coyotes

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Some say increased coyote activity and population affected the deer herd and put a damper on the 2009 deer season. I tend to agree, anybody else? For example, I've never gone to this one spot and not seen at least one deer, whether as I arrive or down the road. In 2009 that changed. That 1st day of no sightings, I saw coyote scat, and a mile away during daylight, a coyote. What's everyones take on yotes? Who's doing there part by hunting them, and is it true that the population increases, the more you kill them off?

[burmjohn]

Thats a great question. I don't know the property where I am enough to comment, as I havn't even had a hunting season there yet.  But the neighbor said there are a lot of yotes in the area.  He hears them howling all night long...  He is not a hunter, but he says there are tons of deer around.  We shall see...

[A6A6]

I think i can agree with you  Mr. Fudd. 

ive seen and heard  more and more coyote in the past 3 years than i can remember in other years in the past.

just from browsing the hunting forums you can see more and more guys even talking about them.

and they are getting bigger and bigger.

the eastern coyote is generally larger than those from the midwest .

bigger coyote needs bigger food source.

fawns are prime eating and easy catch for em i guess.

[NYBowhunter]

In my hunting area there are lots of fox and coyote, can sit out on my patio at night and hear packs of them.My property is situated in predominately farmland I have taken two fox and two coyote through the years. I shot one coyote a few years back a huge male that was probably 50lbs or more. The scarey part was I was sitting under a pine tree and he came to my left no more then 10 yards away and stood there and I let him pass me and I dropped him with my 300 mag. I recently read an article in deer and deer hunting (summer2010 issue, title of article was "Rethinking Coyotes" and what was interesting is that a study in 2000-2001 in PA there was actually a difference with deer predation by coyotes/bear in farmland vs. forested. "Only 38% of fawns born in primarly wooded regions survived 9 months. Predation accounted for nearly half of fawn mortality, with coyotes and black bears the major killers.Farmlands proved to be decidedly more fawn firendly, with 72% of fawns surviving to nine months." Very interesting.

[burmjohn]

Did the yote see you when you were @ 10 yards?

[NYBowhunter]

No he didnt , I thought he was going to bolt but he just stood there and I let him pass me as I stood motionless and then boom the 300 roared. It seemed as though he was preoccupied looking for something.

[burmjohn]

Had to be a little freaking standing 10 yards from it...

[NYBowhunter]

A little freaky, but I was more concerned that he would get away so I didnt move a muscle. Besides I was the one with the gun....lol...Did you ever see a closeup of a coyotes teeth?....ouch...would hate to be bit by one.

[burmjohn]

Yes, I had two yotes hanging out and actually took a piss on my tree of the treestand I was in.  They were traveling together, but were pretty scrawny looking. 

[NYBowhunter]

Did you whack them?

[burmjohn]

No It was during bow season when I was about 17, I was not aware I could.

[brudaman340]

since i started hunting i been seeing more yotes recently, but i think that is just because i am becoming a better hunter and there not really  scary animals cause as soon as they see you they bolt. I been hunting yotes also now and its hard to get them in. i only killed one and that was deer hunting.

[Muzzy]

Had one come 10 yrds from me  to my doe bleat ,During shotgun season,,,Well the photo tells the rest of the story  ???

[burmjohn]

Wow, that yote looks part dog. Looks like he was big, nice mount.

[Doc]

Ok, here's another potential aspect to large coyote populations. I pose this more as question than fact, but it is something that I have always wondered about.

Most of us have seen the rather poor condition that deer are in in the tail end of winter. Many of them are just barely surviving strictly on stored body fat at that part of the year. The question that runs through my mind is what is the affect of having hungry coyotes running these deer throughout the winter and forcing the burning off of valuable calories and needed fat reserves. This also brings up the question of how many deer are killed off by this excess activity even when they elude the coyotes. In other words how many of the winter killed deer are victims of this additional strain on body resources, but are officially chalked up to simply victims of weather - starvation?

Something to think about when you are discussing the impacts of coyotes on deer herds.

Doc

[Dom]

its not just coyotes it is also wild dogs people just drop off there unwanted dogs they have to eat to coyotes are good at cleanning gut piles game not found

[RangerClay]

This past November my dad was putting a drive and this guy tried to sneak out the side door.  It was really cool for my kids to see me shoot him. 

Yes the deer in my major hunting areas have been affected by yotes.  Up near my Gouverneur camp they have wiped out 50% of the deer population. 

Back home the yotes have wiped out close to 80% of our turkeys.  In the 90's I killed a bird every year on opening day.  Now I'm lucky if I hear a bird on opening day.

[capt_terry]

I saw more cayotes during this last season than ever before. I had deer run by followed by cayotes on two occasions. This year the deer hunting on my property was real tough because of the cayotes. They seem to be down in numbers this spring and I'm seeing Cottontails all over.

[sweet old bill]

I sure think in My area of Franklin this is a big problem. We have found two this year faws that have been eaten in back of my hjouse on the edge of a hay field. Also in the night you can hear the pack running deer or something..

[Doc]

I sure think in My area of Franklin this is a big problem. We have found two this year faws that have been eaten in back of my hjouse on the edge of a hay field. Also in the night you can hear the pack running deer or something..

Bill-

Look at this as an opportunity. It sounds like you now have something to do this winter. Get a game caller and see how many of them critters you can get. You can pick up a little spending money that way too.

Doc

[Bernie P.]

Lots of coyotes up here in the Adirondack park.I got a CZ 527 in .223 for this season.I'll also be using the 12g with BB and #4 buck.Just need to get a different choke to improve the patterns.The Ulti mag choke is to tight for the loads I have.Great for turkeys though.

[growalot]

Well ..some of you may have read what happened to me and that was years ago...It's gotten way worse and this spring turkey hunting was a bit scary

...I was well with in sight of the house...had actually walked under the turkeys when I went in...at first light a hen flew down 60 or so yrds in front of me and then I heard the tom between me and the house gobble on the roost...I called a bit and he gobbled a few more times ...I heard him hit the ground behind me and start another gobble that end up being cut short in a gobble..gurgle snarling ..commotion ..very quick...a Yote had nailed him!!...I had heard noises behind me in the dark but had assumed that the deer were walking through

In another spot here at home I sat in a blind and as it was barely light enough to see I heard the distinct sounds of several yotes...think it was adults and pups...moving along the bottom of the hill 70 yrds or so in front of me

I found a fawn tail this spring...but have to admit...my turkey population is ever growing...not a grouse to be seen and we had a few pheasant but not any more...squirrels are down and chipmonks back up...think because the fox population is now down

[WNYBuckHunter]

I saw a big yote hit on the side of I 86 near Bath yesterday when I was on my way home from PA.

[JGaruti3]

When I hunt on my friends property up in Jefferson you can hear the Coyotes all night long.  There has to be a lot of them around. 

The actual property I hunt on is at the top of a ridge and you can just hear the yotes calling to each other across the valley all night long.

I have not really tried to hunt them yet but I think if I brought the electronic caller out I have I could definitely bring a few in.  Might have to try that sometime!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

My brother in Law is a freak with game cameras. I think he likes it more than the hunting. Anyways, spring 2009 he stumbled onto an active yote den. mother and pups. from that time until they left the den 13 seperate fawns were taken into the den by the mother. now that is one den....You do the math