Coyotes and Gun Shots

[Bucks & Beards]

Strangest thing happened yesterday while I was turkey hunting. I had just killed a gobbler and immediately a coyote entered the field I was hunting. He was about 100 yds out, headed right straight to me with his nose to the ground like he was trying to pick up a blood trail or something. My turkey was in his dying throes flopping all over the place, but the coyote didn't look interested. I got my gun back up but at ~50 yards out he veered toward and entered the woods. What do you make of this? Do you think coyotes have been conditioned to think a gunshot means a wounded animal?

 

[pass-thru]

no

 

[deerkiller300wsm]

Maybe...I've heard old timers say that happens but I've never seen it

 

[redblood]

He was just curious and evidently he was upwind of u

 

[Sidewinder]

I don't believe it knew that it was a gun shot. It didn't know the difference between a gun shot and thunder. Could have been a young dog with almost no interaction with hunters. just my2 cents.

 

[Plateau Hunter]

I am not so sure that coyotes don't look for dead or wounded game at the sound of gunfire. This past ml season I shot a buck that ran off though obviously hit. I wiped the barrel, reloaded, waited about 10 minutes and took up the trail. The buck traveled about 200 yards total with a good blood trail and a perfect shot/pass through his chest. Before I got to him, coyote/coyotes had found him first and started to chew/eat out the anal area below his tail-couldn't believe it but that is what happened. Heck I certainly believe they learn to associate distress calls with hunters-why not gun shots with wounded/dead game?. PH

 

[Bucks & Beards]

no

Okay...but what about my first question?

 

[Bucks & Beards]

I don't believe it knew that it was a gun shot. It didn't know the difference between a gun shot and thunder. Could have been a young dog with almost no interaction with hunters. just my2 cents.

He was definitely not a young dog. I've seen my share of coyotes and this one was fully mature.

 

[Bucks & Beards]

I am not so sure that coyotes don't look for dead or wounded game at the sound of gunfire. This past ml season I shot a buck that ran off though obviously hit. I wiped the barrel, reloaded, waited about 10 minutes and took up the trail. The buck traveled about 200 yards total with a good blood trail and a perfect shot/pass through his chest. Before I got to him, coyote/coyotes had found him first and started to chew/eat out the anal area below his tail-couldn't believe it but that is what happened. Heck I certainly believe they learn to associate distress calls with hunters-why not gun shots with wounded/dead game?. PH

I'm just saying that what you've described was exactly the way this coyote was behaving.

 

[Sidewinder]

I don't believe it knew that it was a gun shot. It didn't know the difference between a gun shot and thunder. Could have been a young dog with almost no interaction with hunters. just my2 cents.

He was definitely not a young dog. I've seen my share of coyotes and this one was fully mature.

I guess what I'm saying is....eventhough it is a full size dog it may be a young (maybe two years old). That dog might not have had a lot of interaction with hunters thus making it more curious when it hears or smells something. I've had coyote see me in the woods and never break stride, walking right past me but keeping a eye on me. I've had others see me and turn and bolt at the first glance of something odd.

Who knows why they do some of the things they do. I was out calling one day and seen one sunning in the middle of a field. I decided to have a little fun and make a distress call and watch the reaction. I hit the call only to have the dog lift it's head look my direction and lay back down. I broke out the deadly lip squeek. Again picking it's head up and laying it right back down. I used the howler to give it a couple small barks and that didn't work either. It never entered my mind to fire off a shot and see if it would come running. lol I did end up shooting it (not calling it). I went and took a look to see if the dog had any problems I could see. I didn't see anything wrong. It looked like a nice young female.

 

[Sidewinder]

I am not so sure that coyotes don't look for dead or wounded game at the sound of gunfire. This past ml season I shot a buck that ran off though obviously hit. I wiped the barrel, reloaded, waited about 10 minutes and took up the trail. The buck traveled about 200 yards total with a good blood trail and a perfect shot/pass through his chest. Before I got to him, coyote/coyotes had found him first and started to chew/eat out the anal area below his tail-couldn't believe it but that is what happened. Heck I certainly believe they learn to associate distress calls with hunters-why not gun shots with wounded/dead game?. PH

I've seen coyote cover a lot of ground in 10 minutes. When they are just walking across a field under normal circumstances they can cover a ton of land. Take the ground a coyote can cover and the 200 yard your buck ran and it was that kiyotes lucky day. The coyote might or might not have heard the shot. But your buck runs over or around the hill making a ton of noise. This noise catches a pack of kiyotes attention and it's a free meal. I just don't think the shot makes a difference. It's a good thing to hear other peoples stories to try and make sense of what happened and see the different opinions.

 

[Boone 58]

If dogs can figure it out then i am sure a yote can.....and i dont completely claim to know yotes but bears figured it out so why cant they?