COYOTES

[westcliffe01]

I find lectures a lot less annoying than "sitting out in freezing pre-dawn conditions for hours, waiting for the coyotes to show up only seeing one for every 6-7 trips to the field before dawn."
If nothing surfaces after 30 minutes calling I move on and if there's no action after 3 or 4 set ups I cut my loses by going to do something else then try later with different calls. I haven't damaged the population over the past 10 years as much as my Grandson and the hired hand. Every year about this time during breeding season they keep rifles in reach while plowing and feeding to pick them off crossing open ground during daylight. I assume those are alphas but I'd never considered the difference in consequences between killing them and others but it makes sense. Maybe I should contribute to their silencer and thermal fund to up the odds of getting both animals and really upsetting the pack's apple cart.

If you went out 15x with a caller and never saw a coyote, yet the sheep get attacked several times in the same period you would conclude that all the coyotes are "educated" and trying to get them to come in during daylight is a waste of time. That leaves only the option of night hunting and ambush. The ambush at dawn worked to kill 5 alpha coyotes, but it did involve spending a lot of time sitting in the freezing cold waiting for first light and being skunked most of the time. The time investment had the desired effect. predation dropped to 3 adult sheep a year, usually in summer in the daytime with what I referred to as "pup training". By that point, I built the owner of the property a 243 rifle and scope combo and she has managed to take care of any bold coyotes that have showed up ever since. It helps with her being on the property 24/7/365 where I have to make a 20 min drive one way and my time is limited.

 

[MossRoad]

If you went out 15x with a caller and never saw a coyote, yet the sheep get attacked several times in the same period you would conclude that all the coyotes are "educated" and trying to get them to come in during daylight is a waste of time. That leaves only the option of night hunting and ambush. The ambush at dawn worked to kill 5 alpha coyotes, but it did involve spending a lot of time sitting in the freezing cold waiting for first light and being skunked most of the time. The time investment had the desired effect. predation dropped to 3 adult sheep a year, usually in summer in the daytime with what I referred to as "pup training". By that point, I built the owner of the property a 243 rifle and scope combo and she has managed to take care of any bold coyotes that have showed up ever since. It helps with her being on the property 24/7/365 where I have to make a 20 min drive one way and my time is limited.

I think there's only 1 alpha female and 1 alpha male in a pack. Do you mean adult instead of alpha?

 

[Rockbadchild]

I think there's only 1 alpha female and 1 alpha male in a pack. Do you mean adult instead of alpha?

you are right Mossroad there is only two ''alpha'' or one breading couple per pack and the rest is mostly their pups and/or subordinate individuals just like wolves.

 

[westcliffe01]

I think there's only 1 alpha female and 1 alpha male in a pack. Do you mean adult instead of alpha?

We are talking about a period of over a year. 1 shot at a time. I only ever had 1 double, 10 years ago. The coyote with his nose out front and closer to danger is generally the alpha. Shoot that one and 2 months later you are looking at the next alpha.

 

[lman]

About 1/2 hour after I put my dog in the garage last night, he started barking and I figured there were coyotes nearby. I opened the front door and immediately saw a coyote about 10 ft. outside the door. He turned around and took off. My German Shepherd would have loved the challenge of going after him. I'm sure the coyotes are hungry this time of the year.

 

[jaxs]

We are talking about a period of over a year. 1 shot at a time. I only ever had 1 double, 10 years ago. The coyote with his nose out front and closer to danger is generally the alpha. Shoot that one and 2 months later you are looking at the next alpha.

If that answered Mossy's question about alpha pairs maybe someone can explain it to me because I didn't get it.

 

[MossRoad]

If that answered Mossy's question about alpha pairs maybe someone can explain it to me because I didn't get it.

Originally, I thought he meant he shot 5 alpha coyotes at one sitting.

What he said is that he shot 1 alpha coyote, then days (don't know how many)later another, and so on. As the pack replaced alphas, he shot them.

Make sense?

 

[Yander]

I have chickens and I let them free range for a couple hours or more each day. I've yet to lose one to a coyote even though I know we have them on both sides of us because we hear them and see them.

Once I lose the first chicken it will be all hell breaking loose for them, I will buy a night vision scope, call them, trap them and it will be my new hobby. I will track them to their den first snow. I haven't bothered them because they haven't bothered my chickens. I come from a family that foxed hunted and/or coyote hunted every weekend as a kid.

I believe we haven't had issue with them because we also have hog farms behind us and in front of us and generally there are dead hogs for them to eat. That was the case where we hunted when I was a kid also. They seemed to hang out close to hog farms.

 

[westcliffe01]

Originally, I thought he meant he shot 5 alpha coyotes at one sitting.

What he said is that he shot 1 alpha coyote, then days (don't know how many)later another, and so on. As the pack replaced alphas, he shot them.

Make sense?

If you see how fast they light those afterburners when the first shot goes off, then you would know why one is not shooting more than 2 in a string. Not unless there are 10 people shooting... and in my case I never saw a group bigger than 2 in the day either. Usually the Alpha male with the Alpha female or just a second male. My double was 2 males. Shot the leading dog, second took off but made the fatal error to stop and look back to see what became of the boss.

 

[MossRoad]

If you see how fast they light those afterburners when the first shot goes off, then you would know why one is not shooting more than 2 in a string. Not unless there are 10 people shooting... and in my case I never saw a group bigger than 2 in the day either. Usually the Alpha male with the Alpha female or just a second male. My double was 2 males. Shot the leading dog, second took off but made the fatal error to stop and look back to see what became of the boss.

I've watched videos of it. They are fast.

 

[Yander]

I remember the first coyote I saw as a kid running across a field with about 12 guys shooting at it. It got away. I was amazed at how fast it was. I was used to seeing fox but it was my first coyote I had seen.

 

[jaxs]

Originally, I thought he meant he shot 5 alpha coyotes at one sitting.

What he said is that he shot 1 alpha coyote, then days (don't know how many)later another, and so on. As the pack replaced alphas, he shot them.

Make sense?

No, neither does females in season coming up the rear in pursuit of males but it isn't important.

 

[westcliffe01]

They are a tough quarry. Body is really not that big under all that winter fur if you are trying to hit something vital and they virtually never stop moving, especially in the ambush situation where you are not giving yourself away. Even my 243 has enough bullet drop between 160 yards where I am zeroed and 250 yards which was usually the close end of engagement that one needs to do some hold over, that was the reason I went with the FFP Vortex scope and the more magnification you use the bigger the reticle is to allow for making adjustments to the aimpoint. Usually I would see them with my 7x power binoculars in the twilight and then shift to the scope and from the time I saw them to the shoot would be 5-7 seconds and thats all the time you would get.

 

[goeduck]

The guy that rents my property to run cattle shot a coyote pup and the remaining pups scattered to the bushes. About 20 minutes later the remaining pups were out eating the one that was shot. We figured the mom got shot and the pups were starving.

 

[Jstpssng]

If you see how fast they light those afterburners when the first shot goes off, then you would know why one is not shooting more than 2 in a string. Not unless there are 10 people shooting... and in my case I never saw a group bigger than 2 in the day either. Usually the Alpha male with the Alpha female or just a second male. My double was 2 males. Shot the leading dog, second took off but made the fatal error to stop and look back to see what became of the boss.

I was sitting on a log while deer hunting one day when a coyote came into sight. My rifle was in my lap pointed left, my revolver was on my left hip. The wind was blowing right so that dog came within 12 feet of me before sensing something was out of place. It was an awkward shot, bringing the rifle up and twisting as the animal was quartering away to my right. I never got a chance to pull the trigger.

 

[jaxs]

I remember the first coyote I saw as a kid running across a field with about 12 guys shooting at it. It got away. I was amazed at how fast it was. I was used to seeing fox but it was my first coyote I had seen.

Coyotes often outrun bullets across a field (depending on who is firing them) but they'll need their Wheaties to outrun these pups

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Used to have the coyotes for entertain me when I was cutting hay, They would jump up in the air, and then pounce on the field mice that were running away from the swather. When I would get to the end of the row to turn around, they would wait for the direction change and then start thier hunt all over again. Sometimes this would go on for an hour. Once they got there fill, they would move on.
They would follow the swather around until we were done with first cutting, which was thicker and had more mice in it.
Second cutting didn't have as much tonnage to the acre, so the coyotes left the mice hunting to the seagulls. Open air swather, sure hated getting nailed with bird droppings.

 

[BoylermanCT]

We have coyotes around, the bigger eastern kind. They have never caused any issues with any of my livestock or pets. As such, I enjoy seeing them and hearing them. Plenty of wild critters around for them to hunt.

Question, doesn't the government pay ranchers for predator losses? I know they do for wolves. Maybe not for coyotes? Always seemed a bit wrong that ranchers out West are grazing herds on public lands which they don't own, and then decide they need to kill all predators on said public lands. I know it is an out West thing as farms out East own their own land, and they fence their cows in and can protect them better that way.

 

[oosik]

My rancher friend stopped by yesterday. He doesn't know when this government hunter in the airplane will be coming around. So - for now - coyotes rule.

 

[Rockbadchild]

It will be interesting to see how successful he is ... I would think not very, being limited in territory and in a moving airplane sound pretty difficult even if you see some.