When I needed to go in to take a den cold with out hearing them I would first go to the watering holes and walk around them looking for their tracks taking note of what side they were on then hit the draws on that side to look for more tracks . I looked for tracks in the road going to the watering holes any sandy blowouts , trails into and out of draws , along creeks ect. Tracking is an essential tool for your kit you can tell the male from the female or if you have two males running together or two females and a male . Their foot prints are like ours not the same close but different . When coyote have pups they have to travel back and forth to feed them so you will notice heavy traffic closer to the den tracks coming and going on the same trails or the bottom of the draws . I have seen green grass beaten down in a path about 3" wide going to the den . A dry pair can be a fit to get stopped from killing as they will have a territory but don't need to go back to the same place all the time . They don't always howl or answer a howl , they may not even howl to a siren . Some ranchers use sirens to get their cows to come to the feed , so then the coyote get used to it and don't respond . I have had coyote come into it and not howl .
Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote
- Thread starter DSheetz
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HRM Johnny
Well-Known Member
DSheetz,
I am very interested in hearing about taking the pups out of the den! I'm looking forward to your post. Please go heavy on the details.
Johnny
I am very interested in hearing about taking the pups out of the den! I'm looking forward to your post. Please go heavy on the details.
Johnny
Over the years I noticed that coyote would use the same areas to den in . You could kill the coyote out of an area and the new residents would find that the areas would be of interest for putting a new den . Some times under the same rock or in the same hole it the rocks . Fox tend to do the same thing but are more likely to even use the same hole if you don't destroy it , which makes your job easier in the years ahead . I often would check the old dens first then go on to start with the tracking or listening to locate where they were .
Thanks 
reason I was wondering was to see if you would do it any different than I was thinking.......have two dens located so far and a .204 with 39 SBK's that want to connect with some coyotes..............again, thanks, you write it in such a way, it makes us think we are right there with you Dsheetz!!
reason I was wondering was to see if you would do it any different than I was thinking.......have two dens located so far and a .204 with 39 SBK's that want to connect with some coyotes..............again, thanks, you write it in such a way, it makes us think we are right there with you Dsheetz!!I try hard to not disturb the animals in the area so that the coyote doesn't know I'm in the area and have at times gotten too close to the den before trying to locate the adults . I've howled only to have the adults to sneak out a few hundred yards and show them selves prancing , barking and such to try and lead me away from the den . I found that if I found where I wanted to be after say 9 or 10 in the morning until say 6 in the evening the chance of both adults being at the den were better . I usually didn't start den hunting until after the 25th of April here in my state . I have found fox dens as early as March 3rd and coyote dens as early as April 8th though . The list of tools I kept in my truck for denning was , a lighter ,tile spade , 15-20 feet of barbed wire , 4 or 5 gas cartridges a small screw driver the was ground to a point like a dynamite powder punch , a small flash light , my pistol belt that had a good pair of pliers , a 6" fixed blade knife and my 9 shot 22 lr. revolver on it and 6 or 8 20 " trap steaks a good 4 lb . trapping hammer . The gas cartridges were gotten from the USDA wildlife services . they look like an over grown flare 1 1/4 " in diameter and 14" long . You get a 6 " fuse with each one . You poked a hole in the end for the fuse then several holes down the sides so it would burn . It contained a low grade of black powder so it just smokes . When you found the den you used your tile spade and dug sod to plug the opening all but enough to put your hand and the gas cartridge in to the den . I would then look for other openings and plug them off . In some of the rock piles it took a lot of hauling rocks to do that . I would light the fuse put it in the den and cover the rest of the hole then wait . What it did was burn up the oxygen in the den after 20 or 30 min I would then open the den hole up . I then straighten out my barbed wire lay it out in a line the best I can and drive stakes on alternating sides of it to keep it from flopping around and ending up with me tangled up in it . Using about 1 1/2 foot I put a loop in the end I'm going to run in the hole you are going to be twisting the wire so make the loop with the lay of the wire have the loop around an inch and a half wide . Take your light and look over the hole to see where the first turns are and if there are any pups with in reach and no snakes that can reach you as well as black widows . Shove the wire in as far as you can the bend a crank into the wire and twist it the same direction as it was wound when it was made while pushing it into the hole . repeat this and push the wire deeper into the hole . The barbs will wrap up in the fur and you will feel the tension on the wire when it does you pull the wire out take the pup off and start over again . You should know how many pups the female had if you got her because you opened her up to look at her uterus and count the knots were the pups were attached . If you have never seen a dogs uterus it's Y shaped with a ball on either end of the Y , that is the ovaries . If you are doing it for a living there is a lot to know to do it as fast as you can and at as low a cost to you as you can .
Thank you ReemtyJ , In the days before Richard N . we used what was called larva-cide about the same as 98 percent tear gas they use 5 to 10 percent to clear out riots or house's . We used 3 percent in the gas chamber to get ready for the use of CS gas over seas that way we knew what we might be in for and keep our gas mask in good working order .
My neighbor a couple houses down had two coyote pups they wired out of a den after shooting the adults last spring. I saw him outside with them, 2 females, they were about 2-2.5 months old, cute as heck and kinda friendly..but little skittish....he kept them until late summer but they became a pain in the butt. Said they were always running after rabbits, killing chickens and such and not listening very well, did not listen like a dog does.. He took them down to the Marias and released them in the early fall. All I could think of is, someone sure smoked a couple slow witted coyotes as they may come right up to them as they were not afraid of humans....always wondered if they would be an asset calling coyotes or even wolves.........if they listened to you to a degree.............what say you Dsheetz?
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
That's just like one of my old trout fishing tricks. If I caught a nice one from behind a certain rock, that's probably a good spot that a lot of nymphs get washed through, so it will always be a good spot for a feeding trout. It may also just be a good place to hide, where the coons or mink won't get them, too. If it happens to be both, then it's a jackpot for a trout - and it will always have one living there. I used to fish a handful of tiny little brook trout streams in the western Allegheny mountains, and I could find a nice fat pan-sized brookie in each of my favorite pools every spring. They were just good spots for trout to hang out, so that's where I could always find one. If you find a spot that's a good place for coyotes to den, you could probably find one denning there every year - even if you kill every one you see denning there. My wife commented on the robin that nests every spring in our pear tree, and asked me how long robins live. "That one has built a nest there every spring for ten years." she told me. I told her that's not the same robin - it's just a good spot for a robin to build its nest and raise its babies, so lots of birds have done just that. his is also why people have problems with coons nesting under their wooden decks. That's just a really good place for a coon to nest.
Well ReemtyJ , I haven't seen any coyote that made good domesticated like dogs they don't listen very well and for some reason they always have a wild streak . They will kill to run for the fun of it . I tanned a hide from one that wasn't worth much and shaped it with some great stuff spray foam insulation . I put some stiff 9 wire u' s in the legs to fasten it to the ground it was standing up that was good if the ground wasn't frozen rock hard . I would put her out several feet to the front and side get set up and give it a few minutes then howl . She worked good till I let a friend use her and he wanted to see how close a coyote would come to her . Killed the devil out of her one good attack and she didn't look so good . she had some coyote urine sprayed on her also . I never wanted to loose a live coyote that I had taught not to fear humans because of the chance of kids being it's target . I think if you kept it on a lead and staked it so it couldn't run off but had good maneuvering room to defend it's self it would be hard to beat . I'm not sure of what kind of permits it would take in your part of the world to raise on .
DMP25-06
Well-Known Member
DSheetz , ReemtyJ , and Nicholasjohn ,
Great stories and excellent information from the 3 of you gentlemen , as always .
I read your stories and can envision myself along with you on your excursions . Very interesting reading of your work and adventures .
Each day , I look forward to any new posts on this thread .
Thank all of you .
Dmp25-06
Great stories and excellent information from the 3 of you gentlemen , as always .
I read your stories and can envision myself along with you on your excursions . Very interesting reading of your work and adventures .
Each day , I look forward to any new posts on this thread .
Thank all of you .
Dmp25-06
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
This has definitely been one of the more interesting threads on this forum. Thanks to ALL.
