Over on the AOL greeting page as I signed on this morning there in headlines was a banner declaring "Coyote Hunting Contest Prompts Howls"!
Then they offered a "poll" to the AOL members. After reading the short biased intro a poll was offered. I thought "oh my gawd this is gonna be a one sided slam at Hunters". I took the poll and voted to support the Coyote Hunting Contest that turned out to be in Baker, Montana! After voting I was taken to the results page where the 203,292 people who HAD voted were evenly split for and against the Coyote Hunting Contest! 51% against the Hunt and 49% for the Hunt!
I was amazed!
I will try to link the page for anyone interested in voting. I was SURE this poll would be 92% against and only 8% for the contest at BEST!

Link: http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/coyote-killing-...id=NWS00010000000001

I was wrong!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Damn! Somehow they rigged THIS poll so I could only vote once!
Yeah I checked and my link works - this is a hot poll in about 9 minutes 7,000 more AOL types voted - still 51% against and 49% for the Hunt!
Please vote.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

the bastards sure know how to make it sound evil- no prejudice there

If you want to 'rig' the poll for your side clear the cookies out of your browser...............

1 vote in support of the hunt from here. Good luck guys.

yup clearing the cookies allows voting again.

muck

PS
me myself and I have all voted.

still 51/49, 224,900 votes (2x for me!)

Guys: I did not know that!
Clearing cookies - huh!
Naw.. I better not - still I am VERY surprised that this AOL poll is even close at all???
By the way I have a very close friend who lives in Miles City. He is a Taxidermist there and every February they have a month (28 days!) long Coyote Contest there. Teams of two are the rule and in that month long contest a few years back he and his partner came in second with 92 killt Coyotes!
There are just way to many Coyotes over in Powder River country for the Mule Deer, Antelope and Whitetailed Deer's sake!
I left Miles City one early morning a couple of years ago, scouting for Antelope, BEFORE I even got to the ranch I was Hunting on, I had spotted 15 Coyotes! Killed two and also shot a Badger! And that was before I got to my Hunting area! It was the day before the Antelope season and once I teamed up with my partner and his son I found out they had shot two Coyotes as well!
Its 525 miles from my home here in SW Montana to Baker, Montana and maybe I will make plans to do that Hunt next year!
I have Hunted the Baker, Montana area before in late December for Coyotes. We got 4 or 5 Coyotes the last time we did that Hunt and missed a Bobcat as well on that Hunt! But the main reason to be in Powder River country in late Decmeber is to watch the herds of Mule Deer and spot the "big ones" that got through the Hunting season!
Its something that rivals the Elk down in Jackson Hole as pure entertainment for animal watchers!
Its a sign of the times there is now an "organization" to fight the Hunting of predators by humans!
Sheesh!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Well I was out there. Only got one though. Gotta hit the ice fishing tonight and tomorrow, walleye seems like it would go good with the cold snap. If you want to team up let me know VG. I had to work for Prarie Counties Coyote contest last weekend. Talked to a couple of kids that were out and said they hadn't had much luck though, probably the wind howling like it did though. This coming weekend or the following Dawson County is having a coyote hunt too.

The whole thing doesnt sound too much different than a salmon derby. Or a bass tournament(even though the bass are CnR'd). I suppose that when the protesters are through with these larger issues of coyote derbies that then they will target other such events.

I do agree with a little bit of the issue that hunting them has no great effect on their population. I could be wrong but I back that statement with what my uncles say(farmers, three of them, beef and sheep). My uncle that raised sheep used to sleep on top of the barn during lambing season with a shotgun and a spot light. He said that was a waste of time even though he killed several coyotes this way. The best solution was the purchase of a Great Pyrenese(sp?). She was not a heard dog, she was a guard dog and the coyotes would not come around.

I voted to support the coyote hunters, so did my wife, my son, my dog, and my unborn child.

Bullshooter: Good thoughts and good job on the voting - I wonder how it ended up, the percentage I mean - I will try the link.
The most recent results are = 232,000 votes with these results 52% against the Hunt and 48% FOR the Hunt!
I am still amazed at that result on AOL!!
Maybe there is hope?

Rainman1882: Thank you for the offer and I am up for it - for sure next year.
I am in the process of scamming some money and the FIRST thing on my menu after this scam comes through is a FOXPRO Remote Caller!
My Johnny Stewart went tits up a couple years ago and I have been making due with my mouth calls ever since.
Thanks again for the invite and good luck through the ice!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I posted on the AOL message board about this subject using my AR handle. I think it is quite interesting much of the debate is now vegan vs non vegan - the whackos have effectively "stolen" the thread. Because of their name calling etc, they look pretty bad.