Coyote depredation question

[icehousebob]

At the edge of my backyard, we have a pond that last year produced 53(by my count) young waterfowl. This morning, there was a living, breathing coyote there for a short time... a very short time. My bride and I were discussing how harmful coyotes are to the breeding waterfowl population. Anyone have any info on this?

[Jmnhunter]

actually, Fox are more of a threat than yotes, along with racoons, badgers, housecats, skunks, etc. Yotes will kill any of those that they come across along with nesting ducks/pheasants, but not nearly as much as the other predators.

[fins&feathers]

220 swift all problems solved

[icehousebob]

F&F, the .220 would be just a bit noisy in Minnetonka. A .22 mag, on the other hand, isn't nearly as bad. Not that I would know anything about that.

[Jmnhunter]

22 shorts? never shot them, but heard (no pun ) they are pretty quiet

[icehousebob]

Jmnhunter, I've used .22 shorts a bit, especially back when I was trapping. I used them in an old revolver I carried. They are indeed quiet, but they don't have the range or power to be a coyote load. For trapping, they were used for head shots at about three feet. Even a .22 lr is not up to it in most cases. The .22 mag with hollowpoints is about as low as I'll go and still get humane kills. My next step up is my .223, and that is definely not quiet.

[Tom7227]

A coyote may actually be good for waterfowl. They will keep all the lower preadtors under control. You should worry more about opposum and racoon,

[walleyes12]

I read a study last last year, that shows that coyotes can help nest birds more than hurt population numbers. Tom7227 is correct, Coyotes will eat the coons, possums, and fox (nest raiders) before they will eat pheasants. Now, I realize they eat pheasants as well, but its not their first choice.

Now coyotes and deer population can be a different story

[Zenit]

Jmnhunter, I've used .22 shorts a bit, especially back when I was trapping. I used them in an old revolver I carried. They are indeed quiet, but they don't have the range or power to be a coyote load. For trapping, they were used for head shots at about three feet. Even a .22 lr is not up to it in most cases. The .22 mag with hollowpoints is about as low as I'll go and still get humane kills. My next step up is my .223, and that is definitely not quiet.

22 shorts are quiet, not much more noise than an airgun shooting .22 pellets, but squirrels and rabbits are as big as they will take out, and at a very short range. I gave up on 22 shorts a couple of years ago after watching three squirrels in a row get hit, with only one falling out of the tree, and that one scampered off before I could get close enough to administer the coup de grace.

Henry now has a lever action that shoots the much hyped .17 HMR...I've been reading a lot about that cartridge, 2,550 fps and a laser like flat trajectory. The specs look awesome for a varmint cartridge, blows 22 LR and even 22 Mags away. Any of you have any experience with the .17 HMR before I go blow $600?

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Any of you have any experience with the .17 HMR before I go blow $600?

yeah...$600 is overkill for a .17 go with the savage bolt action and heavy barrel for $300. insanely accurate out of the box.

as far as coyote control is concerned, with the abundance of ferral cats and other small rodents/varmints in the metro, i really don't think you need be concerned about the yotes vs. waterfowl. if i ever had to allegedly shoot a yote in a populated area, i would do it from inside the house, as far back into the room as possible, and with the window only slightly open to retain as much noise indoors as possible. disclaimer: none of what i just said will ever work though

[picksbigwagon]

I agree with carp on the savage, insanely accurate....as far as the rest of your post, I decline to comment

[HC Eye Hunter]

One thing no ever mentions is that a coyote is three or four times bigger than a fox making it a whole lot of critter to feed. Kill it and be done with it, Coyotes are not vegitarians.