20 gauge shotgun for coyotes?

Mongoose

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For close range fast moving Yotes would a 20 gauge Rem 1100 youth model auto do the trick if I'm unable to get my rifle on him?

I have one of these guns in the safe collecting dust. Thought it would be worth a try.

What would be a good choice of 3" shells if I decide to give it a try?
 
Famous old time caller, Sam Dudley, used a 20 gauge with 3" lead 2's and killed one heck of a lot of coyotes with it.
 
The main dufference between a 20 gage and a 12 gage is the amount of shot, with 12 gages packing more shot. Velocities are equal with specific loads.
20 gage with 1 ounce loads of buck shot (2, 4, etc) should do the job.
 
I figured he meant 00("2")buck or "4"buck.... rather than #2's or 4's?
I know people say it works, maybe the coyotes around here are tougher than most, cuz even big loads of BB's hardly phases the coyotes. Seen a couple now, that when skinned out, they had about 80 pellet holes in the skins(so the shot was right on!), but were barely even knocked down when hit at less than 30 steps away......ugly and needed chased.
 
I agree with RC2125 #4 buck would be the smallest I would use
in a 10ga,12ga or a 20ga and I have done so in all three!
where I hunt northern grouse.....bears and wolves are common
and my two young G.S.P's are very intrigued with new stuff!!!! I carry a 20ga Browning fusion semi and always have #4buck at the ready just in case!!
 
Originally Posted By: pk1Famous old time caller, Sam Dudley, used a 20 gauge with 3" lead 2's and killed one heck of a lot of coyotes with it.

Sam was one of my early hunting mentors when I moved to AZ in the 1960s. He called that shotgun "Singin' Sally."
 
There are not hardly any 20 ga factory loads that will work good on coyotes. Number 3 buckshot is the only load I know of. If somebody makes 20 ga number 4 buckshot I have never seen any.

The number 3 buckshot would give the penetration needed but there are not many pellets in those loads.

If you reload 20 ga shells you could make some decent loads. Many years ago I loaded up some 20 ga lead BBB loads for a 9 year old boy and they worked good at under 30 yards away.
 
I’ve killed a few over the years with a 20 gauge 1100 while hunting pheasants. I normally shoot 3” copper plated 4 shot. While it will definitely kill them I don’t know that I would consider it a coyote load. I’d go with a heavyweight (bismuth or tungsten) 2 shot or lead # 3 buckshot.

Years ago when we were kids our go to shotgun load for coyotes was 12 gauge 3” BB. It would hit like the hammer of Thor. However, nobody loads a 20 gauge shell with anything between 2 shot and #3 buck.

But yes, a shotgun is the way to go with close range, fast moving coyotes.
 
It's been a long time, so my memory is a bit foggy, but I believe Dudley used 3" shells with #2 birdshot or #2 buckshot. It was likely the latter since the buckshot is about twice as big as the birdshot.
 
It is really a mater of distance. I use BB's in my shotguns both 16 and 12 ga. #2"s you just have to shoot them closer. The best thing is to pattern your shotgun with the load you want to use.
 
Sure, keep shots fairly close and use #4 or similar buckshot or tungsten T. Experiment with your choke tubes to keep a super tight pattern. Do not be afraid to try a turkey choke, I use one with my 12 ga. Again, keep shots close and be ready to shoot more than once fairly quickly.
 
i have killed a lot of coyotes with the 20 gauge and buckshot. the 2 3/4 3 buck and the 3" 2 buck. federal offers a load with 4 buck now, 2 3/4. a 3" inch load with number 4 or 5buck would be nice.
 
Number Four is the smallest buckshot size. Number Four Buck is 24 caliber. After that is size F shot, which is 22 caliber. Then T, BBB, BB and on down in shot sizes.
 
20ga Browning silver with Copper Plated #4 buckshot and an IM choke has done a decent job for me. At what I would consider to be shotgun range. 5-50yds.

I am using Federal personal defense 2 3/4” 24pellet.
 
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