Want a better deer season next year? Hunt coyotes this winter and you are bound to have more deer. I once hunted mountain lions in Montana and the first cat we treed was a two-year-old female. Normally, big toms are the trophy that most hunters seek yet by killing this cat I’d spare the lives of 50 mule deer during the next year. I had zero hesitation about launching an arrow and I feel exactly the same about coyotes. Deer managers have concluded after much study and consternation that there is no way to eliminate coyotes from the deer ecosystem. About half of the predators are home bodies and have a specific territory that they hunt and scour for food. The other half are roamers so that if you kill a breeding pair in your deer area, these wandering animals will eventually take their place. Pack behavior is the element that makes coyotes such effective predators and few animals stand a chance when it is surrounded by two or more coyotes. First, they run the animal until it tires and stands to fight, then they surround a deer and bite at its hamstring. If you are a foot ball fan, you know that even the largest and most powerful running backs become gimpy with a hamstring injury and that’s exactly what happens to members of the deer family. Once the hamstrung is severed, the coyotes go for the soft underbelly, open the viscera, and the deer is eaten alive by the pack. Unfortunately, there are no YouTube video to document this morbid scene. My purpose is not to be graphically unpleasant, but to point out the importance of controlling this irrepressible animal. Trapping is one method to reduce populations and if you don’t have the skills, which are demanding, consider hiring a trapper to remove them for you. Often they will trap coyotes and other predators in trade for the fur, helping you keep the population under control without added expense. With winter upon us, Coyote Hunting Champion Al Morris speaks to his success in this post from Grandview Outdoors.
FOXPRO’s Al Morris and Garvin Young are fresh off of their unprecedented fourth win at the 2016 World Coyote Calling Championships (WCCC). After two days of hardcore daytime coyote hunting, the dynamic duo’s haul of 18 coyotes was enough to claim first place honors. I spoke with Al right after the big weekend and asked him to share some insight about the contest.HOW AND WHEN DID YOU HOOK UP WITH GARVIN YOUNG?
“We both grew up in Utah and actually went to high school together. Back then, we knew each other, but didn’t hunt together. In 1997, Garvin’s cousin suggested that Garvin and I hook up to enter the WCCC because Garvin needed a partner. Well, we entered… and won! We thought it was easy, but it took us another 11 years to win it again! We’ve hunted in the WCCC for the past 20 years – always together! We have, and do, hunt in other contests, but the WCCC is our favorite.”
