Author Topic: How big do coyotes get?  (Read 3512 times)

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Offline .270

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How big do coyotes get?
« on: October 12, 2005, 09:17:33 AM »
I was out with my father spot lighting for deer in a area we usally see about a dozen at a time. When we turned the light on what looked like a huge coyote ran as fast as it could go for the woods. As soon as it got to where it thought it was hidden it stopped. We could'nt get a good look at it when it stopped we could only see its eyes. This thing was atleast the size of a large german shepard. :shock:  I know the all the people who live around there and nobody has a dog that big and if it was a dog why would it run like his a§§ was on fire when the light came on. I have seen dogs before when spot lighting but they all just stood and looked into the light.

Offline skb2706

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2005, 10:05:02 AM »
At least in my area any coyote that is better than 40 lbs. is a pretty big dog.

Offline Lawdog

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2005, 03:13:13 PM »
Adult Coyotes may get to be as big as 40 lbs. while a really big one may go as high as 60 lbs. if the food conditions are good.  I have heard some tell about killing 80(+/-) lb. Coyotes but I think they are Coy-dogs.  Half dog and half Coyote.  Could be what you saw was a Coy-dog.  Lawdog
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Offline KN

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2005, 04:06:19 PM »
Saw one here in Missouri like that. Got up one morning and looked out the window, He was walking up the driveway. First thing I thought was who's shepard is that? Then he turned sideways to me and I could see it was a coyote. Big as a german shepard.   KN

Offline varmit_master

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2005, 07:41:38 PM »
They had a pic of one over on the www.predatormastersforums.com it was 61 pd coyote. VM

Offline shooter

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coyote size
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2005, 07:37:35 PM »
My buddy shot one near Lake George in 1975 that weighed 65lbs.I was there for the weigh-in.The Yote was almost as long as he was tall (5'6")
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Offline varmit_master

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2005, 10:39:24 PM »
I would hate to try to carry 2 of them out at the same time. Our coyotes dont get that big. VM

Offline Qaz

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2005, 03:33:02 AM »
I did not know that there were any coyotes in Germany.

 It may have been a Coy-dog, but a federal trapper at a meeting told us that they are extremely rare and usually die at birth or soon after. He also told us that the east coast and the northern states have the largest he has seen at 65lbs.  All my dogs have always tried to kill a coyote on sight, so I am reluctant to believe in coy-dogs.

Offline 1911crazy

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2005, 03:44:43 AM »
I raised this awareness a while back.  I seen a dead yote on the back of a honda quad and it was hanging off both sides alot.  It appeared to be the size of a german shepard.  Later i read an article that the wolves from Canada are crossing into the US on the New York/Vermont borders.   They are interbreeding with the coyotes here making a much larger coyote/wolf animal. We now have packs of smaller wolves running around besides wolves. All i can say is make sure you carry enough ammo when you go hunting and becareful around your fresh kill if your alone.  These predators are making a comeback.

Offline AZ223

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2005, 09:28:17 AM »
Here in AZ we haven't really seen the wolf/coyote mix yet, at least that I know of. So our 'yotes still run around 25-30lbs. Jackrabbits, on the other hand, seem to run bigger than that. I'm expecting to see antlers on some of them any day now...:shock:
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Offline X-man

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2005, 02:07:03 PM »
Here in Newfoundland (Canada) we've got the Eastern Coyote, which is appreciably larger than their western cousins. Average coyotes are in the 40-45lbs range. The larger ones run 50-55lbs and up. Lots of food, genetics, little competition, almost zero predation on pups and lots of room to expand their population all contribute to their large size, (the Coyote only invaded the island 20 years ago.)

Today, they're basically filling the ecological niche once held by the now extinct Newfoundland Wolf. They're hunting in packs and taking adult caribou, moose calves and even adult moose! As their population explodes, they are having an impact on calf mortality rates and some once prime caribou hunting management areas have seen reductions in quotas because of it. The good news is that we finally have a true Coyote hunting season that is almost year round.
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Offline Brett

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #11 on: November 08, 2005, 05:45:07 AM »
.270 are you sure that that was not a wolf that you and your dad spotted?
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Offline Sourdough

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #12 on: November 09, 2005, 09:02:30 AM »
.270:  Since you don't say where you were when you saw the animal, it's hard to quess what it was.  I can only think that it may have been a wolf.
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Offline LarryL

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big yotes
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2005, 06:21:00 AM »
Up here in NH and ME, they get well into the 50s, with occaisional big ones over 60.  They are powerful predators, and very intelligent pack hunters.  

My dad came across a bull moose kill up in Northern ME a few years ago snowmobiling.  The coyotes got a big healthy bull moose in between two ridges, with fairly deep snow.  Then, they just worked him back and forth in the valley between the ridges.  When he got to the other end, they would turn him and run him back again.  The ridges were really steep, and with the snow, the moose did not try to go uphill to escape.  They just kept working him until he apparently became exhausted, and then they pulled him down.  He appeared to have been quite large and healthy.

Watching the tracks told the story.  The coyotes moved in a straight line, with the lead animal breaking trail.  Every so often, there would be a place where one stepped to the side and then back into the track again.  My dad reported the kill to one of the state biologists, and described the tracks.  The biologist confirmed that the lead animal breaks trail until he/she is tired, then steps aside to allow the pack to pass, and steps in at the end to rest.  That way, a fresh animal is always breaking trail, and the tiredest ones are at the back of the pack where the going is the easiest.
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Offline DWARREN123

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How big do coyotes get?
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2005, 07:45:14 AM »
Saw one Saturday morning, about 5:30 AM, that looked to be 45-50 pounds. It was on my way to work and in a suburban area. Really good looking.
Have seen quite a few along the roadside going up to Owensboro Kentucky.

Offline sixgunluv

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WV Coyote
« Reply #15 on: December 22, 2005, 05:23:33 AM »


    This dog was a 60lb. male