One of the first things taught in the boy scout handbook is the "staff". A good piece of hardwood about 1.5" in diameter and about head height. Every scout was required to have one. In Africa, they had the "knob" staff, usually cut off where the branch leaves the trunk of a tree and where there is a nice big knot. In this case the staff is about 3/4" in diameter with a knob about 2" in diameter and about 4 ft long. I grew up with one of these in my hand since I was a kid, and I forget how many snakes and other pests it killed. Adders, cobras, spitting cobras, you name it.
It seems that simple tradition has been lost. In Europe they go walking with their titanium poles, similar to ski poles. They are a bit light, but anything that gets between you and the object with teeth is better than nothing. A hardwood staff would knock that coyote senseless and it would never try that again.