Your coyote/varmint gun.

[skeeter1]

Some folks in this part of the country seem to think it keeps coyotes away. Old wives tail IMO.

Maybe, maybe not. When I was younger, I used to hunt the crows that were raiding our garden. My dad would go out and lay them out with their wings spread out near the garden. The other ones stayed away. Perhaps it was the sound of the .22 rifle shot that kept them away. I'll never know for sure.

[rem33]

It works for me Skeeter.
In the fall of the year we get what seems like thousands of crows for a few weeks that come into town and spend the night in the large trees.
We have a huge Maple in the back yard and they will land by the hundreds it seems. Making a mess of every thing under or near the tree.
If I get one with the pellet gun and lay in out in the middle of the back yard, wings spread, no crows will land in our tree until a few days after I move it. Trouble is it is still warm days and they can only be left a few days.

[hps1]

Skeeter 1:My dad would go out and lay them out with their wings spread out near the garden. The other ones stayed away.

rem33:If I get one with the pellet gun and lay in out in the middle of the back yard, wings spread, no crows will land in our tree until a few days after I move it.

When I was a youngster, we had very few crows in S. Tx. and only in the wintertime at that. Haven't seen a crow in many years, now. I wonder why that is? Don't doubt the crows stay away from the dead crows. The "birds eye view" would make such a scarecrow a bit more visible than a coyote hanging on a fence, though, admittedly the coyote is no slouch in visible abilities (or any other for that matter )

Humorous story regarding bird behavior; had trouble w/woodpeckers pecking holes in my deer blind, then the yellowjackets would enter the blinds and could be a real problem. Bought one of those paper mache (sp?) owls and mounted it on top of the blind. Worked great all deer season, but the next season came back and found the woodpeckers had pecked a hole in the owl! Not all bad, though, as the yellowjackets had nested in the owl, not the blind.

Regards,
hps

[The Terminator]

I think that she is coyote ready now. I got the scope and bipod on today. The new 20 round mags came in also. They won't scrape the table/ ground when shooting her. The bipod did not want to fit. I had to think about it a while, then, I cut two pieces of small rubber hose that I had, and used them to shim the space. Problem was that the qd swivel is larger than normal, creates a crack when trying to tighten down the bipod. What do you think now?

[nickE10mm]

[Desertfox]

Hanging Coyotes and wolves on fence posts*

There is a history behind this odd behavior. Back a few years ago, the coyotes and wolves were a nuisance to certain farmers/ranchers. The local cattle associations and other livestock ranchers could petition the state to rid their area of pests like the coyotes and/or wolves. There were (and still are) federal and state game management hunters.

Before the days of information superhighways, before everyone even had telephones, when the exterminators came to your area, they would advertise there presence and success by hanging the exterminated vermin on the fence posts on routes to town.

There were state and federal hunters to cure such problem animals.

Today, there are still such people. I know a man who is a federal hunter, his title is game management ranger. He has frequent tasks of removing everything from pigeons to hogs to deer to skunks. He has areas that he has been tasked to remove coyotes year round and two places right now he has to go try and trap mountain lions.

He says whenever possible he darts some animals and relocates them. He also says it is usually not the case. A darted/drugged animal in a populated area is a bad idea.

The fence hanging started that way and now I think it has been passed down to bragging rights. Hanging a coyote on a fence will not stop others from entering that area. IMO. They live every day around dead animals. They die of old age sometimes. They don't evacuate the area because one dies.

[Smoke Screen]

Ouuu! Ouuu! I can't wait to post mine!! I'm actually going on a yote hunting trip in southern/central/northern Utah in 2 weeks. Just ordered a savage 12fv in .223, a 4x16 scope, bipod, etc... I'll post some pics as soon as I put all the pieces together!~!

[FirstFreedom]

Sweet rig, Nick. I have a very similar rig for long range varminting (26" Rem sendero "take-off" bbl in .243 win, mated to a mauser 98 action). What loads shoot well in your 700?

Thanks for the dope on yote-hangin, DF!

[nickE10mm]

FirstFreedom,

Thanks. I pretty much use the 55gr Win NBT's for varminting, even though I haven't had much chance to do any lately. The rifle prints about .7" groups @ 100y with that ammunition from the bench. According to the info I've read, the 700 VLS 26" bbl's turn rate is optimized for the lighter rounds in .243 as opposed to the heavy ones. Also, I took my first deer with this rifle... 95gr Win NBT at about 70 yards...rested on a low branch of a conifer.

I sure love her. Accurate, rugged and .... did I mention accurate? (Although you have to be in good shape to lug that thing up and down the hills of Mark Twain Nat'l Forest in the Ozarks. HA!

[Fat White Boy]

nickE- I have a VLS in .308...It is deadly- The longest shot I have made with it so far is 218 yards on a coyote using Milsurp 147g ammo...

[nickE10mm]

Hey Fatwhiteboy... I bet it IS deadly! The thing i love about the VLS is the heavy varmint bbl and laminated wood stock... Its just a great lookin shootin gun! I've considered a 308 a number of times ... Hmmmm

[Fat White Boy]

It's weight is one of its assets- The recoil is minimal with the .308. All of my friends that shoot it, love it. I have a hunting round that I made up for it. I use 168 gr sierra bullet with 48gr of IMR 3031. I am going to use it on hogs later on this Spring...

[12-34hom]

Mine - 6mmAI. - Tricked out by Gordy's gun shop.

[esheato]

Cooper MTV in .223 AI.