Need info for discharging firearms in unincorporated Pierce County

sweet danish · Jul 18, 2012

I am in the beginning stages of trying to collect information to do with the neighborhood menace of coyotes.

Two weeks ago I was home with my siamese cat, Bro, when I heard the coyotes right behind my house, and my cat was gone. As a volunteer with Search & Rescue, within two hours I was out looking for my cat, in search of evidence of what happened to him. I still have no proof that the coyotes killed him, so I am still holding onto hope that he is alive, just scared and lost.

Over the last two weeks I've been searching, and talking to neighbors as I go. Apparently this is a far greater problem than I had originally thought and it is very disheartening. No one is talking about it, but I will.

My question to do with firearms comes from this event.

I've tried to call the sheriff's department to find out what the laws are for discharging firearms in my area, which is NE Tacoma, unincorporated Pierce County (towards Browns Point), and the map he was looking at doesn't make it clear. The deputy is going to call me back when he finds out more. He did mention there are supposed to be public tools online to help distinguish those areas, but he nor I have been able to find them yet. So here I am searching out every avenue. Does anyone here know where I can look?

I am also in contact with Dept of Wildlife (who do not handle coyotes), and waiting for a call back from a biologist with the Dept of Agriculture.

I do not currently own a firearm (yet), but some of the guys I work with are hunters, and they have all the right equipment, but no one has been able to figure out the legal boundaries. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, as it doesn't work to ask for forgiveness after the fact with firearms. When/if Bro comes home, I will be taking steps to get a concealed weapons permit, etc, but I still need to know what the rules are for using it around my home, which is my primary concern. Please help!

Mohawk13 · Jul 18, 2012

Aguilla .22 whisper...That is all....

boarder4life81 · Jul 19, 2012

If you haven't already, try animal control (253-798-PETS (7387)). They might have the information regarding what your rights are for protecting your pets readily available since all they deal with is calls about animals.

Just pulled this off their website;

We license pets and respond to calls in unincorporated Pierce County and the towns of South Prairie and Carbonado.

We respond to:

Vicious animal complaints.
Cruelty reports.
Animal bites.
Animals running loose.
Injured animals.

Good luck in finding your pet.

Eddywangchang · Jul 20, 2012

I dont know if I would go with a firearm in your case (your in a residential neighborhood?), a hunting bow would be more discreet (less noise) and no possible risk of ricochet or over penetration. BUT if you really want to use a firearm, a suppressed .22lr should be able to do trick while remaining subtle.

rkoreis · Jul 20, 2012

Take a look here for some general information: <broken link removed>

You can use the GIS page and select Public Safety then check Sheriff Restrictions to see a map of restrictions for the county. <broken link removed>

biggie24420 · Jul 22, 2012

The word suppressor comes to mind lol. It's not illegal if you don't get caught hahaha jk or am I?

SnackCracker · Jul 22, 2012

Have you considered a crossbow?
Silent, deadly, easy to use. Your situation isn't a "sporting" activity - its more of a remedial act to get rid a pest problem.
I'd use a bow, or crossbow.
Suppressed .22's are great, but if you or someone you know doesn't already own one, its not a viable option. Paperwork on the suppressor can take weeks/months.

lilnurscm · Nov 17, 2012

First off, I am so sorry for your loss. What a beautiful cat, and trajic loss. I live near Lake Tapps, in unincorperated Pierce county, & woke up to the horrifying sound of my dog LuLu(Yorkie/Chi mix) being killed on my front porch. I lept out of bed, racing for the front porch, but was too late. Lu was gone, just vanished. It was very dark, as it was about 0430 in the morning, so we grabbed our flash lights & searched all morning and into the late afternoon. Nothing. We posted "lost dog" flyers just in case somehow she escaped & was too afraid to come home. A neighbor about a city block away had found her dead in near their backyard. So we went to retrieve her. She clearly had her neck broken and there were deep puncture wounds on her body & her throat. I am scared to death for our cat, "JJ". I no longer feed him outside & try to keep him locked up when it's dark outside. But I want that coyote dead. I want to know how I can legally destroy this predator?

salmonriverjohn · Nov 17, 2012

1st, Remington 1200 .17 pellet rifle. It fly's at 1200 FPS and a solid hit to the ribs (lungs) and you have a dead coyote. It wont fall over right there but it will be dead. The neighbors don't need to know what "could" hurt them, fairly quiet and discreet.

2nd, and this ones nasty, learn how to set a snare. Use a baited, sharpened, large treble hook instead of a trip, or noose release. Use braided 180 lbs. angling line for the hook attachment.
This nasty bastard doesn't care what it catches though, coyotes, raccoon, neighbors cats and dogs, it doesn't discriminate but is effective, use caution. I prefer the 1st choice and only throw the 2nd as an option. It works, but you still have to kill it somehow.

deen_ad · Nov 17, 2012

biggie24420 said:
The word suppressor comes to mind lol. It's not illegal if you don't get caught hahaha jk or am I?

suppressor is legal in WA now, but you need an tax stamp to own one and it's a 6 month wait at times. OP needs the suppressor now, not next year!!

lilnurscm · Nov 19, 2012

salmonriverjohn said:
1st, Remington 1200 .17 pellet rifle. It fly's at 1200 FPS and a solid hit to the ribs (lungs) and you have a dead coyote. It wont fall over right there but it will be dead. The neighbors don't need to know what "could" hurt them, fairly quiet and discreet.

2nd, and this ones nasty, learn how to set a snare. Use a baited, sharpened, large treble hook instead of a trip, or noose release. Use braided 180 lbs. angling line for the hook attachment.
This nasty bastard doesn't care what it catches though, coyotes, raccoon, neighbors cats and dogs, it doesn't discriminate but is effective, use caution. I prefer the 1st choice and only throw the 2nd as an option. It works, but you still have to kill it somehow.

safetyman · Nov 22, 2012

Why not mix try poison? I have heard that a healthy dose of rat pellets mixed in some cheap luncheon meat or corned beef works well. Unlike being killed on the spot with a firearm, the coyote will most likely retreat to its den after eating and die there...no need for disposal of a dead carcass.

Burt Gummer · Nov 22, 2012

Except for a neighbor's dog or cat eating the poison.

A few years back I came home at 3am and saw a Coyote in L.O. eating my neighbor's cat right in the middle of the road. I floored the accelerator and the coyote ran right down the center of the street in the cross hairs of my Toyota FJ. As my bumper was literally touching its tail I backed off.

It just looked too much like a 'dog' for me to kill it that way. Plus, if caught doing that the local LO PD would have treated me like a mass murderer.

After seeing the posters put up by the old lady the next day looking for her cat, I really regretted that decision. (I didn't have the heart to tell her) I love animals, but a coyote is like a nasty rat or seagull that looks like a dog.

I agree with the above - 60g Aquila subsonics or a Ghost crossbow. Payback time.

I hope it wasn't the coyotes and you get your beautiful cat back.

4NONISSUE · Nov 22, 2012

Had the same problem at a friends house and used a 22 short, Quite as a pellet gun and did the job and we got rid of 2 !

22many · Nov 22, 2012

I have a ton of coyotes around my place. Every other night I can hear them houling but haven't had any problems as to date. My donkeys make a great coyote deterrent....