buckstalker1187, Don't get all mad at me! Yes coyotes kill rabbits, yes coyotes kill deer and if they can get a hold of a squirrel they will eat that too. I never said that they didn't kill what you saw. It's the trail of distruction that I have a problem with. I do not need to see any coyote kills, I have seen many. It's a fact coyotes kill things to eat, they also eat things that that they don't have to kill. Coyotes go hungry more days than they are full. My whole point is coyotes are not as bad as people make them out to be. Also, Inever said a group of coyotes couldnt take down an adult deer, I said its rare. Coyotes will kill or eat what is easy.

True

mlo, Im not saying anyone is wrong, it is more probable that the deer that i found could have been wounded or sick or other things like being hit by a car...I understand that.(and the coyotes probally just ate the kill afterwards)I was more amazed at the smaller animals that were killedon the trail...it appeared that the coyotes went from one kill to the next.

I think the coyote is important to keep populations inline. I dont think that they are all that bad...but I think that they could be bad to an area if there are too many.

jf5, I was amazed myself when I seen the coyotes bring down the elk. It was a documentary on the discovery channel or national geographic. The show was about predatory animals. It documented bobcats, lynx,coyotes, badgers, and wolverines.

I thaught this too very hard to believe, it was in very deep snow and there was about 6 or 7 coyotes. Funny thing was, the coyotes attacking the elk didnt look like western coyotes, they looked like eastern coyotes. But they definately were not wolves. Because after they showed the coyotes bringing down the elk,theysaid that the coyotes had enemies too, and they showed wolves going after coyotes and killing them.

I thaught this strange too.

Thanks for the laughs, this thread has been hilarious.

All kidding aside, whatever the originating reason for an increase in coyotes (I believe simply natural reasons, and discount the coydog issue) there is one answer to this question to fix it.

Not an open year-long season. While it may increase the harvest number slightly, it won't make the world difference. We have a liberal season right now, and yet hunter participation is till relatively low, due to equipment cost for serious hunters, and the different style of hunting it is.

The real answer: TRAPPERS. Yeah, I said it. They are the key. Some hunters despise them for whatever reason, and others trap themselves. The bottom line remains the same, trappers are the #1 way to control coyote populations. If you are against trapping, next time someone mentions it, be a bit more open to the benefits they serve the habitat, and hunters.

Good point! Just a question, how much is a coyote pelt worth?

Phade, I do trap coyotes. I caught 12 last year. Only 5 this season due to rain early in the season and a 3 week trip to mantana. Also, winter weather has been to inconsistant to keep sets going for any amount of time.
Sylvan, Last season my coyotes brought a high of 27.00, actually they didn't get sold until thislast month.The year before my best coyote brought 42.00.

I don't trap as much as I used to but i still get a few sets out every no and then - I have been getting 25 to 30 $ for a coyote. there's a group of guys near me hunting the coyotes with dogs - a bunch of laid of construction guys they are out almost everyday and there are a couple of times where i have seen them with the bed of their trucks filled. Looks like fun to me.

I did walk up on a group of coyotes that had a deer down - A guy had hit the deer on the rd near by the night before and the deer was still alive. There were three of 4 yotes and they were eating that thing alive. I only had my 22 rimfire with me so I was not going to get too close to a bunch of yotes with a fresh kill - It was a very disturbing sight.

WOW. Thanks. That is crazy that they took down a full grown elk. As for the wolves...some reason they seem to hate coyotes (not sure how that works for the reportedinterbreeding) But I saw one film about the wolves in Yellowstone, and they had a scene where a pack attacked this single coyote. It was one of the most violent things I had ever seen in nature. They just charge in and tore the yote up.

I agree totally that coyotes have a place here. But like anything, they too need to have a population control to keep levels in check. I hunt many areas. All have them, but some have way to many.

It wouldn't surprise me if that vid of the yotes taking down an Elk was from the Yellowstone area. When I lived out there they wolves were still getting reestablished. While the Wolves were gone they biologists talked about how the Yotes had basically taken there place and hunted in pack form vs smaller family groups and that there size was significantly larger than the average Western Coyote.

We have a sheep shearer who basically traps coyotes in the off season since he is so bored. Takes out 2-3 times as many coyotes in an area than hunters do. Clears out areas real fast. Hunting alone would never do it alone. They got rid of them way back when with poison, traps and hunters.

Coyote pelts are fetching higher than they have in recent years. Sort of a little boom going on in the fur industry right now, for a couple reasons.NAFA and Fur Harvesters realized good averages. If they aren't rubbed, a season's catch will average mid $20's to $30. Some of the better lots will see higher prices in the $40's.

So I am gathering that yotes aren't open year round. Heard tell of folks shooting them all year long.[8D]