COYOTE

[BornBad]

This is the largest and most abundant predator in Missouri. Extremely doglike in appearance, the coyote is considered to be a close relative of the gray wolf.

Characteristics: An adult coyote is smaller than a gray wolf, and resembles a small German shepherd dog with erect ears, pointed muzzle and bushy tail. Coyotes are usually tan, gray, or reddish brown with lighter underparts. They have long legs and are fast runners. Coyotes are 35 to 45 inches in length and weigh between 20 and 35 pounds.

[coyotewhacker]

OK...I'll throw this out for the coyote hunters out there.

There are guys who basically hunt nothing but coyotes using either mouth calls or electronic callers. Within that group the burning question is this: would you shoot a coyote in the early part of summer? Before you answer, think about this...although considered a "varmint" and can be hunted year round (except during spring turkey season), coyotes are really a sporting proposition. They are smart, adaptable, and have great survival skills. It takes a good coyote hunter to consistently score on them. Now back to the question: the Alpha female is the only female of the pack allowed to breed and have a litter of pups. The Alpha male of the pack is her mate. The rest of the pack hunts and supports the Alpha female when she has pups in the den in the summer. If either the Alpha male or Alpha female is killed, the den will be abandoned and the pups will die of starvation. From the perspective of a farmer or cattle rancher, that's probably the best thing that could happen. Six or eight fewer coyotes to bother the calves next winter.

If you consider yourself a "coyote hunter", shooting the breeding partners dooms the pups to a slow death by starvation, plus deprives you of some great sport calling in the young, inexperienced coyotes in the fall and early winter. What would you do in this situation?

[Tigerhaze]

I'm not a die-hard coyote hunter, although I will shoot them during deer season as they have run deer I am hunting.

But I guess I have a question: Isn't the hide mangey during the summertime anyhow? Do you actually try and hunt them this time of year or is it just a happenstance when you shoot them this time of year?

I guess I have never thought about shooting coyotes during the summer-too hot usually and I'm thinking about other activities. Just asking the question.

[2BHNTN]

I only shoot coyotes as a sidebar to some other desired prey. How do I feel about what you said ? Don't like it much really. Starvation is not anything I want to see any animal endure.

[coyotewhacker]

I personally do not hunt coyotes after April or so. You're right...the hide quality is very low. However, I don't sell the hides of the ones I shoot anyway. There are not local buyers, and it's not worth the trouble to skin and stretch the hide, then drive it somewhere to sell them for a couple of bucks. There are a lot of guys who carry a rifle in their truck, and if they see a coyote any time of the year, will take a shot at it. That's not the guy I'm aiming the question at. There are quite a few hunters who hunt varmints year round, and I was just wondering how many continue to target coyotes during the denning season. I'm not saying it is OK or that it is a terrible thing to do.
There are valid considerations on both sides of the question
such as what to do about late season calf predation. Not many are taken, but a newborn calf is an easy target for a hungry coyote or two. I have dropped a couple of songdogs that were skulking around the cows and new calves in our back pasture, but it was much earlier in the year. The reason I brought this up is that the pups are out of the den now, and starting to hunt with the pack. Once out of the den, all bets are off.

[Swampbird]

I think they shoud be viewed as a 'Huntable Resource' and not hunted between mid-March and mid-August to allow the restocked resources to develope into call answering predators....

[coyotewhacker]

Ain't the young ones a hoot to call in ? I have seen them almost stumble over each other racing to be first to the "free meal".......makes for a good warmup before deer season, too.

[steeltree317]

My friend has got me hooked on "dogs". Fixn to buy a .204, anybody got one and do you like them?

[coyotewhacker]

Don't have a .204, however, have heard nothing but good things about them. Definitely not a deer gun, but a great coyote round. Go first class...get the Ruger #1B with a good scope...not cheap, but those things do shoot.

[Hellbender]

Shoot 'em when I can. There never has seemed to be a shortage and when the start feeding those den pups they go for the bigger mammals. I have a hard time believing they kill any healthy calves. They are always around at calving time to feed on the afterbirth.
Food is the only thing that really limits the Song Dogs, they will throw pups based on the food supply.

[coyotewhacker]

Hellbender....where ya been the past few months??????
You're right that they generally won't try for a healthy calf. Most of the calf losses around here are the very young ones that are just a couple of days old and still a little wobbly on their feet. After that, a single coyote would not normally go for one.It's still money out of the farmer's wallet when they lose an animal, whether it's to extreme weather, disease, or to a predator.

[Hellbender]

Just hanging out, trying to get a little fishing in. been a tough year, high water and all.
I can pass on a fox or a cat, but not a Coy dog, their one mean critter.

[coyotewhacker]

Know what you mean about coydogs....we get a lot of dropped off pets out here in the country, and the females will often interbreed with the male coyotes. The offspring are pretty tough, but haven't met one yet that can stand up to a quick stepping .243 softpoint. A few years back, I had to take out a coyote and a dog that appeared to be a Siberian Husky type that chased me up into a quad leg deer stand. They stood around woofing and growling until the ol' Ruger #1 started it's own conversation. I dropped the coyote in its tracks from about 30 yards, and then rolled the big feral dog at about 75 yards or so. There was a third domestic dog with them, but he was pretty small, so I let him go. Haven't seen him back, so he must have gotten the message.