Stevie,

I'm not sure if entering property to retrieve coyote dogs is legal everywhere. And retrieving them can be pretty tricky since dogs in pursuit of a coyote can be across a 200 acre piece of ground in a matter of minutes. Knowing that, I've never been too worried about how badly several dogs running quickly across an area may scare off all the deer in the vicinity.

Thinning the population is fine, that's what I'm out to do, also. But not everybody is a respectful hunter. When guys start running dogs all over the county when there is still a month and a half left in archery season,I get a little irritated.

When guys turn the dogs loose knowing full well that they'll run into areas they shouldn't, in my mind that is no different than the hunter tresspassing himself.

The fact that dogs can't read is no excuse to for them to have unrestricted access everywhere.

Well, keep in mind that there are bad apples in every bunch. There's more than a few deer hunters who can't seem to be able to read POSTED signs or DNR regulations any better than a dog.

Right, but this topic is about dog running coyote hunters. And not all guys I've seen run dogs are bad guys, but it's always the bad ones that ruin it for everybody else, isn't it?

It just seems to me when talking to a lot of(not all)dog-runners that there is a sense of smugness in the air. "Dogs cant read, so what can I do about it?"(insert picture of a real smartarse shoulder shrug [8D])

Having an illiterate dog should not give you free access to everywhere.

Well, like other similar threads that discuss hunting with dogs, it has gone a bit beyond someone simply complaining about coyote hunters actually messing up a deer hunt. I'm simply making the point that there are bad apples iin every bunch and when you use a couple of bad incidents to try to indict an entire form of hunting, then you are playing right in the antis' hands.

In reply to Lanse couche couche

Lets just say your dogs ran a coyote out onto my property, and there your dogs were along with the coyote just standing 75 yards away broad side. what would you do? now remember you don't know me or have never talked to me about hunting coyotes on my land. would you case your gun and then walk out and retrieve your dogs, our would you shoot the coyote and then gather up your dogs, hopeing that I wouldn't care, or hopeI wont show up and get you for trespassing. Now think long and hard and be honest.

I've never really heard of a scenario like that actually happenindg so can't really give you an answer.

Personally, I feel that a person's land is THEIR land. They paid for it and if they don't want others on it, then others should stay off, period. If a person's dogs enter private property and the law says the person can retrieve the dogs, then I agree with what I think Stevie is trying to say. THE HUNT IS OVER! Unload the gun, enter the property, retrieve the dogs and get out.

again in reply to Lanse couche couche

Use your imagination, lets just say this isthe way it played out, before your very eyes and you had to make a quick decision.
You've been running thisone coyote for the last 2 hours and finally there he is no more than 75 yds away, tired of running and just laying there. but you have no idea who owns the property this critter is now on.. What would you do? would you go in and retrieve your dogs a leave, or who you harvest the coyote grab your dogs and get the heck out of there hopeing whoever owns the property doesn't catch you.

This may be only a fictional scenaro but give it a try. anyone ???????

Reality check, A coyote runs game for hours on end. So if a dog or dogs was to run a coyote for 2 hours and the coyote layed down? Coyote is wanting to breed or is a sick coyote. Now for most coyote hunters they try to get the dogs to chase the coyote to them. In some cases they will give chase and the hunters have to try and get a head of the dogs in order for the coyote to be even seen. So the hunterscan not walk or run to get ahead of the dogs as dogs do run faster. They would normally drive ahead and wait along side a road with their tracking device in hopes of seeing a coyote come out. So I would say you have a great imagination.