Anyone been going after the coyotes yet?

[Bindernut]

Just kind of curious if there are any 'yote hunters here and if you've had a chance to get out after them this winter?

Where are ya located and how are the furs looking in your area?
The furs aren't quite prime yet up here in ND but I've been too impatient to take my new .204 out in the snow to wait til they get better!

I've done a couple of short calling sessions since we finally got a little snow cover, but it's been hanging around the 0° mark for the last couple weeks so I haven't done any real long trips yet.

[tim peterson]

I have been out 3-4 times, shot the first one Nov 7. we seem to have a bumper crop of dogs, and the first three had Mange. Im hunting in north Colorado, and shot a real nice male sat the 12th. His fur is real thick and clean. We have had snow on and off since Oct, with a serious cold front on the 8th-11th,windchill -30 bellow. Were hopeing that the cold weather killed a lot off the dogs with mange. I talked to a gentleman from Petska Fur the other day and he told me that the fur market is way down. If thats true, we have to find a diffrent buyer or stop hunting yotes! Except for the problem dogs.

[Bindernut]

Yeah, That snowstorm that nailed you guys went south of me...but we've still been in the deepfreeze with those low temps. Puts a damper on sitting outside very long!

We've got a decent population up here too. I haven't seen any mangy ones yet this winter but if it's like last winter was there will be a lot of scruffy dogs out there. Too darn many of em around!

I haven't checked any prices up here yet this winter but one guy I've talked with said it's about the same as last year...lousy...
I'm starting to think about just trying to tan a few myself just for wall hangers and a new mad bomber hat.

[AL MOUNT]

I wait for them to make the mistake of coming with in

range of my CZ .204

They never suffer or know what hit them.... just instant DEAD...

[Helix_FR]

You've been seeing them too Al? Mangy looking ones around us for some reason. I keep seeing more and more. Had one trot across the road in front of me a couple nights ago. Same night heard my neighbors dog going nuts which is rare. Looked out the back window and there was what seemed to be one on the common ground behind us. In the past a barking dog would make them high tail it out of there. I don't think this is the case anymore. There getting brave. I got 2 smaller dogs and 2 young kids that like the outdoors. Don't need a ballsy yote' sticking around. Mr Ruger Ultralight is out of the hole and on deck now, not a .204 though, lucky guy

[Bubblehead]

I've been watching some coyote hunting shows on the Outdoor Channel. It looks like a fun sport but having never done it before my question is, what do you do with the coyote once your harvest it?

Is there a market for the hides? If so, do you have to tan them or can you sell a fresh hide to a buyer.

Are these predators so damaging to livestock that it's ethical just to leave their carcasses to the vultures?

Thanks,

John

[Bindernut]

Hi John,

To answer your questions from the PoV of my area (central ND, grew up on a ranching operation...both beef and sheep, still help the folks out on my days off)...

Yes, if the population gets too large they are a threat to livestock.
For the most part in the summertime when weather is nice, they are solitary animals and don't cause too many problems. They are social critters though, so in the winter when food gets scarce they will "pack up" and use that to get whatever food they can find. Full grown sheep and young calves are common targets if their usual wild game (pheasant, deer, bunny, etc) diet gets scarce.
Up here, the worst is when a few domestic dogs start to run with a pack of coyotes and even cross-breed with em.
Dogs don't have that inherent wariness of humans so they'll draw the coyotes in closer to humans and that "easy pickins" food that's fenced up in farm yards. Once that happens for a few seasons, even full-blood coyotes get too comfortable with being close to people and their livestock. A wild dog or coy-dog mix is fair game any time of year...

So for me, Coyotes are a varmint and I hunt them to keep the population in check.
There is a fur market for the hides (even if the prices are lousy nowadays) so I try to harvest the hides if possible. If they are mangy (which comes from overpopulation) then it's hands off and the hawks can eat em...I don't want to have to take baths in flea dip to get mange off of myself! If a coyote gets mange, then the hide is pretty much worthless anyway since a good portion of their fur coat gets damaged and they'll probably freeze to death in the first few really cold snaps of winter.
Normally, I take my hides in after they're skinned out, stretched, and dried. I haven't tried tanning any myself yet.

I'm a dog lover...and coyotes are dogs. Just like all wildlife in my area, I enjoy watching them, hearing them howl at night (& my German Shepherd's baritone replies to em), and don't mind having them around in reasonable numbers. But, as the years cycle around so does the population. Some years I don't do much coyote hunting and other years I'll go out every chance I get.

Now when you start talking about urban encroachment on coyote turf (or the other way around, coyotes moving into urban areas), that's a whole nother story that some of our other members that live in areas like that might be able to shed more light on.

[Big ugly]

I have bagged a couple so far. Ours here in Tennessee are a little on the small side and so far the ones I have had the crosshairs on looked to be healthy, Nice thick coats. Aint really seen too many Coys this year though.

[1z2z]

Originally Posted by Bindernut

Where are ya located and how are the furs looking in your area?
.

This is one that travels past my place on his way to the neighbor's; the finest pelt commercial dog food provides!

[AL MOUNT]

Originally Posted by Bindernut

common targets if their usual wild game (pheasant, deer, bunny, etc)

And fuzzy little foofoo dogs like the wife breeds and shows in the show ring.

We've never lost one yet...... and don't want to start.

CZ in .204 Ruger to protect little foofoo dogs.




little foofoo dogs.




Bacl-up for CZ .204, 30 Rnds. Locked & Loaded...

[Bindernut]

Originally Posted by 1z2z

This is one that travels past my place on his way to the neighbor's; the finest pelt commercial dog food provides!

Now that is one pretty dog! He's definitely well-fed...
I'd love to have that pelt as a wall-hanger!

Originally Posted by AL MOUNT

And fuzzy little foofoo dogs like the wife breeds and shows in the show ring.

Al, Aren't fuzzy little foofoo dogs supposed to be house pets?
They're a couple of cute little buggers!


Speaking of fuzzy little foofoo dogs...
A co-worker of mine that lives about 30 miles from me has a little Shiba Inu male that he discovered had found himself a coyote girlfriend last year. Took him a while to figure out what the little guy was up to.
Long story short...there were a bunch of curly-tailed coyotes pups around his place last winter. Yup...we took care of the problem.
At least that little Shiba was on top of the situation and not on the menu!

[AL MOUNT]

Originally Posted by Bindernut

At least that little Shiba was on top of the situation and not on the menu!

Moral of that story.....

Horney trumps hungry.....

[medicinemanwy]

In a normal week I will shoot 4 or 5. Most of them are so mangy I dont mess with picking them up.

We had a cold spell at Christmas I havent seen one since, Im hoping the cold killed most of the mangy ones off.

[guns4life]

seen one running a deer the other morn couldnt get a shot. as for the prices 65.00 bucks a piece for em down here but that may be because we grow em big in south carolina .the one I saw looked good and well fed .

[NCDeerHtr]

Here in Union Co, NC we haven't had any actual coyote hunts but that fixing to change. I killed a small female out of my deer stand a week or so ago and she had a really nice pelt. The Coyotes are starting to become a serious problem in the last 5 years. Needless to say we will be hunting them as soon as deer season ends. I'm not sure how the Coyotes effect the deer populations or deer movement but I have not seen a deer in 5 weeks and we have prime deer hunting land. For the last 15 years we are use to seeing 5 to 15+ deer everytime we hunted but this season something changed and the only thing we can figure is the coyote population. Can someone with more experience let me now how coyotes effect the deer population. I have very little experience with them, other than shooting two. Tks

[whip]

Shot this one a week ago. I love to hunt coyotes and normally find time at least once a week to hunt them. I have sold lots of coyotes to Pestska in the past but after talking with them earlier this year I have been giving my furs to a friend who is skinning them. I won't skin, flesh, wash, and stretch one for less than $20. Up until the last 2 years I averaged $30 to $40 per coyote which made it worth the fleas and time involved.

[Rneck]

how about foxes? does anyone call 'em?