SkeetLee, that was a great post!
I hunted in the S. West to N. West for yotes, doves, Ducks, and quail. I used the following shotguns:
Ithaca 37 3" mag Modified choke Pump-light weight and kicks your hat off
Rem 870-3" Pump- Modified choke-not enough choke
Rem 1100 3" mag, full choke, still in use-fast recovery for second shot
Ithaca 10ga Auto- 32" full choke-long range heavy shotgun
Browning 10ga Auto-28" screw in choke-Great long range shotgun
Two Browning Gold sporting clays in 12 Ga-Needs maintaining like the 1100's.
Benelli Black Eagle 12ga-HARD kicking shotgun!
Rem 1187-3" 26" Still in use
Mossburg 500, 26" 3" mag
Beretta 390 three inch-screw in chokes.
After extensive patterning, it is evident that the 10 ga is king of the hill on shotguns for coyotes. A coyote at 60 yards has no chance with a 10ga loaded with 2 1/4 oz of BB'
s.
Personal thing, I don't like pumps. They kick like hell and recovery time on second shots is longer.
Of the auto's, the standard 1100 three inch mag with the standard full choke is a great shotgun for coyotes, but maintance is critical, same thing with the 11/87. Recoil on the 1100 is minimal, also.
At $1200, Benelli Black eagle kicks worse than any auto shotgun that I have ever fired. Shooting doves with the Benelli Black Eagle was a very painful season that I will never forget. I shot doves with the Black Eagle for 28 days straight. The Black Eagle started jamming after firing 10 boxes of Remington "Dove load" shells on every occasion. The Black Eagle is the equal of a pump and over and under in Recoil, and this light weight shotgun is simply brutal in recoil.
The beretta 390 is the best auto shotgun that I have ever owned. This shotgun has very light recoil, light weight also, seems to never need cleaning, and never jams with any reload that I put through it. When I die, I will probably have a whole closet full of Beretta 390's and 391's.
I enjoy hunting yotes with a shotgun. There is nothing wrong with a guy starting off with an 870 and hunting with that exact same shotgun for the rest of his life, same with a cheap Mossburg 500 that can be bought at a pawn shop for $150 with screw in chokes.
Pattern your shotguns at various ranges. Point of impact for a particular shotgun fit is critical for you to know if you want to shoot yotes at ranges past 40 yards. Shotguns of the same make and model with the same choke may pattern completely different. Also, shoot more than one pattern with the same load because one may be a lot better than the other...check for consistancy of the load.
The 10ga shotguns are monsters. They are heavy to carry and recovery time for second and third shots are long. For a guy that wanted to get into reloading 10ga shells, loads that would dispatch coyotes at 70-80 yards is not unreasonable thinking.
The 1100,11/87, and the Browning Gold should have their gas tubes wiped off after every shooting session and you will never have any problems, at least I never did.
If you are the type of guy that never likes to clean his shotgun, then get a pump, over and under, or a Beretta 390.
Good luck!