Took a peek outside for hogs tonight, but instead I found this male coyote on the prowl. The shot was only 168-170 yards, but he was on the move and made it a little tough for me. He obviously had intentions of checking out our gut-pile area, but he never quite made it there. As soon as he entered a shredded clearing, I swung to a point just in front of his chest and took the quartering shot.

The 130 grain Accubond entered about 7 inches behind the onside shoulder and exited the center of the opposite shoulder. The exit was between the size of a quarter and fifty-cent piece, and bits of lung tissue were actually hanging out of it.

As you can see, this one was suffering and had a bit of mange going on. Best I can tell, this was a 2 year-old male and already on the decline due to the mange.

Good shot and good story.

We see some coyotes up here that have no hair on them or just small tufts.

I think you did him a favor, Bobby.

Great way to warm the barrel Bobby. Nice shot.

Bobby:

You did that sick dog a big favor.
Good shooting too.

George

Please do not take this as criticism. It is not intended that way.

I am overrun with hogs. I have started to question whether whacking coyotes was the best thing to do. Surely, they are killing a fair number of hogs. What do y’all think?

By the way, I have seen a couple with the mange that had almost no hair.

Larry:

I think you're onto something.

I've wondered about the aussies killing fox when they're over run with feral domestic cats so much.

Your hog problem: I sure wish!!

George

About a week ago, we killed a solid black coyote with a white throat patch.

Larry-

That is a great question. Back when I still was able to trap and call, I studied the stomach and intestinal contents of almost every predator I killed (not to mention any scat I came across). Coyotes do take some -- but from what I could tell, it is primarily piglets that they get. And it didn't seem to be that often, either. If a hog gets to 35-40 pounds, they have no natural enemies around here other than maybe a rogue boar intent on eliminating any younger male competition.

I also think terrain plays a part. In more open areas, a coyote (or coyotes) can possibly work a larger hog and wear it down over time. But here, where there is mile upon mile of impenetrable brush filled with nothing but thorny briars lining the creek bottoms and the edges of many fields, the hogs find shelter from just about anything, including Mother Nature.

While many factors come into play when it comes to seeing hogs, the numbers here -- and this is solely my personal perspective -- seem to be at an all-time low. Fifteen years ago, you could see multiple large sounders on an early-morning or late-evening drive. That hasn't been the case in this area for at least 3 years now. Neighbors aren't continually complaining about rooted-up pastures, and farmers aren't griping about lost crops or damaged equipment from hitting a rooted-up area. They're still here -- no doubt about that. But the numbers are far from what they used to be.

As to the 'yotes: I've killed either 9 or 10 coyotes (I'd have to go back and look at the old posts) since the end of last October without even trying, but it hasn't seemed to benefit the hogs much -- at least not yet.

Anyway, taking that many coyotes without calling or even getting into the woods makes me wonder what the area population is really like (I don't know as I can't get out there anymore). I take them out to help the deer and turkey numbers and really don't give much thought to the effect on the hogs.

Thanks Bobby.

I have a pine tree farm. Some of the area is thick inpenatrable swamp. I have a lot of hogs. The numbers vary with the water level. Changes in water level cause temporary changes in the hog population. It is nothing to see 20- 25 on a feeder. At one time , I had 50-60 coming to a feeder.

They are here today, gone tomorrow. It is hard for me to deal with them as I live 150 miles away.

We have shot the hell out of them at times. I trapped 11. If I lived closer, I would trap more.

I have seen 30 pounders breeding.

I have not thought about checking the stomachs. Maybe I will do that.

I just spent $14,000 fencing my feeders to keep the hogs out. They hammer the minerals and protein.

Nice work!

From my obsdervations up in this area both the pigs and the coyotes move around a lot and don't seem to set up a "Home Range" as such.

Doing my daily rounds and at the times I do them I get to seeing on a regular basis, enough to distinguish individual pigs or sounders.

I will notice va certain sounder on one property and they will hang around a couple of days or maybe a couple of weeks, then they will dissappear and I will run on to them on a properety 8 to 10 miles from where they had been.

Randall:

I have some I see on camera regularly for long periods of time. Others stay a few days and disappear. Some show for a few days then disappear only to return again. They seem to repeat this over and over. I have a real monster that I want to whack that does this to me. The only thing I can say for sure is that changing water levels changes their habits and movements.

I have hoped the coyotes ate a bunch of shoats. Bobby is making me question this. On the other hand, I let a guy shoot a sow about 2 weeks ago. Not a shoat to be seen. A week before she had 8 shoats. What happened to them in a week? Drowning was a real possibility. What else?

That young possibly they simply starved because they would still have depended on the sows milk for the majority of their nourishment.

As for the 15 to 20 pound and above animals, at least out here except when they have pups, coyotes don't "pack" up normally they are loners or sometimes a pair will hunt together.

My theury is that once the pigs hit that 15 to 20 pound mark or larger, they are usually running in a group and a lone coyote or bobcat trying to pick one off might find itself being the victim since hogs have a tendency to jump in iof another one starts squealing.

I see as many as 3 coyotes hunting together around here. I most often see solitary coyotes. Oddly, I have never heard them calling at my ranch. I get them on camera at my feeders often.

I agree 100% about the size of the pigs especially in a sounder .

About 15 years ago on the opening day of gun season, I shot a massive coyote with a pig in its mouth. If I recall correctly, I estimated the pig to weigh about 15 pounds. Biggest coyote I ever killed.