Any issues with coyote self-defense?

Prepper

Prepper

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First, I don't want to hunt them (sorry I'm not going to eat a dog). If I'm in Maine and encounter coyote(s) that want to be confrontational and pose a threat, would I be in any kind of trouble if I had to shoot one? Since my intent would not be hunting, I would not have a license, nor would it likely be in season, nor would I likely have the required equipment restrictions for hunting (I think it is something like 5 max for a rifle, 3 for shot gun).

Sorry if it is a dumb question... I'm from MA and am used to being beaten up about all the absurd gun laws.

(And yes, I realize that coyotes will usually not attack, and I do have bear spray with me when doing remote camping in coyote land, which I'd probably go for first. But, I've had some close encounters with packs of them in the middle of the night while I'm trying to sleep -- those things creep me out! I want to make sure I understand my options. They're getting a bit too close to my campsite for some reason, and no I don't have food around other than Mountain House.)
 
I'd worry about people, not coyotes. Unless you have a steak around your neck or walk with a small dog, I doubt you will even see a coyote up here. If your in the woods your more more likely to stumble across a momma bear and her cubs.
 
In my case, the coyote have gotten pretty close, like around 100 feet. It is a bit alarming to be sleeping alone in a tent with the nearest person over 2 miles away, and a pack of them come across my tent in the middle of the night and start making their horrid sounds. (How do they make those sounds anyway? Doesn't sound dog-like or wolf-like at all.) Not that I'd ever condone anything "illegal", but I'm far from anyone and camping on my own land... I'd have all the time in the world to figure out what to do with the coyote if I needed to defend myself.

Yes, there are bear too... I've seen their tree scratches and their dung. I've never seen the bear though. I've talked to locals and they also confirm there are bear but none of them has actually seen a bear yet. Just in case, I carry bear spray when I go venture off the trail into the deep woods.
 
You know what? Do what you gotta do. Treat the situation just like you would any other immediate, unavoidable, mortal threat.

That being said, coyotes don't really attack people. Especially in the suburbs where they tend to be a little less wild and a little better fed.

That being said, do you guys think 9mm is ok for coyotes?
 
9mm should be fine. I'm more concerned about which choice of weapon would work best if woken up in complete darkness, in the woods with no light switch to flick, and in a panic. At the moment, I no longer have a functioning gun-mountable tactical light.
 
I think he was making the "Is 9mm good for bear?" joke/reference.[laugh]

The best thing to do is check with the wildlife department in the area you're camping on, they'll be able to tell you what's legal and what's not concerning the coyotes.

It's unlikely you'll be attacked by any coyote of sound mind, I was in the woods aggressively working a distressed rabbit call and couldn't convince the coyotes to close the last 30 yards...
 
Prepper said:
9mm should be fine. I'm more concerned about which choice of weapon would work best if woken up in complete darkness, in the woods with no light switch to flick, and in a panic. ...
Click to expand...

Usually a frying pan with a pot lid works the best. That or a heavy spoon in a spaghetti pot.
 
If you have to defend yourself, of course do so. If you are 2 miles from another person then know one will ever know and I do not see an obligation to tell anyone. If you have to tell someone, then the fact that they were close enough to shoot with a handgun should be evidence enough that it was self defense. The worst they can get you for is hunting with out a lisence. They are not protected other than by general huntin laws. IMHO, there are so many coydogs up here that no one will care. The state encourages trappers to get as many as they can.
 
Lots of good points --

I won't shoot them with a .40... that would make me angry too, since I hate .40. 9mm to the head should do it. I ordered a new tactical light for my Glock 19. I also bring my Liotec Behemoth flashlight with me... that alone should be enough to scare them off (it worked twice already -- they scattered when I started shining that into the woods).

"Wildlife department"? LOL. The town hall has one employee who answers the phone 4 hours per week. I bet the county level of gov't has something, but I'm not going to bother asking anyone. They'll probably just think I'm weird for asking.

Screw it... it is Maine... I'll just do what needs to be done and not ask anyone (which is pretty much the attitude that native Mainers have too, if I understand them correctly -- and I hope I do, as I aspire to be one someday).
 
Title 17-A: MAINE CRIMINAL CODE
Part 1: GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Chapter 5: DEFENSES AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES; JUSTIFICATION
§103. Competing harms
1. Conduct that the person believes to be necessary to avoid imminent physical harm to that person or another is justifiable if the desirability and urgency of avoiding such harm outweigh, according to ordinary standards of reasonableness, the harm sought to be prevented by the statute defining the crime charged. The desirability and urgency of such conduct may not rest upon considerations pertaining to the morality and advisability of such statute.
[ 2007, c. 173, §18 (AMD) .]
2. When the person was reckless or criminally negligent in bringing about the circumstances requiring a choice of harms or in appraising the necessity of the person's conduct, the justification provided in subsection 1 does not apply in a prosecution for any crime for which recklessness or criminal negligence, as the case may be, suffices to establish criminal liability.
[ 2007, c. 173, §18 (AMD) .]
SECTION HISTORY
2007, c. 173, §18 (AMD).

OTHER STATUTES GIVE YOU A PASS TOO
 
If you fear personal harm, shoot it. If you are near anyone, be ready to prove it, especially on a Sunday. Wardens have the habit of showing up in the remotest of locations.

If you are near a dwelling or in a municipality that restricts shooting, have your ducks in a row, cause you may have to prove it.

Of course, use common sense and safety. Make sure you really are in imminent danger before shooting, not just freaked out.

FWIW, I'm 40, have been going deep in the woods since I was 3 or 4, am currently a Registered Maine Guide, and have never had a problem with coyotes. I spent my first 27 years in Jackman and now live outside Portland. We have a camp west of Jackman that we go to very frequently. We can hear coyotes a lot, but rarely, if ever see them. We even hear them down where we are now.

A coyote howling many miles away will sound like it's right next to you when you're in a tent.

Don't sweat the coyotes.
 
Unless you have a steak around your neck or walk with a small dog, I doubt you will even see a coyote up here.
Click to expand...

You must have missed my thread of last winter. I have had one passing my house within 20 feet of my back door.

And for those of you who didn't miss the thread, no, I haven't been able to shoot it. Each time I've seen it, I didn't have my gun with me, but my neighbor has seen it several times as well, so maybe it's changed it's route from my yard to his.

They are more common than you think.
 
cooper30 said:
A coyote howling many miles away will sound like it's right next to you when you're in a tent.

Don't sweat the coyotes.
Click to expand...
+1

That was my experience camping and backpacking in Kansas, where coyotes breed like rabbits.

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Round_Point_Shovel.3204647_std.jpg


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article_ShutUpChecks.jpg
 
NinerMaine said:
We understand the terms to be incorrect, but we really don't give a shit what people from away find funny about our local mannerisms. Tradition dies hard around here. :)
Click to expand...

That's one of the many things I love about Maine and the people there! May I become one of you someday.
 

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