Hunting Coyotes in Snow Country

[Thill]

Good People, looking for a little advice. I live in deep snow country and essentially all of the sage brush and cover that is less than 3-4' is completely covered. I have good snow machine and was wondering if riding around on my snow machine and then setting up away from it and calling is an effective way to get a few. ---If this might work, how long should I wait before I start calling as I am sure the snowmachine would be loud enough for any critter to hear from a great distance is this snow oasis I live in.
Or would I just need to use my snowshoes and leave the snow machine at home. I live in a fairly mountainous area, but have a number of big meadows and such that I know and can see that coyotes frequent.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[SS!]

Just chase them down on your snowmachine and shoot them. If there’s that much snow to use a machine it’s a slam dunk. End of the day take a pic with your pile, e caller and rifle.

 

[Zeke]

If it's calling you want to do, the sled will be too noisy IMO.
But hey, what do I know?

I've called a ton but we do a slow roll into the area with a truck, don't slam doors, don't talk, get the wind as right as possible (damn things often come from wherever we least expect them) and walk a substantial distance before setting up.

If you just want to kill some, chase them down with the sled and run them over and/or shoot them on the run. Some guys are very effective doing this. I never have.

Zeke

 

[Thill]

Hum - Not overly interested in running them down. I'm sure it would be effective right now as the snow is so deep and hasn't set up. I kinda figured my snow machine would be too loud and in all reality I hate using my snow shoes unless I have to. It might be better to go ice fishing and keep my gun in gear as everytime I go fishing a coyote or fox seems to be in the area. I like to leave the foxes alone.
Shoot straight and tight lines in 23!!!

 

[Gator]

flat farm ground with a snowmobile bang.

 

[Captain_coues]

If you can parallel a fence line or power line, the posts will break up your machine. We had lots of luck using a barb wire fence as some of our break up when we were mostly exposed. The best thing is to keep quiet and as still as possible as you probably already know.

 

[JPickett]

I never bother with deep snow. I’m sure theres coyotes around but they’ll be real hard to call. Also, coyotes need pray. If the snows so deep it’s pushed any pray out to better areas or it’s to hard for them to hunt there won’t be a lot of dogs around. If your dead set on hunting it I’d go with cross country skis so at least your not blowing what might be there out

 

[Thill]

Appreciate the insight. I think I will head to the lower country or go ice fishing. We have so much snow right now and its still dumping. The other day I swear I could have caught a jackrabbit by hand- it was running down the road and when it finally jumped into the snow next to the road it looked like it was drowning trying to move thru the snow. I should have got a video of it. It just went about 5' in the snow and stopped. After I drove off it eventually made it back to the road instead of trying to move thru the meadow.
Here is picture of driveway from the latest storm as of 12-31 and we got another 18-24" from the picture. The auger sites around 6' in the picture

 

[Gator]

lots of water right there

 

[Homer]

I hope that runoff is headed to the Colorado…..

 

[Thill]

I hope that runoff is headed to the Colorado…..

It is via the Yampa. The last 2 storms were 2-4' each of wet and heavy snow, not the light and fluffy stuff we are used to. I feel for the ranchers around here and any big game left is going to have a major problem getting down to the vegetation as the snow is deep crusty and unforgiving. Hopefully the big game have made it Craig or Wyoming or we are going to be set up for serious winter kill as the snow texture is not conducive for travel.

I am meeting the fur buyer on Thursday at Meeker and am anxious to see a little more of NW Colorado this week.

 

[JB1975]

Wow. Where do you live? Apologies if you mentioned it and I missed it.

 

[Gator]

Let us know his fur prices.

 

[Thill]

Wow. Where do you live? Apologies if you mentioned it and I missed it.

I around Clark, CO which is North of Steamboat

 

[Thill]

Let us know his fur prices.

Will do - It is thru Petska. He already told me to keep my coyotes, but was interested in everything else.

 

[Gator]

Some years it pays to have a old chest freezer to put your furs in until the next year.

 

[Thill]

Antler prices as follows. He said keep your coyotes until the prices improve.
He takes whole unskinned animals, but the price will probably double he gives you if the animal is skinned.
He was paying around $20 for elk hides.

Antler Pricing | Petska Fur

petskafur.net

I was pleased with the antler prices but disappointed in the fur prices. I got $20 for a martin and he said good fox pelts would $10-20. He was looking for badgers and coons. I didn't ask him the price but I am sure it wouldn't be much. Call him for up to date pricing. He will take the calls or get back with you the same day.

With gas prices, I would treat anything you sell as an offset to your costs. I can't imagine anyone could make any form of living being a trapper right now.

 

[Thill]

On a different note and I am no biologist, but the snow depth and texture is not sitting well for the wildlife in NW CO right now. One of the ranchers I met selling a pile of elk hides said he lives around 12 miles North of Meeker and the snow was 30" deep and it reminded of years when the winter kill would be bad.

I did see thousands of elk between Craig and Meeker and watched several that walked thru the snow like they had been shot. When they broke a trail, one hoof would sink deep and the next might or might not break as far down in the snow. Todays weather was sunny and mid 20's, probably going to add another crusty layer to deal with.

I can't see how any of this years calves or fawns can survive without walking directly in the path the herd broke.

I drove North of Craig to Baggs, WY and the snow levels look better and did see a lot of game, but I am not feeling overly positive about how the animals are going to fair with the depth and texture of snow -------And the continually pipeline of snow we are getting.

I really hope my analysis is wrong or the weather improves as I believe most winter kill occurs in March and April.

Just my 2 cents!

 

[HntHrdr]

I never bother with deep snow. I’m sure theres coyotes around but they’ll be real hard to call. Also, coyotes need pray. If the snows so deep it’s pushed any pray out to better areas or it’s to hard for them to hunt there won’t be a lot of dogs around. If your dead set on hunting it I’d go with cross country skis so at least your not blowing what might be there out

Hunted the other week around my place, one area had knee’ish deep snow… saw 0 coyote sign just elk and snowshoe hares. Dropped a 1000 ft to ankle/shin deep snow and got back into the coyote sign. They have to get around in that stuff so if they can move to areas where it’s easier to move/hunt I think they do it.

 

[Gator]

as soon as the snow get hard on top the coyote will raise H#ll with every animal heavy enough to break thru that crust on top.

 

[Bearpaws]

Another tactic you might try is to find if here are any timber operations in the area...the equipment will have lot's of trails through the woods that let the deer and coyotes travel with relative ease.

 

[Thill]

We have so much snow now. The only tracks I have found in the last few weeks where a bobcat track by my wood pile - and it was just passing thru. I did see a starving fox that did not want to move out of the middle of a county road the other day. Drove up to and thought it was dead only it lifted it heads up and looked and looked at me and put it back down and curled right back up. I should have put it out of its misery, but foxes are well liked in my area and would I banished if any of my neighbors found out I harvested a fox.