Coyote hunt, reposted

[TedH]

Gentlemen,
We have a member that seems to have a real problem with the way the animals were hunted not necessarily the photo itself. I simply deleted the post as a courtesy to him because he is a long time and well liked poster on the board. I did NOT receive any request from anyone directly to remove it, it was my choice. But since it's clear it just isn't going to go away, here it is again.

We conducted drives of large sections of property, which flushed out most any animal that happened to be present. I guess some see that type of hunting as less than sporting, but I assure you there are some that slipped out unharmed. We took 8 coyotes and 1 fox. It is a long time annual tradition of the folks up there and is looked forward to by everyone. I was invited to participate because my wife works with a gentleman who is one of 4 guys hired to haul the the hunters around in livestock trailers to the different sections of land that are being hunted. They form a line on each side and when the signal is given, everyone starts walking to the middle. The deer and other animals that are not being hunted are granted safe passage through the line. Coyotes, fox and bobcat are the only targets. If you've never tried to hit a coyote running full speed through the woods or brush, it's no easy task. I only got to shoot one of them but the #2 shot seemed to do ok. It was about 40 yards out.

Granted, it's not what you'd call real sporting, one on one type of hunting, but you have to remember these are varmints with no limit set by the MDC, and a very long hunting season. In other words they need to be thinned out. I was glad to have participated.

Anyway, I had a fun day and helped their community make a little money while easing the life of the quail and rabbit population.

[Modoc ED]

Well, thanks for reposting.

Ya oughta repost it in your original thread. As you said, some don't like drives but sometimes it is necessary to get the job done.

[rhead]

They are predators when they need to be removed remove them. What does sportsmanship have to do with it? If the ones doing it decide to make a sport of it fine but it is their cattle. Just barely above the level of someone insisting that the stalls be mucked out with a teaspoon instead of a spade to make it sporting.

[wilko]

As long as the animals have a way of escape and are not trapped, i fail to see why it is more sporting to "snipe" at an unsuspecting animal 200 yds away eating some corn.... It is VERY common in europe to hunt drives like that.

nice hunt and congrats hitting a running target at full speed like that !!!!! difficult to say the least

[76/444]

THANKS TED,.... I was wondering what all the hoopla was about, seems like someone needs to take a chill pill!


As to being "SPORTING:" or not. Ask my neighbor how sporting it was for a coyote to dig its way into his prize chicken's coup,... and slaughter over twenty of his chickens raised from egg in an incubator!!!

[pokey]

thanks for reposting.

sorry if i caused a ruckus.

i just wanted to see the pics again.

[Pete44ru]

I'm glad you reposted too, Ted !

Game drives have been a way of life in more places for longer than any of us here have been alive - and I cannot fault them.

IMHO, you showed gratitude & courtesy and good manners in general towards your host(s) by actively taking part.

Our sport is too dear, precious, and endangered to splinter if we disagree, for (to paraphrase Ben Franklin) we must all stand together until forced to hang up our guns (maybe), or most assuredly we shall all have to hang them up separately.

.

[JReed]

Good work Ted.

The Feds shoot them from aircraft and will shoot 50+ a day. I see drives as much more sporting then that. Coyotes are rapid reproducers the only way to truly control their numbers is by doing drives and such. Good on ya for lending a hand.

[3t-]

OH MY VIRGIN EYES














....actually, good show! Coyotes been eating all the baby pheasant chicks on my best hunting ground the past few years. Although it makes me mad I can't fault the coyote for doing what coyote's do. But I can carry a side arm when I hunt birds to help Mother nature "Balance" out her coyote population

[86er]

Ted -

What you guys did is freakin legal, freakin cool and freakin essential to the other game populations in the area! Good for you, I wish I was there!

[L_Kilkenny]

Good hunt and thanks for reposting. Drives are as sporting as any other hunting. Never understood people argueing against drives, dogs, bait, etc etc. Why don't we just call anything but a spear unsporting and leave it at that.


LK

[Paladin]

Thanks TedH for the repost.
I guess they would have really gotten up set to see the MPs on line hunting Dogs on the military post in the early 70’s.

[O.S.O.K.]

I believe this is called a management hunt...

What's the problem with that?

[RIHMFIRE]

I believe this is called a management hunt...

you got that right!

[piller]

I would like to be there for it sometime. That looks like a great way of turning a necessity into something fun. By the way, if anyone doesn't know, coyotes can run about 40 miles per hour and have moves that would make any NFL Runningback jealous. They are not easy to hit, and they are very good predators.

[Old Ironsights]

Meh. A Drive is way more sporting than just poisoning the buggers. And you get to use a gun too.

[Rusty]

Thanks Ted. Y'all did a good job.

[TedH]

thanks for reposting.

sorry if i caused a ruckus.

i just wanted to see the pics again.

Nah, no ruckus. I just expected the deleted thread to fall off the board quietly. Where else can a deleted topic turn into a three page thread?

[afish4570]

Have fun, shoot safe, shoot safe.....Anything that eats 6 or more deer a year can't be any good. The big woods in NY & Pa. are back to the deer populations they were 40 yrs. ago. Don't let anyone sell you that 3pt. antler restrictions on one side produce big bucks isn't telling the whole story. On public land and the Adirondacks & North Central Pa. the smart deer live in town and big woods are barren. Look at the Unified Sportsman of Pa. for what is going on and what sportsman are trying to get the Game Commision to do.....afish4570

[Bogie35]

Not everybody hunts for "sport". Sometimes it's simply a necessity. I personally don't appreciate trophy hunters who harvest only the animals' antlers, leaving the rest of the carcass to the critters. But, I don't feel so strongly about it that I would request the post be removed.

To each his own.

bogie

[piller]

On the plains, folks still raise greyhounds to chase coyotes. The hunters use fast flat shooting calibers and try to hit the coyote when it is infront of the dogs. In a fight, the coyote will usually whip a greyhound, usually. German Shepherd or Shepherd Mix dogs often are brought to be released if the coyote shows sign of fighting instead of running. Shepherd Mix dogs seem to be good at killing the coyote one-on-one. Having the dogs and coyotes fight is not the point, and is avoided if at all possible. The reason for getting rid of the coyotes out there is that they eat a lot of calves. They are a predator, and they do what predators do.

[BigSky56]

Ted, good shooting its unfortunate that some people dont have any idea of the ramifications of unchecked predators. Maybe I should post some pics of lions that have been whacked and take some heat off you. To bad you cant use 1080 anymore took alot of songdogs with it. danny

[Mac in Mo]

Thanks Ted for reposting. Good shooting there. If the the difficulty of the shot is what makes the hunt"sporting" then you guys fit the bill. Its legal. I have only managed to take one coyote that way, ever. As others have said , this also helps the populations of the other game animals in the area. A hunt like that is also a great way to spend quality time with friends and family, or to make new friends. Kevin

[arjunky]

Thanks Ted, at least I know I wasn't going crazy being cooped up in the house all day.
Anyone who has a problem with getting rid of coyotes, regardless of the demise, hasn't seen them at their best(worst).

Byron

[gamekeeper]

Drives are common in the UK we call 'em Vermin Drives. Strict safety rules are needed as the action can get a bit "hot" at times.

[Dastook]

They are predators when they need to be removed remove them. What does sportsmanship have to do with it? If the ones doing it decide to make a sport of it fine but it is their cattle. Just barely above the level of someone insisting that the stalls be mucked out with a teaspoon instead of a spade to make it sporting.

+++1 These critters are becoming a real problem and NEED to thinned.

[rangerider7]

I understand that coyotes are predators but so am I. At least I don't get a buddy and stalk a pregnant cow, wait until she is giving birth, take the newborn as it comes out and tear it apart, then start eating the momma from the rear while she is unable to flee. I have no empathy for coyotes, they do their job as nature calls and so do I, by any means.

[stretch]

I've got no problem with killing coyotes with a gun. Trapping is okay, too.

Driving game to hunt is okay, too - as long as the population being
hunted can support that type of hunting. In some ares of PA and NY State, driving deer is fine. They've become pests in some locales, and really need
to be thinned.

Where I am in central Maine, it's not such a good thing, because the
whitetail population cannot support that method of hunting.

For coyotes? I have no problem with that.

-Stretch

[Nath]

Looks like good fun to me

All them ground nesting birds are going to love you fellers! Any suckling deer fawns or kids are going to love you too

Nath.

[TedH]

Strict safety rules are needed as the action can get a bit "hot" at times.

Yep, there was a safety meeting first thing in the morning. Shotguns only, shot no larger than #2, reminding everyone of the common sense stuff, and also laying out the game plan.

Things went slow at the start of each drive, but got real interesting towards the end. You'd better be on your toes.

Of course lots of deer and turkeys were seen. Actually saw one buck loose a side of his rack as he hit the ground after jumping a fence. Some bucks still had their antlers, some had shed already. Saw a couple dandy bucks.

[TCB in TN]

I understand that coyotes are predators but so am I. At least I don't get a buddy and stalk a pregnant cow, wait until she is giving birth, take the newborn as it comes out and tear it apart, then start eating the momma from the rear while she is unable to flee. I have no empathy for coyotes, they do their job as nature calls and so do I, by any means.

Bingo! I raised goats, cows, and chickens for years and years. Coyotes are tough on all of them, so I got tough on coyotes. I trapped, shot, called, and made a point to shoot everyone I could. I have NO problem with drives.

Coyotes have decimated the quail population around here. Rabbit hunting is not so hot any more. Plenty of people even in town lose cats and small dogs to coyotes ever year.

Nice job as far as I am concerned!

TCB

[preventec47]

I can see why they are having a hard time reintroducing wolves
in yellowstone park and other areas. I really like wolves
and hate to see them hunted but I guess if the numbers
get too large, the other wildlife can suffer. OF course
in yellowstone without man as predator, the other
species were over crowded and sickly because the
wolves were not there to weed out the weak and sick
ad keep the herd sizes down.

Too bad we cant trap and spay the females to
keep em from reproducing. I have heard in some
areas where rats and field mice and ground hogs
and prarie dogs etc are taking over the fields, the
foxes and coyotes are saving the day.

Isnt that the same situation with rabbits in australia ?

[TedH]

Too bad we cant trap and spay the females to
keep em from reproducing.

That's just a lot of unnecessary expense.

I like all the predators, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, etc. But the numbers must remain balanced with the rest of the wild population. The most cost effective way to do that is to let hunters take care of it. Then there is also the farmer/rancher that has to deal with them. Let them take care of them however they wish on their own property.

[BigSky56]

The only problem with spaying is, the coyotes and wolves are eating the livestock not humping them. danny