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I think I have a problem.

brock ratcliff

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Mason and I went up to Fayette Co today to rabbit hunt. This farm has provided a unique insight for me to coyote predation over the years. I ran BECs up there for several years, and the number of coyotes I saw was amazing, and increased as the deer numbers decreased. A couple years ago, I had a camera hung on a burr oak. In just two weeks, there were three times that coyotes ran deer off the acorns. I've seen them prey on deer, and at times, there are more coyotes around than one would evern imagine. I saw ten in one morning year before last. I KNOW they are a problem to deer and to fawn recruitment.

Today, I found a buck I shot back in November. I thought for sure my shot was lethal, and have looked for this deer for probably close to 60 hours, if not more. I found him today. It appears he just died. I don't know if my arrow did him in, or something else, but I believe from what I saw in the snow, the coyotes killed him.

Here is a pic of a few coyote tracks. Every field edge looks pretty much the same all over the farm. This pic was taken 500 yards from where the deer carcass was, so it isn't a misleading concentration of tracks due to the dead deer. All the field edges look like this! We didn't see a deer track anywhere on the property today... but plenty of yote.

I am going to try to get to the farm tomorrow to start snaring a little earlier than I did last year. Going to try taking advantage of the carcass, as there are several wel-defined trails leading to it. There is a huge red coyote on the farm that looks exactly like a red fox... If I can kill him, I will feel like I've reached the peak of my hunting life!

I thought the last pic was cool as it appears coyotes found some mice or something living in that old tire. They dug at it, and eventually ate a hole through it! Pretty impressive really.
 

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Damn things, they sure made a mess out of that buck. At least you sorta know what happened to him, even if your arrow didn't cause his death if he wandered somewhere else you would have thought you were the cause all along. Simply amazing how out of control those yotes seem to be there.
 

brock ratcliff

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That deer was a resident. He was 6 1/2, and had been on the farm since he was 2 1/2. I knew him like a pet and was sure that I would find him dead eventually this winter. I can't say I'm happy to find him since I hoped he would survive, but at least I know why I couldn't find him earlier... he wasn't dead, and I was sure he was. Bad situation for the deer, and I feel horrible about putting him in the situation he was in. I can't help but wonder if he was just too weak to avoid them any longer.

I don't think there is any way to kill the coyotes off, but I was surprised by the number of fawns I saw this season. In recent years, seeing a fawn was about as rare as having dinner with Bigfoot. I hoped my coyote work helped last spring, and it may have, but good grief there seems to be a bunch of them there right now! My beagles absolutely freaked out when I let them out of the truck. The pic of tracks is taken right where we parked to start hunting, and the dogs went nuts! By their actions, I figured a yote or two had just gone through when we arrived. Hackles up and barking like wild, while standing as close to us as they could...hehe.
 

brock ratcliff

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Dale, there are several little spots that should work great! It is so much easier to see what they are doing with snow on. As you may recall, last year was my first try at snaring the dang things, and I was relatively successful. We didn't have any snow at all while I was running snares. I hope to pile them deep this year. I can't even explain my unnatural hatred for these things. The landowner is a unique individual. Very into natural things, medicines, indian lifestyle type stuff. You know, everything has it's place in nature. After seeing all the tracks in the snow and the remains of the deer, he even wants to know how to run snares. Should be a great year for us, bad for the yotes!
 

Flatlander

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Darby Creek
I remember pics you posted of that buck. If I remember you were hoping for your daughter?? to get a shot at him. My memory isn't what it used to be.
 

brock ratcliff

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He was an old buck that I had passed each of the last two seasons. He was such a resident that I didn't want to kill him. However, this year his goofy side grew out through his eye and blinded him. I figured I should probably kill him if given the chance, but really hoped he'd pop out for my son to kill. As it turned out, we saw him one time but he didn't present Mason with a shot. I shot him on November 3rd and spent the next several days looking for him. I couldn't find him, and did not see him again. We found him in a woodlot I've been through a half dozen times searching. He was recently deceased I believe.