MeekAndMild
New member
Suggestions are needed for my acute coyote problem. Coyotes in this area are sort of like the 50's movie stereotype of biker gangs. They rove around, covering miles, causing havoc then moving on, but then sometimes they focus on a specific victim. It seems they have discovered my chickens and the overpopulation of deer and aren't leaving.
So we are down to eight rather frightened chickens, from fifteen two weeks ago. Plus my pet goats are demenading better protection. Being a good citizen I like to play by the rules, just like the citizens in 'Rebel Without a Cause".
The problem is a technical one in how to get rid of the coyotes without breaking rules. We are in the first week of deer season; centerfire rifles are prohibited in the woods so the black powder hunters can hunt. The rules say we can hunt with a centerfire rifle over bait with a depredations permit, but the fish and game department is not issuing new permits until the end of deer season. So anyone caught in the woods with 'deer rifles' (or shotguns with buckshot, but shotguns don't have sufficient range) will be arrested as a deer hunter who is not honoring the black powder rules.
Then there is the rule about not hunting with centerfire within 50 yards of the county road. Doesn't matter that my chicken house is about 15 yards form the road. Last week during squirrel season I took a hundred yard shot at a coyote about 25 feet from the chicken house with my .22 "squirrel rifle". I hit him, but what sort of blood trail do you get with a .22? None, of course.
So today for opening day I went out for deer with my black powder rifle and got a nice fat doe who ran down the trail followed by coyotes. She saw me and turned to face me at 75 yards and I got a good shot right into the hollow of the neck, with a hole bored into the lung roots, but she managed to run off about 30 feet, just out of sight. So I had to go after her to keep the 'yotes from getting her. Did I mention it is illegal to carry a pistol during black powder season here? Also, it is illegal to hunt coyotes at night without a depredations permit.
If I had my druthers I'd be out there behind the house about 30 yards from a dead chicken and some deer parts hung from a tree, with an AR shooting solid bullets (did I mention that solids are illegal during rifle/shotgun deer season?) and a good spotlight, illegal without a depredation permit. (AR is a definite possibility when rifle/shotgun deer season opens, but then what happens if I see the big buck? alternatives are my trusty old Marlin or my .243 bolt action, but in either case I doubt I'll get a shot at the second and third 'yotes.)
So instead I'm switching to a tree stand for my black powder deer hunting and I'm going to do it just behind the house. Any further suggestions?
So we are down to eight rather frightened chickens, from fifteen two weeks ago. Plus my pet goats are demenading better protection. Being a good citizen I like to play by the rules, just like the citizens in 'Rebel Without a Cause".
The problem is a technical one in how to get rid of the coyotes without breaking rules. We are in the first week of deer season; centerfire rifles are prohibited in the woods so the black powder hunters can hunt. The rules say we can hunt with a centerfire rifle over bait with a depredations permit, but the fish and game department is not issuing new permits until the end of deer season. So anyone caught in the woods with 'deer rifles' (or shotguns with buckshot, but shotguns don't have sufficient range) will be arrested as a deer hunter who is not honoring the black powder rules.
Then there is the rule about not hunting with centerfire within 50 yards of the county road. Doesn't matter that my chicken house is about 15 yards form the road. Last week during squirrel season I took a hundred yard shot at a coyote about 25 feet from the chicken house with my .22 "squirrel rifle". I hit him, but what sort of blood trail do you get with a .22? None, of course.
So today for opening day I went out for deer with my black powder rifle and got a nice fat doe who ran down the trail followed by coyotes. She saw me and turned to face me at 75 yards and I got a good shot right into the hollow of the neck, with a hole bored into the lung roots, but she managed to run off about 30 feet, just out of sight. So I had to go after her to keep the 'yotes from getting her. Did I mention it is illegal to carry a pistol during black powder season here? Also, it is illegal to hunt coyotes at night without a depredations permit.
If I had my druthers I'd be out there behind the house about 30 yards from a dead chicken and some deer parts hung from a tree, with an AR shooting solid bullets (did I mention that solids are illegal during rifle/shotgun deer season?) and a good spotlight, illegal without a depredation permit. (AR is a definite possibility when rifle/shotgun deer season opens, but then what happens if I see the big buck? alternatives are my trusty old Marlin or my .243 bolt action, but in either case I doubt I'll get a shot at the second and third 'yotes.)
So instead I'm switching to a tree stand for my black powder deer hunting and I'm going to do it just behind the house. Any further suggestions?
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