Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    I'll take a pop here...
    
    Rifles can be used (except in Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Plymouth, and
    Nantucket) any rule regarding these towns does'nt affect me, so i'm a
    little sketchy about the particulars...  
    
    Any caliber can be used, but obviously some are better than others
    
    Any rifle chambered larger than .22 and any handgun larger than .38
    between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise (kinda tells
    me that handguns/rifles are ok during daylight hours)
    
    You can hunt them till midnight, but you can't use artificial lights
    
    Baiting is legal, as is electronic callers
    
    The more foul smelling the bait, the better your chances...
    
    dying rabbit call, red woodpecker call, crow call when over bait all
    work, read an article where they use decoys also...
    
    gotta fly.... good luck!
    
    Fra
    
    

    
    Can hunt them till midnight but can't use lights? How is a person
    supposed to postively I.D. his/her target? With no snow on the ground
    an animal like a fox or coyote would be very hard to see. I can
    understand the F&W people not wanting people poaching or spotlighting
    deer, but this seems dangerous to me. 
    
                                          Walt

    My father worked for the US fish and Wildlife (biochemist), spent
    some time working on coyotes. Found out about the most effective
    attractant was fermented egg. Even created synthetic scent (nasty
    stuff, I tell ya). Some yahoo got away stealing and marketing the
    stuff, and gov't did'nt procecute. Anyway he found by much feild
    studies that sound calling to bring 'em far away, then scent to bring
    them where you want 'em was highly effective. Feild testers said them 
    chirping electronic christmas tree balls worked great for calling. The 
    fermented egg really worked well after that. Also was a very effective 
    deer/elk repellant. The sample I let a few friends try (they loved
    it), was composed of 41 chemicals and could only be made in a lab. My
    dad narrowed it down to 8 fairly obtainable chemicals and published it.
    I'll bet you wanted to be outside when adding them last few...pewwwww!
    I dipped the tip of a blade of grass and put it on a bush once, my dogs
    went nuts trying to get at it.
    
    chuck

    I recently harvested my 30th coyote,and countless foxes and plenty of
    coon from calling.I prefer a 12ga.full choke or better a 10ga.
    mag.using #2 copper coated shot for night hunting and a 222 rem. for
    daylight.Coyote call better during the early and late hours of the day,
    fox are better at night.Call the open fields with the moon.If you know
    a coyote or fox ,as you should,you'll have no trouble at night with
    some moonlight over an open field.I called a large bitch in with the
    bow prior to deer season,but missed the shot by about an inch.Any
    call will work/or not try anything.I prefer the open reed calls,they
    don't ice up and have unlimited potential.My electronic is done for
    repairs.I use tube calls,diaphragm,squeeze...etc.After the first stand
    I leave the calls in the back of the truck or hung from the mirror so
    condensate doesn't form (ice).Baits alright,but boring.Coyote have a
    real sweet tooth as does the grey fox.Being a long time trapper I make
    most of my baits,lures and cover scents from proven formulas.
                                                        Ron R.

    Conservation Commission will be sponsoring (read: free) a slide show
    presentation/lecture on "tracking the eastern coyote" featuring Paul
    Resendez as guest speaker.
    
    It will be held Friday Jan 31st from 7:30-9:30PM at the Hawthorn Brook
    Middle School in Townsend MA, on Rt 13 heading towards Brookline NH.
    
    very interesting for those who might want to attend.
    
    Fra
    

     
    Gents,
    
    	My parents lost two sheep over the weekend to coyote (in Rutland
    MA). I plan on baiting the buggers tomorrow evening and making sure
    they don't come back. My brother and I will be staked out with 12guage
    and buckshot. My question's are:
    
    	Should we stake out on the fields at the top of the hill?
    
    	Should we just stake out the sheep since they bagged two of them
    the other night?
    
    	We will be on private land the entire time...is there anyone I
    should notify besides the neighbors that I'll be out there?
    
    	Does anyone have one of those nifty "dying rabbit" calls I could
    borrow for tuesday night (I'd like to take care of this in one night)?
    
    	Anyone else wanna come out and help? :*) I plan on leaving some
    eggs and lamb meat out tonight so it will spoil and smell good and
    rancid for tomorrow evening...:*)
    
    
    					jim s.

    
    Jim,
    
    Isn't there a season on them in MA? Seems to me it don't open till
    Oct/Nov. Better check the reg's. If you dont and get caught can I
    have your guns? 8')
    
    Walt

    
    
    walt,
    
    	Glad I know where your priorities are! ;*) Yes, there is a season
    on them if you're HUNTING them. I am not hunting them...I'm doing some
    "land management". Since they are destroying my parents livestock, we
    have every right to clear them out....
    
    
    					jim s.

    
    Jim,
    
    I didn't know MA had a "Land management" program where you could
    legally dispose of predators killing livestock. Not that I'm
    challenging you on this, I just did not know. Anyway I have an
    audio cassette of a dying rabbit if you wish to borrow it. It's
    quite loud an annoying, just ask my wife 8')
    
    
    Walt

    I would definitely call the F&G.
    
    Last Year or a couple of years ago a person in Templeton shot
    a Bear who was destroying his Bee Hives (which he made his livelyhood
    on selling honey) and ended up going through the ringer with
    the Court System here in Mass.
    
    Best of Luck,
    George

I'm almost 100% certain that you are legally considered to be hunting them. If 
however you were to look out the window and saw them in the act of destroying 
property, then you could shoot them.  to sit and wait for their return is 
considered hunting, and as the season is now closed you'd be poaching.

I'd definately check first...

Frah

    While your checking into it you may also want to look into the legality
    of using a rifle. .223 or better. To get in buck shot range of those
    critters you either have to be very good or very "lucky".......
    
    My .02 cents worth......
    
    Bob M�

	I was told by an EPO that if you tell them your problem first
	then it's allowed to kill predators out of season as they
	are destroying your lively-hood....


					~Mike~

    
        Better check with the local EPO's first for exact rules.My neighbor
    was raising chickens by the hundreds and a few turkeys on his 4
    acres.The foxes were getting his chickens and then a mama bear with
    3 cubs ripped into his pens and took 2 turkeys.He called the EPO
    office who wouldn't even bother to come out.They said that any bear,
    coyote'bobcat,fox,racoon,deer or others on a list could be killed
    if they destroyed any crops or livestock on his "farm".There were
    exceptions on the list he could not touch unless they "were putting
    a person in trheat of life or limb".Rattlesnakes were on that list.
    They said that he had to notify them of damage,which his call did,
    and they would OK him taking care of it or doing something themselves.
    They OKed him to shoot the bear or foxes and he was supposed to
    call them within 24 hours and they would come up and tag it to make
    it legal.
        However,they siad only HE personally as the farmer could do
    this and ONLY on his land WHILE the animals were damaging whatever.
    If he wounded something and it crawled off his land the EPO's were
    supposed to come track it down.
       Better check on your local rules first-It's not as simple as
    it sounds at first!
                                                        John
    

    
    
    Howdy gents!
    
    	I've checked with the local constable and he has no issue with the
    removal of these 'yotes....that's all the approval I was waiting
    for...:)
    
    	They've dug up the carcasses of the two sheep they killed, plus
    they've been hitting the bait I've been leaving them every night. I'm
    putting out the bait again tonight, and I'm going to try to shoot them
    over it. Will post results in the morning (I'll be here for OT!)...
    
    
    						jim s.
    
    

    
    
    Well, I didn't actually bag any coyotes last night, but what happened
    will stay with me for a long time. What a night! Let me explain:
    
    
    	My father, my brother and myself all head up to the field to set
    out some new bait and wait for the yotes to make their next appearance.
    We set up about 20yds behind the bait, about 30yds apart...my brother
    on one side and my father and I on the other (it's now about 9pm). 1hr
    and 15min's later, we're still feeding the mosquito's there supper
    (they we're viscious). I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have
    called in some help for this one. Next thing I know, a whole pack
    starts howling....they're maybe 5-600yds off behind us somewhere.
    "Cool!" I think, "they're coming!". No sooner had the thought entered
    my head than a coyote about 15feet behind me joins the pack in howling!
    I almost jumped out of my skin! My father and I had heard something
    walking around back there, but it sounded so soft we wrote it off as
    raccoon or some small animal. Well, anyway, these guys howl back and
    forth for about 30 seconds and then stop. The two behind me and my dad
    start making their way through the undergrowth....no even 10 feet to my
    right! I probably could have jumped on their backs! I was amazed that
    they didn't see/smell us yet. Both yotes start digging and the hold
    where my father had buried the tow sheep carcasses the other night. My
    dad get's ready to shine the light on these two so I can take them
    out...I want to wait for the rest of the pack. I hold up my hand to
    signal my dad to stop, and one of the 'yotes catches the movement.
    D*mn! He trots out about 50yds and turns broadside to me. I figure he's
    winded me by now, so I might as well try a shot at him....I should've
    held back, he was too far out. Anyway, I didn't get him...just scared
    the bejeezus out of him I'm sure.
    
    	One thing I'll never forget is hearing that one start howling right
    in back of me....that set me in a nervous excitement for the rest of
    the night (had a heck of a time getting to sleep). Even tho' I didn't
    shoot any, it was worth going out there just for the show.
    
    	My next question to all you guys is this.....will they come back
    now? I shouldn't have shot at the one, but I can't take it back now.
    Can I still bring them in to bait? My father and I are going to build
    some tree stands tomorrow, so we can get off the ground and get a
    better angle on them (I couldn't get a good bead through the brush we
    we're in).
    
    	Another thing....I heard about 7-8 coyotes out there...is that an
    average sized pack for this state? Seems like a lot to me. They took
    down a horse at a horse farm down the road a piece, so I guess I
    should've figured there were quite a few....
    
    
    
    						jim .
                                                    

    
    
    Update:
    
    
    	Well, they're back! They've hit the bait both monday and tuesday
    night, and I expect them to hit it again tonight. We'll try for them
    again this friday night....
    
    	Let's hope luck is on our side! :)
    
    
    	jim s.

    Interesting, and exciting sighting this morning on my way
    into work this morning. There was a coyote in the pasture
    next to the SHR3 building here in Shrewsbury. At first I 
    thought something was wrong with it. It would run in a tight
    circle then stop, look a round and do the same thing again.
    
    After watching it a while I realized it was hunting or playing
    with a mouse or some other small animal in the well grazed pasture.

    This is the first time I've seen one in suburbia, and not at all
    intimidated by the traffic or activity nearby. Although it was
    quite a ways from the road I was a bit surprised.
    
    Gotta love it!
    
    Michael

    Michael,
    
    I saw something similar to your coyote last week on the way to Kroger.
    A red fox was out playing in a field right next to a strip mall.  He
    looked really bad.  I pulled the van up close so my kids could see him.
    He was all bones and looked like he had the mange (no hair on his tail
    hardly at all.  He was this years stock, I'll be surprised if he's
    still alive.
    
    Wess