What would happen if I used a weapon to defend myself against a wild animal?

I suggested to a coworker that mace/OC/bear spray was the right choice over a BB gun, since he didn't seem to want to get licensed and carry a firearm. I tried to explain the potential problems for him carrying around something that looks quite like a real gun but isn't.
 
My dog and I have been stalked on two separate occasions by coyotes. One was on us for about twenty minutes. My dog knew it right away and I had no idea until she finally saw it and went after it. Fortunately I was able to get her to stop because I could not tell if there were any more. I always carry a wheel gun in the woods, just in case.
 
The obligatory.......

when-all-else-fails-nuke-it-from-orbit
 
What’s the Answer ? I live in a neighborhood where houses are closer than 500’. I have trail cam pics of these mutts just 20’ from my house. I leave early in the morning when it’s still dark. What happens if I’m confronted by a couple of them heading for my truck ? By the way I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot one with my bow but it won’t fit in my pocket
I have a lot of coyotes that live in the woods behind my neighborhood. My dog (90lbs, on leash) and I had an encounter a couple of years ago with a coyote around dusk. Beautiful creature, was about 10-15 ft away from us. Both animals went on alert, sniffed the air, and then went their separate ways. I know my my neighbors, and they would all say that I had permission to shoot near/on their property if that encounter went wrong.
 
Do what you have to do to protect yourself, as always make sure you hit the target and that nothing goes wild into the side of a house or thru a window.

But if you do feel the need to defend yourself, and the cops show up, politely tell them that you wish to speak to an attorney before you make any statement or answer any questions. Repeat if it they keep asking.
 
Do what you have to do to protect yourself, as always make sure you hit the target and that nothing goes wild into the side of a house or thru a window.

But if you do feel the need to defend yourself, and the cops show up, politely tell them that you wish to speak to an attorney before you make any statement or answer any questions. Repeat if it they keep asking.

Would hollow points be the most responsible bullet type to carry concealed, just incase you missed your target?
 
1. Are you in a spot where you can engage safely?
2. Are your neighbors c***ish?
3. Are the local PD c***ish?
4. How good are you at not talking if questioned?

I normally exist in (2) as a fail. (3) has been surpsingly good, even when I lived in MA. But (1) and (2) usually imply yote tagging is off the rundeck.

That being said. Someone I knew in Falmouth Ma right off a main road managed to bag a lot of them huddled under a piece or carpet with a 20ga shotgun after leafing some bait out. I think his favorite bait was a pack of chicken legs from Shaw's.
 
Some excellent answers in this thread. Didn't think I'd actually find someone who'd shot predators on his property. Also interesting to see that it's not just me seeing coyotes. //
There is a breeding pair of Coyotes in Savin Hill (Dorchester, by the old Boston Globe building) and they are regularly (almost daily) sighted in the South Boston neighborhood as well, and spotted more occasionally in Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the North End. Those are the neighborhoods adjacent to Boston Harbor.

in other words they’re probably everywhere. Estimate is MA has around 10,000.
 
I've seen coyotes three times over the last week or so on my street. I walk my dog at night and carry. There were two dogs killed recently in the next town over by coyotes. For the most part if they see me they run away and hide, but I'm curious what would happen if I were attacked and shot the coyote in self-defense? I know that there's a law around firing a weapon within 500 feet of a dwelling without the owner's permission, but what's the likelihood I'd be prosecuted under it?

Just to be clear, I have no desire to shoot coyotes, I think it's pretty unlikely I'd be attacked, and I'm not going to go out and try to pop one and call it self defense after the fact or anything like that.

My guess is the answer is going to be that prosecutors would probably throw the book at me and it'd be up to hiring a good lawyer, but curious if anyone knows about anything similar on the books.
That depends....are you in MA or NH? Everything is illegal in MA
 
i saw a coyote on Morton St in Dorchester by American Legion Highway. Pretty scrawny
The ones in my area are fat and happy, lots of food running around. They look like German Shepherds from a distance.
These larger eastern coyotes are supposedly hybrids that came down from Canada, DNA 60% coyote, 30% wolf, and 10% dog. Coyote population saturates Massachusetts
Last year there was a deer killed in my yard by 2 yotes. I never want to hear that sound again.
 
Amazing to me, that the broader NE public probably thinks choking the beast out is somehow less barbaric than shooting him cleanly and quickly.
Yeah. The guy said he was kind of sad that it took nearly 10 minutes for the coyote to die. I've got no love for predators wandering through my yard, but given the choice between terrified while slowly suffocating for 10 minutes versus a clean shot, I know what side I'd come down on.
 
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