight into the 'yote. He just stood and let her come and I guess he didn't think she'd close but she hit him and started fighting. The other dogs then close and all bite him in other areas of his body, as Nyla had the head occupied. I ran up and wanted to get a shot in with my .22 North American Arms mini revolver, but it was a frenzy. After a short while the 'yote managed to break away and ran with my dogs on his rear. Nyla's retractable lead soon stopped her and the rest sensing their fighter was left behind came back to my calls. All in all a fairly exciting change to an otherwise always routine Saturday morning hike!
 
I'm glad you have such fierce protectors.

A coyote usually won't bother you ... but there is NO reason to take a chance.

If this sort of thing continues, you might consider upgrading your caliber.
 
NA .22 is better than nothing, but hard to aim at wild animals. If you start seeing a lot of coyotes in the area, I'd hike with a rifle for a while.
 
I don't think it even knew I was there. He seemed to be too occupied with the dogs. So I may start carrying a heavier caliber pistol, just in case I get another chance at seeing one that close, again. At any rate I don't feel at all threatened by the coyotes. But I still will shoot one if it's up close enough.
 
jill jackson said:
I don't think it even knew I was there. He seemed to be too occupied with the dogs. So I may start carrying a heavier caliber pistol, just in case I get another chance at seeing one that close, again. At any rate I don't feel at all threatened by the coyotes. But I still will shoot one if it's up close enough.
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If you are not very familiar with handguns, I might recommend a revolver as a nice, safe 'natural' shooter. Most folks seem to acclimate easier to the revolver.

Anything will be more effective than a .22. Again, if you're already familiar with handguns, something in a .357 magnum or larger would be just fine. I prefer .45, if only for historical reasons (it's how I learned how to shoot and I'm an old guy with a fondness for the 1911 in .45). There are a ton of excellent handgun manufacturers out there!

I hope this advice doesn't insult -- for all I know, you are much more familiar with handguns than I am. :)
 
Insult me? Compared to what some others have said to me online, no way! I do happen to be a little bit familiar with revolvers though. I just go lite on hikes a lot, because mostly all I ever need is a "noise maker" to scare other dogs away and avoid the unpleasantness of breaking up dogfights.
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This one was bigger than my hound and he weighs 48 pounds. The Pit would defeat it in a fight being they are bred to fight and the coyote is a wild animal that is not bred to do anything, by man. (it's will is to survive not get into fights it won't benefit from) The coyote broke free after a few heated seconds of being pile driven by a 60 pound Pit and her 3 friends. While he certainly wasn't intimidated by my hound charging him trying to make him run, I don't think they tend to try to just fight dogs that can give them a good fight to be fighting. After all they are wild animals and need to stay uninjured and kill other animals that they can without too much risk.
 
jill jackson said:
This one was bigger than my hound and he weighs 48 pounds. The Pit would defeat it in a fight being they are bred to fight and the coyote is a wild animal that is not bred to do anything, by man. (it's will is to survive not get into fights it won't benefit from) The coyote broke free after a few heated seconds of being pile driven by a 60 pound Pit and her 3 friends. While he certainly wasn't intimidated by my hound charging him trying to make him run, I don't think they tend to try to just fight dogs that can give them a good fight to be fighting. After all they are wild animals and need to stay uninjured and kill other animals that they can without too much risk.
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+1.

They are wild, crafty animals and don't see any need to fight without a good reason. Corner them, however, and you will get everything they've got! :o

I've seen some very large coyotes out west. While I don't fear them, I do respect them ... and leave them be.
 
Jill you probably ran into a coydog they have the same track as a coyote but are a hybrid from coyote's breeding with feral dogs. They are more agressive and will attack people. They are a growing problem in the western states. They have been causing problems in packs around here.
 
Nice story!

We have had some problems with coyotes down in SC. I've been training with this crazy screaming call that is supposed to attract 'em. Hope your dogs got out without a scratch!
 
jill jackson said:
Insult me? Compared to what some others have said to me online, no way! I do happen to be a little bit familiar with revolvers though. I just go lite on hikes a lot, because mostly all I ever need is a "noise maker" to scare other dogs away and avoid the unpleasantness of breaking up dogfights.
[B][I]Image removed out of respect for others who don;t need to "reload" a picture that already exists in the thread![/I][/B][/QUOTE]

Unless I'm mistaken, the top two kindly look the .357 Security Six that I carried for years on the job! "Bulletproof" frames....good guns! :thumbup:

[B]ON EDIT: [/B]No, on closer inspection, the top one looks like an SP101....the one below it like a Security Six.
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Smaller Ruger is the 3" barrel SP101 .357 mag and the bigger the 4" barrel GP100. The Security 6 was their predecessor.
 
That N/A .22 has a much longer barrel that the ones I'm used to seeing. Better sight radius, for sure.
 
It also has the larger grip -- is it a Black Widow? Those are sweet little .22 mags.

I ran into what looked like a trio of coydogs -- didn't quite look like 'yotes, not quite like a domesticated dog, might have been crossbreeding for a while. Fortunately, I had my big dog, Chopper with me (half German Shepherd, half madtiff -- 140 pounds, and he's a big dog with a big fight). They came up and surrounded us. I held his leash with just my index and middle fingers (so if they went for it, he'd break my grip with no trouble) and my other hand was drawing my gun (which at the time was a .44 mag Super Blackhawk -- I'm in more danger from feral hogs than anything, and you want a big gun for them). He made a quick lunge at one, it yelped and all three decided they didn't want any of that action and hauled.

Dogs are a hiker's best companion.
 
Hey Jill... down here in Texas coyotes will attack and eat dogs. I had a small pack come up to the house at our ranch and try to take down my 105 lb. golden retriever. He survived, thanks in part to a couple of .45 ACP shots in the air over the ruckus. I managed to kill a large male on the run, but the others ran to darkness before I could get another shot.

Be very wary of rabies, as coyotes are very common carriers of the disease. If I may offer a suggestion, I'd hold on to the dogs and shoot any 'yote that does not fear you (that .22 mag will do it... I've killed several with a .22 mag). It is just not natural for a coyote not to fear a human... much less a human with dogs (and vet bills are expensive). I'm thinking this particular 'yote either wanted to have one of your dogs for dinner or was rabid. Be careful.

Pic of the male that came for dinner... and stayed... ;)
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