Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

It's not a true hibernation they will hole up for the cold weather, I have seen them stay in for a month or two depending on how long it stays cold.

That's interesting. I was told long ago that coons don't like the snow since thier feet are so sensitive. I don't think thats entirely true since I've seen ALOT of coon tracks in the snow and seen many out and about in all conditions.

I don't think much of anything likes to get out in subzero temperatures and especially if it's also windy, I know I for sure don't and I'm glad that I don't have to work in it now. I have taken a lot of fox, bobcats and coyote in cold weather, but not many racoons or skunks. I did see a bat out in January so turned it in for rabies testing it had white nose disease, a fungal infection, but tested negative for rabies .

This is a good example of why I told the control guys that when they knew the plane or helicopter was going to fly make sure that they had the fences set up with snares. I went out this morning and they were spraying with the plane this coyote ran from the plane and was in my snare maybe 5 minutes when I got there. It's a bigger mountain coyote standing between 24 and 26 inches at the shoulders and weighing around 50 to 60 pounds. notice how grey he is even on the sides and that his legs aren't the rusty red color of his face and ears. I love my trued and tuned Ruger SR 22 one shot at 10 feet hit him in the darker hair above his eyes centered in his forehead. If you visualize a Y from his ears to his nose tip with the vee coming together above the eyes that is a good quick killing shot for them using a smaller caliber round. As always, I talk like I am visiting with some guys that may not have had the experience that others might have had the opportunity to have had. I learned to shoot hogs in that spot when I was around 8 years old using a 22 rifle with longs or shorts as every New Year's Day, we butchered two to four of them for our year's supply of meat.

That is a pretty coyote

Thanks

Buck

I like that color phase myself; the Montana pale coyotes are really pretty coyotes also. I worked with a guy that asked me if I could tan one for him to take to his in-laws down in Arizona. I caught a beautiful mountain coyote the next day, so I tanned it for him, he took it to his father-in-law. He came back after his Christmas vacation and asked me was that really a coyote or was it a wolf? My in-laws said they couldn't use it, and they didn't think it was a coyote they were positive it was a wolf. He talked to them and assured them that it was a coyote, and it was just a different subspecies than they were used to seeing in Arizona, and they finally said it would be okay for their purposes. I really think that they probably do have some wolf genes in them.

What a pretty coyote and what a Giant?

Hal

DSheetz said:

every New Year's Day, we butchered two to four of them

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That is really interesting to me. We always butchered much earlier than that. Basically when the weather got cold enough. I remember us butchering hogs in November most years. This was the late 60s early 70s. Our butcher house definitely did not have refrigeration. Therefore, you had the butcher. when it was cold 'enough. We butchered hogs in the fall, and steers in the spring time. We too used a 22 rim fire to put them down.
Thanks for sharing that, Dave. Did anyone else butcher at different times than those?

We always butchered both the hogs and steers when the weather allowed. Usually in winter and normally around the holidays as we kids were off school and more help. Many times we would slaughter both the hogs and steers the same day, Saturday, would cut up the hogs on Sunday and yes rendered the lard and everything. The steers would hang the week in the barn and were cut up the following weekend. Had to be cold enough for all that as we didn't have a cooler. And yes a single shot Winchester .22 did the job and still does!

Yes, cold weather and enough people off work or out of school to get it done efficiently. We weren't the only ones doing it, so you had a place on the list where you fit in time wise, some were earlier, and some came after, Thanksgiving, was this person's day, ours was New Years Day nearly all of the Holidays except Christmas were butchering days. Sugar cured the hams, shoulders and bacon.

My grandparent's lived 70 miles out of town with no electricity when they were young in the 1920's and 1930's. When they needed meat during the summer months, they would shoot an antelope cut it up fry it all put a layer of lard in the bottom of a 25-gallon crock, a layer of fried meat a layer of meat and so on to the end of the meat. The lard kept the air and bugs off of the meat and cooking it kept it from spoiling very fast. Grandma heated the lard enough that it would be really soft and form to the crock filling all the voids, no air in it!! Scoop out some lard and fork out what meat you needed and fry it again to heat it through while frying your sliced potatoes for supper. Sliced salt pork and eggs for breakfast, not sure that I want to live that way today I'm pretty spoiled with my easy life of today's world!!!!!! Good old days my back side life was simpler they say bah humm bug you had to work hard just to stay alive then.