I think it was Dan Flores who I heard talk about it. Hunting them initiates a physiological response to disperse the pack and breed. They evolved running from wolves, so that is their evolutionary adaptation. The reality might be that killing one produced 3-5 more. Sort of a losing effort and counterproductive. Coyotes can only sustain their population based on the prey population. Speaking of, they also eat rabbits, pheasants, squirrels, cats, dogs.
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Coyotes... Shoot or pass?
- Thread starter DB4x4
- Start date
I kill a lot of coyotes, I hunt with a group of family and friends from now until almost end of march, started today actually, been doing this for almost 30 years. This I can tell you, coyotes are h*** on deer, and there getting better at it, years ago I would find coyotes cleaning up road kill, left over wounded stuff after season the normal thing you would expect, the past few years it seems as though there killing more healthy mature deer at will, are Northeast coyotes are a bigger animal than a midwestern coyote so maybe it’s different for you midwest guys I have no clue with that but around here a pair of healthy coyotes can and will drop a fully grown deer when and where they want, especially when the snow is deep. That being said if I’m on a good rut day hunt and see one sometimes I let him walk just so I don’t spook my spot, it depends on the day and mood I’m in, I know his days are numbered anyways after deer season ends. If you have a lease or own a farm where you spend most of your deer season, and the coyotes get out of control or roam at free will, what fawns and stuff they don’t kill will move on, just the harassment the deer take from them is enough to make them relocate in my opinion. I had a bunny hugger neighbor move in, put a stop to coyote hunting for a few years, we always kept them in check, are deer numbers dropped, deer hunters were pissed, daytime coyotes roaming the meadows was a daily thing, the neighbor is now gone, it was a hammer fest on coyotes again, especially that first year, I’m back to seeing deer in the daytime feeding again instead of coyotes. I don’t hate coyotes and have no vendetta with them, I have a lot of respect for coyotes, coyotes if left unchecked will alter your deer hunting and I don’t need a biologist to produce a study to tell me otherwise.
Kill em every chance I get (which isn’t often). My old man has one immutable rule for anyone he lets deer hunt the family farm: you must shoot a coyote if you see it, regardless of what else is going on. Don’t want em harassing the family dogs or killing the outdoor cats (they’ve gotten at least two), so I gladly oblige.
I could envision a scenario way out on public land where I would let one walk, but anywhere near houses, kids, or family pets, they’re toast.
I could envision a scenario way out on public land where I would let one walk, but anywhere near houses, kids, or family pets, they’re toast.
There could be some truth to this, I know generally speaking if I kill 2 or 3 coyotes in a day the old lady generally catches heck that night, I will run Dan’s theory by her and see what she thinks!!
I've seen studies that suggested/found that fecundity increases with harvest or removals, but the degree to which it occurs varies. From what little I've read, I think there's likely some compensatory response with hunting/trapping. I'd also bet that the handful of coyotes you guys remove has no lasting effects on the population, and may result in more coyotes via an increase in fecundity or immigration.
With that in mind, I wouldn't shoot a coyote and expect it to have any effect on the local population. If a guy wanted to do it for fun, I'm all for it. If he thinks the few he kills is "helping" the deer herd, he's probably wrong...
With that in mind, I wouldn't shoot a coyote and expect it to have any effect on the local population. If a guy wanted to do it for fun, I'm all for it. If he thinks the few he kills is "helping" the deer herd, he's probably wrong...
I'm comfortable shooting at a deer out to 30 yards. I'll shoot at a coyote out to 1576 yards. Them wild dogs ain't good for nothing
I hunt in a suburban archery program. We can only shoot deer. The reason no coyotes is there are a lot of dogs running around and it would be bad if someone would shoot one mistaking it for a coyote. The dogs are suppose to be on a leash but people leave them run .
I have lost a family pet cat to what I believe was coyotes and so has my brother just down the road so I would shoot them if I had a chance.(Came real close a couple of times). If they re-populate like some studies claim when one is shot then what harm is it to take one out if I have a chance.
From what I've read, if you are going to kill coyotes, it would seem most advantageous to the deer herd and disruptive to the coyotes to do so early when fawns are most vulnerable. They have a well adapted way of surviving, hence the reason their range has only continued to expand.
I find it interesting that the sometimes the most ethical deer hunter will have no problem taking any shot at a coyote or hog, I guess the idea being that they are somehow inherently evil. From what I have read, shooting the occasional coyote does nothing to reduce the overall population (just results in increased litter sizes) and may even result in the expansion of the species' range (they used to be a western state only 'pest').
Where I hunt the deer populations are pretty dense. I manage a group of hunters that assist a vineyard in managing the herd. Since the coyotes help out in this I generally leave them alone. The exception is when a pack gets too large and then the coyotes tend to become bold. One of my hunters was getting stalked by a pack of about ten 'yotes when hiking out to his stand in broad daylight. A mistake for the pack since the hunter had an AR-platform .308. When the some of the coyotes circled to within 10 feet he let loose, taking out about four of them. As long as they maintain a healthy fear of us humans and our stuff, I let them walk.
Where I hunt the deer populations are pretty dense. I manage a group of hunters that assist a vineyard in managing the herd. Since the coyotes help out in this I generally leave them alone. The exception is when a pack gets too large and then the coyotes tend to become bold. One of my hunters was getting stalked by a pack of about ten 'yotes when hiking out to his stand in broad daylight. A mistake for the pack since the hunter had an AR-platform .308. When the some of the coyotes circled to within 10 feet he let loose, taking out about four of them. As long as they maintain a healthy fear of us humans and our stuff, I let them walk.
I don't have any problems with anyone shooting coyotes. I would like to shoot them where I hunt but we're not allowed they are definitely over populated. There was a incident of coyotes stalking a woman and her dog in the area I hunt but it's a archery program and deer only are allowed to be taken.
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The harm would be increasing litter size and dispersing the pack leading to more coyotes and a larger range. Defeating your objective and likely resulting in more dead house cats. Which, in my opinion, I shoot stray cats like some of you guys shoot coyotes. They kill millions of song birds, who have a place in the ecosystem just like coyotes.
I do find the psychology interesting of people who want to kill every coyote because they hurt the deer population seem to ignore the science that shows hunting them more often then not leads to higher populations and broader ranges of coyotes. Cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The reality is the whitetail deer population is higher than it’s ever been, and so are coyotes populations. Hunt them, don’t hunt them. You’re still going to have coyotes chasing deer.