when to start hunting coyotes

[sharpshooter94]

I was wondering when the best time to start hunting coyotes is. I kind of figured whenever you want to but I was just wondering.

[MOGC]

Can't kill them sitting on the couch...

[Bill Gunn]

There were about 6 guys hunting them with dogs today, right across the road from my house.
When I was snow blowing my driveway about 1/2 hour earlier, the outside temp was 8*F
with a very cold 15mph NNW wind.

I was very warm on my couch, about 12 feet from the wood stove.....

[MOGC]

...I was very warm on my couch, about 12 feet from the wood stove.....

How many coyotes did you kill?

[Bill Gunn]

I was out snowblowing the driveway again this morning, and told the hunters they could park in my drive to get their trucks off the road, and they could hunt/shoot anywhere on my property. They have been chasing the same pack of coyotes in this area (about 5 sq. miles) everyday for a week now with the dogs.
They told me they 2 found fresh deer/coyote kills, one on the property directly across the street that was still steaming, and another fresh one on the property behind me.
They also got one fat coyote behind my house.

I never got into the coyote hunting, my hounds were all rabbit dogs (no rabbits, woodchucks or partridge around anymore because of the tons of coyotes).

Here's a coyote I got on the deer camera in the back yard...

[Sidekick]

We have some dog hunters around here. I have no love for them. They are without a doubt one of the biggest collection of inconsiderate, obnoxious jackasses I think I have ever met. I don't have room to type all the stupidity I've witnessed. Blocking the roads, tresspassing, shooting across highways and into peoples yards....it's simply amazing. You can kill more coyotes with a call and your deer rifle than you ever will with dogs. People will still like you at the end of the day too.

Back to the original question. This is a great time of year to coyote hunt. The colder the better. If I could pick a perfect day it would be overcast or gloomy with very light wind. For some reason an easterly wind seems to make a better day. It could be my imagination but I always have better luck then.

[sharpshooter94]

how much does a coyote pelt go for in the eastern part of the country? I mean if I'm going to all the trouble of killing it I might as well get some money out of it.;)

[Sidekick]

Ever skin a coyote? Whatever you get for it (and I doubt it will be much) won't be worth your trouble. God put the hide on a coyote to stay.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I start hunting them when they come to a call.

Alan

[Sabre]

We have some dog hunters around here. I have no love for them. They are without a doubt one of the biggest collection of inconsiderate, obnoxious jackasses I think I have ever met. I don't have room to type all the stupidity I've witnessed. Blocking the roads, tresspassing, shooting across highways and into peoples yards....it's simply amazing. You can kill more coyotes with a call and your deer rifle than you ever will with dogs. People will still like you at the end of the day too. I have friends who are dog hunters. I've hunted with them many times and they are good people. Yes they trespass. It goes with the territory if you're going to run coyotes with hounds. The occasional fine for trespassing is just part of doing business to these guys. It's unavoidable as the dogs will often run coyotes for miles and cross many property lines before the chase is over. I've never seen them shoot across highways or peoples yards but you can bet they will follow their dogs wherever the chase may lead and so would you if you had the time and money invested in dogs that they do. You'd also have to be one hell of a skilled, determined, dedicated caller to come anywhere near their kill numbers. I've known them to take as many as 200 in one season.

[ncboman]

I've read good callers can kill hundreds per season also, just depends on how thick the yotes are among other things.

We have a large pack of em in the neighborhood here. I hear em at night but seldom see one. They move around from one block of woods to another night to night, much like the deer.

I like to hunt, but going out in the cold after something I ain't gonna eat and really don't want doesn't thrill me.

[Sidekick]

If ten guys with 15 dogs kill 200 that's 20 per person. I can do that no problem. The guys around here don't kill anywhere near that. They have a really bad habit of hanging the dead coyotes on a fence that surrounds an old family cemetery. That just doesn't seem right to me. And they are known thieves.

[Sabre]

If ten guys with 15 dogs kill 200 that's 20 per person. I can do that no problem. The guys around here don't kill anywhere near that. They have a really bad habit of hanging the dead coyotes on a fence that surrounds an old family cemetery. That just doesn't seem right to me. And they are known thieves.
The group I'm speaking of consists of a father and three brothers so 200 a year would add up to 50 per person. They often take friends hunting with them though so I'm not sure how many they actually kill themselves other than to say it's the lions share. There may be callers here that take as many but I've never heard of any personally.

[Sabre]

I've read good callers can kill hundreds per season also

In the West or Southwest sure. In NY I seriously doubt it.

[GF.]

They have a really bad habit of hanging the dead coyotes on a fence that surrounds an old family cemetery. That just doesn't seem right to me. And they are known thieves.


That's because that ain't right! But somehow, that seems more like a problem with the individuals concerned than with 'hound hunters' per se... Not that I think I'd be real tolerant of having people I don't know running around on my property with firearms....

I'd be very happy to take some coyotes and get them tanned up for various projects that I have in mind, but I have to agree with NC that getting up that early and taking that much time away from the family to freeze my butt off hoping to kill something I'm not gonna put in the freezer.... just doesn't sound that appealing to me right now...
But as a late-in-the-deer-season target of opportunity, coyotes are pretty high on my list of to-dos....

[dave-t.]

For east, south, and midwest coyotes, I wouldn't skin another one. I've skinned a couple, and that was plenty. Like skinning a 30lb squirrel.

Western yotes may be worth it. Western furbearers are in a different class of fur than the rest of the country.

If you've ever looking into fur prices across the nation, it becomes very obvious where the highest quality fur comes from, and it ain't where I live. Western fur can bring anywhere from 8-15 times more money per pelt than the rest of the country at lower elevation brings, depending on the species.

[dave-t.]

Also, as private lands get smaller and smaller, less and less folks have anything good to say about running yotes with hounds.

Even in the sparsly populated north MO farm country that I hunt, folks hate them, and the stories told about their actions are hard to listen to, much less to witness in person.

[Sabre]

Most landowners around here hate coyotes enough to give dog hunters alot of leeway as far as tresspassing and such. In fact, many who are irate at first hearing/seeing the dogs or hunters go across their land will say "have at it and I hope you kill 'em all" when they find out what's actually going on.

[Bill Gunn]

Most landowners around here hate coyotes enough to give dog hunters a lot of leeway as far as trespassing and such. In fact, many who are irate at first hearing/seeing the dogs or hunters go across their land will say "have at it and I hope you kill 'em all" when they find out what's actually going on.

Exactly the same here....

In the last week they've killed 2 deer within 400 yards of my house.
How many go unseen ??

[Sabre]

In the last week they've killed 2 deer within 400 yards of my house.
How many go unseen ??

Thousands I'm sure.

[MOGC]

I'm no fan of hound hunting coyotes either. The guys I know that do it are about as rag - tag and motley a crew as you could scrounge up. They really make no effort to follow laws and seem to have a blatant disregard of other hunters and/or property owners. Some of those guys shoot the coyotes, others sic a pack of dogs on the coyote for the kill. It just doesn’t set well with me to hit a track and dump half a dozen hounds to run that track until those hounds run out of steam, then they dump a fresh crew of hounds on the track and continue to do this alternating packs of hounds until they finally run the coyote to exhaustion and bay it up. Then at this point the fresh kill dogs are brought in and put on the worn out coyote until the pack of kill dogs mauls the coyote to death. I dislike that scenario. Now if they had a single hound that could accomplish that, then I could appreciate the strength, stamina, courage, and skill of that single hound. As it is, I’m on the coyote’s side as he is the one that possess those qualities. As for those hound guys willing to break laws and disregard property owners rights, I have no respect for that either and wouldn’t tolerate it around my place.

[Sabre]

Seems some here know little about coyotes and hounds. Any reasonably fit hound will run a coyote into the ground eventually if the hunters don't intercept the chase and shoot it first. Coyotes are short winded compared to hounds. The guys I know and have hunted with don't run their dogs in relays and they don't use any seperate "kill dogs" either. Their hounds are kept in good shape and there simply isn't any need. No dog hunter is going to want one of his expensive/valuable hounds in a one on one with a yote. Yotes are better fighters and it would be a rare hound that could actually take one in a one on one, much less do it without getting torn all to hell. Coyotes here pack up and work together to run down and kill deer like a pack of wolves. When they pull one down they aren't exactly "quick and humane" about the whole process and will often begin feeding before the deer is dead. I fail to see how the treatment the hounds give a coyote when they catch one is any worse.

[MOGC]

Seems some here know little about coyotes and hounds. Any reasonably fit hound will run a coyote into the ground eventually if the hunters don't intercept the chase and shoot it first. 1) Coyotes are short winded compared to hounds. The guys I know and have hunted with don't run their dogs in relays and they don't use any seperate "kill dogs" either. Their hounds are kept in good shape and there simply isn't any need. 2) No dog hunter is going to want one of his expensive/valuable hounds in a one on one with a yote. Yotes are better fighters and it would be a rare hound that could actually take one in a one on one, much less do it without getting torn all to hell. Coyotes here pack up and work together to run down and kill deer like a pack of wolves. When they pull one down they aren't exactly "quick and humane" about the whole process and will often begin feeding before the deer is dead. 3) I fail to see how the treatment the hounds give a coyote when they catch one is any worse.

1) Not from my understanding. I've read and heard of coyotes taking hounds for many, many, miles. I know of relay runs and it is a common enough practice.

2) My point exactly...

3)
Coyotes are wild predators doing what nature programmed them to do. Human "sportsman" are responsible for what hounds do. Humans have the ability, if they choose to use it, to use reason and thinking skills along with their conscience to make responsible decisions. That is the difference and the very reason most states have outlawed dog fighting. At least that is one on one fighting. A pack of hounds ganging up on a worn down coyote doesn’t seem quite right IMHO.

[Sabre]

1) Not from my understanding. I've read and heard of coyotes taking hounds for many, many, miles. I don't know where you got your "understanding" but it's wrong. Yes, it's common for a chase to go many, many miles. Fit hounds are more than up to it, and can and will run a coyote to exhaustion. Like I said before, coyotes are short winded/lacking in stamina compared to hounds. I've seen it over and over again and I don't know how to put it any plainer than that.


2} My point exactly... And what do you suppose happens when a pack of coyotes catches a lone hound ? The coyotes sure as hell don't all back off but for one to make things "fair" for the hound. Each is just following it's natural instinct and one is no more or less
worthy of respect than the other because of it.


3}Coyotes are wild predators doing what nature programmed them to do. Human "sportsman" are responsible for what hounds do. Humans have the ability, if they choose to use it, to use reason and thinking skills along with their conscience to make responsible decisions. That is the difference and the very reason most states have outlawed dog fighting. At least that is one on one fighting. A pack of hounds ganging up on a worn down coyote doesn’t seem quite right IMHO. You'd better never go coon hunting with hounds.

[Sidekick]

If the coyotes are thick enough in your area that people welcome the dog hunters then that's fine but it's not the case here. I have yet to meet a coyote hunter that uses dogs that isn't white trash. Don't misunderstand me I don't hate dogs. I love watching a good bird dog do his thing. A friend of mine breeds and trains coondogs and I used to go with him all the time. I spent a lot of cold nights tromping around in the dark. Lots of fun. The guys around here that I deal with on a weekly basis this time of year are jackasses. And that's being kind. Like dave-t and MOGC who are also from Missouri said, people around here just don't have a lot of good things to say about them. And I wish they were gone.

[Sabre]

If the coyotes are thick enough in your area that people welcome the dog hunters then that's fine but it's not the case here. I have yet to meet a coyote hunter that uses dogs that isn't white trash. Don't misunderstand me I don't hate dogs. I love watching a good bird dog do his thing. A friend of mine breeds and trains coondogs and I used to go with him all the time. I spent a lot of cold nights tromping around in the dark. Lots of fun. The guys around here that I deal with on a weekly basis this time of year are jackasses. And that's being kind. Like dave-t and MOGC who are also from Missouri said, people around here just don't have a lot of good things to say about them. And I wish they were gone.

I'm not doubting you guys. Things definitely sound different in your neck of the woods.

[GF.]

And what do you suppose happens when a pack of coyotes catches a lone hound ? The coyotes sure as hell don't all back off but for one to make things "fair" for the hound. Each is just following it's natural instinct and one is no more or less worthy of respect than the other because of it.




I'm gonna disagree with you completely on that one, Sabre....

A pack of coyotes that jumps a dog will kill it if they can, no doubt. They're 'programmed' for eliminating competitors as a survival adaptation, and chances are pretty food that they're gonna eat off the carcass of the dog after they've killed it. Or while they're doing it, perhaps. Just as with the way they take down a deer - it's grisly and merciless, but they do the best they can or they starve.

Get right down to it, and the coyotes are doing what they have to do to survive; for the humans and the hounds, it's all for sport. And just as with our deer hunting, it's OK to do whatever we want to do to make the chase as 'sporting' as possible, but when it's time to close the deal, we have an ethical obligation to make that as quick and certain as possible. If anything, that's an argument in favor of turning loose a pack of 'kill dogs' at the end of the chase - kill the coyote, protect the dogs - but MOGC is correct (IMO) that there is no moral or ethical high ground in that if there is an opportunity to end things any more quickly - with a bullet, for instance - even compared to the kind of dog fighting that got Michael Vick sent away.


It's just like the thread on shooting hogs from helicopters; if somebody is involved in that to make a living, and their paying customers need to have the hogs killed off in order to allow that customer to make a living, then I can fully accept the fact that some hogs are going to be poorly hit. Of course that's provided that the 'exterminators' are making a good faith effort to kill the hogs efficiently and reasonably humanely, but that's just good business. The natural check against sloppy shooting is that it wastes ammo and flying hours...

On the other hand, though, anyone who had paid to go up in that chopper to shoot some pigs as some kind of a lark would be under no less of an ethical obligation to make a quick, one-shot kill on each animal than he would be if he were shooting deer from a tree stand.

Simple principle - in a recreational activity, we have an obligation to be as humane about it as is possible under the circumstances. If the death of the animal is strictly 'necessary' in order to protect life or livelihood, then Sporting Ethics only get in the way of getting the job done.

[Sabre]

Get right down to it, and the coyotes are doing what they have to do to survive; for the humans and the hounds, it's all for sport. And just as with our deer hunting, it's OK to do whatever we want to do to make the chase as 'sporting' as possible, but when it's time to close the deal, we have an ethical obligation to make that as quick and certain as possible. If anything, that's an argument in favor of turning loose a pack of 'kill dogs' at the end of the chase

I know for myself and the guys I hunt with that the outcome we'd prefer and strive for is to intercept the chase and shoot the coyote before the dogs can catch it or bay it up. Quicker demise for the coyote, more sporting for the hunters and saves on vet bills, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. In my experience, the dogs don't catch a coyote in the open and kill it very often. When they do run one to exhaustion, it's far more likely the coyote will "bay up" under a tree, brush pile, rock outcropping or something that covers it's backside and allows it to hold the dogs at bay. At that point the chase is over, the hunters can move in for the kill and there is no reason to release any "kill dogs".

[MOGC]

Sabre,
Maybe... what you say is the SOP for your hound guys in your area. But just taint’ so everywhere. I've personally spoken with, and, seen on the web too many stories, pictures, and videos of guys who rely on a good dog fight at the end of the trail. Some will tell you that is the reward for their dogs and the motivation to keep them hunting, that kill at the end of the chase. Four to six hounds on the beat down coyote lessens the chances of a hound getting seriously injured. Though the cornered coyote will still get his licks in here and there. Most hound runners do their own vet work unless the wound is an immediately life threatening one and even still many will home doctor it. Even the guys that plan on shooting the coyote often only wound it as running coyotes aren’t the easiest targets and guys will sling shots at them anyway because they know if they only wound the coyote the dogs will catch it and finish it. And gutshot worn down coyotes are easier to finish with a pack of larger hounds than a fresh one on one fight.

[Sidekick]

This happened back when the guys that hunt our area all used cb radios and were easy to monitor. I was listening in on them out in my truck because they were parked down the road near where my Uncle had some tractors parked. Their dogs had a coyote run down and we're mauling it while one of them stood in the middle of the fracas with a handheld radio with the mike keyed so all his buddies could hear the action. Disgusting if you ask me. Another time I heard one yell over the radio "We got 4 deer out here!" and a reply was "You know what to do". I can't prove it but they broke into my house about ten years ago and stole 6 guns, my bow, chainsaw and all my air tools. Then about two weeks later they tried to sell some of it to a friend of mine but he didn't know what had happened and I didn't find out about it for several months. While they are "hunting" irrigation pipe will dissapear along with the wiring off of the center pivots. THAT'S what I'm dealing with. Sure I can call the law. It only takes 45 minutes for them to get here.

[Sabre]

Well if we're going to be condemning a whole class or "type" of hunter based on the actions of a few, then it's definitely deer hunters I have the least amount of use for. Over the past few years, it's repeatedly been deer hunters who have stolen my tree stands, tried to kick me off my own property and that of friends and relatives which I have permission to be on, and physically threatened both me and my dogs for having the audacity to disrupt "their hunting". I've done an awful lot of rabbit ,coon and coyote hunting with an awful lot of "dog hunters" over the years and have never had the slightest bit of grief or trouble from any of them. Deer hunters on the other hand, are some of the most dishonest, insufferable, thievin' suck- wads I've ever personally had the displeasure to meet.

[Sidekick]

I've never had any problem with anyone that respected the rights of others no matter what they were hunting. I know where I'm not supposed to be and you'll never find me there.

[MOGC]

I've never had any problem with anyone that respected the rights of others no matter what they were hunting. I know where I'm not supposed to be and you'll never find me there.

Well said...

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I know a little bit about hunting with dogs in South Texas and South Louisiana. I know the most about hog hunting, a bit about coon/rabbit/deer hunting and and a smidgen about coyote hunting. The deer and rabbit hunting was in S.LA and was a long time ago. Rabbits are fun to shoot in front of Beagles. I never care for the deer hunting. Mostly the dogs ran the deer into the water and the hunters shot them there. Put meat in the pot but that was about it. My #1 son was a hog hunter for a while. He had about 30 dogs and would run a pack of 7 - 10 per night. It's sort of a relay but not really. The strike dogs strikes the trail, then the bay dogs are turned out. When they bay up the pig you bring up some pits or crosses and turn them loose. They rarely kill the hog, that's your job. When you're sure the hog is wearing some nice pitbull ear rings you go in from the rear and stick the hog behind the front leg. Then you beat the pitbulls with a mag light to make them leave the dead hog and let you lead them to the next hog that the strike dog and the bay dogs have taken up the chase on. You keep doing this until .............. then you go back to the truck and blow the horn until all the dogs come straggling in. Then, in the headlights, you staple up all the wounds and stick the guts back in, and staple up the holes, load everybody up in the truck and go home, and get ready for work. It's a young man's game. Coon hunters fancy themselves the elite and everybody looks down on coyote hunters and gives them wide berth and locks everything up when they come around. I've known of coon hunters that wouldn't dare kill a coon. They want them alive to run again another day.

Personally, I don't like the idea of running anything with dogs but I also know that there are a great many things in this world that aren't pretty to watch or think about but are very necessary. Hog and Coyote hunting are two of those things.

Alan

[Sabre]

Coon hunters fancy themselves the elite and everybody looks down on coyote hunters and gives them wide berth and locks everything up when they come around.

The idea that you tend to seperate houndsmen by species {and character} in your area, or that they seperate themselves from one another, is completely foreign to me. Around here, the same guys you find running coyotes one day, you're quite likely to find running rabbits the next and coons at night. In other words, a houndsman is a houndsman. They love the chase and the music of the hounds and if a "coyote man" doesn't own any beagles or coon hounds himself, he likely has friends who do and will get in on some coon and/or rabbit hunting with them. {and vice-versa} The crossover goes so far that we have a combination coon club/beagle club here locally and many of the members own dogs for both.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

The idea that you tend to seperate houndsmen by species {and character} in your area, or that they seperate themselves from one another, is completely foreign to me.

Could be. Wouldn't be the first or biggest difference of opinion between North and South. I'm sure there is a lot of crossover here too but that's why I usually try to offer up that little disclaimer about "what I know, about a certain thing, in a certain area, and to what degree, generally speaking". That way I can always have a little documentation that I'm not claiming to be a "know-it-all".

Alan

[Hi Ball]

I suppose there is all types of people, the hunters that obey the law and those who just don't care one way or another. I don't care if someone is hunting coyotes on my land or even running dogs, as long as they keep their critters away from my "bird dogs" in the kennel. I also don't want anybody shooting in direction of the house, buildings or dog kennels and surely not across any roads or blocking the roads with a vehicle, not even an ATV etc. I like to watch a good pack of coyote dogs work, they are really something to see run, those that a friend of mine up North has are very fast. I believe they are part greyhound crossed with hound and something else.