Shooting coyotes

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  • phylodog

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    I've read a theory (maybe here?) that shooting coyotes this time of year isn't necessarily a wise move. The theory, which makes sense to me, is that it is typically the males you might see out hunting and they bring their prey back to the den for the female and pups. If you shoot the male and the female then has to hunt, they tend to go a bit overboard and kill more than necessary. I certainly don't know this to be true but it certainly seems plausible. The other potential outcome is that if you shoot a female with pups in the den, they starve to death.

    Neither of these seem particularly palatable to me so I tend to avoid shooting this time of year. My question is, at what point do the cubs become capable of fending for themselves? I have no issue killing a coyote old enough to hunt but starving any critter to death isn't in my wheelhouse, even if it is a stinkin, dirty, no good, scoundrel of a coyote.
     

    oldpink

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    Hmmm...interesting theories.
    The only real solution to the problem you cite would be to somehow locate the den and shoot all the pups.
    Yeah, I know it's not exactly hunting at that point, but it also eliminates the whole issue of making them starve and suffer as a consequence.
     

    natdscott

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    So would you shoot a pup? It wouldn't starve, I guess.

    Baby turkey...baby coyote...baby rabbit...baby coyote...

    -Nate
     

    Tactically Fat

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    I've read a theory (maybe here?) that shooting coyotes this time of year isn't necessarily a wise move. The theory, which makes sense to me, is that it is typically the males you might see out hunting and they bring their prey back to the den for the female and pups. If you shoot the male and the female then has to hunt, they tend to go a bit overboard and kill more than necessary. I certainly don't know this to be true but it certainly seems plausible. The other potential outcome is that if you shoot a female with pups in the den, they starve to death.

    Neither of these seem particularly palatable to me so I tend to avoid shooting this time of year. My question is, at what point do the cubs become capable of fending for themselves? I have no issue killing a coyote old enough to hunt but starving any critter to death isn't in my wheelhouse, even if it is a stinkin, dirty, no good, scoundrel of a coyote.

    That almost sounds like a gunshop-born theory. Kind of like "I don't carry a round in the chamber so a prosecutor won't charge me for attempted murder" type crap.
     

    phylodog

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    So would you shoot a pup? It wouldn't starve, I guess.

    Baby turkey...baby coyote...baby rabbit...baby coyote...

    -Nate

    I don't know if I would. I view groundhogs and coyotes with equal disdain and have no issue shooting them on sight but when we had a litter(?) of baby groundhogs living under a conex box here at work I let them be. I don't really put any value on the experience of hunting either species but I also like the thought that they at least have a fighting chance of avoiding detection. I haven't happened upon a den of pups but I'm not sure what I'd do, I'm positioned tenuously on the fence so it would probably depend upon my mood at the time.
     

    DocIndy

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    We had groundhogs at my uncles farm south of Connersville. As long as they were in the lower barnyard they were safe. If we found them expanding their territory into the pastures with livestock, they were fair game. Coyotes have their place and I believe they play a role in nature. I also believe at some point, the balance can be upset and the coyote population grows. We have experienced that in southern Johnson County around camp Atterbury. My brother in law has property that backs up to Atterbury and the concert the coyotes put on during clear summer nights can almost be defining. I don't have a problem shooting full grown coyotes, but I believe shooting pups in a den would be crossing the line. Do we have any CO's that could weigh in on the topic? Does DNR just look at it as a coyote is a coyote no matter what age?
     

    natdscott

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    ...I'm positioned tenuously on the fence so it would probably depend upon my mood at the time.

    Likewise.

    I am not quite at the 'drop white smoke in the hole' point with them, but I also don't think I need more adult mouths to have to feed themselves.


    -Nate
     

    patience0830

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    Not far from the tree
    Likewise.

    I am not quite at the 'drop white smoke in the hole' point with them, but I also don't think I need more adult mouths to have to feed themselves.


    -Nate

    Terminate with extreme prejudice. Makes no sense to let them become the adults that will kill the fawns you're trying to save.
    Treat them like the invasive species they are. Maybe the fox population and the groundhogs will make a come back.
    No pity for the pups here.
     

    Hkindiana

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    Terminate with extreme prejudice. Makes no sense to let them become the adults that will kill the fawns you're trying to save.
    Treat them like the invasive species they are. Maybe the fox population and the groundhogs will make a come back.
    No pity for the pups here.

    They are NOT an invasive species according to the Indiana DNR (DNR: Dealing with Nuisance Coyotes)
     

    sheepdog697

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    I tend to lean towards, if you see a coyote shoot on site. However, i can see what you are saying about the pups starving. Another thing of note is that a coyotes fur is significantly better in the winter. If you skin them and keep the fur summer hunting is basially pointless except to control their population. snipershide 1.jpg Theres a big boy i shot while hunting deer this year. 308 eld-x was absolutely devastating to this coytote. When i came up on him he has about a 5 inch exit hole.
     

    PurdueJim

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    My son smoked a really young dumb coyote with the truck this week. Are the young ones just now coming out?
     

    halfmileharry

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    Theories be damned.
    Shoot all yotes and you'll still have more than anyone could ever want to deal with.
    Me and mine been shootin' em for decades and haven't made a dent in the population.
    We'll be needin' some help eliminating them nuisances forever. I don't think it's even possible to get rid of them.
     

    sheepdog697

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    My duddy had a coyote chasing a strutter today when he was out turkey hunting. It was on his neighbors property so he didnt take a shot, but my guess is we will be out there after turkey season to get rid of a few.
     

    Zoub

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    Few years ago a friend, who I frankly admire as about as deep woods a hunter as there is, had a chance to mow down a bunch of wolf pups with his truck. They were in the road coming right off his property. I'm not going to go into what it's like to live with wolves around you, but in his case, the grandkids never play out back unwatched. I never drop my guard with my Labs.

    He chose not to run them over. I agreed with him. Life ain't easy, and you can live to regret your choices, but killing pups isn't for me. Directly or indirectly. If you see an adult coyote, take the shot, that's part of the natural order of things. In my case that equates to seeing one in the 500-1000 acres closest to home, but I don't go out actively looking for blood this time of year. I don't judge others who can do it. It's just my personal reverence for life, reflected through my own actions.

    I don't give any credence to the remaining female coyote kills more deer.
     

    patience0830

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    Not far from the tree
    They are NOT an invasive species according to the Indiana DNR (DNR: Dealing with Nuisance Coyotes)

    I do not currently have evidence to support their theory that they are a native returning. I find them to be invasive. Yes, I'd still kill the pups on my place.
    Not an emotional issue. Just a logical one. Coyote is a coyote is a coyote. Size and location do not matter.
    I want fewer coyotes.
     

    Hkindiana

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    Theories be damned.
    Shoot all yotes and you'll still have more than anyone could ever want to deal with.
    Me and mine been shootin' em for decades and haven't made a dent in the population.
    We'll be needin' some help eliminating them nuisances forever. I don't think it's even possible to get rid of them.

    replace "yotes" with "Indians" and you sound just like some ancestors
     
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