Coyotes

[farmerjan]

Although this doesn't pertain to cattle. just wondered if anyone has seen the problems they are having with coyotes in Mass? and maybe in NH? Just this past week..... A coyote challenged a family out walking in the woods close to their house, mid-day, and it wouldn't run off and the father tried to chase it off and finally he had to grab it and got bitten and managed to finally strangle it. He is undergoing shots for rabies, but managed to keep it from biting his son and wife. Another woman got bit by one that had run up onto her porch and the plumber man who was there helped her because he saw it and yelled for her to get into the house. I think it was fairly close to the one the bit the man so they are thinking it might have been the same one. It is being tested for rabies.
Then there was a woman in a very "nice" neighborhood that was out in her front yard with her 85 lb male german shepard mix, and they were surrounded by 4 coyotes, and they were surrounding them like they were going to maybe attack, and she yelled for her husband in the house and he came out with a broom and they finally ran off.

All the stupid gun control, tree hugger, "oh the poor wild animals" idiot's that don't allow hunting or guns or stuff without a big "todo" in states, up in New England. I know a woman in Mass that they are having a terrible time with a very large coyote that has been terrorizing their neighbor hood and they have had the F&G people there and they told them they can't do anything except if they actually catch it in with their goats attacking them.... even though there have been multiple complaints from several in the area about it in their yards and threatening their kids..... Told them to get a permit and they could shoot it, BUT, you can't shoot in the city area sooooooo..... explain that one. Total nutcases in Mass......

I have been hearing them here more and they were quite close to the house last night about 8-8:30.

 

[ccr]

We hear them along the creek at night. Every once in a while we see one during the day. They don't seem to bother the cattle here. The place down the road has a piece of plywood leaned up again the gate that has painted in fluorescent orange "warning coyote traps".

 

[BigBear56]

Yeah they are getting bad here as well. I've heard some stories on the news about yotes killing people's animals right out of their backyard in a subdivision. I shoot those rotten bastards every time I see them from my deer stand. I hear them around us a couple times a week but they haven't messed with our livestock. I will say the ones I've seen while hunting a huge and definitely crossbred with feral dogs, probably 60-75 lbs.

The DNR won't admit guilt reintroducing them back to the area but the yotes are what controls our deer population in the state not hunters. Anyone who deer hunts on Ohio will tell you that. I've watched them pack hunt and seperate fawns from does. It's amazing to watch them do it. Smart dogs

 

[chaded]

We have a ton of coyotes here and I don't have issues with them. I'm seeing several bobcats as well. We also have a lot of deer, rabbits, turkeys, and just about everything else. Stray dogs though? Those are the biggest problem we have. The things keep getting caught in my foothold traps.....

 

[ccr]

 

[gcreekrch]

Never miss a chance to kill a predator on your property. By time you see them they have already cased the place and have moved in.

 

[Caustic Burno]

We have a ton of coyotes here and I don't have issues with them. I'm seeing several bobcats as well. We also have a lot of deer, rabbits, turkeys, and just about everything else. Stray dogs though? Those are the biggest problem we have. The things keep getting caught in my foothold traps.....

Coyote gets blamed for a lot of Rovers work. If coyotes are not causing problems best to leave them alone.
If you kill them it creates a vacuum and the next batch that moves in might be a real headache.

 

[Lucky]

Coyotes do more good than harm on my place. I could be wrong but don't think one has ever killed a calf. One of the neighbors went on a coyote killing spree several years ago and ended up with a big skunk problem. Buzzards are what I hate. The white winged ones have gotten 2 calves this year and try to get nearly everyone born.

 

[_H Ranch]

Had one almost get a newborn in the fall. Trapped 2 this fall and shot one as well. We have a $50 bounty for them here in Utah. They are bad news IMO. Kill a lot of deer and elk as well.

 

[Ky hills]

They present a problem even if not causing one at the moment the potential is always there. We are infested with them. When I was a child there were no coyotes around and dogs running through the country were the biggest problem. Now we are infested with coyotes and never hardly see a loose dog anymore. We have lost calves to them over the years and they put me out of the sheep business. We have had hunters come in a few times if we start having problems. There aren't many days that we don't see or at least hear coyotes we try to scare them off. It's not unusual to see two or three at once. For those that hunt them what would be your recommendations for a good coyote gun?

 

[Caustic Burno]

They present a problem even if not causing one at the moment the potential is always there. We are infested with them. When I was a child there were no coyotes around and dogs running through the country were the biggest problem. Now we are infested with coyotes and never hardly see a loose dog anymore. We have lost calves to them over the years and they put me out of the sheep business. We have had hunters come in a few times if we start having problems. There aren't many days that we don't see or at least hear coyotes we try to scare them off. It's not unusual to see two or three at once. For those that hunt them what would be your recommendations for a good coyote gun?

I still hunt em once in a while, open ground 243 is hard to beat. Faster than a 22-250 with the right bullet.
Bullet options from 55 grain to 110.

 

[CG1]

We currently have a mound of dead coyotes about 10 high in our back. They killed our entire sheep herd this year and my father has taken it personally....

We are going to taxidermy their skulls.

Personally. When I see them I just turn the other way and don't alert the boys. I like to go with the saying "everyone has to eat". I don't like to see them dead like I have this year.

 

[Chevy]

You can hunt coyotes here day or night year around. To bad that isn't the case with deer. I have PTSD from one running in to my truck before Thanksgiving. Now every time I see any I'm locking it up even if I'm a mile away. My children see them saying oh how cute.... I'm thinking only cute deer is a dead one.

FarmerJan your talking about stuff nightmares are made of.

 

[farmerjan]

We used to not bother them because of several "old timers" that said if you see them and you are not having any losses in your animals, then they are keeping the small animals (rabbits, groundhogs etc) in check. Plus, if you are not having any problems, they will discourage any others from coming in that might start attacking your livestock. But then we lost a couple calves that were like 24 hours old. Son saw them, actually tagged one, one afternoon, and the next day the cow is walking the fence looking for her calf. He got to looking, thinking maybe it got under the fence, and found it several hundred feet away.... mostly only some skin and head and stuff, but with the brand new tag. Saw 2 coyotes the next day after a 3 day old calf. So that ended the tolerance factor. Maybe we had one that was keeping the problem ones out of the area, and something happened to it, who knows. Now there are so many around all the time, friends with goats have lost several kids that were in the 20-30 lb size.... and a neighbor about 5-6 miles away came on a pack of 4 or 5 that attacked a newborn calf that the cow had just had and was trying to protect. He got 2 or 3 of them, calf was dead, and 2 days later the cow had been attacked in the same area. He had to shoot her and she became the last feeding spot any of them ever had again.....

Dogs here are a problem sometimes too, but people are more careful to keep them contained because there have been a few that have been fined for the dogs harrassing livestock, and one time 3 dogs got in and killed several of our pregnant ewes, and they paid dearly for the value of the sheep. The dogs were seen by another neighbor, and video taped running the sheep, and the 2 owners of the 3 dogs out running loose were visited by the sheriffs' dept and basically told the laws and that they would and could take the dogs and have them put down, pay a fine, pay for the sheep...... or they could pay for the sheep and be glad that we didn't shoot the dogs, and to keep the dogs tied, penned or that the next time they would be shot on sight. The one owner was very apologetic for his dog being out loose, and very nice, and paid his fair share. The other wasn't as apologetic about it, but we never saw the dogs again. There are other dogs that have just never returned home. We don't bother them if we see them just going across a field and paying no attention to the animals (cows) ; but the sheep lots are fenced down to within about 3 inches of the ground, woven wire fencing, and there is no reason for the dogs to be in there. Some places we run donkeys or llamas with the sheep and that has stopped most of it. The dogs often do not mess with our rams because they will fight and their horns hurt if they hit you with them. But our sheep are White Texas Dall sheep, semi-wild, not like domestic sheep.

We also have a HUGE white tail deer population, so the coyotes are not without lots of other game to eat. They are devouring the wheat that is trying to grow on the one field that we planted it in last fall. Saw 7, 2 nights ago just working their way across the field. Last year I saw 11 skunks dead, within a 10 mile stretch of road, so we are not without plenty of them and the ground hogs are tearing up the hayfields. I have 3 here at the house that are huge and the coyotes have not gotten them yet. Shot 3 last year and there are always more to take their place. The foxes are doing more to keep down the varmint population than the coyotes. Problem is that the more coyotes, the foxes move out of the area. Have raccoons and possums constantly being trapped around the chickens. So I have no qualms about shooting the coyotes.

 

[BigBear56]

https://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/2015/02/coyotes_are_still_ohios_top_pr.html

 

[Chevy]

Dang I would be smoking!! I'd take it personally get some traps and guns. I know we have them we seen them on the cameras and hear them.

 

[kerley]

They present a problem even if not causing one at the moment the potential is always there. We are infested with them. When I was a child there were no coyotes around and dogs running through the country were the biggest problem. Now we are infested with coyotes and never hardly see a loose dog anymore. We have lost calves to them over the years and they put me out of the sheep business. We have had hunters come in a few times if we start having problems. There aren't many days that we don't see or at least hear coyotes we try to scare them off. It's not unusual to see two or three at once. For those that hunt them what would be your recommendations for a good coyote gun?

22x250

 

[JW IN VA]

[quote="Ky hills" post_id=1621104 time=1583771467 user It's not unusual to see two or three at once. For those that hunt them what would be your recommendations for a good coyote gun?
Never been around a 22/250 but hear they are a great round.I carry a 223 which is a little less powerful but cheaper to shoot and still plenty for coyotes.A 243 would make a nice cartridge,too.If you are limited to rimfires in your area, a 22 WMR will work with careful shot placement up to 125 yards or so.I have killed several with head shots from a 22LR a very close range.
No matter what you use,shot placement is the key.I'd rather see one shot in the head with a 22 WMR than one gut shot with a 300 Mag.
Plenty of "entry level" rifles available which will do what you want.Two I would recommend are either Savage or the Remington 783.The 783 doesn't get much positive ink but my son has one in 270 and it's very accurate.He's killed several with his.

 

[Nesikep]

I have yotes here but they're not very big and never bother the cows, I let them be unless they get to coming in the yard. Since I'm calving I'm just warning them.. if they start howling at night I light off a shot with my 22wmr pistol, and that thing sounds like a full fledged rifle.. they get the message.. Saw one in a draw the other day and it was well out of range for a pistol shot, but I'm sure he heard the zing!
I just bought a 6.5x55 Husqvarna, not a cheap rifle to shoot but can certainly reach out there with a 120 grain bullet

 

[WinterSpringsFarm]

They are getting pretty thick around here as well, but honestly I haven't had a lick of trouble with them YET. Plenty of other critters around for them to eat. But should they ever develop a taste for beef it will be war.

One of my favorite guns for coyotes, ground hogs and such is a .17WSM. It'll put em down.