I just read a post about spring/summer coyote bait and it got me to wondering how many of you guys do some denning in your area? We do some every year and its a little pricey because of all the time and labor involved for my ranchers but it DOES seem to help quite well on the ranches we do it on in holding down the depredation on livestock when the coyotes have a den full of pups to feed.

Bob

i do a bunch of it.I like to locate the den by sirening. then sneek in with the pup squealer and try to call the female out.I have found if I get the female dispatched, the male USUALLY wont move the pups. Then you have some chances to kill the male . Once I do that I got a couple dogs that are great for rounding up whats left.I sure does help save some livestock.

Gt. that's exactly how I do it here! Ehd,I can sure see the advantage in having dogs to expidite the process. I of course don't have dogs so once I have taken care of the adults and found the den (which at times is a process in itself) I then have to litterly dig out the pups.

Bob

Bob , that can be alot of work for sure. good to hear that some ranchers up your way know the value of a good trapper to help them out instead of the weekend warriors that makes the [Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot] move the pups on ya.

I bet he used the B---- word but only in the nicest sense.

I think where bobs at is alot of rocks and hard digging!!!

I can tell you one thing...

Locating the dens is where summer coyote trapping is at!
You will never catch many coyotes trapping them at all the winter locations you did during fur season!
Try that, you're in for a long wait!

Locate the den and set all the corners and travelways away from the site.
Take the adults FIRST, then move in on the pups, if possible...and it isn't ALWAYS!

Ehd, you obviously know our country up here. It's never fun just a lot of hard work. Plus once you get the hole opened up enough to actually crawl in and get to the pups at times the fleas are so bad they cover you in seconds! Gt, if you've got an easer way to do this, believe me I'am all ears.

Bob

No real good way without some canine help. I have tried to pick up the pups with a live trap. Very limited success.About the fleas reminded of a friend that helped me once. Stuck his head in the den hole and he had a full face beard. His hands looked like hummingbirds wings beating scratching his face.Covered with FLEAS!!

Coyote Denning DVD?

If there is not a DVD available on this subject someone should do one.

o gormans catalog has some ridge runner

I was going to make a denning dvd, and did cover it briefly in my fox dvd. bottom line is I doubt a guy would sell 200copies. 100 to collectors, 100 to serious guys wanting to learn denning. maybe 3-400 max, in time. and that wouldn`t pay the cost to make a dvd, film it , advertise it , get the editing and cases and duplication and shipping. it takes a heck of a common dvd like coon or coyote or bobcat trapping to sell 1,000 copies. just no money it anymore. everybody and his brother making dvd`s now. plus your average trapper is so tight he wouldn`t pay 5 cents to see ann margaret ride a unicycle naked. I`d think with the limited market a good denning dvd showing many many dens, finding techniques, gassing, digging ,trapping , the adults, by horseback, plane or foot or truck, the cost would need to be over $100 each to break even on a 2-400 total copies sold. there would be 1,000s of veiwers, just not 1,000s of payers. so that`s why there are few or none. if o`g has any of any account, I mean more than showing one den some guy lucked into,and blabbing a bit, then he is the only one I know of.

10 cents...no, make it a dollar!

(on the Ann Margaret thing..)

Yes, O'Gorman has one by (the late) Vern Hopkins...

I agree with you on the time and cost vs. return, Bob....

And the shame of it is, there's a lot of valuable information that will die with guys like you.

Man's gotta leave some foot prints though......

i really enjoy den hunting and the chance t get to work my dogs. One thing for sure I have learned is go at it correctly with high hopes but dont get dissappointed if you come up short. There are a bunch of variables that can go the coyotes way. the challange I have out here is the ground is very steep and broke up.reminds me of an old coyote hunter that taught me alot. We sirened up this canyon to hunt .He pointed down in it and said I think i heard them right there. I was too afraid to doubt him ,so away we went.He blew the pupsquealer and the parents came out, which we both killed the male and female. did some poking around and caught some pups. As we were hiking up out of there , he said" im a little deaf and never heard those pups howl". I said "I never heard them either".Well he said it looked like a likley spot...

I den 4-5 western states each spring/early summer. I locate about the same as most of you. Once I've found where I think they are I sneak in dead down wind of them and let the decoy dogs out. I use Mtn. Curs and Drahthaars. The dogs work like wonders and most of the time will have both the male and the female out and engaged. After I dispatch the male and female I use the decoy dogs to back track to the den and send the Jagdterriers in to do what they do. Doesn't always work like it should and at times the dogs, esp. the terriers really take a beating but I love being out and after coyotes in the spring and even if I didn't get paid to do it I would still probably find the time to do some. I do mostly coyote control but get in a few fox dens each season as well. I generally don't use footholds or snares and prefer the run and gun calling/decoy style.

The areas I den used to have a few old timers out denning as well but as the years go by they are getting fewer and fewer. It's a shame as they have loads of working knowledge and if I had problems or questions I knew they would have the answers.

Tim

I never knew German wirehairs were used for 'yotes. Who do the terriers take a beating from?

The terriers take a beating from adults that are down the den and refuse to come out. Every once in a while you will get a dry female that is with the mated couple. Kind of like a nanny. An adult coyote in the hole can be trouble for the terrier. I also have them out at "Whoa" while the decoy dogs are working and they occasionally lock up with a wounded coyote.

The Germans developed the DD's to deal with fur and varmits and it's still part of the testing program in Germany today. They work very well and are great decoy dogs. My female is a little too hard for general fur season hunting and only decoys in the late fur season and denning but my male who is now 14 is a heck of an all around fur dog. Over the years they have hunted fur way more than feather. They also will back trail and trail drags as well as most of the curs I've owned.

Here's some pics of my DD and GWP.

Mixed species ND hunt. We called/decoyed coyotes, hunted birds, and hunted old houses and haybarns with the terriers for coon.


My oldest male, 14 Yo., He's very obiedient and knows when to be aggressive with fur and when not.


My female, a GWP, with a late season decoyed coyote. She loves retrieving fur.

Tim

Thanks for the reply and especially the pictures. I don't remember learning being this much fun in school!

about 90% of the time I know where the den is, or very close, before the truck door is ever shut. it`s a sixth sense after awhile. I`ve about 2,000 lifetime dens under my belt now, mixed red fox/coyote. many a time had rancher tell me they are in this pasture somewhere ( could be 1-50,000 acres). next day he says he followed my tracks in the grass thru the gate, meander briefly and drive mile or two directly to the den. he says how did you know it was there? lol, well, I know stuff like that. it`s like when larry bird would make the fall away jumper as some huge gorilla knocked him over. everyone says luck shot! nope, he has neen practicing that shot since he was 8 years old. he planned on making it. fwiw, I`ve never used a dog to find a den in my life. I`m the dog. leaving west here shortly to do the spring fling thing, before it`s too late. and not talking about late in the year either. it`s fall for me already, days getting shorter. no time left to waste or years to skip.