# Coyotes



## macrnr (Jun 9, 2013)

Here in the Desert Southwest we are in one of the worst droughts in memory. As a result the animals are struggling for food and getting into areas they normally avoid. The coyotes have been on a rampage for the last week, packing up and killing dogs and cats. This morning I was awakened by one right out side my window yelping and raising hell, and during the night there was a lot of noise outside. I went out with my 9mm and hollered at the animal trying to get him to leave, after 5 minutes of arguing I popped off a round. That shut him up for about minute, and then he was back to yelping and raising hell. I took my dog out to do his business a little later, and there was a spot in my landscape gravel that was torn up with evidence of a kill. By the looks of it, somebody lost their cat last night. I lost my little Brussels Griffon dog to the coyotes about 8 months ago, so I am beginning to have issues with these guys. We all worry that a little kid may be next.


----------



## Terrywerm (Jun 9, 2013)

Sorry to hear of the loss of your dog a few months back. Family pets always hold a special place in our hearts, and their loss is always difficult.

We have coyotes up here in Minnesota, too. They were always considered to be an animal of the desert southwest and I had never seen one around here. About 25 years ago we started hearing rumors that they were here also, and it didn't take too long before I saw one - right in my back yard. Our dog started having a hissy fit, and I looked out the window just in time to see a coyote high tailing it out of there. Luckily, our dog at that time was a 160 pound Great Pyrenees and he was a fierce guardian of our property. He never fell prey to coyotes, but we miss him just the same.

I help a cousin on his farm from time to time. One spring a few years back I was out working a field so that it could be planted the next day. The winter had been very cold with quite a bit more snowfall than usual, and really took a toll on the rabbit and deer populations in the area. It was close to midnight and I had to stop to replace the bolts on a cultivator shovel that had come loose. The tractor was running, and everything was lit up like daylight, but I heard something behind me. I turned around and saw four coyote standing there watching me from right at the edge of the light. They were only 30 feet away. I hollered at them and they stepped back a bit, but came right back up to where they had been. They were NOT easily put off!! I tightened up the last bolt by feel while keeping an eye on my watchers, but felt much better once I was back in the cab. I don't know that they would have attacked, but I don't know that they would not have, either. I know that they tend to be very curious about things, but I still can't shake off the feeling that I was being sized up for a midnight snack.

We still see coyotes from time to time when we are in the field at night, though not often. They normally keep their distance and are usually alone, but we keep our eyes on them. One just never knows!!


----------



## Analias (Jun 9, 2013)

I live not far from Macnr. In the ten years I have lived in Sandia Knolls I have seen coyotes and bears. A coworker and neighbor even reported a mountain lion going through his yard. Despite the drought being worse this year, I haven't heard or seen the coyotes yet. 

Few years ago I did hear a report of a small child that had been confronted by coyotes and was being lead away by a coyote by the hand. Luckily some folks who were walking home from church saw it happening and ran the coyotes away and saved the child. 

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk HD


----------



## jpfabricator (Jun 9, 2013)

One of the ratty bastards went lopeing across my back yard last week, The 30-30 is now waiting his return. We dont have much trouble out of them, but we have held off on getting chickens and rabbits because of them. 
The bigest problem with the yotes is their super keen nose. If you dont boil your traps in baking soda, and handle afterwards with rubber gloves, that super sniffer will ward them off everytime. Even with a heavily baited trap. 
There was talk of a bounty on them here awihle back, but the purse holders never could come to agreement on the rgulations. To bad, at $5.00 for a set of ears, that would have kept plenty of rednecks busy!


----------



## timbertoes (Jun 10, 2013)

jpfabricator said:


> To bad, at $5.00 for a set of ears, that would have kept plenty of rednecks busy!


Rednecks eh?...
"Whatever".  This year my hunting partner and I split just under 1K for shooting coyotes.


----------



## davidh (Jun 10, 2013)

them little suckers are singing to me every night.  I don't often see them tho.  we also have wolves that get at the neighbors calves.  use to be special permits needed to take the wolves a year or two ago, now I think its open for the farmers if they take cattle.  those wolves are beautiful creatures.  but then again, many of us are also.   some just need to be taken down.


----------



## macrnr (Jun 10, 2013)

The coyotes have become very bold, and unafraid. There is one in particular that has a distinctive voice that has the whole valley awake at night. That was the S.O.B. I popped a round at the other morning. Hard to hit a coyote at 100 yards with a 9mm pistol though. I went behind the house in the woods and there is sign all over. I think I need a varmint rifle.


----------



## JohnG (Jun 10, 2013)

"The children of the night, what music they make": Bela Lugosi as Dracula to the sound of wolves howling.  I love to hear the coyotes yips and the wolves howls on nights when the moon is full.  It lets me know we haven't occupied this world completely just yet.  I can tell they trot up and down my driveway by the hair filled poops they leave, and I mark my territory clearly so they will know a human male is here.  

We'll see which way it goes here in the woods of Wisconsin.  The wolves won't tolerate the coyotes; so if we thin out the wolves, the coyotes will be back.    

"Seven times never kill man":  Rudyard Kipling in "The Law of the Pack".  We do need to remind them who is the boss.  Kill them as needed, they understand that because they do it themselves; but don't disrespect or underestimate them.


----------



## FanMan (Jun 10, 2013)

We even have them in Connecticut nowadays.  Rarely seen, occasionally heard, but likely why we lose a cat every few years.  I see them once in awhile around my NY cabin, too.


----------



## macrnr (Jun 10, 2013)

I have been 30 years in my spot and this is the worst I have had it with the coyotes. When they got my dog I was very angry and had borrowed an electronic call to lure them in and ambush one of them, you know an eye for eye deal. I sat there looking at that call for 2 months and finally decided that I had no right to take one of them, after all I live in the country and they where here before I was. I used to have a large 1/2 Great Dane that was very good at keeping them away, perhaps I need another big dog. I do mark my territory, but as said earlier they are getting bold. The bears will be coming next I suspect. I pray for rain every day.


----------



## stonehands (Jun 10, 2013)

macrnr said:


> I have been 30 years in my spot and this is the worst I have had it with the coyotes. When they got my dog I was very angry and had borrowed an electronic call to lure them in and ambush one of them, you know an eye for eye deal. I sat there looking at that call for 2 months and finally decided that I had no right to take one of them, after all I live in the country and they where here before I was. I used to have a large 1/2 Great Dane that was very good at keeping them away, perhaps I need another big dog. I do mark my territory, but as said earlier they are getting bold. The bears will be coming next I suspect. I pray for rain every day.



I ran a large Gun Club in Gillette Wy. for 12 yrs. and we hosted a Coyote calling contest. The last year the club hosted it we killed 144 coyotes in 2-1/2 days of hunting. I think there were teams from 24 states. We did not put a dent in the population.The people back East do not know what they are in for,they not only kill to eat but they also kill for sport if they surround a herd of sheep. The first year that the fawns disappear you will know you have a problem. The only thing that will thin them out will be a return of the high fur prices and thanks to PITA (may they rot in Hell) that may never happen.--David


----------



## n3480h (Jun 10, 2013)

We've got them in NW Iowa too. Pets go missing at night, pheasant numbers are seriously down, they even venture into local towns once in a while.  I recently moved out in the country and I've found scat in my back yard and tracks around the acreage, so yes, they are getting bold.  What they don't know is that I've built up a custom Evil Black Rifle just for them.  Ok, a few knew about it for a very brief time.  I've been invited by many of my neighbors to "kill all those ******s", so this fall and winter I will be the good neighbor. 

Tom


----------



## Tamper84 (Jun 11, 2013)

We have them here in Ohio as well. They are getting pretty bad. Just a little advice, one shot one kill. You wont get a second chance lol

Chris


----------



## Harvey Melvin Richards (Jun 11, 2013)

stonehands said:


> I ran a large Gun Club in Gillette Wy. for 12 yrs. and we hosted a Coyote calling contest. The last year the club hosted it we killed 144 coyotes in 2-1/2 days of hunting. I think there were teams from 24 states. We did not put a dent in the population.The people back East do not know what they are in for,they not only kill to eat but they also kill for sport if they surround a herd of sheep. The first year that the fawns disappear you will know you have a problem. The only thing that will thin them out will be a return of the high fur prices and thanks to PITA (may they rot in Hell) that may never happen.--David



Wolves will keep the coyotes down. Don't worry about the wolves though, in the long run the insects will win.

And coyotes killing for sport? Kinda makes them sound almost human.


----------



## macrnr (Jun 11, 2013)

After popping off a round and missing, my wife and daughter think I am a monster. Yes, the @#$%ers do act like humans, very in your face.


----------



## Dr.Fiero (Jun 11, 2013)

macrnr said:


> After popping off a round, and missing my wife



Better luck next time!   

Yes I'm kidding.
(And yes you're missing a comma)


----------



## macrnr (Jun 11, 2013)

Dr.Fiero said:


> Better luck next time!
> 
> Yes I'm kidding.
> (And yes you're missing a comma)


My public education is not serving me well................


----------



## Gary Max (Jun 11, 2013)

A personal funny while reading this thread--------- right now we are fighting the Birds------- 3 different pairs of birds are working on building nest on three sides of the house. It doesn't require a gun but I am sure dragging the garden hose around a lot. So far---- I am winning the battle. Oh the back yard is hundreds of acres of woods ,but not good enough for the birds.


----------



## kd4gij (Jun 11, 2013)

I here AR15's are grait for Coyotes.:rofl:


----------



## Shade (Jun 12, 2013)

kd4gij said:


> I here AR15's are grait for Coyotes.:rofl:


I live on a farm.  Several 'yotes die of acute lead poisoning every year around my place.  I think my high for any given year is in the low 20's.  AR-15's do a very nice job on 'yotes I have a scope on one of mine and keep it handy and hand load using Barnes TSX bullets, little overkill for yotes but works well on Whitetails too.

- - - Updated - - -



Tamper84 said:


> We have them here in Ohio as well. They are getting pretty bad. Just a little advice, one shot one kill. You wont get a second chance lol
> 
> Chris


That is where semi's come in real handy if you have open ground.  I got five of the b******s in a corn field one winter, 4 head shots and one up the rear end.  $125 for all five hides.  They were feeding on a deer carcass in the middle of an 80 acre field.  3-4 did get away that day.  That was done with a scoped AR.  Jan and Feb will get you the most $$$ for the hides, did not have time for hunting yotes this year.  They are just on the list of pests to be eliminated.  They get a few chickens and duck every year I get a few of them, we keep each other honest...


----------



## Shade (Jun 12, 2013)

timbertoes said:


> Rednecks eh?...
> "Whatever".  This year my hunting partner and I split just under 1K for shooting coyotes.


Nice!!!  How much are you getting for the pelts?


----------



## n3480h (Jun 12, 2013)

Shade said:


> Nice!!!  How much are you getting for the pelts?



They were running $20-$25 for prime in-the-round in Iowa last winter, more if properly skinned. Not a real money maker, but a lot of folks here appreciate it when their land is coyote-free. Raccoons sold for about the same and there's a regular raccoon infestation here.  The Peta-files caused a drop in fur prices, people stopped hunting and trapping them. Then the excess numbers became dangerous pests, many diseased, and the international fur warehouses nearly ran out.  Now demand and prices are coming back up world wide.  Even muskrat is worth $7-10.   Before you know it, kids will again start earning their own money instead of hanging at the mall with their underwear hanging out. (Well, we can hope).

Tom


----------



## pdentrem (Jun 12, 2013)

Coyotes have been in the east a long time already. I have a group living about 1/2 mile from my place, they have been a bit quiet this spring. There is another group by the rail yard, about the same distance to the north from my house again. Also there have been a pair that sweeps the neighborhood and have taken a few cats. I even have a picture of them as the moved into the horse track parking lot across the street.

This picture sucks, but the pair that passes through my neighborhood are just running pass the fence gate. 

BTW the police units report 20 to 30 in town at any time during the night, every night. If I was allowed, I would use a 22-250 or a 6mm of some sort. I have a 6mm PPC gun that would do the job very nicely. 223 does the trick if the range is short to medium distance under 200 meters, but around here, the open areas are large farmed feilds and they stay close to the far edges, even when called.

The last couple winters have been very mild and the coyotes have been getting thick here but they have been eating a lot as well and I believe that there will be a population crash this winter, if not sooner. 
Pierre


----------



## macrnr (Jun 13, 2013)

It seems there is not a lot of love for the little bastards.


----------



## n3480h (Jun 13, 2013)

macrnr said:


> It seems there is not a lot of love for the little bastards.



Its one of those love/hate relationships:  I love to shoot them and they hate the sting of that 50Gr ballistic tip at 3100 fps.:lmao:

Tom


----------



## Shade (Jun 14, 2013)

n3480h said:


> They were running $20-$25 for prime in-the-round in Iowa last winter,


About the same here, I can can get another $5 for skinning them, I don't not for 5 or 10 maybe 20...  LOL  That is too much like work.



pdentrem said:


> the open areas are large farmed feilds and they stay close to the far edges, even when called.


 They get hunted then if they are that careful.  Use bait, deer gut piles and deer carcasses are good bait, that will get them to the middle of a field even in daylight.



n3480h said:


> Its one of those love/hate relationships:  I love to shoot them and they hate the sting of that 50Gr ballistic tip at 3100 fps.:lmao:
> 
> Tom


I like that...  )


----------



## llarson (Jul 2, 2013)

I used to live down a narrow gravel road, no other places for nearly a mile. Way too many people dumped cats along the road. Generally they showed up at the house, and often dropped a litter, making for more cats than we could find places for. Then the coyotes would come, I could hear them shuffling around in the field across the road at night. They quickly thinned out the cat population, and I got blamed for the decline.  On the other hand, there isn't much better than to hear a whole family of them having a sing-a-long in the middle of the night when we are camped at some remote place in Eastern Oregon.


----------



## Harvey Melvin Richards (Jul 3, 2013)

llarson;130093 On the other hand said:
			
		

> I use to walk my dogs by a coyote research facility. The first time I was there, I thought that I was hearing the crowd at a nearby highschool cheering at a football game. It was really just all the caged coyotes singing in unison.
> 
> There were a couple of huge 5 acre pens that they had mated pairs in. These pens were parallel to the road I walked, with another fence 15 feet from their fence. My dogs would race the coyotes up an down the fence line until they were all exhausted. It was very entertaining.


----------



## Bill C. (Jul 3, 2013)

macrnr said:


> Here in the Desert Southwest we are in one of the worst droughts in memory. As a result the animals are struggling for food and getting into areas they normally avoid. The coyotes have been on a rampage for the last week, packing up and killing dogs and cats. This morning I was awakened by one right out side my window yelping and raising hell, and during the night there was a lot of noise outside. I went out with my 9mm and hollered at the animal trying to get him to leave, after 5 minutes of arguing I popped off a round. That shut him up for about minute, and then he was back to yelping and raising hell. I took my dog out to do his business a little later, and there was a spot in my landscape gravel that was torn up with evidence of a kill. By the looks of it, somebody lost their cat last night. I lost my little Brussels Griffon dog to the coyotes about 8 months ago, so I am beginning to have issues with these guys. We all worry that a little kid may be next.



Coyotes are in Indiana too. We see them killed on the roads sometimes. Seen several rabbits this year.  We had so much rain there is plenty of green grass for the rabbits.
In June someone's escaped leopard was shot and killed in the Northern part on my County. It was killed for preying on cats and dogs. Sorry about your dog.


----------



## Ulma Doctor (Jul 3, 2013)

macrnr said:


> The coyotes have become very bold, and unafraid. There is one in particular that has a distinctive voice that has the whole valley awake at night. That was the S.O.B. I popped a round at the other morning. Hard to hit a coyote at 100 yards with a 9mm pistol though. I went behind the house in the woods and there is sign all over. I think I need a varmint rifle.



May i suggest a Ruger Ranch Mini 14 rifle in .223
 they are highly reliable and just a kick in the pants to shoot!
if you pop some optics on one they can get pretty accurate with some good ammo.
Short of that i'd consider a AR-15, or a AR-10 in .308. that would be a sweet little noise maker.


----------

