Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote
- Thread starter DSheetz
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Overall health looked ok and about nirmal size for around here. Fur and tail was pretty clean and not disturbed that I could tell. I know its not the best scenario compared to some you described for success but when there's one that close to the house and stock it's unconditional and has to go. I have some hunches where it may have come from but it could've come from anywhere really. I do know their habits somewhat and from reading about your "shift changes" and him showing up here about an hr before dark figured if he had a mate he could'nt have come from too far away. I'm not sure when pups are born around here but would think they would've already whelped by now. Fawns should be already on the ground some and sure thats why that doe tried to run him off. I actually leave that meadow tall and not mow it till crops get up good just for that reason. Its right close to house where I can watch it and the deer are used to us and like to bed the fawns close to house like they know its all good here lol.
Well this morning I finally spotted the male, came in from a different direction, could see into some low ground....watched em from 650 yards for 20 minutes or so..................................yep..he has another female (regular Don Waun with the bitches). Tomorrow morning I am coming from a different direction, depending on the wind. Sneak in and see what materializes....this time I am killing him 1st...by the way they were acting, I am guessing they moved the pups about 1/2 mile south of other den. Lots of fence lines, grass, crop and farm junk so will have a reasonable chance of sneaking close. For sure wont use the same sound as before and if I don't have to make a sound I wont, will use the glasses to find them. They are used to vehicle's to a degree and they did not even look my way at 650 yards but I had a fence corner blocking the view of the vehicle.
74Honker, our coyotes are a lot lighter colored than yours.
74Honker, our coyotes are a lot lighter colored than yours.
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74honker his tail shows no sign of being chewed by pups he may not of been the father but just a helper for feeding the pups . His teeth look like he is most likely around 5 . They will talk on their own soon and you will know for sure where they are . Well done ReemtyJ it sounds like there was either a second female or he recruited one to help with the pups . I have done what you are doing and patterned them then sniped them some times that is the best way . If they thought that the pups maybe in danger they sure could have moved them to a new location . They may be camping out now also and not in a den hole . While you are setting up to snipe them I would just listen for the pups to talk if I were doing it . You now have the challenge that keeps you going back over and over again .
Would have been "possible" to pick one off with the 6.5 PRC or Creedmoor, but I would not get both. Better to get in closer 300 yards or less and get both with 204, itching to shoot some more with it. Someone on this site said it (204) is like a laser and that is a fact, out to 300 if you hold over you shoot over. 100--+1/2", 200--right on, 300 4.5" low, 400--13" low, 500--27" low.......it seems like a caliber just made for coyotes!
ReEmptyJ yes they are pretty dark around here and usually a lot of red in them too. Unfortunately they are almost worthless around here because of that color scheme. You are lucky to get $10 out of one and that's skinned out. During the winter I give them to a trapper friend who skins and processes them and sends them up north to the auction ajd does a little better with them.
DSheetz, thanks for ALL the info you have given me/us! I will definately be listening intently the next few AMs to try to find a direction to go from here. I did have a farmer locate a den in a ditch bank in the middle of a field the other day. The coyote came out of it and watched him work the field. I can probably get within 200yd of it but will probably have to be dropped off in the dark and wind to be just perfect. WIDE open and only thing to hide behind is a spoil bank along another drainage ditch and only about 400yd from the road.
DSheetz, thanks for ALL the info you have given me/us! I will definately be listening intently the next few AMs to try to find a direction to go from here. I did have a farmer locate a den in a ditch bank in the middle of a field the other day. The coyote came out of it and watched him work the field. I can probably get within 200yd of it but will probably have to be dropped off in the dark and wind to be just perfect. WIDE open and only thing to hide behind is a spoil bank along another drainage ditch and only about 400yd from the road.
If they were coming close to my house and messing with the deer or other things at my home they would die also . That is a whole different situation then out in the lambing or calving pastures for sure where you don't want to create a killer that wasn't bothering anything livestock . That is where you need to be cautious and not create more problems then you cure . If they aren't killing stock I leave them alone until I locate the den and take them and the den after I take out the ones that are killing stock . I don't sell fur for a living I keep livestock alive . There were enough people around that don't control predators that I could work on them 7 days a week 365 days a year and still not get them to stop coming in . I also have people on other ranches that will kill any that they see and leave the remaining one to feed the pups creating a stock killer . At times I would have an adult that came in and killed for what I thought was revenge because someone took the den of pups and left the adults alive then you may find 20 lambs just killed and left laying in one night . My world is not the same world that you live in we all have different situations so need to change things to fit our needs . If you are after stock killers try not to make your or others lives harder . Enjoy what it is that you are there to do and do what your situation dictates you need to do try to do the best that you can at it . I like to show respect to the predators also and not make any life form suffer a hard death or life but that's me . Studies done by the university of southern California said that 70% of the pup crop needed to be taken just to keep the coyote numbers from going up each year .
74honker , how far away is that den from your home ? It seems to me that coyote pay more attention to a human walking then most other things . I have ridden up close to them on a horse . Maybe a mountain bike un loaded half a mile farther down the road would get you closer to where you can sneak in closer to call them up . I think they can tell if you put two feet or four feet down or have tires rolling . But I have also walked up close to them also . If you know for sure exactly where the den is you may want to go to it latter in the day when the adults are napping and when you park just set in your vehicle for 10 or 20 minutes to let them calm down . Close the door as quietly as you can walk quietly and get a good setup . You are well on your way .
The other den is about 10m from our house. The midday may just be the trick on those. These dogs are afraid of everything around here but I think I can do just as you said on that one. Though we have never lost any of our stock to them I do know some folks around here that have on occasion. We don't have much open range calving/lambing here. Most bring them into smaller lots and or barns for that and we normally do much of that in late Dec and Jan. What really got me into this sport was about 7yrs ago our deer herd in this part of the state was nearly wiped out completely by EHD/blue tongue. We went from seeing 20-30 deer a day to maybe 2 or 3. I knew the coyotes were hard on them also underr normal circumstances but when a friend of a friend found a den and put a camera on it and checked it 3 days later to find that they had brought 8 fawns back to that den in that short amount of time I knew I had to do something about it. We are slowly starting to see more deer last couple of years here around the farm but have a long way to go yet. Since my initial start I've taken probably 15 all within eyesight of the house and know of probably another 15-20 in the last 4 years. Several I have caught much like I did last night where they sneak in close if not right outside the pasture fence watching the stock. Like you I have the utmost respect for them and know they are the toughest of a quarry.
I was called out one time to a ranch that was having lambs killed . They ran 25000 head of sheep had a lot of deer and antelope . They made a good portion of money from hunters as well as the wool and lambs and calves each year . I got the call one evening and was told to meet the land owner the next day in such and such pasture there would be signs on each gate to tell me what pasture was what . They were docking lambs by then so it was mid June and they knew where they had lost the most lambs by then . I got out there as arranged and found the land owner , I knew she was tougher then I ever would be when she put her cigarette out in the palm of her hand after spitting in it . We talked she gave me maps of the ranch and told me where she wanted me to start working first according to where they had lost the most lambs . The first day I found one den and got two adults and eight pups . I worked that ranch for a month taking 60 adult coyote and 11 dens . That fall she came into a predator control board meeting to tell them that she had a good weaning and saw more fawns then she had in some time . Made me proud to hear that , I felt that I had done a good job and then it was confirmed by what she had to say .
That's one tough gal I'd say lol. Would definately be a badge of honor to have that compliment. You obviously were very good at what you did and imagine you probably got many of those even if you didn't know. With your success as a hunter and while respecting the ranchers land at the same time speaks volumes for your character. Without either of those two items hand in hand wouldn't have worked out so good for you as long as you were "in the business". I know my hat's off to you and I've never even met you lol! As you said our situations are a bit different but many things are still very relatable. Each of your stories from everyone for that matter have either taught me something, made me think of how to incorporate whatever into my bag of tricks, or made the light bulb go off from a previous experiance as to why it went down the way it did good or bad.
74honker , Thank you for the complements . We relay our experiences for others to learn faster what may have taken us years to learn and hope that you can put it to use for your self . It is a good thing when you can take information and relate it to your experiences and then say ahh that's what was going on . When You have and take some time to think about what you have done then put together your thoughts on what , why and when things went the way they did a lot will come to light for you . Not a one of us learned by doing it all by ourselves we learned from others as well .Now we pay back for the help we were given by the then old timers . I'm glad you never met my brother , who lives in southern Indiana I was once told that's the most stubborn , hardheaded overbearing little man I've ever met . LOL we are all ourselves good or bad .We All have good and bad days so it depends on the day we are having to an extent what we appear to others to be like .
I couldn't have said any of that any better. It's as if I was standing in the mirror saying it to myself lol. Depends on the day for all of us. My wife's favorite quote to me is "I always love you, some days I don't like you very much but I always love you". I know there's some that probably think good things about me too but it's all good cause I don't like them either and I always have a good reason why lol.
