This was a hoot.
I was bird hunting on a buddy's ranch this weekend (quail & late-season dove). I had my boy with me trying to still-hunt some incoming dove near a pond. Unfortunately, though, it was hot and the birds weren't doing squat. We had devolved into me sitting on a boulder in the shade and the boy playing with one of the two ranch dogs and some sticks - basically goofing off and killing a little time outdoors.
The other ranch dog had been ranging about as she normally does, but had been gone for a while. My boy was now climbing on the boulder I was sitting on, pestering me and telling me he was hungry. I was just about to get up and head to the house to get us some food when I see a streak of grey/brown coming off the ridge 40 yards in front of me (that hill in the background of the picture), with the other dog in hot pursuit - they were on an all-out sprint and coming directly at us.
I don't know how long the event actually took, but it seemed like about three seconds: see them, process that it's a coyote, stand up, off safe, the coyote turned about 30 degrees but was going to blow past us, and I let her have it at about 10 yards broadside. She tumbled into a heap DRT.
My son was there and saw the whole thing - he's seen me take birds, but this was the first mammal. He thought it was great and we were both pretty proud of ourselves.
FWIW, a 20-gauge with #7.5 birdshot will in fact take a yote down hard if you remove their throat section with the shot.
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