coyotes/deer

[leadeye]

I have noticed whitetail and turkey populations declining where I hunt the last three years. This is private land and I have gone from seeing as many deer and turkeys in a weeks hunting this year as I saw in a day three years ago.

I suspect coyotes because last year one of them killed a doe behind my stand while I was hunting during gun season. I had seen the doe earlier in the morning and heard her get ambushed and killed later in the morning. When I investigated the noise I saw a large coyote run away from the carcass which had been partialy eaten. My wife and I have found lots of scattered bones as well.

I guess I will need to take up coyote hunting but in the event that is not enough are there any other ways of controlling these critters?

[GabbyM]

Hunting them would be the only legal way I know of.
They'll wise up to hunting and also they are the only known species of mammal that can have larger litters of pups when population drops. So they start to breed faster on you. Bitches ovulate greater numbers of eggs after the pack gets thinned.

Best bait is cats. Don't miss the shot though. Recall the opening scene in the movie Enemies At The Gate.

[Onlymenotu]

or trapping if the laws of your state premit it.......* trapping works even if your not there* where hunting its hours- time you are acctualy there- in the field...... where traps maximize the working time...... even if and when you are not there,,,,,, they are still working

[Junior1942]

When the world ends, two species will survive: the cockroach and the coyote. When there's nothing else for the coyote to eat, for example, the coyote eats the coyote.

[leadeye]

Sounds like I have my work cut out for me. I have heard that hunting them at night is pretty sucessful. I can trap them here so I probably should look into that, have not done any fur trapping since I was a kid. Maybe Junior is right roaches are a tough problem to control, sounds like coyotes will be as well.

I really don't want them wiped out as they clean up carrion like buzzards. Just need to get them back to 04 levels or before. I had a problem with racoons last year crapping on my deck right by the door. Trapped 14 racoons and the problem stopped.

[TCLouis]

Coyotes are NOT easy to trap, and get harder to trap as you work on them!

Fur is up I hear, work on them with gun and traps and you might make some "pocket money".

[Slowpoke]

"I guess I will need to take up coyote hunting but in the event that is not enough are there any other ways of controlling these critters? "

This time of year you really only have two good options and one of them is probably outlawed in your fine state and they are calling and snare's.

Trapping is fine but I believe fighting the weather would take all the fun out of it.

Calling would be your best bet, more so if you were sitting in a tree stand, a Johnny Stewart cassette tape and a $15 cassette player and you would be in business, erase the first five minutes of the tape to give you time to climb your tree after you press play, no need for all that fancy gadgetry, like remotes and external speakers, mp5 etc. One comes in you kill it and stay put till five minutes after the call stops, chances are good you will get another shot. About every forty five minutes you should be pressing the play button at a new location regardless if you just killed or not, hopefully the property is big enough so you could make three or four stands ea, time out 3/8 to 1/2 mile apart. Have your stands picked and waiting on you ahead of time, sneak in and out, quite is your friend ,noise the enemy. And if it is still deer season you just might be surprised I have called in some terrible nice bucks over the years with a cottontail distress tape. Use low volume, coyotes have really good ears. If you have to set up on the ground, place your call across the wind from you not down and not up, you will get more shots.

Snares are my favorite , if they interest you find a copy of snaring methods by Greg Ogorman or Larry( Slim) Peterson, the books will get you up to speed quick enough for what you want.

good luck

[NHlever]

There are getting to be a lot of coyotes here in NH too. I had one in my yard a week, or so ago. I thought I would try calling in the winter a couple of years ago so I strapped on the snowshoes, and headed for the ridge with my brand new call, and .223. When I got up on the ridge, and cut some coyote tracks, I found a good hide, and blew into the call, and repeated in a few locations. Now, I know where every dog in a five mile radius lives, and I know they will respond to a call! :-) As I plodded home that day, enjoying the winter air, the thought came to mind........... Maybe too loud? :-) Medical issues have kept me from hunting them again until this year, but perhaps next time I'll start with a "squeaker".