thirdwilliam
Well-Known Member
never miss an opportunity to take one out
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Sight that no hunter wants to see!
- Thread starter JAY B
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Chickenrig
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Couldn't agree more my friend !
It is work running traps but it pays you back in spades
jman 125
Well-Known Member
It is a definite commitment but its got to be done
Terrier
Well-Known Member
Feral cats likely take a toll on the poults, too...
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
In some areas, significant. In other areas, not so much.
Coyotes LOVE housecats.
More coyotes equals fewer feral cats.
No matter what you do, there can be some unforeseen consequences.
A few years ago we declared war on the coyotes with extensive professional trapping.
Then the bobcat population just exploded.
Worse, the bobcats likely then killed more turkeys than the coyotes ever had.
All cats, housecats, bobcats, love to kill & eat birds.
I doubt if housecats have been a major issue with turkeys,
but likely were more significant regarding the decline of bobwhite quail.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Depends on where you are and what your habitat is.
wildlifefarmer
Well-Known Member
I trap starting the end of January and go through February. Been doing it for the last 8 to 10 years on 200+ acres. Average catch is around 30 predators per year. Has it helped? I'd like to say that it has. Some years it seems like it has but other years I question the results. Some years the recruitment of the quail turkey and deer seems to indicate that it has. I'll keep on trapping as long as this old fart can cause trapping is like Christmas you never know what will be in the trap. I just wish I could figure out how to effectively trap armadillos without all the guides.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
In times past, when the primary reason for many was to sell the furs, this made sense.
Today, why not trap coyotes (and raccoons) year-round?
The coyotes you trap in January-February produce a local range "void", that is often largely re-filled by other "roaming" coyotes BEFORE turkey eggs hatch.
The way I look at it, if I trap 5 coyotes on 300 acres in January, the reality is more akin to having just reduced the coyote population on the surrounding 3,000 acres from 50 to 45. Makes a difference, but the areas those trapped 5 were mainly using gets quickly taken over by some those other 45.
The coyotes removed from your most localized area would be most favorable to enhancing turkey nesting success & young poult survival if done in April-May? Same with raccoons?
jman 125
Well-Known Member
I agree on this but my opinion is you only catch the young of the year or transients.
I say this because a coyote knows his territory and its hard to fool them when you disturb anything in that territory. Sure you will catch an alpha pair occasionally but its the exception not the rule.
One things for certain and will always be true if you have traps hanging out and rusting they are of no help at all. The only reason i am not out there now is this broken ankle but i can guarantee you this when the dr turns me loose im going to be he!!on them
Dean Parisian
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I am a fan of the MB 550 for song dogs. That said, the vast majority of trappers don't have a solid background in trapping coyotes and educate them rather quickly. There are many great trappping instructional CD's on the market today. They can really help your learning curve. Mark June is a trapper I have always thought to give great demo's.
Dean Parisian
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With fawns hitting the ground I thought I would start my summer trapping this week and in scouting one of the very best places to lay in some iron is "on sign"! Set your traps where there is an existing track. Coyotes hunt with their noses and have been around thousands of years. They run the same topography year in and year out. I have been trapping canines over 50 years in many parts of the country and am continuing to be a good student|interested learner. I have caught many non-target animals: eagles, hawks, feral dogs, cats, humans, hunting dogs (rabbit hunters get upset on CATOOSA) magpies, blue jays, bear and about every small game species in North America.
Today I caught in a trap, set "on sign" on my property (set a trap on a trail with fresh coyote tracks), using a guide stick and fox urine used at a very small scent post this bird. I had to eliminate the bird from the area as it might attract an eagle. Doing my best to help the resource and for the second time in 50 years I catch this. Although I don't personally hunt turkeys and haven't shot one since high school, I hope it's another 50 years before I am the predator once again.
Today I caught in a trap, set "on sign" on my property (set a trap on a trail with fresh coyote tracks), using a guide stick and fox urine used at a very small scent post this bird. I had to eliminate the bird from the area as it might attract an eagle. Doing my best to help the resource and for the second time in 50 years I catch this. Although I don't personally hunt turkeys and haven't shot one since high school, I hope it's another 50 years before I am the predator once again.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I have some stuff from Mr. June.
Yes, we all hate to catch non-targeted things.
Knock on wood, I haven't yet had the misfortune of accidently catching a turkey,
so I assume it's pretty rare to catch a turkey while trying to catch a coyote.
jman 125
Well-Known Member
Pan tension and the set itself will help with non target i try to set where turkeys will have a hard time getting into the trap and i keep my pan tension set on the heavy side just in case. The problems i have is coon hounds and the so called hunters that will trespass to retrieve their dog and when they come across my sets that are on private ground bigger than the farms they hunt tear my sets apart and some have left notes threatening to sue because their dog gets caught. But i keep on keeping on and have had good results in doing so.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Guys... you really need to get into calling coyotes. It's more fun than deer hunting. The new digital MFK coyote sounds are just unreal. Blow a lone howl, a pair howling, then 3 to 5w old pup sounds, and any coyote within earshot is coming in running hot to the call. Blast away and don't have to fool with cleaning an animal afterwards.
We are up to 17 dogs killed on my farms since Nov. It's a blast, and I bet I'm going to have the best fawn recruitment numbers I've had in 15 years.
We run multiple cams, and when a new dog shows up on cam, we go out to that area asap and take him out with the call.
We are up to 17 dogs killed on my farms since Nov. It's a blast, and I bet I'm going to have the best fawn recruitment numbers I've had in 15 years.
We run multiple cams, and when a new dog shows up on cam, we go out to that area asap and take him out with the call.
Calling is nice to play and pass time, but a good trapper could get 500 since nov, if they were that many around
BSK
Well-Known Member
I guess I've never found a good trapper. I've had two guys try to trap my place and they came up with zero, even though I get 'yotes on cam on a daily basis.
Choot 'em. My 7 mag with 160 grain nosier partition used to do a number on em.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
You need to check into an accomplished coyote trapper.
A person can be really good at trapping raccoons (and other critters), but very unsuccessful with coyotes.
Successful coyote trapping typically requires much more experience, and attention to detail few can comprehend.
As an aside, bobcats are very easy to trap compared to coyotes.
Dean Parisian
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Nice big female this morning that won't be eating any more fawns!
BSK
Well-Known Member
Boh guys were experienced coyote trappers. But none of the road network traps worked.
