Have you ever been at the right place at the right time?

[BrentD]

Norske,
Your hunting story sure sounds comfortable and enjoyable to me. Not that it wasn't cold and nasty, but just a nice setting to take a nice animal. Congrats. I've got tomorrow afternoon to close the deal this year. (too much time chasing pheasants).

[Blackwater]

Excellent point, Brent, but a lot of savvy wildlife observers here seem to be of the decided and well considered opinion that coyotes are taking too many fawns and maybe mid sized deer now. And many are getting pix on their game cameras of coyotes running off large adult bucks from feeders, etc. So there IS evidence that the coyotes really are preying on deer to a significant extent, and as the coyote population grows, the deer population seems to suffer. Coyotes really get to multiply here, and they're giving the deer a rough time. Game cams and other indications seem to be pretty clear in my area.

I've always had a soft spot for coyotes, UNLESS they get to be so many and so bold that they start to take our pets, dwindle the deer population TOO much, etc., etc. I don't think they need to be eradicated, but balancing their population is definitely in order. And here, we see as many coyotes crossing roads as we do deer. Not a great indication of a good balance, I don't believe. We see them just about anywhere and often. Deer are getting much more alert, and that's another indication they're skittish, and they're always skittish for a reason. Coyotes are the only real answer for what we're seeing in my area. And very few hunt them here, too, which allows their populations to flourish, while many hunt deer. Some have set out poison for them, if they don't hunt or have time to. This takes out dogs prowling beyond their normal range, too, and other meat eating critters, and even coons and possums eat meat when they can get it. Vultures can find it and die.

What we probably need is a temporary bounty on them so folks will hunt them. That ought to keep them in check for a while. One coyote I shot, a really big one, had a great coat of fur, but many here run mangy, and here in the south, their furs will never be worth what a northern one will. So bounties are the only way I can see to keep them in check. But I'm not the DNR or legislature, so .... we seem to be willing to just keep tolerating the situation, at least for now.

But you bring up a very good point. All God's creatures have a place. It's up to man to keep their populations from getting too far out of balance. And good judgment in that, from the various legislatures, is about as scarce as hen's teeth these days. It's just the "modern way" of things, I guess?

[Smoke4320]

a poor little old 'yote tried to save targets by running into a mean target shooter. the target shooter was carrying a akr -17 that goes fully semi-automatic...sorry, i couldn't resist...

good job!!!

ghost gun that can empty a 100 rd clip in half a second

[BrentD]

Blackwater,
It would be interesting to know the data that they base their decisions upon. They might be right.

Feeders certainly make for focused hunting points and probably aid predators - Certainly they do for human predators, but bird feeders make easy places for redtails to catch squirrels and Sharpies and Coopers hawks to kill passerines. These have been well documented in the literature, but yet they also don't seem to be limiting the populations of their prey. Quantifying a population level response is super difficult. Observation alone is not sufficient.

Of course, if coyotes are hunting deer over feeders, the solution might be to go back to the era of no feeders.

[Smoke4320]

we are seeing the same coyote issues here in NC.. Deer harvest numbers are down .. coyote sighting way way up. Cameras picking up coyotes running deer ect

[Dthunter]

Good job OP!

Back in the 80's in northern saskatchewan, a fellow I met went hunting beside a shooting range because he didn't know any hunting areas, and no one would help the fellow. He went out and promptly shot a 223" Non-Typical Boone and Crockett White tail his first time out! What a gagger of a whitetail!!! Double drop tines and all!

The guy never hunted again! He said there was no way in his lifetime that he could ever feel satisfied with the average deer any more! He had absolutely no perspective on his actual achievement! Good lord! Some of us work so long and hard for the once in a life time (if ever) opportunity! LMAO!

It took me 20+ years to find,pattern, and finally pull the pin (UNGUIDED, ACTUAL, FREE RANGE HUNTING) on my first B&C Whitetail! Then, fortune allowed/blessed me to get a few more Qualifiers in different species! Hunting is so fickle that way at times!

Now I don't care much about trophy hunting, just hunt for "nice animals" with unusual firearms.

[leeggen]

Dang yotes always get in the way when you are at 24 of 25 and one shot left
CD

[TXGunNut]

Some reactive targets are messier than others. Nicely done! Coyotes are an important part of many ecosystems but sometimes it's easy to believe they are a bit too numerous. The ones on the lease I hunt are well fed by hunting by-products but they don't seem to be to be getting out of hand.

[Norske]

Yup, coyotes kill a lot of deer. But then (according to Delta Waterfowl) deer eat any duck eggs they come across. In the wild, it's a constant search for protein.

[Blackwater]

Brent, you're right of course, but the situation here seems to be pretty conclusive without all the expensive DNR collection of the numbers. And managing wildlife is more about observations, at least generally, than anything else. Observation allows quick responses so the populations don't get TOO out of whack while the studies are done. Big farmers know this, and pretty much do what they believe to be necessary and warranted, and they almost always get excellent results IF their observations are accurate and consistent.

I realize the value of studies, but I also know they cost a lot of money. Being a "cheaper is usually better" type, I'd support a limited time bounty on them. Their pelts aren't as good as northern pelts, though some can be pretty darn thick and rich here. The mangy ones, which are more common now (saw one recently that was nearly hairless because of mange!), aren't worth the price of a bullet, unless it's to just eliminate them from destroying our more valued wildlife, or to balance the populations in a locale. Here, there's always some who'll do it, laws or no laws. That's not always a bad thing. Packs can establish a territory, and do a lot of damage, and the only way to encourage them to move on is to take some of them out.

They can be shot 24/7/365 here now, but very few hunt for them specifically, and just shoot whatever they run across while hunting deer mostly, or while farming. Most farmers still keep a gun in their trucks as they go about their daily chores, or at least a pistol. Shoot at coyotes enough, and they'll usually move on to somewhere else, which is all the farmer is usually interested in. Calves can be prey to them, and that'll get a cattle rancher's blood pressure up, for sure! Coyotes have a very omniverous appetite, and they've been reported in some areas eating the dog or cat's food out of their dishes on the porch! That's too many coyotes for most folks to tolerate.

Coyotes are, in some respects, very admirable animals. Smart, stealthy, highly observant - just great overall survivors, wherever they are and whatever the conditions extant. How could one NOT admire a creature so effective in such a variety of environments? But when they get too populated, they CAN be a real threat as well as a nuissance. We have rabies here, and it takes some wildlife, and every so often, a kid or even adult gets bitten, and has to go through the shots. I've never known the shots to not work, but there are after effects, so that's also a consideration here.

And we've had some hard freezes here this year, so that may have taken a toll on the ones with mange. I think they have learned here to like road kill, too, because there don't seem to be as many vultures as there used to be. It all adds up to coyotes being too numerous here, but most folks have been raised with a "city ethic," and don't notice these things like we who've become tuned in to it. Farmers and those who habitually work with and among wildlife and domestic animals can't help but notice these things. I've only killed one, a big, richly furred male that walked right UNDER my stand, and still didn't smell or detect me. Had to wait until he got out far enough that I'd be shooting down at a 45 degree angle. Took him right between the shoulder blades, near the rear with my .45/70 Guide Gun.

I always feel some sorrow whenever I shoot something I have no intentions of eating. Coyotes included. And to just let them lay there to rot and be eaten by vultures, possums and ants, just doesn't sit well with me. But we all have to do things sometimes we're not totally comfortable with. Taking coyotes is just one of those things, at least for me.

[jmorris]

Coyotes are an important part of many ecosystems but sometimes it's easy to believe they are a bit too numerous.

One is too numerous in my backyard. Might notice the same background as the OP.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

oh wow! I say fire away good sir! we have raccoons, coyotes, and hawks to get after our chickens, and probably a few critters I cant think of,oh yeah, feral cats. so I always have the .22 ready.

[Good Cheer]

I kind'a figger'ed live and let live 'till they ate my cat. Now I try to give 'em an overdose of kinetic energy.

Man, that gives me cold chills.

The yotes have moved in here. Good thang I've got the .52 bore sighted in.

[finstr]

[TXGunNut]

My semi-feral cats have probably fallen victim to the neighbor's dogs or coyotes. I have no qualms about shooting the coyotes around here but will be very careful when shooting the dogs roaming hereabouts.

[deep creek]

we had a fur sale last saturday in blackfoot ,idaho we had 1064 coyotes they sold between 66 and 80 dollars.last year we had1100 with prices about the same. I've heard that when you knock them down they just have bigger litters.seems like out here everybody shoots them. I've started putting in a blind set for them when I'm trapping fox because they tear the foxes up.coyotes are just plain smart, but there still just a dog

[Swede44mag]

I have been really good at missing the coyotes during deer season. Must be shooting blanks.
I didn't see any 2016 during Black Powder, Pre Rut or Regular firearm season.
Usually see at lease one to Miss

[flashhole]

Had an occurrence while doing varmint load development at the 100 yard range. I was the only one there, set up at the center station of 9 stations. Had just fired a shot and was waiting for the barrel to cool and a ground hog ran onto the range and stopped directly in front of my target. I chambered a round and sent it to ground hog heaven or wherever dead ground hogs go. Didn't have to move the gun to one side or the other, just drew a bead and popped him. Ballistic Tip bullet almost cut him in half.

[dougader]

We had a deer walk out onto the 100 yard range once. A young one, for sure. We called a cease fire and let the curious deer wander off.