We scheduled a little aerial assault to bring in the New Year.

Our regular ride is the R66, but this trip we took the smaller R44.




Coyote and pig were on the menu.

Scatterguns loaded with buckshot were the prescribed medicine.




Five hours flight time yielded a grand total of two coyote targets acquired and shot.




When a chopper pilot that flies this area every day comments on the absence of Wile E. on your ground you know you’re on the right track.

Just like the trail cam bait recon, the helicopter results are a fairly accurate reflection of the coyote population on the ranch. That's why the deer survey and recon is done in the same manner. The sand reveals the remaining low-key coyote crew.

Sure, there are coyotes are not seen from the chopper, but it still gives you a good window into what kind of numbers you are dealing with.

As stated before, the day and night bait station photos don’t reflect true coyote density as much as they showcase the effectiveness of good bait on location. Had there been a large concentration of coyotes in the area we would have seen a good percentage of them from the air.

This also demonstrates the scope of how effective a bait station can be at pulling coyotes in from a long distance over time. The fact that the coyote population had not filled back in after 8-10 months of no pressure shows that the buffer zone created can be long-lasting even in an area known for its numbers.

Dad-gum------ I have been telling the Missus I shore need me a helicopter to hunt coyotes-- she aint going for it

We scheduled another flyover targeting coyote and pig a few days back.

The weather conditions that morning were cool temps with heavy cloud cover.

We hoped this would keep targets on their feet later into the morning.

With the tank topped off and a few shells on board we took to the air.

Tejas that sure looks like a ton of fun!!! Killed a yote with jewelry out the kill window.

That was a waste to collar that one, they didn't have time to get much if any data on that one. Can still see the mark on it's paw where it was in the trap


You gonna leave us hanging James?
What did the helo trip net you?

It’s a lot like riding like a roller coaster at the amusement park.

The only difference is they hand you a twelve gauge and a box of buckshot.

Three hours flight time produced only two coyotes.


This big male was taken on the perimeter of the ranch.

With the rut still on there’s a good chance he had just crossed the fence and was caught looking for love in all the wrong places.




If I had to guess I would say that a coyote can probably run somewhere in the neighborhood of forty miles per hour with a little salt on his tail.

The agility they show on a prickly pear obstacle course while at high speed would make Wile E. proud.

I managed to snap a few photos of a couple of the bucks we came across while in the air.


This old warhorse was a monster last year. He managed to elude us in the 21-22 season.

It looks like he sustained an injury that affected his antler growth.

It will be interesting to see if he makes a comeback in the fall.




Wide Track



Now & Then



Pigs can't but deer can.

Good pics James

Nice

I just started reading this excellent thread and I can only make a comparison to some early mistakes that I made with foxes, namely that I made mistakes twice with setting 2 snares less than 6 ft apart and on both occasions once a fox was snared he / she then proceeded to trigger the adjoining snare in attempts to escape. 2 snares wasted instead of 1.

I can only guess that a similar outcome would occur if Tejas used 2 traps at each set.

Tejas....that makes sense as those traps look nasty if a human were to accidentally step on one? Hope that never happens. (although I have read later in this thread that you caught a few illegal aliens maybe uncle Sam should give you a full time job?

Regards F.E.

Today I learned a great deal about Yotes and many other things from reading this excellent thread, as I explained to my 8 year old boy yesterday...We should all be learning new things every day until the day we die! The day you don't learn something new is the day your brain starts going into remission! Tejas I like playing chess games too (played in a few international tourneys in Europe and Asia)

I got a question that is itching for an answer What do you guys do with catches that have jewelry? (tracking collars) Do the tracking devices not give away your locations? then again I am guessing that if your catches are on private property that you are entitled to dispose of the collars in any way you see fit?

Regards

F.E. (Irishman living in the UK)

looks like a juvinile to me they get a lot bigger over here









the last 3 above over 7.1kgs the first one maybe 8-10kgs ...I had no weighing equipment at that time

Regards

F.E.

It’s good to see our trapping friends from the UK chime in!

I'm glad you enjoyed the thread FoxEx!

I wish we had reds like you folks do.

The coyote has almost wiped out the grey fox down here along the border.

A few have started to filter back in after multiple years of putting pressure on the coyote population.

Here are a few more Brush Country Bucks that made it through the season.

When trappers think of coyotes and the effect they have on the deer herd, the fawn crop is the first thing that comes to mind.

Post-rut buck mortality is also a big factor to consider where Wile E. comes into play.

Before we started trapping here a significant number of post-rut bucks would be found dead each season.

Fighting injuries combined with relentless physical exertion and lack of nutrition intake during the rut can take its toll. While some injuries are fatal like a poke in the gut during a fight, many of the bucks are vulnerable to being run down by coyotes because of their wounds and/or poor condition.

Since trapping was implemented on the ranch the post-rut buck mortality has dropped off by roughly 80%.

That is an important statistic when you take into consideration the four and five year old bucks that have the potential to become giants if they live to see their seventh or eighth birthday.

Did u get a coordinate on that shed antler???

The bucks are still sporting their headgear down here Swamp.

The only antlers we find now are broken beams and G’s like in the photo above.