LIVE! From the Stand, Season 3!!!

[big al hunter]

I'd like to but I have neither the time nor equipment, say nothing of access to enough (or appropriate) land, besides that most of these places are 30+ miles from my home.

You have a rifle, right?
A predator call is a few bucks for the kind you blow into.
You make time to drive 30 miles to deer hunt.
coyote huntin' is just as much, or more fun than deer huntin'
I think jimbob has a good idea. Primos calls used to come with a DVD that taught you to use it. You should try it, after deer season, of course.

[Kimber84]

Originally Posted by Brian Pfleuger

Our turkey population has exploded too but I think it's habitat and relative lack of hunters more than anything. The real problem now is the coyotes. They are absolutely out of control.

We had a terrible coyote problem last year at our place... We ended up only killing two (male and female) back in June, haven't heard any since... I'm not foolish enough to think they're gone, but we used to hear them every night as the sun set when we were bowhunting.

[shortwave]

When time is of the essence...bait em.

The neighbor and I have been using some sort of left-over or older (freezer-burned) meat for bait that seems to have worked well for getting the yotes into an area for extermination. Seems to help in bringing them in or helping to centralize them for extermination.

I had another yote showing up here in the yard again about 1 1/2mos. ago. He met his demise over some irresistible left-over BBQ chicken wings that were placed in a gal. bucket. Bucket was hanged from a tree limb by a rope just high enough to keep the coons out.

Check your local 'baiting' laws.

[Brian Pfleuger]

We have no baiting laws for coyotes. My uncle pretty well exterminated the pack around his house by using deer carcasses and a motion sensor. Works great, no waiting. Just hear the "ding-dong", grab the gun and go blast the vermin. Night vision helps too.

Honestly, "real" coyote hunting carries almost no interest for me. I'll find a way to do it if it comes to that but I'd much rather let somebody who WANTS to do it, do it.

[jimbob86]

When time is of the essence...bait em.

The neighbor and I have been using some sort of left-over or older (freezer-burned) meat for bait that seems to have worked well for getting the yotes into an area for extermination. Seems to help in bringing them in or helping to centralize them for extermination.

When you take a deer, drag it to a wide open area to field dress it .... gut pile becomes bait pile ...... after you process the deer, dump your bonebox on the gut pile ..... 'yotes will get in the habit of foraging in that location ..... which is the killzone of your ambush .....

We had a terrible coyote problem last year at our place... We ended up only killing two (male and female) back in June, haven't heard any since... I'm not foolish enough to think they're gone, but we used to hear them every night as the sun set when we were bowhunting.

You likely did not get them all ..... but coyotes are smart - the ones left may have learned "noisy" = "dead" .... or the survivors may have learned that your location is dangerous ..... and moved on.

Honestly, "real" coyote hunting carries almost no interest for me.

It is not as rewarding as deer hunting- no sausage- ..... depending upon the fur market, a coyote can be worth the price of a box of premium bullets, or nothing at all ..... I remember as a kid when my uncle got over 100 dollars for a white coyote .... and that was when 100 bucks would darn near buy a used hunting rifle .....

It is exciting calling them, though they don't answer the way turkeys do.

[shortwave]

Yes, deer gut piles work well for yotes too. Don't know if DNR would consider it baiting or not.

I'm not really interested in hunting yotes either, but a couple years ago, we just had to do something as they were taking over. Killed 5 in the yard. Found and destroyed several dens within about a 200 acre surrounding.

Problem is, we kinda slacked off on em and as was said in the scary movie "they're baaack".

The one I shot a while back, has been hanging out here awhile. Her ears were very dark and I'd seen her skirting the yard at first light about once a week. Saw her up in the yard a couple times under the apple trees sniffing were the deer come up and feed. Was just never ready for her when I'd see her.

Hung the chicken out one morning about 0430 and killed her at about 0645 the same morning. She had actually stood on her hind legs a couple times hitting the bucket tryin to get to the chicken.

Another time, the neighbor butchered one of his hogs. We took the waste out and put into two piles at different locations where we saw a lot of scat. Killed two yotes off of one pile during the day and nothing off the other. Neighbors trail cam showed activity during the night at the unfruitful pile but we didn't hunt at night, just morning and evening.

Can also say with proof of nothing more then field experience that IMO, during turkey season, there are days gobblers just will not answer a call and I believe some of those days are when an area has yotes around that are chasing to the sound of turkeys. I believe once a few turkeys sound off in the morning and are stalked by a yote, if the turkey(s) see the yote, they go silent.
Had this happen with a bird that was talking a lot with me last Spring. He was on the ground and although I could not see him I knew he was headed my way. I watched a yote cross over the next ridge and was sneaky snaking towards the gobbler. Yote disappeared into thickets about 60yds from where the bird was at. No more callin out of that bird or any other the rest of the morning.

Again, no proof other then what I have experienced while turkey hunting and seeing yotes in the areas I've hunted.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Interestingly, I've never seen a gut pile touched. Carcasses work great but I've seen gut piles sit in woods with high coyote populations until they just rot away. Weeks and weeks later. I'm sure they sometimes work but I've been surprised to see them sitting around until they rot, every time I'm aware of.

[jimbob86]

Interestingly, I've never seen a gut pile touched. Carcasses work great but I've seen gut piles sit in woods with high coyote populations until they just rot away. Weeks and weeks later.

Your coyotes have eaten all your 'possums.

[shortwave]

Your coyotes have eaten all your 'possums

Along with the coons and buzzards.

Gut piles around this neck of the woods don't go to waste.

Course, I live in the middle of the woods.

Brian,

FWIW, how's the bear population in your hunting area?
Knowing bear are predators a rapid increase in bear population can affect the deer herd as well.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Maybe. I guess I shouldn't say "never" but I would count the near total lack of interest in gut piles to be the longest standing surprise of my woods experience. I expected them to be gone, I expected crows to find them first, as coyotes spread I figured they'd find them. Nothing seems to touch them. I didn't know possums were supposed to eat them too. Sure, one might disappear occasionally but they mostly sit there until the leaves blow over them or the snow covers them.

[jimbob86]

I didn't know possums were supposed to eat them too.

Possums will eat ANYTHING that does not resist being eaten.

One that I inadvertantly shut up in my garage for a couple days ate all the D-Con mouse poison (several boxes) in there, and chewed the nozzle off the plastic lawnmower gas can ..... he was loose in there 4 days, and was still alive when I found him .....

I have actually saw one that ate the ...... ummmm .... anus ...... out of a dead skunk. Drove by the roadkilled skunk in the early AM ..... passed by again a couple hours after dark, and the back half of this possum was sticking out of the back end of the skunk ..... he was chowin' down with enough gusto that the skunk carcass looked like it was alive and moving ....

Possums are such nasty creatures that the barn cats of my youth, which would fight you for chicken guts, would not touch a live, pink, hairless, defenseless baby possum.

[shortwave]

Possums will eat ANYTHING that does not resist being eaten.

Up to and including each other.

Saw an intact dead horse along the railroad tracks and it's whole stomach cavity was full of possums to the point it looked like the horse was moving.

And yes, they had entered through the rectum.

[Kimber84]

Originally Posted by Brian Pfleuger

Maybe. I guess I shouldn't say "never" but I would count the near total lack of interest in gut piles to be the longest standing surprise of my woods experience. I expected them to be gone, I expected crows to find them first, as coyotes spread I figured they'd find them. Nothing seems to touch them. I didn't know possums were supposed to eat them too. Sure, one might disappear occasionally but they mostly sit there until the leaves blow over them or the snow covers them.

What I found interesting was a week after we had shot those two yotes, their carcasses were still laying there in the field. Buzzards wouldn't even pick at them, must be some sort of pact all nasty rotten flesh eaters have made, that they all won't touch coyotes. Lol

[upstate81]

Shortwave, that is disgusting. Ive never heard of such a thing. There goes my appetite!

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by Kimber84

they all won't touch coyotes.

They will eat each other after a while. We had a couple of their carcasses on my uncle's bait pile. We learned they they will cannibalize and they apparently strongly prefer rotten food, as they wouldn't touch anything until it had been there for quite a while.

[shortwave]

Shortwave, that is disgusting. Ive never heard of such a thing. There goes my appetite!

Sorry bout that upstate.

Didn't mean to ruin dinner.

Warning: more gross stuff.

Far as gut piles goes, have even witnessed deer nibbling out of fresh ones. Assuming what they were eating was more then likely undigested/partially digested food from a torn/cut open paunch.

[jimbob86]

Far as gut piles goes, have even witnessed deer nibbling out of fresh ones.

Yep.

They will eat ABC corn out of an opened paunch .....

[Brian Pfleuger]

Giving it a go this afternoon in a new spot. There's more sign here than I've seen in a long time. This is likely the next to last hunt for bow season and I've seen precisely one deer the whole season.

[Brian Pfleuger]

and... skunked again.

My uncle had a tall 4-pt come wandering in as he was climbing a tree and it came back about an hour later. Otherwise, not a thing.

[Kimber84]

Originally Posted by Brian Pfleuger

and... skunked again.

My uncle had a tall 4-pt come wandering in as he was climbing a tree and it came back about an hour later. Otherwise, not a thing.

I can't believe the lack of deer up there, that's crazy. Hats off to you for sticking it out... Our rut is really kicking down here now, lots of mature deer biting the dust.

[Brian Pfleuger]

It's really just an off year. We did fine last year. Doesn't make it suck any less but hopefully when gun season starts there will actually be MORE deer since we obviously aren't killing them now.

[stu925]

Live from the stand test run. Out squirrel hunting with my boys. Haven't seen much though.

Stu

[Brian Pfleuger]

Get them tree rats out of there so the woods are quiet for the deer hunters.

[Kimber84]

Heading to Nebraska Thursday for rifle season, I'll try to post how its going but doubt we'll have much signal. Hoping to just put a tag on a buck, gonna be there all week.

[jimbob86]

Heading to Nebraska Thursday for rifle season, I'll try to post how its going but doubt we'll have much signal. Hoping to just put a tag on a buck, gonna be there all week.

+1.

The lack of cell phone/internet is a feature, not a bug, in my book.

I leave all my troubles behind when I drop down into the Beaver Valley.