Coyote story

J

jazzman111

New member
A friend told me a story at a Christmas party last night that happened to him earlier in the day. He'd gone to a very large state park to hunt deer with his muzzle loader. He'd hunkered down into a low spot next to a tree and was using a hand-held deer caller. Suddenly, he said, a pair of coyotes--one very big and one smaller, came out of nowhere over a rise about 60-70 feet from him. They were moving fast and in "S" shaped maneuvers, obviously looking intently for the doe they thought they had heard. My friend is convinced they were expecting to be able to run down the deer because there was about a foot or more of snow on the ground with a thick coat of ice. In those conditions, the deer break through the ice but the coyotes don't, giving the latter the opportunity to run down deer. He said, seeing especially the big coyote coming for him at eye-level was a pretty scary experience. He swung on it and fired, but the combination of his double-position set trigger, shooting at a moving targe, and just plain excitement caused him to miss. The big coyote immediately took off at top speed. The smaller (probably younger) coyote, however, kept coming with his nose in the air, looking right at him but trying to identify what he was by picking up my friends scent. The air was still too thick with the smoke from his muzzle loader blast, which probably masked it pretty thoroughly. My friend immediately proceeded to reload his rifle, but by the time he did, the second coyote had taken off, too. He said he'd gone to that same park several times and tried to call in coyotes, but with no luck.
 
He's lucky they were only coyotes. I read a story years ago in Outdoor Life about a grizzly plowing into a hapless hunter from behind after he used a fawn bleat. So violent was the collision, that the rifle's muzzle was nailed into a fallen log, so deep that it took two people to pull it out of the log. The hunter was not able to tell the story himself, to put it non-graphically. Always try to be aware of your surroundings, and even better, be in a tree when calling, you just never know. At least you can't be snuck up on like that, and you could get a shot off even if something does start climbing up after you...
 
Big Cats

Every spring you hear about turkey hunters calling in mountain lions around here. Last year one hunter had to shoot a big cat.

You all might think that makes sense. But cougars are protected and worshiped here in California. You can get in more trouble shooting a large feline then say slashing a couple of folks across the throat with a knife. But that's another story.
 
budy system

this is why i like the buddy system of having one guy with a semi auto rifle just in case you get attacked.
 
I got chased by coyotes in my backyard (5 acres up against tons of BLM land). I got out of the tractor and picked up a shovel to scare them back stepped about 10 ft. and put 120 lumens from on surefire on them. They turned around and split.

They might be getting dealt with soon, they keep coming around.

Gotta make up my mind whether some 20 gauge 00, .22lr, or .17 mach 2 (potent little varmint round) will be the tool.

Chase
 
Chased? Me oh my! Mine are trained to know better than that. :) They'll sometimes stop and look back over their shoulder at me, but with great suspicion.

Fully justified suspicion. :D

Art
 
I got one Sunday from my stand with a frontstuffer.
Hadn't seen a deer all day, so at least the day wasn't a total loss. :D
 
A Scary Incident

Do you remember a couple of years ago when they found a person partially eaten be a mountain lion is Southern California? Another hiker was also attacked as was the lion search party. They did shoot the cat.

Shortly after this incident, a guy went hiking in that area with his two dogs. One was a weimaraner and the other a beagle. He would let the weimaraner run off leash and always kept the beagle on leash. One evening on his way out towards his truck his weim came back from exploring looking and acting strange. He decided to leash him too and proceed out.

He was walking on a trail when his dogs started to growl. He turned around and spotted a coyote trailing him a hundred yards back on the trail. He turned around and the coyote ducked into the bushes. After walking a few minutes he turned around and saw the same coyote trailing him a little closer. Again he turned around and faked going towards the coyote. he again ducked off the trail.

This kept happening with the coyote getting closer each time.

The guy thought this was very unusual and bold of a coyote seeming to challenge a man with two dogs. His dogs were obviously becoming very aggitated.

Suddenly the trailing coyote let out a call. He heard a response from other coyotes that formed a half circle around him and his dogs. Luckily he was close enough to the parking lot that he made it to his veichle with out any harm.

The coyotes were apparently trying to encircle this guy and his dogs. He was unarmed. He was in a county park which prohibits firearms.

This is one story that gave me the willies.
 
Coyotes ganging up

Your story reminded me of another incident that happened to a guy I know. He came home from work, poured himself a glass of wine and let his lab out the back door to do his duty. It was a few winters ago, there had been a heavy coating of snow for several weeks, and it was cold. His property was on the heavily populated main drag of town but it backed onto a large, wooded area. As his dog got towards the back of his yard, he saw what he thought was a german shepherd approach his dog head up. His dog was friendly and started wagging its tail. All of a sudden two more coyotes jumped his dog from each side, going for his hindquarters to hamstring him. The guy streaked out into his yard, yelling as loud as he could. It wasn't until he got within about 15-20 feet that the coyotes finally took off. He had to bring his dog to the vet for emergency surgery--it got dozens of stitches to fix the damage done in a pretty short time. And this isn't in Montana, this is CT!
 
Quail Call

Several years ago I picked up a quail call. I decided to practice along our river's nature trails.

There is a large river going through the middle of my city. It is a large, well-populated city. There are nature trails along this river. There is a suprisingly large and varied population of wildlife there.

I was able to get quail to respond to my calling. Sometimes I would even lure them out of hiding. One day I was in some brushy area near a major overpass. I was trying to get a response from my call. Then about twenty feet away, a coyote popped its head out of some bushes. He saw me and my dog and quickly ducked away. I guess I sounded more like a quail then I thought. Apparently I fooled that coyote into thinking there was a meal to be had. Fortunately human and dog were not on his menu.

There have been folks claiming that they have seen mountain lions along this area. There is no offical conformation of the sightings though. I hope quail is not on their list of favorite foods.
 
Meddling around deer hunting a few miles from my house, I came across the remains of a blue quail. Tracks of a mama lion and a cub. I guess she was teaching the youngun how to hunt...

Coming home one night from a party, about a half-mile from home I had a cougar run across the road in front of my, with a jackrabbit in its mouth.

My name for loose-running local dogs is "Lion Bait".

Coyotes will indeed tease a house dog until he gets brave enough to chase the intruder. Then the rest of the pack will come out from ambush...

Art
 
A couple of summers ago, I came home from coffee and saw my two dogs and three coyotes about 170 yards away, in the neighbor's pasture. My little heeler was aways back barking with her hair standing up (she hates coyotes). My mutt, who is half Golden Retriever and weighs 140 pounds, was wagging his tail as the largest of the coyotes was running around him. The other two were on either side sitting and watching.

I dropped on of the sitting yotes with my 25-06 and the other two took off. I tried a 300 yard running shot on the large one and missed him right under his chin. That would have been a shot to brag about.
 
Poodle Snack

I was talking with one of our river's park rangers. He told me he come across a coyote munching on a toy poodle.

One stretch of our trail had warning signs posted there last spring. A female coyote had a den and young ones. She was attacking any size dog on or off leash.
 
Woooow, crazy stories! So, seriously, all joking aside, what do you guys think a 200 pound, adult, healthy, 30yr old, unarmed, but heavily dressed human male's chances would be against a pack of 6 coyotes? Could he pick up a stick and beat them all away, or if bit on his forearms, hands, etc, could he actually swing & smash each one against the ground or a tree, or crush their skulls by stomping on them, etc?

Or would he pretty much be done for, since a pack of 6 coyotes probably takes down game MUCH larger than a human? Then again, those game animals don't have hands to grab and/or swing with, can't use a stick, etc...

'Cause I know I'd be trying to grab and smash them against the trees, ground, etc, but I wonder if they would be too powerful if, say, three held onto my arms while the other three grabbed my legs...probably would drag me down pretty quick...hhhmmm
 
Agreed Rich.

Just last night I had the opportunity to be serenaded by a bunch of 'em for a half hour or so during work. Enjoyed it immensely. Impossible to count numbers that way since they always sound more numerous due to thier enthusiasm, but since they sounded like there were fifteen of 'em I'd guess six or so... Didn't even think to get scared. :rolleyes: :D
 
Hi Rich,

Yep, thanks for that, from all I've heard I'd have to agree...but just wondering what you think, hypothetically, but based on physics, what chances a person would have...I wonder if a human would be strong/fast enough to withstand that attack?
 
Withstand it? From three 100 lb and determined Coyotes, without fear and working in concert? I doubt.

But then, just one Freddy Kruger would probably kill you just as dead.....and with greater humanity. ;)
Rich
 
My experience....Coyotes avoid humans at all costs.
A pack? They're cowards basically. They're opportunity hunters, preferring the weak and small for prey. Far and away most human attacks are on small children.
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A decade or more ago I would've been in full agreement Rich, but lately I've been seeing changes in coyote behavior, not to mention size. When I lived in the SW, they were scrawny little things that barely went 40-50 pounds, and the biggest group I saw was maybe 4. The immense difference in food & water availability here in the east probably accounts for the size difference, but not the pack sizes. I've seen several whose numbers I'm estimating in the teens, and I've had 'em approach to within 25 yds of me without a care in the world. Not aggressive (yet), just bold.

Those desert doggies are smart as hell, and other than cockroaches, are probably the best survivors on the planet. They've proven that they can adapt to almost anything.

I don't think it would ever come to coyotes looking at humans as prey on a regular basis, but a lone human, especially an injured one, would be well within their capability. When they learn that (and they will, eventually), we will, I think, see an increase in human attacks.
 
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