Coyote help needed!!

M

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?
 
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Prestone works wonders when yotes get that thick and that brave. Be careful because it will kill your dog, the neighbors dog and pretty much any other animal that comes across the delicous green liquid as well. Should you get a domestic animal, you could be looking at criminal charges.

In Texas we could get a gadget called an M-44 that would shoot a 50% kill rate shot of cyanide into ther mouth when they pulled on the bait. You had to have a license to get them but your local game warden might be able to help you out.

My preferred method would be a good electronic caller and either your AR or .243. It wont take long to educate the song dogs about what happens when they come to the dying rabbit or pup in distress sound. If you have never called coyotes before, get ready, you are about to have some fun!!!!!

Good luck,

Jay
 
I can't believe nobody has suggested the .22 Mag. I would probably use my .17 HMR just because I have it, but I think the .22 Mag would serve this purpose perfectly.
 
OK, this is really creepy. I sighted in the AR, bought some "deer legal" mushrooming ammo, got a rabbit squeaker and went out in the woods. Lots of coyote scat all over the place. So I went out at dusk and squeaked the caller. Coyotes came up, just out of sight and commenced to yip and howl...behind me. Turned around and they moved ...behind me. I don't like being hunted so will probably go out at dawn tomorrow and set up under some overhanging rocks so they can only come in front of me.

Really eerie. :eek:
 
You might want to hunt with another person. If you are using mouth calls the shooter should be in a different location from the caller to cover avenues of approach. You can also get a remote operated electronic call and place it where you can observe it from another postion. Crank it up and let the fun begin.
 
Bring em in closer

Consider concealing yourself near your chicken house, perhaps with your back to it or if applicable perched on top of it.
To aid in bringing the yotes in VERY close get yourself a cat toy that produces a mouse like squeak. Once you hear or see the coyote out at 100 yards ease off on the mouth call and start using the squeaker. It’s not uncommon at all to bring them into twenty yard range.
As for the weapon and your legal constraints, the .22mag mentioned earlier is a very good idea. Also by using the squeaker or by sucking on the back of my hand I’ve shot nearly two dozen coyotes and I can’t recall how many fox with my 12 gauge. I use an 870 with a 30” barreled full choke loaded with 3” 4shot. It will take out a big dog at thirty yards, and if not it’ll surely leave a blood trail as well as a lasting impression that chickens fight back! I know of several varmint hunters that employ this tactic for two reasons. One is heavy cover where a fast moving light weight bullet can easily be deflected off it’s target and two when shotgun holes are sometimes preferred to rifles when skinning and drying the pelts because there is no big entry wound to sew up.
 
Well, either:

1. Decide that you're either hunting or not hunting for deer, and if you're not, then call them more than 50 yards from the road with a game call and said dead chicken and go for head shots with a .22 mag, well sighted-in.

Or

2. Hunt with muzzleloader over said call and bait away from road, but you'll only be able to take out one coyote at a time, if they leave while you're reloading; but then you can shoot the big buck if he comes by.
 
Hey Meek,
what state do you live in????
I can't imagine having all those restrictions. I live in missouri and I believe (don't quote me) there are provisions in the wildlife code that allow landowners to protect their property using almost any means necessary.
I have a 25/06 but have not had a chance at any coyotes.... yet.
good luck with your problem
 
Buy a Night Vision Device for the AR. A Yukon Sibir is under $500 and very nice. Establish a good back stop for your field of fire(watch out for the goats.) Get a Coyote squeeker call or better yet a recording. Put on warm clothes and go about 50 yards or less from chicken coop. After about 9pm and before 3am you should get action with in a couple nights. Put a good hit thru shoulders of first one and put lead into at LEAST 2 more! Enjoy! :cool:
 
Ok, I'm working on the squeaker and its combo mouse squeaker, and have found a place back in the woods which has lots of sign and several spots which have heavy brush thickets. But bait is out because they are not issuing depredation permits until after deer season, so any shooting must be done using deer-legal or small game legal methods. Yes I know a lot of rules, but that's the way it goes. That's what the lady at the legal office of the fish and game division said.

This does look like it will be a long term project and luckily the chickens are getting wise. One afternoon this week when I was taking a nap Mrs. Meek saw a coyote out in the yard and before she could wake me the chicken and squirrels set up a huge racket and scared it off. I went outside and their were big old fat red hens which I'd never seen fly before sitting on limbs 20-30 feet high. I suppose they just levitated! :eek:
 
Those hens will adapt! We are keeping a dozen hens over the winter (roosters are in the freezer) and I watched them adapt to hawk attacks. After watching a few white rocks turn into avian appetizers I noticed that any time a large winged shape cast it’s shadow on the yard the chickens run and hide under the spruce and balsams or if too far from the cover of the trees they leaned into the buildings as close as they could. It’s rather humorous watching chickens head for cover!
I’m not getting any more white chickens next year, because they are so easy to spot they become the most neurotic animal on the place! :eek:
Good luck with the Yotes.
 
Ar

if it were legal in canada id have an AR with a 3-9 variable scope for a yote rig buy a couple good mouth calls and get that ar loaded up with some 60 grain or so bullets and start stompin those yotes i have the same problem but its cats not chickens that disappear around here and theyre not at the neighbours
 
I'm tellin' ya, get yourself a 12 guage pump riot. Load it with 3" BBs (first two rounds) then cap that off with #4 buck. Kills 'em now! Or go all #4 buck, heck, your just wantin' to kill 'em right?

The reason that they howled at you was because they saw you. You don't get old by being stupid. You need good camo and BE STILL! I would think a tree stand would be the cats meow. (I'm in the desert and trees aren't to plentyful)

I called up 5 coyotes one time and NONE left! Spent the next hour and a half skinnin' coyotes. (back when it was worth your while to do so.) If your going to hunt now 6 JAN, get a howler, their breedin' now or are close to it and the males get real full of them selves during this time. Later on when the females are full of pups they get real hungry, callin' is a little easier plus you can get many more coyotes with one shot. During the summer both parents are trying to feed the young, callin' is easier. Then late summer and early fall, when the pups have been kicked out by ma and pa, they are lonely and really do want some company so a howler will work pretty well. Plus the pups don't really have the huntin' knack down yet and they are hungry too!

Keep me up to date on this, and I'll help you all I can. I love killin coyotes!
 
Kyote, I'm just digging my way out of a pile of work from where we had a shortage of workers from Thanskgiving to this week. So all my recent "hunting" was to go out and look at the deer from the barn loft. Hunting isn't much fun if you have to stop and talk on the cell phone at regular intervals.:( Now that we have some more people working I'm going deer hunting for real on a couple of weekends. :D

With having to get up at odd hours and go in to handle work crises I've heard the coyotes several times since the last time I posted on this thread, but haven't had the time to go out to waylay them. They do most of their movement at night and nowadays my surviving chickens are really good about being in their house and ready to close the door before dark, so we are coping.

As soon as deer season is over I'm going to work on this problem some more. I've found a recipe for hair-on tanning and Mrs. Meek has a friend who owns a heavy duty sewing machine, so I've been pondering how a nice coyote skin overcoat would look.
 
Well, if ya just hafta wear the stinky things, then a shot gun is the best choice IMHO. I never had to repair a hole like you sometimes do with single bullets. The only draw back is the range. If you have to shoot out past 80 yards then take a slow S-L-O-W hollow point in 22 cal. Slow is defined as around 1800-2000fps +/-. You'll still have to break out the thread though every now and then. Carpet thread works great.

Let me know how it goes!! You little mountain man you! ;)
 
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