Why I hunt Coyotes

[BigUglyMan]

I was always taught that you eat what you kill...

Unfortunately that's a simplistic view. Coyotes can suffer 75% mortality and maintain their numbers through increased breeding. They're prolific breeders as is which places an extreme amount of pressure on both wild and domestic animals. If you hang around a calving yard in February you'll see exactly how bad it can be. And as others have said, with the deep snow and ice in Eastern Canada this winter the deer will have a harder time escaping and suffer increased mortality. I'm not for eradication (even if it were possible) but I like to do my part to keep the stocks of deer healthy. I didn't go South to hunt deer in Saskatchewan this fall due to the high mortality over last winter which essentially meant that 4 deer weren't shot (mom, dad and my brother and I) and if you can scratch off a few coyotes at the same time then you just add that much to the deer side of the ledger.

But if it's edible and you shoot it then you had better eat it.

 

[Adrian J Hare]

Back 10-15 years ago you would see lots of fox in this area. I have not seen a fox in 5 years easy and do not see any tracks at all, never called one in to a set either. The coyotes have cleaned them right out here...

 

[canadaman30]

I'm a hunter, but I don't go and purposely kill an animal for what it is or does. The deer the coyotes killed was probobly weak and on it's way out, that's how nature works. I don't shoot and kill owls and hawks because they kill the rabbits I hunt.

 

[JayCarver]

Well done!

 

[Duffy]

Give your head a shake duffy, you have never once received a suspension here at CGN. An infraction is not a "suspension" and the last one you received was not for a coyote hunting thread.

I guess it makes for a great story though... Maybe you were thinking of AO where you were actually kicked off of the site never to be allowed back.

Nice try though...

No comment.

Of course you are right, after all you are a mod with the power to decide what ever you want.

And you know all about what goes on on all the other forums too, I am sure.

Did you have anything to add to the topic of this thread???


The snow is pretty deep around here, I was looking forward to doing some coyote hunting this year but it is tough to get around out there.

 

[the spank]

I'm a hunter, but I don't go and purposely kill an animal for what it is or does. The deer the coyotes killed was probobly weak and on it's way out, that's how nature works. I don't shoot and kill owls and hawks because they kill the rabbits I hunt.

I have to disagree......they can and do kill healthy animals just as readily and easily. If all they killed was sick or injured then our wildlife stocks must really be in dire shape?! They are after all born to hunt, it is survival. My Grandfather had the best saying I ever heard whenever someone would tell him that Wolves only killed sick or injured animals. He always responded and I quote " I have yet to see a Wolf running around with a stethoscope and thermometer".

 

[guido]

No comment.

Of course you are right, after all you are a mod with the power to decide what ever you want.

And you know all about what goes on on all the other forums too, I am sure.

Did you have anything to add to the topic of this thread???


The snow is pretty deep around here, I was looking forward to doing some coyote hunting this year but it is tough to get around out there.

 

[Chuckbuster]

Yea right, that's why after wolves were eliminated from Yellowstone the Elk and Deer herds increased to epic proportions and since the re-introduction of the wolves to "restore" the natural balance the Elk and Deer herds are doing so well, as in no more recruitment of young to sustain the populations and the adult populations are at risk from over predation. With game populations cleaned out the wolves are preying on livestock bordering the park and farmers are losing their shirts in livestock losses!!
Predators have no effect on game populations what so ever. That is why in hundreds of miles of scouting and tramping around out here the only prairie jacks I have seen in 18 months are in town? Used to see them scurrying out everywhere we ever set out years ago working here as a teenager. Same with huns and sharptails too. Had a field last fall we were hunting geese in with a bunch of huns scurrying around in the stubble unaware we were there. Next thing out comes two yotes hunting for the huns, trying to locate them by their peeping. Closest those yotes got to us was 80 yards, too far for a shot with steel 2's but had they come close enough?! Yes they'd have been dispatched quick!!

Without one of their primary predators, it is not surprising that ungulate populations began to explode and reach "epic proportions", as you say. However the fact that some are pleased with an explosion of game animals as a result of predator eradication does not change the fact that the two groups evolved in lockstep with each other. Don't forget that wolves were native to the Yellowstone area until civilized people decided they (the wolves) did not belong. It is entirely plausible that the high elk numbers people cheer about are an artifact of predator removal and will not be viable in the long term. In fact, I doubt that in the healthy Yellowstone ecosystem of yesterday, normal ungulate numbers ever approached what they are today, so these currently high numbers are not necessarily a good thing.

Removal of apex predators (and predators in general) from an ecosystem can and will allow populations of ungulates like deer and elk to reach very high, but ultimately non sustainable numbers; an examination of the problems caused and faced by the exploding deer population in Rondeau Provincial Park comes to mind.

While I think that people who wish to hunt coyotes as legal game should be free to do so, I disagree with the notion of killing predators simply because they are predators and somehow are bad and are "robbing" people of game.

http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wolfrest.htm

ETA: Like some others have said, coyotes and wolves are too similar to dogs for me to go after personally. While I am quite aware of what they are and what they do, that's just my take on hunting them. However, I do have to say that if a coyote were to be set on making a meal of or attacking my dogs (as has happened with a few other people in my locale), I would intervene in a manner appropriate to my location...as in up to and including shoot if legal to do so.

 

[quentin wipf]

With the last snow fall its almost impossible to power ram them in the prairie.They dont walk on the same trail twice with a couple feet of snow,and harder snow now!! Back to calling and gunning them down,but i get mostly younger ones calling,the big smart boys almost have to power snare around here!!

 

[Runningfool]

I was always taught that you eat what you kill...

Ever set a mouse trap? How'd that taste?

 

[saskcop]

I'm a hunter, but I don't go and purposely kill an animal for what it is or does. The deer the coyotes killed was probobly weak and on it's way out, that's how nature works. I don't shoot and kill owls and hawks because they kill the rabbits I hunt.

You don't know nature. "Only the strong survive" is by and large BS. Coyotes and wolves kill truckloads of healthy animals everyday. Often they take a few bites and leave too. I have found many a wolf kill on the edges of our fields and in the bush where the animal had been hamstrung and killed and left. Just like a dog chasing cars, wild dogs chase stuff cuz it's fun. Sure they will kill a slow one or a weak one when the opportunity exists, but they are more than happy to kill anything when they have a chance.

Shoot coyotes. It is great for the deer population.

 

[nowarningshot]

I had need for a appointment at UBC hospital in Vancouver some years ago. The area is like a city in itself. Thousands of people live nearby. Parked a couple of blocks away to find a spot. There is a McDonald's right there....Coyote walking right down the sidewalk, passed 3 feet from us.

Another friend got home from shopping, put the Chiwawa down while grabbing groceries. Coyote took it from 4 ft away. Explain that to the kids.

They are vermin, an excuse to get out in the wild. Keep your hunting and marksmanship skills sharp in the off season. No matter how many we take they will still breed up again. If a area gets culled, other animals from other areas move in to new territory. Constant need. Some may think we are upsetting a natural balance. Our presence and changes to the natural environment has helped Coyotes thrive, move into, and push out other natural predators. Culling the herd is everyone's responsibility as hunters.

 

[Chuckbuster]

You don't know nature. "Only the strong survive" is by and large BS. Coyotes and wolves kill truckloads of healthy animals everyday. Often they take a few bites and leave too. I have found many a wolf kill on the edges of our fields and in the bush where the animal had been hamstrung and killed and left. Just like a dog chasing cars, wild dogs chase stuff cuz it's fun. Sure they will kill a slow one or a weak one when the opportunity exists, but they are more than happy to kill anything when they have a chance.

Shoot coyotes. It is great for the deer population.

As predators, wild canids are very opportunistic; which makes sense since they never know where their next meal is coming from. Therefore it is not surprising that they will sometimes kill more than they can immediately consume. However, it is highly improbable that such killings constitute wanton waste or "killing for fun". They normally return to and consume as much of their kills as possible.

http://isleroyalewolf.org/node/42

 

[5440fight]

Without one of their primary predators, it is not surprising that ungulate populations began to explode and reach "epic proportions", as you say. However the fact that some are pleased with an explosion of game animals as a result of predator eradication does not change the fact that the two groups evolved in lockstep with each other. Don't forget that wolves were native to the Yellowstone area until civilized people decided they (the wolves) did not belong. It is entirely plausible that the high elk numbers people cheer about are an artifact of predator removal and will not be viable in the long term. In fact, I doubt that in the healthy Yellowstone ecosystem of yesterday, normal ungulate numbers ever approached what they are today, so these currently high numbers are not necessarily a good thing.

Removal of apex predators (and predators in general) from an ecosystem can and will allow populations of ungulates like deer and elk to reach very high, but ultimately non sustainable numbers; an examination of the problems caused and faced by the exploding deer population in Rondeau Provincial Park comes to mind.

While I think that people who wish to hunt coyotes as legal game should be free to do so, I disagree with the notion of killing predators simply because they are predators and somehow are bad and are "robbing" people of game.

http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wolfrest.htm

ETA: Like some others have said, coyotes and wolves are too similar to dogs for me to go after personally. While I am quite aware of what they are and what they do, that's just my take on hunting them. However, I do have to say that if a coyote were to be set on making a meal of or attacking my dogs (as has happened with a few other people in my locale), I would intervene in a manner appropriate to my location...as in up to and including shoot if legal to do so.

X2. Kill the wolves, the coyotes prosper, but only short term. Kill the coyotes, the deer prosper, but only short term, and the mice prosper too. They all are "pests" when in great numbers, but their numbers are regulated by nature when we don't interfere, as long as they are part of the local ecology. We are the issue. We "over harvest" and introduce non-native species. Then we complain that the balance is upset, and kill everything on the other side of the scale, in the vain hope that it will balance out things. Hmm, quite the stewards, aren't we? Predators are always ugliest when they do the predator thing, but that doesn't make them a ugly thing, or an evil force, it makes them our main competitor. "Hey, I was gonna kill that..."

There was a time when a man's footprints were a rare thing in this place, and I'm sure the wolves would sniff those prints and exchange glances as if to say to each other: "We ought to eat more of these things, they breed like rabbits, and eat all the deer."

 

[Duffy]

With the last snow fall its almost impossible to power ram them in the prairie.They dont walk on the same trail twice with a couple feet of snow,and harder snow now!! Back to calling and gunning them down,but i get mostly younger ones calling,the big smart boys almost have to power snare around here!!

Wait a minute! What do you mean by "power ram them"???

Surely you are not talking about running them down on a snow sled are you? I apologize if you are talking about something different that is legal and a legitimate hunting method.

But if that is what you are referring to you should get a warning for talking about such an activity.




As far as predators (coyote in this case) killing "weak and sick", I am not sure I have ever heard anyone seriously say that is "all they kill". But you can be sure that the weal and sick are selected as easier targets. If four deer are encountered by a couple coyotes, the healthy, fast ones will likely escape. While one that is old, young or sick or injured will be the one likely to get caught. (you don't need a stethoscope to know one deer is slower than another when they are chased)

I can't believe anyone would believe that the coyotes would just pick any of those deer and go after it and ignore an easier meal.

 

[pitw]

Duffy, he means to snare them using a power ram snare.

 

[tonyg]

There are no coyotes here on the island , but we over run with deer in some areas.
I have eliminated a few coyotes when I lived on the lower mainland. They show very little fear in urban areas
and should be 'encouraged' to go elsewhere.

 

[Duffy]

Duffy, he means to snare them using a power ram snare.

Thanks, I am glad of that.

 

[DFarmer]

Back 10-15 years ago you would see lots of fox in this area. I have not seen a fox in 5 years easy and do not see any tracks at all, never called one in to a set either. The coyotes have cleaned them right out here...

Same here in the Fraser Valley Adrian. But it has been more like about 35 years since the coyotes decimated the foxes. Seeing a coyote then was rare, now we see them all the time. Unfortunately only a few are in areas where we are safe to shoot them.

 

[jongun]

To steal a line from "The 13th Warrior"... "Slaughter then til you rot, you'll accomplish nothing."

But you will have a good time doing it.

There ya go. It's still sport after all. I'm sure Adrian would be sad to see the coyote completely vanish and sure many here would be sad to see an end to his threads on hunting them.