Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum A statewide fix to our coyote problem...

This could work, but it would certainly upset the current system and tick a lot of people off. I am one who thinks that out coyote problem is out of control and getting worse. The time for a hail mary strategy may be getting closer.

If the state of Alabama went to a physical tag system for deer - as in you actually have a physical tag in your pocket for every deer you kill. I grew up in Missouri and this was how every deer hunter hunted. We bought our tags from Wal Mart and once the deer was harvested the tag was placed on the horns or leg of the deer. It worked very well.

However, instead of straight up applying for tags through the conservation department (or buying them OTC at Wal Mart), what if hunters earned a deer tag for every coyote they kill and record with the conservation office? Kill a yote and have your pick of a buck tag or doe tag (keep the same buck limit of course). Hunt them like predators, trap them, poison them, hit 'em on the road...(only kidding) - if you check in a dead yote it would be a deer tag in your pocket for the upcoming season.

It may not be a bullet proof idea, but if we did this even for a few seasons, we would encourage more hunters to come out and harvest some coyotes taking much needed pressure off of fawns and young deer. It would also take some of the hunter pressure off of the does - if you're one that believes the QDM strategy is wiping out the does then this idea would help slow that down.

I don't know that we could ever pull it off since it would be a huge change but I think it would certainly be a big help in taking some of the predation off of the fawns and young deer giving Alabama hunters a stronger, healthier herd to manage and enjoy.

Thoughts???

i typically kill more coyotes in a deer season than deer.

No. I have hunted my lease for three years and have gotten a glimpse of ONE coyote. Your idea would increase the number of coyotes killed. But it is not practical.

^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Why should I have to earn a tag to hunt my land???????

I got one for the season on the opening morning of gun. Walking back to the truck he was tracking two hens walking in a creek bottem.

What if your going out to try and get a coyote for a deer tag and a 150' buck walks out?Do you break the law and shoot it since you have yet to kill yote or let it walk?Of course I'm talking about during deer season.I think its a bad idea cause alotta places are not infested with yotes yet which would make it kinda hard to get a tag.All it would be is another law to break because not many people would obide by it.Just my 2 cents..

What if your going out to try and get a coyote for a deer tag and a 150' buck walks out?Do you break the law and shoot it since you have yet to kill yote or let it walk?Of course I'm talking about during deer season.I think its a bad idea cause alotta places are not infested with yotes yet which would make it kinda hard to get a tag.All it would be is another law to break because not many people would obide by it.Just my 2 cents..

It's an interesting "idea", but not practical. I know we have a coyote problem on our place as evidenced by lots of droppings I see, and a declining turkey population, but in the last 8 years, I've literally only even seen one coyote, which I shot.

I agree with coldtrail, also Not everyone has a big coyote problem. On my place when we get a big rabbit population we start getting alot of yotes, then the rabbit population goes down so does the yote population. I believe it all balances it self out.

Y'all are right - It's probably not practical. I'm willing to admit that. But the problem remains - we do have a MAJOR issue with 60% of fawns getting eaten. Combine that with over-slaughtering does and the stage is set for a serious deer decline. If that happens then you will need a tag to hunt deer on your own land cause the Conservation dept will come in and over regulate the seasons and we'll be talking about these seasons now as the "good ol' days".

If you're one that says there is not a coyote on your property, I can't take you seriously. Tell you what, after the season ends take 2-3 lbs of raw hamburger meat and set it out on your property or lease with a couple of trail cameras and leave it for w few days. COme back and check the pictures then count the number of coyotes you "don't have"

How would y'all handle the coyote issue? Cause I'm not the only one saying we're perched on the edge of what could be a nasty fall in deer numbers...

I really believe the coyotes provide a valuable management tool on our property for deer. They hurt the rabbit population, and probably the quail and turkey numbers.

If I had a middle to large size hunting club, here is what I would do. And I will go ahead and address hogs and yotes.

I work to get an agreement among the members to make sure the membership fee would cover a bounty system for yotes and/or hogs.
Determine what the club can stand money wise and reward the folks that get out there and kill them.

Next, make your gut pit where the yotes can't feed in it. I believe that the old standard gut pit helps to keep the yote population large and healthy by giving them extra food during the hard time of the year.

If you don't have members that want to do the work themselves, then sell a hog/yote membership during the off season. You could use that money to pay the bounties to the members. Of course the extra membership would not be subject to the bounties.

There are hunters out there that will help with the problem. Also, members are going to have to shut up and help. I hear all the time, I saw a yote/hog but I didn't shoot it because I didn't want to mess up my hunt. Big damn deal, shoot the dang thing, or he may mess up your hunt again next time.

Please explain?

I have only seen a 5-6 coyotes in the last decade. I have even been coyote hunting a dozen or so times. I don't think coyotes are bad everywhere.

Why do we continue to have a season long doe slaughter if this is really the problem??????


To me this is the real issue, no one was saying this when the doe season was one or two weeks. We had coyotes then also.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

x2

ALFA insurance. That's the reason we have a season long doe slaughter. It has nothing to do with any wildlife management practice. It has to do with very powerful, and funded ALFA lobbyists who persuaded the state to change the doe regulations, so they (ALFA) would have fewer deer caused auto claims to pay.

Amen, to that