I live in a "no shoot zone."

[Eagle1]

If shooting will upset the neighbors I suspect the LDG will really drive them nuts. My crew can mask deer hunting while barking a squirrel or butterfly. Now if there is a real threat the barking moves away really really fast...

 

[Bryan99705]

A crossbow and the 3 S's if the situation gets bad.

 

[greybeard]

If the state or county law allows a shooting exception, don't worry about the noise.
Dogs barking may be a more serious issue to address tho. If the noise becomes a daily or nightly thing, and your immediate area is zoned residential, your neighbors may band together and force livestock zoning restrictions with no "grandfather" clause.

 

[Mfrantz]

A rat gun filled with pellets should work. Or although, it doesn't sound that great , frozen paint balls will work on dogs and raccoons maybe even a coyote

 

[greybeard]

I don't think Silencers are legal in "Kalifornia"

In the United States, taxes and strict regulations affect the manufacture and sale of suppressors under the National Firearms Act. They are legal for individuals to possess and use for lawful purposes in 39 of the 50 states.[41] However, a prospective user must go through an application process administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which requires a federal tax payment of $200 and a thorough criminal background check. The tax payment buys a revenue stamp, which is the legal document allowing possession of a suppressor. The use of a gun trust to register with the BATFE has become an increasingly popular method of acquisition and ownership of silencers.[42] The following jurisdictions have explicitly banned any civilian from possessing a suppressor: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa,Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont,[43] and the District of Columbia.

If noise truly is an issue, use a subsonic round.

 

[Paravaci Farm]

Black bears in general are more interested in your garden not your stock. They are vegetarians.Grizzly,,,,,that's a different story and most are scared of humans. A good set of livestock dogs will take care of bobcats, mini-donkeys and/or llamas and alpacas are all good livestock guardian animals. Electric fencing helps quite a bit.
And what range are you shooting? Close or far? Bullets travel long distances, shotgun pellets or even paint balls are good alternatives. How good a shot are you ? Is there a chance to hit one of your stock?
Guardians and good fencing are usually your best bet.

 

[Bossroo]

Black bears in general are more interested in your garden not your stock. They are vegetarians.Grizzly,,,,,that's a different story and most are scared of humans. A good set of livestock dogs will take care of bobcats, mini-donkeys and/or llamas and alpacas are all good livestock guardian animals. Electric fencing helps quite a bit.
And what range are you shooting? Close or far? Bullets travel long distances, shotgun pellets or even paint balls are good alternatives. How good a shot are you ? Is there a chance to hit one of your stock?
Guardians and good fencing are usually your best bet.

Black bears vegetarians ??????? NOPE ... they are omnivores , so opportunistic feeders. They will kill a farm animal just as fast as a garden or orchard food items whichever they want to eat first. In your neighborhood and in areas where predators are pretty sparce and far between what you say is probably true, but in my neighborhood in Cal. ... Mini donkeys... just 2 miles from our ranch in Cal., one night a cougar killed 3 of these cute fuzzballs , one of which was a jack in a breeding herd of 14 minis including the dead jack, jennies, and their foals. Alpacas ... coyotes had a fine meal of one ( out of 5 ) about 20 miles from our ranch. As for guardian dogs and good fencing... well one should include a well armed human with lethal rifle armament to the equation and even then one will NOT be truly protected. Just ask my next door neighbor ( former Marine who fought in Eraq ) who looses on average about a dozen lambs and a ewe or two to coyotes every year. His flock of 30 +/- ewes = lambs is housed at night in a corral fenced with a 5' high non climb fence with added 2 barbed wires as well as electric wires on top and bottom , and a guard dog. His next door neighbor behind his place owns 200 beef cows. Since coyotes are pretty smart and opportunistic omnivores, just as the cow is at her most vulnerable, is laying down to give birth the coyote will start to eat the calf's nose ... so he brings the cows who are ready to calf to his corrals next to his house to calf. He also has a ranch hand as well as his 5 ranch dogs to guard the herd. In our neighborhood we have so many coyotes here that they outnumber the gang members in LA. They have community sings every day at dusk and dawn in our neighborhood with dozens of coyotes participating. They are so brazen that they often come right to our front door at night. Between my neighbor and me, we kill 20-30 coyotes per year. I KID YOU NOT !!!!!!!​