Is it legal to shoot and kill a coyote out of season if you feel that the deer herd on your property is being deminished by a largepack of coyotes? Or, is it legal to shoot andkill acoyote out of season if you shoot and deer and leave it and then you come back to it and you see coyotes sitting therefeasting on it? Just curious...

You can find your answer here:
http://www.in.gov/dnr/

Coyotes that are harassing or killing livestock can be shot out of season , but I don't think the same applies to game animals since that's pretty much what coyotes do for a living .

Yeah, I knew that, I was just asking if you let your kill sit over night and you come back the next day and you see a coyote eating it, if you could shoot then.

Are you asking about baiting a coyote with a shot deer? I think you'd be getting into trouble concerning allowing game meat to go to waste. Now if you baited them with sirloin steaks it would be a different matter.

Dan O.

Get ahold of a trapper, it won't hurt your deer population and most trappers are looking for more land to trap.I knowI'm a trapper as well as a deer hunter with land of my own with food plots.

Call your nearest state wildilfe office and ask them. Just don't give them your name.

Lots of states there is no coyote season, might need to check your area.

in WI, landowners can shoot coyotes anytime of the year except the day before gun deer season

In NY it would be very illegal to shoot a coyote out of season - for any reason.

Personally, I don't think its wrong to thin the predators if done legally. But in my mind the coyotes have as much right to feed as you do. Maybe it would be easier to increase your rabbit population with brushpiles, or mow fields and leave the Hay on the ground to increase the mice population. The coyotes (and other wildlife) will benefit - and predation on deer should decline.

We will never elimiminate coyotes. They will take some deer - but if we manage the land so that they aren't forced to feed on deer - then you can reduce the problem.

States like NY offer Liberal hunting/trapping seasons for Coyotes and other predators - if you cannot work within the 7 or 8 month season to reduce their numbers, then your are just breaking the law in my view - and should be prosecuted.

Farm Hunter, I agree with you when you say coyotes have as much right to feed as we do. Not many hunters like to hear this. We have alot of coyotes in our area and they don't seem to be a problem. From Oct 15 through a good part of the winter coyotes feed exclusively on unclaimed Hunter - wonded deer.I used to have afternoons off from work so for 10-12 years I was able to follow coyote tracks all winter and went out almost every single day. I would follow a coyote's tracks until the bedded coyote got up and ran, then I would turn around and back-track it for the rest of the day. I know everything the coyotes ate or killed.They are not as bad as people think.Believe it or not coyotes will dig down and eat apples if they are available. Also, I never saw another human track out there, so how wouldanyone know what the coyotes are doing. I also trap coyotes and caught 12 last year. so far I caught 5 this year. picture of coyote droppings at least half is apples. www.pbase.com/mlo3135127 or www.wildturkey.smugmug.com