Coyotes (Again!)

[Big Cholla]

rburg: Sure you can IF you are a licensed blaster or a member of the Nevada National Guard!

Seriously, there is a little known and kept very quiet Federal Pest Eradication program run from the offices of the Federal Game and Fish; They employ experts to eradicate problem pests including coyotes when invited in by your local Government Officials. They use all sorts of methods, but the old fashioned Ghillie suit with a suppressed .22LR rifle method is used a lot. My rural home town in So. Nevada was being overrun by coyotes. The citizens were up in arms over the number of outside cats and little dogs they were losing. The Federal man came in by invite of the City Fathers and in about 6 months eliminated a little over 40 of an estimated 60 to 65 local coyotes. He then moved on to his next area of assignment. I was gunsmithing at the time and fixed a problem on his 10/22. Once, he killed a coyote on the front lawn of a home where the front door was open with a screen door closed while the family was watching late night TV and they never had a clue! .......... Big Cholla

 

[Faulkner]

rburg: Sure you can IF you are a licensed blaster or a member of the Nevada National Guard!

Seriously, there is a little known and kept very quiet Federal Pest Eradication program run from the offices of the Federal Game and Fish; They employ experts to eradicate problem pests including coyotes when invited in by your local Government Officials. They use all sorts of methods, but the old fashioned Ghillie suit with a suppressed .22LR rifle method is used a lot. My rural home town in So. Nevada was being overrun by coyotes. The citizens were up in arms over the number of outside cats and little dogs they were loosing. The Federal man came in by invite of the City Fathers and in about 6 months eliminated a little over 40 of an estimated 60 to 65 local coyotes. He then moved on to his next area of assignment. I was gunsmithing at the time and fixed a problem on his 10/22. Once, he killed a coyote on the front lawn of a home where the front door was open with a screen door closed while the family was watching late night TV and they never had a clue! .......... Big Cholla

That would be a fun job to have.

 

[Frank46]

I live in sugar cane country here in louisiana. Haven't seen any rabbits in the last 5 years. We have coyotes and wild feral hogs.
I don't know what the regs are for coyotes but for wild hogs its 24/7 365 days a year. All you have to do is hold a valid hunting license. But have heard that the big hogs cannot be eaten and that the smaller ones can be pretty good. So where does one stop at guessing live weight to make sure he gets a good one?. Frank

 

[Jswiney9]

I live in sugar cane country here in louisiana. Haven't seen any rabbits in the last 5 years. We have coyotes and wild feral hogs.
I don't know what the regs are for coyotes but for wild hogs its 24/7 365 days a year. All you have to do is hold a valid hunting license. But have heard that the big hogs cannot be eaten and that the smaller ones can be pretty good. So where does one stop at guessing live weight to make sure he gets a good one?. Frank

my buddy had one that weighed right at 350 pounds ground up into sausage............... i didnt have any problems eating it.

 

[george minze]

Some years back bought a 40 acre mostly grass and woods place in Callaway county. The coyotes were fun to watch until they got way to brave. We found out we had a group of feral hogs also. I started to let two Orrang type Airedale dogs out of their pen coyotes ceased being a problem. Feral hogs were different. Those Airedales fear nothing and tore into those hogs and believe me had the fight of their life. Hogs just got tired of the hassle and moved on. Getting the Airedales back into their run was some problem. No matter how well trained, Airedales are hard headed when chasing prey. Great around kids and loyal to a fault...."They would guard their pauper masters as if he were a prince" Old Drum case Mo. Supreme Court archives..(Not about Airedales but same traits)

 

[Bullseye 2620]

I'm not a sworn enemy of coyotes. It is simply that I consider them to be -- in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia -- an invasive species, one that has wreaked considerable havoc on the indigenous populations of rabbits, red squirrels, and other native wildlife.

That's why I think they've got to go. But, I could be wrong. Does anyone know what their native, or natural, range was? I've always thought it was west of Mississippi.

Thirty-five years ago, when I first started coming to this neck of the woods, coyotes were never seen, nor heard. Most folks here had never seen one, anywhere. Now, that situation has changed, considerably, and to the detriment of some of the native species.

When I'm out in South Dakota, I see and hear them, and in that place, I like them. If I was a rancher there, I'd feel differently, of course, and it strikes me that they belong there. But not here.

Rburg has it right about certain "wildlife experts" who claim that there are no mountain lions in Tennessee or Virginia. They are most definitely here, and a neighbor of mine claims he's actually seen a black one. A few years back there was a report in the local paper of a woman who was washing dishes and looked out the kitchen window above her sink and saw "a very funny looking deer, with short legs and a long tail," perched on a large rock outcropping in her backyard. When the shock of disbelief passed, she realized it was a mountain lion.

Jswiney9, I'll be in touch. Maybe we can work something out. I think, all things considered, that calling them in may be the best way to go, but I am also afraid that at this point the yodel dogs are so well established that we will never get rid of them.

Personally, I like the idea of trained wolves as a defense, but I am fairly certain that my cattle-raising neighbors would not be of the same mind.


Bullseye

 

[Stonecove]

I live in southern Michigan, about 15 miles from the Ohio border. The neighborhood I walk my dog in is on the ourskirts of town. Last weekend I found a yearling doe that had been completely eaten. The hide was torn into 3" wide strips and the head was gone. I'm sure it was coyotes as I've never seen dogs running loose in the area. The kill was in the front yard of a house, not 50 feet from the front door.
Also, last week I saw 2 separate yotes hunting the edge of the field on the Ohio turnpike 20 miles east of Toledo. They were completely unphased by the traffic.

 

[ladder13]

I feed them, enjoy their company.

 

[Muley Gil]

"Rburg has it right about certain "wildlife experts" who claim that there are no mountain lions in Tennessee or Virginia. They are most definitely here, and a neighbor of mine claims he's actually seen a black one. A few years back there was a report in the local paper of a woman who was washing dishes and looked out the kitchen window above her sink and saw "a very funny looking deer, with short legs and a long tail," perched on a large rock outcropping in her backyard. When the shock of disbelief passed, she realized it was a mountain lion."

I have seen big cats here in Virginia-one in Bland County, which is on the Virginia-West Virginia border, and the other one in Frederick County, about 15 miles north west of Winchester.

 

[tbury]

I am pretty sure your correct that their natural range was west of the Mississippi River. When man did not affect the balance, there was little overlap in the range of wolves and 'yottes. Wolf packs are territorial against Coyotes but not so much with foxes.

Coyotes have been very successful at living close to man and taking advantage of little preditor competition in the Eastern part of the country. Here in Central Ky we call Toy Poodles -- Coyote bait. I know people that have seen them in downtown Lexington early in the morning (3-4 am).

 

[Silver77]

My sister-in-law has cats and their house backs up to a creek in Arlington Texas which butts up to Ft. worth. She has lost two to the yotes that run the creek for a long way. Animal control says they have no luck in trapping the yotes. All that is left of the cat is it's collar.

 

[O2BShooting]

My sister-in-law has cats and their house backs up to a creek in Arlington Texas which butts up to Ft. worth. She has lost two to the yotes that run the creek for a long way. Animal control says they have no luck in trapping the yotes. All that is left of the cat is it's collar.

Silver77 I live in the south Arlington/north Mansfield TX area and have seen coyotes several times along the creeks & wetlands areas late at night. I'm surprised I haven't seen them in my neighboorhood yet.

O2B

 

[corpulent]

In Nevada, coyotes can be hunted 24/7/365 using any weapon of one's choice, using lights, using bait, no limits and no hunting license required.

I believe they have "Coyote Derbies" periodically just a few miles from me. Hop in your truck, ATV, or whathaveyou and chase them down. Think there was a bit of a PETA-type hubbub last time, though.

Big Cholla, do you happen to know what pests/varmints are fair game, so to speak? I've heard coyotes, jackrabbits, and some pest birds (magpies?) are OK, but I never knew for sure.

 

[redlevel]

My sister-in-law has cats and their house backs up to a creek in Arlington Texas which butts up to Ft. worth. She has lost two to the yotes that run the creek for a long way. Animal control says they have no luck in trapping the yotes. All that is left of the cat is it's collar.

I will still shoot a 'yote, but I am convinced they do as much good as harm, in my area, anyhow.

They help keep the feral cat population under control. I think cats do a whole lot more damage to the small-game population than the coyotes do. I don't mind the 'yotes taking the occasional fawn, as the deer population can get out of hand, too.

One day about a week before Christmas I took some trash to dumpsters near home. As I was backing the truck to the dumpster, seven grown cats ran from between two of the dumpsters. I regularly see coyote scat on the roads on the farm, and the droppings are invariably filled with cat hair. I can't get to "het-up" about getting rid of something that is getting rid of cats.

 

[Big Cholla]

I believe they have "Coyote Derbies" periodically just a few miles from me. Hop in your truck, ATV, or whathaveyou and chase them down. Think there was a bit of a PETA-type hubbub last time, though.

Big Cholla, do you happen to know what pests/varmints are fair game, so to speak? I've heard coyotes, jackrabbits, and some pest birds (magpies?) are OK, but I never knew for sure.

I know for a fact that what we call "Jackrabbits" and coyotes are on the pest list for unlimited, no-hunting-license-required hunting. We don't have any significant Magpie population here in Clark County, so I don't know about them. I think that a simple phone call to the Nevada Fish and Game Office in Reno would clarify the situation. Good Luck! .... Big Cholla

 

[mjr]

They help keep the feral cat population under control. I think cats do a whole lot more damage to the small-game population than the coyotes do.

That's the one redeeming thing about coyotes. I like cats, but they need to be kept indoors. Outdoor cats are murder on song birds and other wildlife.