Coyote: The Ultimate Deer Predator?

[megalomaniac]

I rolled one at 311 on Friday at a trot. It's great practice. I've been shooting long range a lot more recently.

My best shot so far is 767 yards in Oklahoma - but it was on a boulder about the size of a night stand - so no blood trail.

I just am not able to shoot a ML much beyond 150, esp if there is wind. With a rifle, no problem. My longest kill was around 550 on a coyote, and I've killed over a dozen between 400 and 500.

Oh, missed another today at 225.

So far I'm 3 for 6 this season. Not even calling. Just sitting in the deerstands.

 

[DeerCamp]

I just am not able to shoot a ML much beyond 150, esp if there is wind. With a rifle, no problem. My longest kill was around 550 on a coyote, and I've killed over a dozen between 400 and 500.

Oh, missed another today at 225.

So far I'm 3 for 6 this season. Not even calling. Just sitting in the deerstands.

That makes more sense.

I forgot it's still MZL. Over here in CWD zone it's rifles for like 3 months.

 

[rtaylor]

Interesting study. I think it was Georgia DNR that tagged a few coyotes and the person that killed one would get a free lifetime license. I wish TWRA would do this. It won't eradicate them but if everyone did there part around fawning time it seems like it would help.

 

[megalomaniac]

Just killed another. 80y shot. Now 4 for 7

 

[megalomaniac]

Another one got by me at 200y just before dark before I could fire off at him. Heard 2 packs each with at least 3 dogs in each pack sound off at dark. Darn plague.

 

[Dodge Man]

Nothing. You wouldn't believe how many studies have been done across the Southeast concerning coyote population reduction, and every study comes to the same conclusion, you can't eradicate them. In fact, you can hardly make a dent in their population. They are here to stay.

The only studies that found some benefits from coyote population reduction were those that focused on hammering the coyotes just before fawning time. This reduced predation of newborn fawns, but did not eliminate it.

Maybe not the average run of the mill trapper. But someone skilled at trapping coyotes can definitely put a dent in the population. They might come back to the same level in a few years but if you trapped every year you can definitely cut the numbers!

 

[wildlifefarmer]

Maybe not the average run of the mill trapper. But someone skilled at trapping coyotes can definitely put a dent in the population. They might come back to the same level in a few years but if you trapped every year you can definitely cut the numbers!

Yes you can reduce the numbers. We start trapping for any and all predators in mid Jan thru Feb annually. We have seen an increase in recuitment of ALL CRITTERS!

 

[megalomaniac]

Missed another one this morn, but to be fair, he was at a dead run... so I ended up 4 for 8. They are in trouble this weekend when the real guns come out

 

[BSK]

I'm a science guy. So when I hear research that contradicts what I think (or want) to be true, I will usually dig into it pretty hard.

I've done that with coyotes and the research seems solid that on the landscape, coyotes are very resilient.

That said - I generally shoot coyotes because a) I like it and b) on a very local level, when we shoot coyotes, I see fewer of them for a while. So if it takes a few weeks for new coyotes to move in - and then we shoot them too - I think its possible that we are making a small, local impact, particularly on the fawns and does, and rabbits, whose home range is on our small property.

I'm certainly not going to dissuade hunters from shooting coyotes! I'll shoot them myself if I see them. Every dead coyote is one less. But don't think you'll ever knock their population down much because so many coyotes are "transitory," meandering across great distances looking for a home range. Knock out they local 'yotes and transitory ones fill in pretty quick.

 

[BSK]

I didn't read the article, but I'm not sure the presence of deer hair in scat = predation. There are dead deer on the sides of our roadways year around. I'm sure many get hit and die away from the roadways. I just can't picture coyotes routinely taking down healthy adult deer.

I get video of 'yotes chasing adult deer all the time. Coyotes have little impact on the adult population but they can have a devastating impact on newborn fawns. In some Southeastern studies, fawn made up almost 100% of coyotes diet during the fawning months of June and July.

 

[BSK]

Maybe not the average run of the mill trapper. But someone skilled at trapping coyotes can definitely put a dent in the population. They might come back to the same level in a few years but if you trapped every year you can definitely cut the numbers!

Actually, because of coyotes transitory nature (a significant percentage of coyotes crossing a property do not live there, they are wandering the landscape looking for a home range), studies that used trapping to hit the population hard just before fawning time found the population was back up in a couple months. It doesn't take long for new coyotes to fill a gap in the population.

 

[DeerCamp]

Actually, because of coyotes transitory nature (a significant percentage of coyotes crossing a property do not live there, they are wandering the landscape looking for a home range), studies that used trapping to hit the population hard just before fawning time found the population was back up in a couple months. It doesn't take long for new coyotes to fill a gap in the population.

I'm curious - if there was some type of incentive for shooting coyotes across the entire state of TN. (Bounty, Bonus Tag, etc) and a widespread emphasis on every hunter shooting every coyote they saw, do you think that would be enough to impact the population?

Or do you think there are still too many coyotes unseen?

 

[BSK]

I'm curious - if there was some type of incentive for shooting coyotes across the entire state of TN. (Bounty, Bonus Tag, etc) and a widespread emphasis on every hunter shooting every coyote they saw, do you think that would be enough to impact the population?

Or do you think there are still too many coyotes unseen?

Impact, yes. Absolutely. Big impact, no.

 

[DeerCamp]

Impact, yes. Absolutely. Big impact, no.

The interesting thing here is that we have coyotes and bobcats on camera almost every night.

I have pics from back in the summer of coyotes and deer fawns on the same cam within 10 minutes of each other.

But thus far, it doesn't appear that any of the does are missing fawns. We have 1 fawn that has button buck twins and they are all still alive.

We do have a lot of really thick cover around, which I'm hoping helps.

 

[BSK]

The interesting thing here is that we have coyotes and bobcats on camera almost every night.

I have pics from back in the summer of coyotes and deer fawns on the same cam within 10 minutes of each other.

But thus far, it doesn't appear that any of the does are missing fawns. We have 1 fawn that has button buck twins and they are all still alive.

We do have a lot of really thick cover around, which I'm hoping helps.

Unfortunately, we lose a lot of fawns to coyotes. But I'm hoping all the timber we had cut last year will aid in reducing those fawn losses. Coyotes are sight hunters. They do not hunt much in super-thick cover. Once all of our timber cuts grow into thick cover, fawns will have more places to hide.

We see most of the coyotes hunting the food plots - any large opening. They cruise them almost nightly.

 

[NewCoonTrapper]

Im in Lavergne... anyone want their property respectfully trapped. Let me know!

 

[HOOK]

I didn't read the article, but I'm not sure the presence of deer hair in scat = predation. There are dead deer on the sides of our roadways year around. I'm sure many get hit and die away from the roadways. I just can't picture coyotes routinely taking down healthy adult deer.

A few years ago I actually watch a single coyote take down a mature doe by the throat and then walk off to leave her. Probably went to get the rest of the pack. When I came back the next morning it was nearly gone.

 

[Mescalero]

I've read about the transient v resident issue. Also, I've read that if you kill the breeding female, the effect is opposite. Unlike a pack of gray wolves, the other coyote females get bred until one becomes the alpha. You get a population explosion on your hands.

 

[jejeffrries71]

I get video of 'yotes chasing adult deer all the time. Coyotes have little impact on the adult population but they can have a devastating impact on newborn fawns. In some Southeastern studies, fawn made up almost 100% of coyotes diet during the fawning months of June and July.

I'm sure. They are very opportunistic. I just despise misuse of statistics. Most studies, and statistics are just summarized raw data, or a snapshot, nothing more. Without strenuous additional research and testing, you can not take a data summary or data sample and then extrapolate to cause, effect, ... You can use it to develop a theory and then do the additional work to support or disprove that theory, but anything else is pretty much on the same level as guessing. Often it is worse than guessing as it is used to support a pre-conceived notion or a pet belief.

Sort of like if the data tells us that a majority of pot-bellied white Southern males voted Republican in the last election, that does not support that voting Republican makes Southern white males to be pot-bellied.

 

[Dodge Man]

Actually, because of coyotes transitory nature (a significant percentage of coyotes crossing a property do not live there, they are wandering the landscape looking for a home range), studies that used trapping to hit the population hard just before fawning time found the population was back up in a couple months. It doesn't take long for new coyotes to fill a gap in the population.

Just going by first hand accounts. My brother has a lease for deer and we're seeing very few deer a almost no fawns with babies. They hired a trapper and he caught around 20 coyotes. The next deer season and several after that the numbers of deer they would see more then tripped. They also would see most all does with babies. It has continued that way for 5 years so far with deer numbers holding a no coyotes to speek of.