Coyote reactions

[Dogshooter]

Where I live, the coyotes catch so much hell from everybody that they react to anything at all. When you are running down the highway a coyote will stand and watch you drive by but if you let off of your accellerator, they turn and run like a bat out of hell, immediately. I used to keep a big game bumper on my truck so I could get those close to the road. If I could get one and not take more than three rows of corn I figured it was worth it. Now, you can't catch 'em with a guided missile. But that's OK cause that puts more of 'em in the backcountry where I lurk. How spooky are they in YOUR neck of the woods? :wink:

[Dragon31]

Dogshooter:

Are you writing about the ones that live in the city and eat out of Burger King dumpster and cross the Elementary School Play Ground to get to the spilled food around the concession stand, or are you talking about the ones that live around the bluffs that over look the Ohio River Bottom Lands.  Two different family of dogs.  One family up scaled YUPPIE's that know they can't be shot and the other family are poor country cousins that have to scrounge for a living.  Like a lot of country folks, the country dogs need a little long range encouragement but on occasion come home with me.  The City dog's don't understand the need for guys with bows to practise and on several occasions have found that a 125 grain Broad head is as effective as a 125 grain Hornady.

[Larry Gibson]

Dogshooter

Yup, they can get that way.  Some sure can tell when the engine drops any RPMs.  Reminds me back in the mid '70s when the price of hides was high (I got $90 for one back then but most were in the $30-50 range) seems like every yaywho and their brother would take a call and a half rack of beer and go out "calling".  We swore back then that most coyotes were so conditioned to getting shot at after a rabbit sqeal that if they caught a real rabbit and it squealed, they would drop it and run!  Seemed to increase the rabbit population though.  

My main hunting buddy had installed a manual throttle on his CJ5.  When we spotted a "freebie" (coyote mousing in a hay field or pasture) he would set the throttle so the engine would stay reved and then coast to almost a rolling stop behind any amount of concealment.  I would (or he would if I was driving) hop out and hunker down until the CJ was out of sight or a long was down the road.  The coyotes always kept a wary eye on the CJ until it was a distance away. When they went back to mousing I would most often get a shot having usually crossed a ditch and bellied up under the fence by a fence post.  Worked for us anyway.

Larry Gibson