Coyote in my driveway

[CoalTrain49]

Nobody around here knows anything about a coyote season, even if there was one. I suppose if you were purposely hunting them on public land you might want to check the regs, but mostly I think shooting coyotes is a predation measure for most people. At least that's the way I see it. My neighbor has lost a lot of chickens to coyotes and we just apply the three S standard in this neighborhood. I don't think their numbers have been depleted as I still occasionally see them in my yard along with my neighbors chickens.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Nobody around here knows anything about a coyote season, even if there was one. I suppose if you were purposely hunting them on public land you might want to check the regs, but mostly I think shooting coyotes is a predation measure for most people. At least that's the way I see it. My neighbor has lost a lot of chickens to coyotes and we just apply the three S standard in this neighborhood. I don't think their numbers have been depleted as I still occasionally see them in my yard along with my neighbors chickens.

On public land you can hunt them as long as something else is in season. You have to abide by the weapons restrictions of that season. This is no big deal though because small game season and deer season overlap so you could be using a rim fire rifle to shoot coyote even if it's bow season for deer. Although this would be kind of inconsiderate towards the bow hunters who have it hard enough already

 

[.308 Norma]

We get visitors regularly at my place. Bears

I have a flex tone deer call that can make a fawn distress call. Think that might get anything?

It might. I'd be careful. I used to bear hunt with a guy that used a distressed rabbit call to call in black bears. When I was hunting with him, we'd sit back-to-back while he was blowing on that call, and when I wasn't with him, he'd put his back against a steep bank or something like that because one time he called a bear that came in behind him. He heard something, and turned around just in time to see a very surprised black bear about 10 feet away.
He said the bear almost did a back flip, and took off back up the hill. My buddy was so surprised that he never even got a shot. And after that, he was a lot more careful whenever he called bears with a distressed rabbit call.
BTW, I've heard stories of cougars coming to a distressed rabbit call too. That's why I'm cautious when I call coyotes around here - we have a lot of cougars (and not the older women kind) in this part of the country, and it would probably ruin my whole day to have one of them things come charging in behind me looking for an easy meal. Mostly what I call in are just magpies though.

 

[Appalachiannative]

It might. I'd be careful. I used to bear hunt with a guy that used a distressed rabbit call to call in black bears. When I was hunting with him, we'd sit back-to-back while he was blowing on that call, and when I wasn't with him, he'd put his back against a steep bank or something like that because one time he called a bear that came in behind him. He heard something, and turned around just in time to see a very surprised black bear about 10 feet away.
He said the bear almost did a back flip, and took off back up the hill. My buddy was so surprised that he never even got a shot. And after that, he was a lot more careful whenever he called bears with a distressed rabbit call.
BTW, I've heard stories of cougars coming to a distressed rabbit call too. That's why I'm cautious when I call coyotes around here - we have a lot of cougars (and not the older women kind) in this part of the country, and it would probably ruin my whole day to have one of them things come charging in behind me looking for an easy meal. Mostly what I call in are just magpies though.

Here what you call a cougar is called a panther, a lot of the old folks pronounce it "painter", they are supposed to be wiped out in NC but some folks swear they've seen them. I've never heard of calling bears since around here we traditionally hunt them with hounds or curs. You make a good point about safety though I'll take that into account

 

[.308 Norma]

I've never heard of calling bears since around here we traditionally hunt them with hounds or curs.

I don't think a lot of people around here call bears either, but it works - sometimes. I think most people around here hunt bears just about the same way they hunt mule deer and elk - climb to a ridge, glass, and stalk. Only most bear hunters around here hunt bears in the spring instead of the fall, I think.
And I think most people who seriously hunt mountain lions (cougars) around here use hounds. I've never done that. In fact, I've never killed a mountain lion even though we see them occasionally. There's an outfitter/taxidermist that has "lion hounds" not 5 miles from here, and it seems like every other year a mountain lion wanders into Pocatello - the big city about 25 miles north of here. When one of them does that, the Fish and Game Department darts or traps it, then hauls it back out into the hills. Sometimes they don't catch it before it has carried off someone's pet though.
BTW, in my experience, a distressed rabbit call scares the heck out of mule deer and elk. I don't know how many times I've set up near a thicket getting ready to call coyotes (or bears when I was with my bear hunting buddy) and as soon as I started blowing the distressed rabbit call, a deer or elk would jump out of that thicket and take off for kingdom come. I always supposed that instinct probably told the deer or elk that being around when a predator comes looking for a meal wasn't a good idea.

 

[Appalachiannative]

I don't think a lot of people around here call bears either, but it works - sometimes. I think most people around here hunt bears just about the same way they hunt mule deer and elk - climb to a ridge, glass, and stalk. Only most bear hunters around here hunt bears in the spring instead of the fall, I think.
And I think most people who seriously hunt mountain lions (cougars) around here use hounds. I've never done that. In fact, I've never killed a mountain lion even though we see them occasionally. There's an outfitter/taxidermist that has "lion hounds" not 5 miles from here, and it seems like every other year a mountain lion wanders into Pocatello - the big city about 25 miles north of here. When one of them does that, the Fish and Game Department darts or traps it, then hauls it back out into the hills. Sometimes they don't catch it before it has carried off someone's pet though.
BTW, in my experience, a distressed rabbit call scares the heck out of mule deer and elk. I don't know how many times I've set up near a thicket getting ready to call coyotes (or bears when I was with my bear hunting buddy) and as soon as I started blowing the distressed rabbit call, a deer or elk would jump out of that thicket and take off for kingdom come. I always supposed that instinct probably told the deer or elk that being around when a predator comes looking for a meal wasn't a good idea.

A spring bear season!? Man that would be sweet. We only get fall and winter. Eastern half of my state you can hunt deer with dogs. Always wanted to try that but they literally divide it down the middle. I'm in the western half where you gotta sit in a stand freezing to death waiting on them to hear your call or smell the tink 69. I'm not surprised about it spooking deer, the predator call that is. I've been hearing all the yipping and howling bout every night lately and today my dog came from the direction the howling comes from with part of a deer carcass in her jaws

 

[.308 Norma]

A spring bear season!? Man that would be sweet.

Man, I really hate to be a "Yeah-but" type of guy, but the facts are: we only get two to three weeks of deer season here, we're only allowed one deer per hunter, that deer better danged well be wearing antlers, and an Idaho deer hunters chances of even getting a deer are less than one in three.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game even cancelled the "Youth Deer Hunts" this year. In years past, youths 16 and under could kill a doe in some units. Not so anymore. Idaho deer herds are really hurting nowadays.
Also, there are very few units in Idaho that you can buy an over-the-counter elk tag for anymore. Most "any weapon" elk hunting units are "draw hunt" only these days, which doesn't bother me a heck of a lot because I'm not big on elk meat anyway. Besides, both my wife and I hunt, and we consider one deer a score for both of us. So our chances of getting a deer here are two out of three.
Nevertheless, every time I see a post on THR telling me about how one of you Easterners shot your "first deer of the season," or how you only killed two or three, or a half-dozen deer this year," I shake my head and wonder, "How would that be?"
On the other hand, two-thirds of Idaho is public land. That's 34.5 million acres (and less than 1% of that is inaccessible) that we can hunt without asking permission from a landowner, much less paying for a hunting lease. The only problem is finding a danged deer on all that land!

 

[Appalachiannative]

Man, I really hate to be a "Yeah-but" type of guy, but the facts are: we only get two to three weeks of deer season here, we're only allowed one deer per hunter, that deer better danged well be wearing antlers, and an Idaho deer hunters chances of even getting a deer are less than one in three.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game even cancelled the "Youth Deer Hunts" this year. In years past, youths 16 and under could kill a doe in some units. Not so anymore. Idaho deer herds are really hurting nowadays.
Also, there are very few units in Idaho that you can buy an over-the-counter elk tag for anymore. Most "any weapon" elk hunting units are "draw hunt" only these days, which doesn't bother me a heck of a lot because I'm not big on elk meat anyway. Besides, both my wife and I hunt, and we consider one deer a score for both of us. So our chances of getting a deer here are two out of three.
Nevertheless, every time I see a post on THR telling me about how one of you Easterners shot your "first deer of the season," or how you only killed two or three, or a half-dozen deer this year," I shake my head and wonder, "How would that be?"
On the other hand, two-thirds of Idaho is public land. That's 34.5 million acres (and less than 1% of that is inaccessible) that we can hunt without asking permission from a landowner, much less paying for a hunting lease. The only problem is finding a danged deer on all that land!

Yes here every sportsman license as it is called comes with a big game report card that allows for 6 deer. Two antlered and four antlerless. Antlerless can be does or button bucks. But that is for the whole state. Here in the far western corner on the mountains idk anyone personally who fill up there whole card unless theyve got private land to hunt. Also we only get one day to bag antlerless with a fire arm. Bow hunters can take either sex. The public land is really ruff terrain. Our deer herds hang out near crop fields and suburbs for the most part. Most successful deer hunter I know is my cousin who goes to a private club in Georgia. Also poaching deer by way of driving around near the aforementioned suburbs and shooting one from the driver's seat is far too common where I'm at. More common than actual hunting. My report card is empty because I have only public land and not really a very experienced deer hunter. Killed them in SC on private land when I was a teen but my relatives who owned that land have since sold it. What's your turkey season like? We get one month in the spring

 

[CoalTrain49]

Man, I really hate to be a "Yeah-but" type of guy, but the facts are: we only get two to three weeks of deer season here, we're only allowed one deer per hunter, that deer better danged well be wearing antlers, and an Idaho deer hunters chances of even getting a deer are less than one in three.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game even cancelled the "Youth Deer Hunts" this year. In years past, youths 16 and under could kill a doe in some units. Not so anymore. Idaho deer herds are really hurting nowadays.
Also, there are very few units in Idaho that you can buy an over-the-counter elk tag for anymore. Most "any weapon" elk hunting units are "draw hunt" only these days, which doesn't bother me a heck of a lot because I'm not big on elk meat anyway. Besides, both my wife and I hunt, and we consider one deer a score for both of us. So our chances of getting a deer here are two out of three.
Nevertheless, every time I see a post on THR telling me about how one of you Easterners shot your "first deer of the season," or how you only killed two or three, or a half-dozen deer this year," I shake my head and wonder, "How would that be?"
On the other hand, two-thirds of Idaho is public land. That's 34.5 million acres (and less than 1% of that is inaccessible) that we can hunt without asking permission from a landowner, much less paying for a hunting lease. The only problem is finding a danged deer on all that land!

My back yard a few weeks ago.