Shooting coyotes

[IndyDave1776]

So, for all the evidence on both sides I guess I'll keep a coin in my pocket to flip to make sure it's a righteous shoot.
I'm not one just to shoot a living creature for sport.

It is all a matter of perspective. So far as I am concerned, shooting coyotes is no more a sport than shooting burglars even though neither will be served for dinner on my table.

 

[Hkindiana]

My argument regarding coyotes and your example regarding deer do not have any connection, unless, of course you have information suggesting that deer originally populated only an extremely small part of the state, making them indigenous to that small area and invasive everywhere else.

Coyotes "were PRIMARILY restricted to original prairie regions of the state". "PRIMARILY" does not equate to "only". They were in many other areas of the state, just not in large numbers. BTW, I lost over $2000 in livestock last year to coyotes, but I see it as the cost of sharing the land with native creatures. Just think how much more money farmers would have if there were NO DEER in Indiana to eat their crops. Deer damage, and all other wildlife damage, IS part of the cost of doing business.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Coyotes "were PRIMARILY restricted to original prairie regions of the state". "PRIMARILY" does not equate to "only". They were in many other areas of the state, just not in large numbers. BTW, I lost over $2000 in livestock last year to coyotes, but I see it as the cost of sharing the land with native creatures. Just think how much more money farmers would have if there were NO DEER in Indiana to eat their crops. Deer damage, and all other wildlife damage, IS part of the cost of doing business.

You may consider your losses acceptable. Given that the coyotes are not listed on the deed to the farm as owners, I feel no obligation to 'share', especially with artificially high numbers of them. I will also add that it is easy to be cavalier about the loss of what you deem farm animals as opposed to pets.

 

[churchmouse]

People who live in cities, or in subdivisions just don't realize just how big of a problem coyotes are for us in the country. The population has exploded in the last couple of years with the mild winters we've had. Mild winters mean that other animals also thrive, which in turn means plentiful food for the coyotes. Its ok for people like us who live on farms to shoot coyotes on sight, I'm not saying go out and hunt them out of season, but if he is in range of my front porch (which is where I killed 3 of the last 4 from) then he dies. And no I don't skin them out, I throw them in a sink hole for the buzzards and opossums. You can disagree but thats just how it is. Oh I'm also killing every mosquito and mosquito larvae I see. snuffing their life out with horrible pesticides.
I sleep well.

I live just north of the Motor Speedway (500) and there is a den that runs the creeks around us. We see Yotes in the coke field across from the track all the time.

Did not go last year but we have been setting up on a friends property west of Rockville to clean out the yote infestation. He used to have a lot of rabbits and othe ground game on his land but not so much anymore. They run the deer pretty hard out there as well.
His process is shoot them on site. Period. Like Harry stated, we could shoot a few every day and not seem to make a dent.

 

[indyjohn]

I live just north of the Motor Speedway (500) and there is a den that runs the creeks around us. We see Yotes in the coke field across from the track all the time.

I've seen yotes in the coke field while driving 30th St. from Eskenazi West 38th St. back to main campus. Thought better of my SPR & SPD, those TLAs wouldn't mix well...

 

[71silverbullet]

I live just north of the Motor Speedway (500) and there is a den that runs the creeks around us. We see Yotes in the coke field across from the track all the time.

Did not go last year but we have been setting up on a friends property west of Rockville to clean out the yote infestation. He used to have a lot of rabbits and othe ground game on his land but not so much anymore. They run the deer pretty hard out there as well.
His process is shoot them on site. Period. Like Harry stated, we could shoot a few every day and not seem to make a dent.

So, along the theme this thread has taken, if it were legal to shoot in the coke field, would you shoot them year round?

 

[71silverbullet]

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.

5 pages into this and I've noticed no one has attempted to answer your question, so I'll try. Coyote diet consists highly of insects, grasshoppers, crickets, grubs and the like. So generally in our part of the country these insects become plentiful within about 6 to 8 weeks after coyotes are born. So I'm going to speculate that a 7 week old pup would probably not starve to death.

 

[churchmouse]

So, along the theme this thread has taken, if it were legal to shoot in the coke field, would you shoot them year round?

We do shoot them on sight out at the property. Year round.

As to the ones in the area, they do seem to keep the Ferrel cats in check. It would be pretty hard to get a clean shot on one even out in the Coke field. Way to many houses around.

 

[churchmouse]

I've seen yotes in the coke field while driving 30th St. from Eskenazi West 38th St. back to main campus. Thought better of my SPR & SPD, those TLAs wouldn't mix well...

I remember that phone call...

 

[patience0830]

So, for all the evidence on both sides I guess I'll keep a coin in my pocket to flip to make sure it's a righteous shoot.
I'm not one just to shoot a living creature for sport.

It's not "for sport", sport. It has a logical purpose. If hides from Indiana were worth anything and I had some free time, I'd trap 'em til the cows came home and sell fur. Since they're a fawn, turkey, cat, pet, chicken, rabbit killing nuisance, I shoot them when I get the opportunity. Last two were killed stone dead at about 15 yds with a .17 Mach2 while I was squirrel hunting. One of the guys that hunts my place for deer killed three one day last fall with his deer rifle. I still have plenty.

 

[IndyDave1776]

It's not "for sport", sport. It has a logical purpose. If hides from Indiana were worth anything and I had some free time, I'd trap 'em til the cows came home and sell fur. Since they're a fawn, turkey, cat, pet, chicken, rabbit killing nuisance, I shoot them when I get the opportunity. Last two were killed stone dead at about 15 yds with a .17 Mach2 while I was squirrel hunting. One of the guys that hunts my place for deer killed three one day last fall with his deer rifle. I still have plenty.

 

[throttletony]

To OP -
I don't know the theories you mention, about females killing excessively. Sounds like it mightmake sense, but i wouldn't let it change my actions either way. Besides at 75 yds, it's not easy to differentiate between a male and female. I usually see crosshairs and shoot, or no crosshairs (binoculars) and don't shoot.
Certainly by 12 weeks the pups are independent and those are the ones you'll often see as roadkill in the mid-late summer.
I've seen coyotes eat all sorts of things -- certainly mice and rabbits, but also fruit, veggies, bugs, cowpies (in the dead of winter - i guess there's some nutrition there), carrion,
Pretty much anything that doesn't make them violently ill.

I think ive found coyote scat with berries, pine cones bits (for nuts?), pumpkin seeds, and hair all in the same pile. That's exactly why they survive so well.

 

[SNAFU-M1A]

I saw a coyote behind Sara Fishers building the night before the 500. I've seen them all over Indy including Meridian & Raymond, 1400 South Keystone & by Shelby & co line They love the train tracks.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I saw a coyote behind Sara Fishers building the night before the 500. I've seen them all over Indy including Meridian & Raymond, 1400 South Keystone & by Shelby & co line They love the train tracks.

It makes perfect sense that they would follow the railroad tracks. It is an uninterrupted path which is generally free of human activity. What more could they want other than your pets?

 

[JettaKnight]

But they're soooo cute!

 

[jimb1069]

I agree with the killem all crowd! They are hunting everything I like to hunt but they hunt 7 days a week

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I've always had deep respect for the Coyote.

Even after over 100 years of open season hunting, bounty-subsidized hunting, even government paid professional hunting and poisoning, there are more Coyotes in America than there were when Europeans first came over.

 

[natdscott]

Sure there are. They're smarter (or at least have sharper instincts about BEING hunted) than most prey animals, and we've made most of their habitat better than it was before. They're not a timber animal, and we've eliminated most of their competition.

-Nate

 

[IndyDave1776]

I've always had deep respect for the Coyote.

Even after over 100 years of open season hunting, bounty-subsidized hunting, even government paid professional hunting and poisoning, there are more Coyotes in America than there were when Europeans first came over.

Herein lies the problem.

Sure there are. They're smarter (or at least have sharper instincts about BEING hunted) than most prey animals, and we've made most of their habitat better than it was before. They're not a timber animal, and we've eliminated most of their competition.

-Nate

Oh, but the next problem: large cats appearing for the purpose of hunting the coyotes which are even more problematic than the coyotes themselves.

 

[JDimitri]

Coyotes are a native species to the U. S. and are considered a nuisance animal by most but also a fur animal (for trapping purposes as well) in some states. Coyotes are a wide niche scavenger/predator and will eat a variety of foods from what you leave in your garbage can to insects to small to medium sized animals. They have shown, through various studies, to adapt their behaviors based on their environment. This would include foraging at night or day based on the dangers to them from the human population surrounding them. Where coyotes became a nuisance was when the wolf population was dying. Wolves and coyotes do not get along though some have bred with each other. You would be hard pressed to truly hurt the population as the amount of pups they have each year is exponential. Almost as bad as wild hogs. The main issues on why people are so avid on shooting them on site is the danger they pose to live stock and the diseases they can also carry.