Power went out and Coyotes on the prowl.....

R

rantingredneck

New member
We had a power outtage tonight. About 2 and a half hours it was down. About a half hour into it I started hearing coyotes, which isn't unusual in and of itself, but the number of howls and yips I heard was pretty unsettling. They also sounded closer than they normally do. I live in a small subdivision but it's out in the country (if that makes sense) so coyotes are a fact of life for us here. We hear them just about every night, but tonight it almost seemed like the lack of house lights and street lights put them more at ease and on the prowl. I told my wife that I imagine some housecats and small dogs may turn up missing by morning.......

Anyone else heard/seen an increase in coyote activity when the lights are out???
 
ranting my house is surrounded by cornfields but im about 300 yards from town and they come around here all the time. you hear them howling and yipping its kind of eary.
so yep you guessed it, ive got one of my 870s with a turkey choke and some buckshot sittin by the basement door to greet them if they decide to come a knockin :)
 
Clem has the right idea. I'm 2 miles from town on 15 acres, surrounded by farmland. used to be packs of em running in/around my place. never could get close enough to em for a clean shot. so i shot a rabbit and used it as bait. nailed two of em at dusk almost a year ago. hardly ever hear or see any around anymore.
 
Unfortunately, the way our property runs I don't really have a safe backstop to shoot any, unless they come right out in the front yard (lotsa trees twixt us and the road). I doubt they'd come close enough for an arrow either. That all being said, I don't go outside at night without a handgun.
 
if you're worried about evening discharges, there are airguns that could most definitely brain a coyote. arrows too. if you have lots of disposable income, get a suppressed 22 mag. all that's probably going a bit into the outfield for your purposes though :D
 
Yeah, usually they are some distance away in the woods and I don't worry so much about them. My kids don't play outside without me or my wife out there with them. We don't have any small pets to worry about either. I just accept it as part of living in the country (which I've done most of my life anyways).
It was sort of strange to hear the increase in activity when the power was out. Makes sense when you think about it, but it kinda caught me off guard at the time. Made me glad to be indoors. :D


By the way, my neighbor asked me this morning if I'd seen her cat. Seems it's been missing a couple days..........
 
"
By the way, my neighbor asked me this morning if I'd seen her cat. Seems it's been missing a couple days.........."

Her cat is now in the local "food chain", to bad.

Cats & small, sometimes large dogs, are sure targets for coyotes. I keep my cats in, not just because of the coyotes but because of the great horned owls too.
 
NC now has coyotes all over the place! Could hardly believe it when I saw my first one. But boy are they fun to hunt-smart and stealthy and fast as all get out. Had to start hunting them because they were eating chickens by the hundreds from my friend's chicken houses. They are worse than bears when it comes to breaking into things for food.
 
Coyote Study

I received an interesting letter in September of this year from the New jersey Div. of Fish and Game regarding the coyote population in the state and specifically in our county, central NJ, Monmouth County. This past year, quite a few domestic pets were missing hereabouts and three children were attacked in separate incidents, in broad daylight, while playing in Middletown, about a 30 minute drive from me.

The letter asked that all deer hunters shoot and kill EVERY coyote they see and then bring them un-skinned, undressed to a substation in Morganville, NJ for a field study. Morganville is over an hour from my house and more then three from the property I hunt. Regardless of that, we are seeing more and more of them in the neighborhood and roadkilled on the local county routes.

My neighbors had several chickens go missing last year and solved their problem quickly by spotlighting the sneaky critters and head shooting them with the afore mentioned suppressed .22 which not a soul in the neighborhood minded. Shows how smart they are that they know where they are not only unwanted but targeted.

Saw not a one hunting and didn't expect to.
 
I haven't seen any hunting this year, but have heard a couple in the distance while deer hunting. Last year I killed three and two more the year before. All while deer hunting. Maybe they've moved on from my hunting spot at least.

I read about those child attacks in NJ, Sarge. They were a bit scary for me personally as I have a 7 year old and a 2 year old (well he'll be three next month). I'd hate the idea of my 7 year old daughter fighting a yote off my 2 year old son.......
 
I heard a pack while I was deer hunting this year. They made a lot of noise until they got near me. Obviously they know what humans and guns mean. After they got by my stump they got back into their caroling. I never did see them but wish I had. Every one I shoot is one more deer that may make it through the winter. I don't have coyote steaks in the freezer. CB.
 
Coyotes aren't really going to hurt anybody. They might get a small pet or two if left outside. I have them in my yard all the time. Sometimes at night, they come in close to the house and I can look out and see them playing with my dog. I know that sometimes a pack can gang up on a dog, but they don't seem to bother mine. We do get a few cats come up missing from time to time. If they become a real problem, then I'll shoot a few, but for several years now, they have been ok. Just my opinion.
 
TIN CUP, youre a better man than I......my dogs have chased a few in their day but anything more than 2 on 1 is dangerous for all but the largest dogs.
plus when they get in close like that it upsets my horses.
thats why the winchester stays at the front door.
merry christmas all
tom
 
I guess the point that I was trying to make is that everyone seems to be getting all worked up over some coyotes. Now maybe back east they are a big deal, but here out west, there are just so many of them, that we are just kinda use to them. Sure they have spooked my horse a few times,but I just run them off. A pack of domestic dogs can attack a kid or even an adult for that matter. It doesn't have to just be coyotes, but sure it can happen. As for my dog, yes it is unusual, but my dog is also a good sized siberian husky. the joke around this area is that we're all sure there must be a few coyotes running around out here with one blue eye. ( to match my dog's ). So yeah, they can be reason for concern, but just not that big a deal. We do shoot alot of them out here though. Like I said earlier, it's just my opinion. Everybody has one. Good luck.
 
Al,
understand what youre saying. grew up in NY. would have had the neighborhood watch passing out guns if a coyote was spotted back there!
not overly concerning here in kansas, just another problem i dont need.
besides, if a coyote got one of the wifes dogs or chickens id never hear the end of it :)
 
I've never view song dogs as a threat to humans. I'm sure there are exceptions, but typically only rabid or sick ones pose a threat. I'll shoot 'em if I'm wrapping up a hunting session, but I'm not about to send one to doggie heaven in the middle of a deer or hog hunt. Speaking of hogs, they are getting a prolific as 'yotes down here. They will usually turn tail if they catch scent, but they bother me from a safety perspective slightly more so than 'yotes; which isn't really saying much. We have had a run in with a big tom cougar on family land a couple years ago. That gave me the heebie jeebies. Another cougar was shot in the adjacent county near that same time. If I recall correctly it tipped the scales well over 200lbs and made the local paper.
 
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