First time Coyote's

[rbirnie]

Hey guys, new to the board and new to the Coyote game:

I have a couple coyote's in the garage drying, this is the process I did for them, looking for any other tips or suggestions.

Shot 2 coyote's
Skinned them, put them on a stretcher, washed both sides with garden hose and a little Dawn. Did my best with fleshing, (weak point). Dries skin out for 20-24 hours, turned them hide out, combed with a fine wire brush.

I had a guy tell me instead of removing the ear cartilage, he just puts 2 slices from the base of the ear to the tip of the ear, then he pins them towards the eyes. I have had people tell me, no this is wrong, make sure to remove the cartilage. This guy tells me if you just cut them they will dry without removing them.


I am also told the adjustable stretchers are not recommended now. is this true, I do have solid wood ones but I sure like the adjustable's??????

Below are my first 2 dogs, click on image to enlarge I guess, can anyone see anything wrong with what I am doing. The one on the right I thought was pretty big????????

Thanks

[rbirnie]

Here's some pictures

[Bushmaster]

I don't remove the cartilages...just make sure there is no meat left on the ear butts. I pin the ears forward, as well. When you take them off the stretchers, snap them like you would a towel, it'll make the hair stand up better. And fleshing is a VERY important step. If you don't feel you did them good enough, you should try to improve on this particular step.

And I also use adjustable stretchers, just don't overstretch them, just pull the stretchers until they are taut.

Yours look fine.

[AB2506]

I'm no expert, but the first furs I ever sent to auction last year averaged more than the auction average for western coyotes, so I assume I am doing something better than most.

I remove as much of the cartilage from the ear as I can. I then let the ears hang back flat. I used boards like yours. I also cut little boards to stick inside and pin down the front legs and to pin down the split tail.



I wash the hides after fleshing, in the laundry tub. I use cold water and dish soap. I keep hand washing until I no longer wring out pink water. After the hides are turned, I brush/fluff the fur with a pet brush.

[Bushmaster]

AB2506, your coyotes look very nice. But a possible reason for higher than average price is the fact that you take them from Southern Alberta....they generally have better color from the south.

[rbirnie]

So in everyone's opionon, whats the easiest way to bag coyote's?????

Predator Calling
or
Trapping and snaring

I have been doing alot of calling, but I may consider setting some snares,pending on cost of supplies and equipment.

[Bushmaster]

Snares...hands down...they are working 24/7. They are cheap, easy to use and very effective, in the right hands.

[Koshel]

x2. Although not as fun as calling, getting good at snaring is much more productive. With that being said, it takes a lot of trial and error of how to disguise the snares well and fool wily coyote (it did with me). Once you get experienced at it you begin to expect to catch coyotes vs. hoping to get them. As well, the deeper the snow the better it gets (opposite of calling).

[Bushmaster]

Koshel, do you have any pics of your disguised snare sets, that you would be willing to share...even privately, if you prefer ?? I would find them interesting.

[Koshel]

No, sorry, I don't have pics of "disguised snare sets". What I can tell you though is that it helps huge to set snares specifically where coyotes trails are pushing through light cover. For example, anytime a coyote pushes through light grass, rose bushes, etc. is a dynamite spot. I will often follow along a coyote trail for a ways to find spot such as this. They are expecting to feel something rubbing against their chest/shoulders, so they are likely to continue tightening the snare, plus the grass/twigs help to disguise them seeing the snare. With this being said, you have to dye the snare a preferably brownish black colour.
Another spot that works well is when coyotes have to go down a steep decline (i.e. coming down onto a creek or river). I seemed to have better success when setting on these declines, common sense saying that they be coming downward at a faster pace, less likely to notice the snare (never seen one come into a set from a below, so not sure how this works).
Sets on fences work well, and I don't think it is necessary to dye the snare, since they are expecting the metal colour.
NEVER walk across a coyote trail you are going to set on. If you have to,
jump over it.
And sometimes, regardless of how great your snare set is, that darn coyote will back out!

[Koshel]

Not sure if you wanted all the info bushmaster (I thot it was the original threadstarter asking, not you), but I always enjoy sharing hunting and trapping tactics...my info is pretty much common sense.

[Bushmaster]

It's always interesting to talk to fellow snarers...can use all the info I can get. I have been succesfully snaring for quite a few years now, mostly using bait piles. And usually find I don't even have to hide the snares at bait sites.

[rbirnie]

Are you guys using ram powered snares or just normal snares. How do I make some. When you guys set snares on trails and paths, do you use bait or not????

[Bushmaster]

98% of my snares are normal snares....homemade. The others have a kill spring attached and are used in wide open country.

You can buy all the supplies you need (or snares for that matter) at Halford Hide (Edmonton & Calgary) or Alberta Trappers Assn. in Westlock.

Buy a good set of cable cutters $20 - $30 and don't use them for anything else.

I usually snare at bait sites and select the trails coming to the bait....and use the other snares for trails well back from the bait.

[Prdtrgttr]

Hey BM, thanks for the tips. I am just getting into snaring myself. However, I live in some fairly open country so finding good areas can be tricky. Do you degrease your snares, and prep them in something like Formula 1? How close to bait sites do you snare? Do the coyotes tend to avoid your areas after some have been caught? What do you use for bait?
I've been putting some rib cages, and a few dead pigs in an old farm stead that has rows of Carraganas around it. I've rigged all my snares with the Senneker kill springs. I am gonna set some snares there maybe tonight or tomorrow. How picky are you guys with scent and your snares? Rubber gloves?
Thanks for your advice gentlemen.

[Bushmaster]

Pg, I have lots of bush areas around here so thats where set the baits and hang my snares. I use 2 trees on either side of the trail.....the snare attached to one and the opposite tree is the one that makes the setup lethal...once they wrap around the 2nd tree its over.

I boil them in baking soda for a bit to degrease them, but handle them with bare hands.

I use butcher shop scraps for bait.

The only time I use Marty's kill spring is on a wide open trail....and then the snare is 10' long or more.

[Prdtrgttr]

Bushmaster, What do you mean by a wide open trail? And, how would you hang your snare in that situation? Is your snare 10ft, or does this include a lead?
Thanks

[Bushmaster]

I mean no bush around...that is what makes a snare lethal...and you want them dead as quick as possible.

And I'll try to take a pic tomorrow of my setup.

Lead or 10' snare...same diff, I guess...you just want the coyote to get far enough away from your stake that he is pulling sideways, not up.

And with the 10', he should be able to get a good run at it so your snare lock can do its job quickly.

[Prdtrgttr]

Hmmm, cool, I am looking forward to the pics. Thanks Bushmaster. I set 5 snares tonight, so I'll keep you posted too. How far/close do you set to your bait?

[Bushmaster]

Here's a coupla snares that I consider to be in the open, that is, not chance for entanglement....





And here's the stake I use....but ONLY after the ground is frozen !! As its only 12" long.

[Prdtrgttr]

Great Photos! Thanks for sharing. Is that 9 gauge wire that suspends your snare in the open?
And once again, what's the closest you will set your snare to the bait.
Thanks!

[Bushmaster]

I have caught them as close as 3' from a bait but you are usually asking for problems from magpies, ravens, etc. this close. They knock the snares down.....I've actually caught a magpie....tells me snares drop pretty fast.

It isn't 9 gauge, I think thats old telephone wire....but anything that works....#9 is a bit hard for me to wrestle with....I just now found some copper(I think) that is strong yet very malleble.

[Bushmaster]

This is what most of my setups look like...the smaller trees allow for easy entanglement and a quick choke down.

[rbirnie]

Well I attempted to make a snare, ummm I used the bent flat washer thingy for the lock, I used #10 nuts for the crimpers. The only problem I have is how to keep the snare suspended in the air, what do you guys use to hold the snare to the support wire???? Also when you do attach the support wire to the snare, I just hold it with my fingers, the snare actually wiggles down to a small size if you shake it a bit, wondering if wind would do this also. Do you guys use the same cable (3/32) as the leesh to, just make a snare say out of 10 feet of this cable, put the snare loop at one end, and the anchor at the other. If I could see a good close up picture of a snare, it would help a lot. Thanks for any help guys.


Sorry for the million questions

[Prdtrgttr]

No trouble with the questions, that's what these forums are all about.
My snare is 1/16 cable about 5-6ft long, you attach these to a lead, which can be 5, 6, even up to 10ft long depending on what's available to attach to.
The lead has a swivel on the end of it, the idea of the lead is to allow the animal off the trail, to the side,so you can re-set there, and, you don't use as much snare cable either.

I don't have any pics of the snares, maybe later, I'll take some and post them

Your snares sound like they're made right. You'll need collars,I believe mine are 3/32 collars, some fellows, use transparent plastic too, about a 1" piece, this would be like a sheath right on your snare cable. These collars are above your locks, they are to hang your snares and prevent them from closing. I am using 9gauge wire from UFA to hang mine, you put a little kink in the end of the wire so that the wire points up, this makes the snare hang up, instead of down, which would make it close.
Hope this helps and good luck to you.

[Bushmaster]

Here's what part of my snares look like. The lock is a 3/32 camlock and the "s" hook is what's known as a BAD...break away device......they are diesingned so a coyote can't usually pull them open but a deer usually can.

Hang your snares in the one o'clock or 2 o'clock position to keep the wind from setting them off.

If you're not sure how to make the washer type locks, I'm not sure how well they are going to work for you .

You need to find someone in your area to help you out.

The locks have to close and get tighter and tighter, never letting off, to be effective. If they're not, your coyote is going to get away.

By the way, the plastic tubing used to hold your snares to the support wire is called a whammy.

If you buy some camlocks, they are reuseable...but the snare cable will be ruined after your first catch.

[Bushmaster]

Just wondering, how old are you guys ??

[Prdtrgttr]

You first!

[Bushmaster]

I'm 54.

[Prdtrgttr]

38, first time trapper/snarer, I guess. Long time coyote hunter!