Monroe was not a bad cat, and while his owners lived out in the country, Monroe rarely strayed outside the confines of his own yard. Then one day a coyote raced into the backyard in broad daylight, snatched up old Monroe, killed him in a flash and carried him away.

Monroe bit the dust all right, but not in Texas or Wyoming or one of the other states long known for dense coyote populations. No, sir. Monroe lived in South Carolina, where coyotes did not begin to appear until the late 1970s. Back then, coyotes were rarely seen in the Deep South, but now they seem to lurk behind every bush and garbage can.

I talked to biologist William Simmons of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, who told me that just over 18,500 coyotes were reportedly killed by deer hunters during the 2003 season. Most were shot from tree stands, although calling coyotes to the gun during the off-season is also becoming increasingly popular in a number of southeastern states--and has long been a favorite pursuit of hunters in many parts of the country.

Rifles make great coyote medicine, sure, but in the more settled areas commonly found east of the Mississippi, the shotgun is a better choice because of its limited range. While I have proven to my own satisfaction that the 20-gauge will work on coyotes inside 20 yards, the ability of 10- and 12-gauge guns to throw heavier charges of large shot makes them much better choices.

Any good turkey gun in either of those gauges will double as a coyote gun, especially if it wears a sight of some type. The coyote is a tough cookie, and punching his ticket with a shotgun requires one that's carefully sighted in and choked and loaded to deliver tight, bone-breaking charges.

A standard full choke is usually the right choice, although pattern density may increase with some loads when they are squeezed through an extra-full turkey choke.

While you can get by with smaller shot if the range is close enough, I consider No. BB (.18 caliber) the minimum size. Larger shot sizes such as BBB (.19 caliber), T (.20 caliber) and No. 4 Buck (.24 caliber) are even better--as long as the pellet count and the pattern density is high enough to deliver multiple strikes at the longer distances.

KILLER COYOTE LOADS
12-Gauge, 2 3/4-inch
Load	Size	Pellets
Environmetal Dead Coyote	No. T Hevi-Shot	42
Federal Vital-Shok	No. 4 buckshot	34
Federal Power-Shok	No. 4 buckshot	34
Federal Magnum Wing-Shok	No. BB	74
3-inch
Environmetal Dead Coyote	No. T Hevi-Shot	50
Federal Vital-Shok	No. 4 buckshot	41
Federal Power-Shok	No. 4 buckshot	41
Federal Ultra-Shok	No. BB High-Density	69
Federal Magnum Wing-Shok	No. BB	94
Remington Express Magnum	No. 4 buckshot	54
Winchester Supreme	No. 4 buckshot	41
3 1/2-inch
Environmetal Dead Coyote	No. T Hevi-Shot	54
Federal Ultra-Shok Waterfowl	No. BB High Density	81
Winchester Super-X	No. 4 buckshot	54
10-Gauge
Federal Magnum Wing-Shok	No. BB	112
Winchester Super-X	No. 4 buckshot	54
Shot is lead unless otherwise specified.

Larger pellets such as No. 3 Buck and No. 1 Buck deliver more energy than the four shot sizes I just listed, but the lower pellet counts may not be dense enough to consistently place a sufficient number of pellets into the relatively small vital area of a coyote.

Environmental has introduced the Dead Coyote load with No. T Hevi-Shot, and it works quite well. The longest shot I've attempted with it on a coyote was just shy of 50 yards, and at that range I got complete broadside penetration with the dozen or so pellets that struck the shoulder/lung area of the animal.

Hard and fast maximum-range rules for the various shot sizes are difficult to establish because shotguns fire more than one "bullet" with each squeeze of the trigger, and for this reason a half-dozen pellet strikes with a smaller shot size at a certain range may be more effective than one or two pellet strikes with a larger shot size.

Based on my field experience with various 10- and 12-gauge loads--and taking pattern density with the various shot sizes into consideration--I believe reasonable maximums for lead shot are around 50 yards for No. 4 Buck and somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 yards for BB. Since it's more dense than lead, size T Hevi-Shot will extend the range out to 60 yards or so if an extra-full choke is used.

I think steel shot should be reserved for waterfowl, but if you are hunting coyotes in an upland area where nontoxic shot is required, then No. T steel will work in a pinch, but I would restrict it to shots no farther than 30 yards--25 yards would be even better.

I am sure coyotes have been taken at greater distances by lucky shots, but for consistent dead-in-their-tracks kills, I believe those maximums for the various shot sizes and types are realistic.

Now with all these coyote gun facts readily at hand, the Monroes of the world should have far more pleasant fates than our doomed hero. But if they don't--you know exactly what to do about it.