I don’t know a whole lot about targeting the coyotes. I have never been a big varmint hunter. But we had a lot of fawns around here and the coyotes have almost wiped them out. So I am going to start trapping them this weekend.

I have limited time at home, and a neighbor’s dog occasionally visits my place. My woman loves that dog and so do my daughters, so no harm can come to that dog.

So that limits my trapping to dark hours and only on weekends when I am home. I sure could use some pointers. Gonna boil them traps and clean with dawn as I have been told, got some yodel dog lure and some minnesota brand lure, I might even bait them with some calf liver or something like that.

I am mad at the coyotes and mad at myself for not being more proactive. But with my limited time at home I am not gonna sit out all night trying to spotlight coyotes when I could be in bed with my woman, traps are gonna have to work.

I sure could use some help.

Baiting with scraps has led to catching a lot of non target species, mostly birds. I say if you have to leave them unset during the day and re-set each night it’s not worth the effort. From what I’ve seen and read traps usually sit for a few days before catching. Contrary to what I would have thought coyotes are quite a bit “smarter” or trap shy than bob cats. We catch way more bobcats than coyotes. Increasing fawning cover will likely be better for protecting fawns. How do you know coyotes are killing them?

I’ve been trapping coyotes for 40 years so I have quite a bit of knowledge about targeting them. The biggest issue is that the dog will get into your traps. It’s just a matter of time. Providing you use a smaller than normal trap this can be minimized, maybe. I use 550’s but a #2 will work okay. Use traps with laminated jaws to spread out the contact area and assist with blood flow to the paw. Use at least 2 swivels. Don’t use bait. You don’t want them to find anything and leave. Just use lure. I make dirt hole sets and pee post sets. The dog will get hurt some though. There’s no way around that except for a live trap and that takes a lot more money and effort. When the dog is in the trap, if a coyote finds it before you do, it will kill the dog.

Talk to your neighbor that owns the dog and explain what and when you will be trapping. Trap every coyote and bobcat you can, its rewarding to drive up to a trap with a coyote in it.

What else could it possibly be? How do I go from like 4 pairs of does and fawns on camera per day and a doe with two fawns, to only seeing one doe/fawn pair a couple of times since the 4th?

It’s not like they have better food to get elsewhere, they are cutting all the corn and beans, I got chinkapins all over my place and a molasses volcano made out of probably 400 pounds of corn, grains, and minerals right in front of my camera. I don't even hunt here.

Deer leave any area with a loose dog in it.

I hear you but there is no telling how long that dog has been running around here. For sure he’s been on the loose out here longer than i have lived here. I think my bait pile attracted all these animals, which attracted the dog and coyotes too. And might have helped them coyotes out as well. I might have to clean up all that bait and stuff regardless.

That is my fear. I might have made a perfect situation for the coyotes.

I bury anything dead with my tractor especially pigs and don’t put out any bait that would interest a predator. Coyotes are no different than any other animal. Free food means they will frequent the area. If they see a fawn while in the area then they will take advantage of the opportunity. After I started burying all carcasses, the coyote numbers here went way down. They concentrate on the property about 2 miles away that has about 250 goats on it now.

Your does and fawns disappeared both, I don’t think that means they got eaten. I have watched several mature bucks the last several years on my backyard feeder. Every year they are like clockwork and the nearer the season gets the worse their clock brakes down. A few still show every now and again and some completely disappear till after the season. The does are somewhat the same.

'Deer leave any area with a loose dog in it.' Nope, not exactly. Property has normally 4 dogs, inside at nite, doesn't seem to bother hogs or deer. Now loose dogs roaming at nite might be different. Actually had 12 dogs one day, shot at hogs that nite. Deer watch the calender for opening day and end of season.

The first thing I do with new traps is put them in the dishwasher with no detergent. The heat and water will get rid of the oil from the factory manufacturing and storage. Use pan covers and the most important thing is to bed them to where there’s no movement from stepping on the jaws.

I still have some solitary does. Not every single day. But only one fawn since the 4th, she was there three days ago. And i think the same doe came back 2 days ago without her fawn. It makes me sad. I don’t know what to tell you. I love the deer.

How's it going any luck yet?

Snare your fences first.

I still haven’t set a trap yet. Was not a good weekend for me to do anything about it. Very busy and not feeling good.

Also second weekend of bow season and I have not hunted at all.

What county are you in 10-Gauge?

Johnson County in Missouri.

Any luck?

Never got started. I dumped my gut pile in front of the camera, and it took three days for a yote to come out and examine it. I have pictures of one pacing back and forth just inside the treeline for a good while, but he waited three days to eat it.

Once he started though, he became very comfortable pretty darn quick. By the time I returned the next weekend there was no trace of a gut pile. Vultures never found it, mostly just the coyotes and the possums. Raccoons were a lot more interested in that pile of goodies I made for the deer.

The deer completely stopped coming in until I cleaned that pile out and ran over everything in the area with the lawnmower. I also moved the camera for a better view. After three nights of drastically fewer raccoons, the deer finally started coming back but they did not have no food to eat. I guess deer are smart enough to avoid stuff completely contaminated by raccoon poop. The edges of my bait pile were pretty much 100% puro de mierda. I had not been back there for awhile.

The camera is crooked because the critters climb all over it up and down that tree.

I think I got the momma with two fawns back <3. That makes my heart happy. Fawns getting big.

I just don’t even want to try to fool with it. At this point I know it is a waste of time trapping a night at a time. When I take my Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, I will probably set the traps as I will be home for a week at a time.

Bedding footholds for one night only would be a pain.