A Week Of 'yote Hunting.

[SandSquid]

Been up here in New Hampshire at the old family homestead getting ready to bring my eldest daughter to Norwich University in VT this Sunday... The In-Laws, and their neighbors, even the town paper has been lamenting over the packs of coyotes running rampant in the area, killing livestock and forcing families out of their own yards for fear of the packs. MANY of the area's famiy dogs and cats have gone missing this spring.

Every night you can hear the roving packs calling, and working their way down out of the densely wooded surrounding foothills into the sparsely populated farming area. most of the locals are pretty aged and afraid to shoot towards their herd, and just blast over their heads to run them off.... but every now and then you can hear a shotgun blastand a 'Yote yelping his last..

So, I just happen to have my (scoped) T/C Contender ( chambered .44 Spcl../Mag.) with me, because I take it everywhere I can legally, and ran into the local Conservation Officer at the local breakfast/coffee-shop, so I asked him if I needed a permit to hunt 'Yotes, He said: since I'm Active Duty military, and on leave, I'm free to kill and many of the 'Yotes I can.

A few nights ago I successfully called in a small pack we heard up the road right into the 2 acres field behind the house, and I with my T/C, my FIL with his 12Ga. and my daughter with a .22lr, took 5 out of the 7 in the pack... wounded a 6th but I wasn't going after it. even if I was well armed

This particular group still had blood on their muzzles from what we found out a few minutes later, was the dairy goats they slaughtered about a mile away... The herds owner has lost at least half of his stock in the past 3 months and was quite happy to to show us and the Conservation Officer digital pictures off his game camera of several of these, now very dead 'Yotes.

Today the farmer came by with a nice (ca. 2 pound) block of a lovely soft goat cheese wrapped in fresh basil, as a token of his thanks.

My In-Laws have a few old hens out in the coop that stopped laying, so we are going to use them to try and bait-in another pack or two before we leave back out for TN.

[Sylvia]

Nice 'yote... *BANG!* Sounds like a successful hunt. Were the pelts saveable?

[Art]

Out West, and even here, they are solitary animals. Never experienced a pack of them; wolves yes coyotes no. We don't really have enough of them here to form a pack, even if they wanted to. In Maine, we could get a license to hunt them at night only, there too, was never able to call or bait more than one in at a time.

You here this crap all the time about "assault weapons" bans, but an Ar-15 or such with a night vision scope is the best weapon for varmint hunting of any kind, and if you are encountering packs of them, then a doubled up 30 round clip wouldn't be such a bad idea either.

Now, feral and disowned dogs do tend to run in packs around here, and no one in my family goes wandering the woods without a sidearm and/or shotgun.

Art

[Sylvia]

I don't think it's ever smart to go wandering around in the woods without a firearm. I've seen way too many timber rattlers, bears, cougars and such to feel comfortable without one. LOL one time I was left alone in camp while the Husband and his son were out deer hunting. I had a HUGE cow elk just about run me over while I was sitting in camp. Scared me half to death.

[electrathon]

Did you skin them so that you can make a trapper hat from the fur?

Aaron

[SandSquid]

No pelts were saved, the local Conservation Officer took the entire carcasses "back to The State labs for testing".

[TexasJack]

There's a reason you've never heard of anyone buying a coyote fur coat.

[Sylvia]

They have that nasty mange down there in Texas don't they? I've seen those pictures of the dead Coyotes that folks "think" are the Chupacabra.

[Tree Reaper]

The hides are only of value between November and March in North America.

Summer coats are pretty thin and damaged.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Utah is offering $50 for every yodel dog you take in the county you live in. Residents only =(. They want the population thinned out, so they doubled the bounty.

[DoubleC]

I live in VT and haven't heard a thing about this. I don't know why coyotes are considered a scourge but if you shot a wolf you'd have a pack of conservationists on your back. I think I'm the only person in the world that happens to recognize these are mammals with families they're trying to feed and they aren't the problem, we are. And they never take down anything bigger than a calf. With the state farming is in I know even that is too much but to bait them and use assault rifles seems cruel and unnatural, just sport. I, like Art have never seen more than one at a time. I'd be more willing to think it's feral dogs doing all the damage and what you did was bait in several at the same time, not a pack. I'd take my chances against a coyote anytime instead of a feral dog, especially a disowned feral dog. They've been taught too much by humans. I'm sorry but I don't think shooting an animal for sport is a good thing. Deer, elk, whatever you intend to eat makes sense, but not simply an animal trying to survive. Cheryl

[Ken Nelson]

There's a reason you've never heard of anyone buying a coyote fur coat.

Actually back in the early 1990's I worked on a large rach in eastern Colorado, the elders wife had a beautiful coyote fur jacket. The coyotes were harvested on her son-in-laws ranch at Wray, CO. The fur market dried up and as far as I know, which I really don't, there hasn't been a viable market for a number of years. Back in the 80's I seen them top out at $175 to 185 in Northern Nebraska and South Dakota. It wasn't until people started harvesting a lot of them we had a problem with them killing stock. They have gotten a lot bigger than they were 30 years ago in that part of the country. WHY, I have no idea but a lot of people think there has been an infusion of domestic dog in them. Interesting subject.

[DoubleC]

Kill them, which makes the remaining coyotes stronger, top of the food chain. No natural selection. More food to go around. Bigger litters. Makes sense to me. Humans 1 Coyotes 1 :-)

[Ken Nelson]

Kill them, which makes the remaining coyotes stronger, top of the food chain. No natural selection. More food to go around. Bigger litters. Makes sense to me. Humans 1 Coyotes 1 :-)

Actually, according to the game biologist in Colorado and the State Trapper in Nebraska (cherry County) ; Coyotes mate for life, if a male loses his mate, he will take a virgin bitch and mate for life again. If a female loses her mate, no dog coyote will mate with her. When these prime age females come into season, they will mate with domestic dogs, IF the domestic dog will breed her. I have seen them come into a ranchyard and all but assault a male cow dog. Also, a qualified game biologist can tell by their teeth if they are part dog. We killed several that showed German Shepard traits.When I first started hunting coyotes hard in the mid 70's, 37 or 38 #'s was a big dog. By the late 80's we were killing 60+ pound coyotes. Biggest we ever got went 72 pounds and the fur buyer wouldn't buy him. We were still killing a lot of 35 # coyotes but as a whole, they had gotten a lot bigger. We were harvesting over 200 a year. Season was from November to mid February.

[DoubleC]

Well wolves have breed with dogs forever so I don't get your point? Why are wolves cool and coyotes scum? And evolution could account for some of the fact they are getting bigger. Are you telling me there are numerous, I mean a lot, I mean a statistically significant number of coyote litters that are now actually feral dogs instead because of the bitches breeding with dogs. That many mates killed? Because I think it's the poor bitches that killed more often trying tol feed her pups.

You harvest corn, green beans, roses. You slaughter coyotes, they are thinking, feeling animals tied to families. And ken even then did you kill a 'pack' of coyotes?

[Ken Nelson]

Well wolves have breed with dogs forever so I don't get your point? Why are wolves cool and coyotes scum? And evolution could account for some of the fact they are getting bigger. Are you telling me there are numerous, I mean a lot, I mean a statistically significant number of coyote litters that are now actually feral dogs instead because of the bitches breeding with dogs. That many mates killed? Because I think it's the poor bitches that killed more often trying tol feed her pups.

You harvest corn, green beans, roses. You slaughter coyotes, they are thinking, feeling animals tied to families. And ken even then did you kill a 'pack' of coyotes?

We broke up two packs of dog cross coyotes, and they were doing a lot of damage to livestock. We were harvesting fur, not killing coyotes for sport, although there are species of wildlife a lot easier to bag than coyotes. While I was in the cattle ranching industry,for over 35 years, for every dollar's worth of damage I knew of coyotes doing, there were hundreds of dollars worth of dog damage. You are right, Ferel dogs are a bigger problem and the fact that dogs are crossing with coyotes changes the coyote population into a completely differnt animal. Animals are animals, not humans and is it a mistake to humanize them?

Edited August 21, 2012 by Ken Nelson

[DoubleC]

I'm not humanizing them Ken. Just using the correct term. If you want steaks on the table you slaughter a cow. Raise a pig and want pork? You don't harvest your pig you harvest your garden. I never said you did it for sport, I said you slaughtered them. I'm a misplaced leather worker I guess. I love working with leather but I wouldn't slaughter a cow simply for its hide. An animal advocate that works with dead animals, sigh. Cheryl

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I believe this is what was ment by humanizing them , when you said "You slaughter coyotes, they are thinking, feeling animals tied to families."

Historically coyotes were not back East, now they roam all over the USA. In some areas they have become a nusiance by attacking livestock, killing house pets, and affecting deer herds. I have seen some out where I live, and they are always alone.

[DoubleC]

I know Gun, I guess I am humanizing them to a point. But they mate for life, few animals do that. And just like deer hunting where people are always proudest of getting a buck, the does are still teaching their young how to survive. Yes coyotes affect the deer population, but where I'm from because of this 'open season' on coyotes they keep upping the amount of deer you are allowed to kill because THEY are now the nuisance. I've sat many a night and watched a herd of does and young walk through downtown going from where they've been grazing to the river for a drink. The natural order has been upset. I saw one coyote my entire life there and probably 1000s of deer. I think deer are beautiful graceful animals and to this day seeing one still tickles me, but since my sister was personally involved in a wreck with one, which is just one of dozens that happen in our county in Ohio during mating season, and because the people depend on the meat, I have no qualms about people killing them. But I do about spotlighters that do it for sport and the racks. I do believe if humans were removed from the earth it would heal itself, but I'm not advocating open season on people either.

[DoubleC]

I'm not trying to argue with anyone. I just have a different opinion and I respect the views of all, well, dag all the OP on this thread which are the same. My opinion is just different but I'm not saying it's right or left or wrong. It's just an opinion.

[Sylvia]

I was always told that "Opinions are like @ssholes, we all have them and they all stink"

[DoubleC]

Yeah but mine don't stink any worse than anyone else, ROFL.

[Art]

And THAT was the final word.

Art

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