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This thread is intentionally NOT Debate Free. I just have a question for all the deer hunters out there who turn into coyote hunters, the minute one is spotted. I live and hunt in country that is fairly heavily populated by both deer and coyotes. I bowhunt +/- 50 times a year. I have been watching these 2 animals interact for the better part of 25 years. My observations are such. I have NEVER seen a coyote attempt to attack a deer of any size. In fact, all the coyotes I see are hunting rodents and other small game. Everyone I see gets a free pass. They are just trying to get food, just like I am. Almost everyone I talk to, friends, family, think I am crazy for letting them walk. My question is, Why the intense hatred for the coyotes? I mean you folks HATE them. Have they ever harmed you? Do feel the deer are “Yours” so therefore the coyote has no right to them? Is it some primordial thing that they are competing for your prey? I know y’all don’t eat them and I was taught not to kill anything I don’t eat or utilize. Are the furs worth anything? I saw a show just the other night and the biologist basically said you would need to remove 80% of the predator population to have any effect on fawn survival. Lets hear it, I just don’t understand how you can kill something and then say “Just saved another fawn” as your justification.
I do not hate coyotes. I have however personally witnessed coyotes killing deer fawns, antelope fawns and adult red fox.
Here is one I killed a few years ago that had a calf foot of neigbor’s calf it had killed night before. Not many ranchers going to be happy with you for letting coyotes walk.
I too have witnessed coyotes attacking and killing deer, just like every other animal they must be kept in check.
We have know for decades that the majority of prey for coyotes are small mammals. They are opportunistic and will take deer we if presented but basically they are mousers.
I let them pass too as they have a net benefit with the ecosystem.
I don't kill every yote I see, I miss about 50% of them, and I guess in my mind, I think I might be saving a fawn. I've got trail camera pics of yotes with fawn parts, and gotta think that it was involved in the fawns demise. We live in a very low population rural area, and our cats kind of have the run of the fields, and we loose a few to yotes, in fact I blistered one that was stalking one of our felines . There is a season on them so it's legal to kill them, but I kill rats, mice and woodchucks also for which I have no remorse.
I watched a single coyote take down a full size whitetail doe. Had I not been there to chase the yote off I'm certain she would have ended up dead.
I like to hunt deer specifically big bucks. More deer more big bucks.
No pass from me, I kill any I can. I have trail cam pics of a 'yote carrying a fawn into the woods from a corn field. They're also hell on nesting turkeys.
Look up a guy called huntchef. I know he is on most social media sites. He prepares coyote for the table. Eat what you kill.
Why is it that hunters keep turning on each other because someone does it any other way then what they themselves do? Are you telling us that your ethics over ride our ethics? Another, my way or the highway post. Gets old after a while.
Andrew - I too was raised the same way. Kill what you eat or utilize. Yet my father was a trapper when he was younger (he was my teacher). I doubt he ate muskrat - I've never asked him.
I guess the same can be thought of on some of the guided hunts you see. Animals are not always used by the hunter. They aren't left to rot, but they get used in camps, passed on to locals, etc. They are the same big game we hunt (deer, bear, rams, elk, moose, etc.).
For predators, I think it is sort of "flipping the switch". Matching wits with something possibly dangerous to man or beast. To hunt them specifically isn't opportunistic, so it's matching wits. There is a saying about Coyotes:
As the feather fell, the eagle saw it, the deer heard it, the bear smelled it and the coyote did all three.
I love calling them and killing them with .22 center fires. Have shot 22 coyotes in the last two winters.
Never pass a chance to shoot one.
If you have ever hunted coyotes you probably developed a deep sense of respect for them, they are a pretty smart critter, I like to hunt them and call them in, I feel they deserve to be hunted ethically and responsibly, now having said that I'm pretty sure you can hunt them and kill all you want and you won't affect the population any if at all
Ever killed a mouse or bug? Did you eat it? I bet they were existing in that area long before you plopped a house down. If you're going to manage the prey then why not predators as well? Although I agree hunting them is a poor form of control that's what trapping is for. And yes coyote fur is worth money one of the few animals still worth anything. Most people just either don't know how to properly handle the fur or aren't interested in doing the work. I get your point but it seems to be all heart and no mind. Why do you care if someone wants to legally harvest a coyote or two a year(especially if the population is healthy)while deer hunting if it brings them joy?
I don’t hate them but here we have low deer density so I shoot them to save fawns plus they are fun to call to. They just do what they were born to do.
I don’t hate them. I have a deep respect for them. One of the smartest critters out there. They’ll be here long after people are done on the planet. I’ve seen them chasing deer plenty. Also have seen the aftermath of deer killed by them. Have trail cam pics of deer that have been chewed on by them and got away. The last two years I’ve got a 50$ average for the hides. The first year I moved to the house I live in now they attacked and killed my Australian shepherd. I still don’t hate them. If ya don’t want to shoot them don’t. Everyone has a opinion and a choice.
If you have never seen what a coyote can and will do to a deer, then all I can say is that you need to get out more and smell the coffee.
For me it was the day I watched them run a doe into a semi-frozen swamp. After she fell in the ice/water and was stuck, they just sat back and waited for her to die. I legally shot the doe and ate the meat. I have also found where they have killed deer and it was a mess for guts and hair for 75 yards.
With that said, I respect them and enjoy the challenge of trapping them but everyone gets shot if I can make it happen. You said it correctly, it takes 80% removed to do anything to the population so me trapping 10-30 a years is not wiping them. We are seeing the benifits where I trap, in the last 4 springs the farmers are seeing twins/triplet fawns for the first time in years.
I put the fur up and sell it like Wv does and feel that they are being used to the fullest.
No hatred here but. When I cant leave a liver shot deer go for a few hours without coyotes stealing the meat, we do have a problem. Also helps that they are worth a few dollars.
I know it wasn't a fawn, but it's not a mouse either
I raise cattle and almost every year loose calves right after birth. I also catch coyotes working in pairs to corner a cow and calf and get them separated to get the calf. I’ve had calves with their tails pulled off by coyotes. If they are doing this with a 1200 # cow blowing snot on them, I can only imagine what they do to fawns. If that wasn’t enough it’s just plain fun to hunt coyotes.
Your comment about having to eliminate 80% is likely right. However having a population of young coyotes instead of old coyotes is beneficial. Most of the “killers” are mature male coyotes. If you hunt them hard you are keeping the age structure to a point where the majority of the population every winter/spring are pups(shit eaters). They live close to a heard of cattle and recycle what the cow didn’t use. They eat a few mice and rabbits but they aren’t good “killers” yet. If they weren’t hunted and allowed to reach maturity in mass, I can only imagine how many fawns and calves would be lost.
They are a lot of fun to call in. Speaking of calling them in. These warm temps in the upper Midwest have made it tough going. Not to mention they have probably heard every type of bunny blues there is. I don’t hate them but still believe In managing there numbers.
I won't pass on one if a shot presents itself. Shot a big male with the rifle on opening morning of gun season as it and another were chasing a fawn by me. Getting it tanned as it was a good sized yote. This pic shows what a pack can do over night.... I sure would have liked to have the meat and hide myself, but burned a tag to salvage the antlers.
Love to hunt them and have a lot of respect for them. Last year top end coyotes were near a $100 on the carcass here. I have saw them kill deer and know a lot of ranchers that lose calves to them. When coyote numbers got very high when the fur price dropped many years back mange killed the majority of coyotes in our area. That stuff is a much worse way to die than from a bullet or arrow.
My son arrowed a double one evening a couple weeks ago.
Andrew-
There’s some interesting information from MeatEater website in the link.
Every area is very different. Here where I live deer are regularly killed by coyotes. Here is a trail cam pic a friend got this year.
I caught this one trespassing. When I confronted him and he copped an attitude, I had no other choice....
I’ve seen them chasing deer a few times, over the years. I hit a nice buck too high and forward, a few years ago. Watched him run off to the SE of me and disappear. I waited a few more hours before I is was going to look for him. Just before getting down, I heard a hellacious commotion in the same general area that the buck had gone. I watched as the buck I had hit (I could see the fresh wound above his shoulder) come hauling butt past me within 30 yards, with 3 coyotes hot on his heels. The buck stopped about 100yds away from me & stood his ground temporarily, with the yotes darting back and forth around him. He eventually took off again, with them right behind him. I got a trail cam pic of that buck a couple of weeks later, looking not too much worse for wear, thankfully.
My Oklahoma buddy has lost a few calves over the years as well, to coyotes.
I’ve watched them hunting deer all the time. Every hunt turns into a coyote hunt as soon as one is spotted ;)
It’s natural for any predator to attempt to remove their competition. For me, that’s coyotes.
Andrew your coyotes are liberal coyotes and identify as deer.
Exactly! And who are WE to assign species anyway?
C'mon man (better get used to hearing that term, or at least for a few months).....YOU people most of all should know that Mother Nature is a b***h.
If you hate 'yotes but love seeing hawks and owls around, but how about those POOR little mice and voles that they eat alive, or break apart and feed their young with?
Get some perspective. It's LIFE. That's how it works.
You are correct Woods Walker. Mother Nature is a b*#ch for the coyote. I don’t like hawks or owls either because they eat baby turkeys that I like to hunt;)
Every hunts a coyote hunt in my neck of the woods. There’s wayyyyy to many around. Had a warden stop by one night following up on a trespassing issue and we were on the deck talking amd he couldn’t believe how many were howling behind my house. There had to of been 3/4 packs all over the place going bonkers. His reaction was wow, I hope you have a coyote call. Sounds like they need to be knocked off their perch up here. No yote is safe if it’s in range. Period.
I shoot everyone I can. Simple as that!
Killed two of them during November rifle season in WI that were chasing a doe and separate case a fawn. Both died. Trap all I can as well.
I don’t hate them either. But I know they kill game, including turkeys and deer. I have personally seen them attack calves and downed cows that were calving
I would not be welcome on many landowners to hunt if I passed up coyotes.
I kill every one I can. Their numbers should be managed just like any other species
"I have NEVER seen a coyote attempt to attack a deer of any size."
I get that they need to be managed, just like any other species. But all this hate about what they eat TO SURVIVE. WTH are they supposed to eat, tofu??? They're predators with canine teeth, just like US!!!
Woods, we have canines, but we are omnivores, like bears and other primates. Yotes are true carnivores, they have carnassial teeth for cutting meat off bones and chewing through tendons. Not trying to say you don't know that, its just the biologist in me coming out...:) That said, I don't hate coyotes or wolves, or any wild thing for that matter. But around here, we have an abundance of coyotes, and they prey pretty heavily on wintering deer of all ages, and fawns in the summer. They eat pretty much anything they can catch. And they have lost some fear of humans in these parts. I have had 4 encounters with them where they did not fear me, and were close but did not run away. Twice in packs, and twice with lone ones. And we have a pretty significant presence of rabies in our immediate area too. So I do some coyote management whenever I see them around. Thats not very often I get a shot at them with any weapon, but I will not pass anymore. I used to but no more, not after finding 4 fresh dead does in one acre of woods a coupme of winters ago, and a yote that barked, yipped and followed me and the dog for mre than half an hour. She was vuarding a kill. I had no weapon that day. I shot her the following fall. Same one for sure. I used to go by the eat what you shoot rule, and still do, but theres no way in hell I'd touch a piece of coyote flesh to my lips. I think that is just something someone who has something to prove would do. I don't shoot 'chucks or gophers, pick a pens or furry little stuff, or foxes unless I want a nice fox pelt. But,wolves and yotes, if legal, are not getting a pass. We had several of them in our back yard a few nights ago and they I could hear them run of when I opened the door to let the dogs out. Trapper barked at them, and the puppy bolted back to me barking with his tail between his legs and his back hair bristling. Yotes are a threat to the dogs, so they will be shot. They yip and cry out there almost every night. Tracks everywhere all the time. And I don't believe shooting any number of them ereally does much to cut back on their numbers. They breed and compensate.
They are an invasive in Wi. Find them you wont find many if any fox either.
Coyote kill last fall. They don't discriminate.
If there is a coyote hunter, someone who hates the idea of coyote hunting and a coyote in the same room, 2 of the three get why people hunt coyotes.
They will never get a pass!!!
I've taken around 30 coyotes in the past 4 years. The only coyotes I kill are the ones I can shoot from my deck or window ledge with a .223. I shoot every one that shows itself around my home, and I do it to intentionally push back and keep them away. I've killed a couple that were less than 50 yards from the house. I've had them run between my barns while I was outside talking with an employee. I simply don't want coyotes crowding us, or bringing a fight to our dog.
I really don't care about deer losses to coyotes here where I live. As the OP pointed out, I have yet to see a coyote or coyotes chase or aggravate a mature deer here. That's after 30+ years of rural living and a LOT of hunting. I'm sure it happens, but I just haven't witnessed it. My local deer population is very high, and I see no need to protect them from yotes.
2 years ago I saw a coyote kill a fawn next to my house I decided that day after I got done deer hunting I was taking up trapping. Caught 10 the first week
Coyotes will take out an entire calf and lamb crop, once the lambs are gone they move to the ewes. Like others have stated, I have seen then after fawns as well.
Remember this one that is a 5 1/2 year old 200 lb buck since that happened we killed right around 60 on our place kill em all Good luck Lewis
I shoot 1 each year generally, purely by chance. Should probably hunt them more but our populations is not TOO bad. I get trail camera pics of them chasing deer and running off fox, turkey, etc. I don't feel bad shooting them at all.
Andrew, I wish you had hogs like we have in the South. You would forget all about coyotes.
Also, I should definitely add: Shooting coyotes is damn good fun. Especially when they race into a call. Shooting them as incidentals while deer hunting is also good American fun.
One year a couple years ago when the lake froze over we found five adult bucks they had run onto the ice and consumed overnight, they DO kill adult deer also.
What a way to go!
What a way to go!
This is pic of a deer that had his rump partially devoured by coyotes about 2 weeks ago in southeast Mt. The rancher got permission to put him out of his misery. It is hard not to shoot coyotes when they kill by eating their prey to death. Bears and canids seem to lack the instinct to kill before they eat. About once a year I find coyote kills and is a bloody mess for about 50 yds. Shoot 'em. ....Mike
My roommate in college did a hair study of 100 trapped coyotes stomachs. 100 percent contained deer hair. Doesn’t mean predation. You not seeing doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen
In most VA county there is a bounty.....
I don’t have any animosity toward them, but there is no shortage of ‘em, and I have always wanted to get one with a bow. Would 100% tan it, have it tanned, or sell it to someone who would. Not going to kill one just to say I did.
One winter, I tromped all over Itasca state park and sampled all the coyote scat I could find. Easy to find on beaver lodges, so I was helping conduct a beaver census that year as well. Snowshoe hares were very low that year, and I found no deer hair that I can recall... but a lot of porcupine quills. They are SURVIVORS, bud.... Much respect.
No real reason not to kill them, but won’t kill them for no reason. If you want them to kill fewer fawns, kill more does so that the bucks can service them all in one round of the rut so all the fawns drop at once instead of trickling through.
Why is it that when a person like, Andrew m@work, starts a thread like this, they never seem to come back on and comment or give thanks for others comments? my best, Paul
Great question Paul I was actually wondering about that myself maybe only the “Whistler “ knows Good luck Lewis
