So I've got a .308 precision gun that I had planned on using to remove some coyotes from the hunting property we lease.  I really don't have much use for the pelts but at the same time I'm a bit hesitant to just toss the carcasses.  Any other uses for them?

The furs are well past prime now.  Some taxidermists like to have them but again the pelts are almost worthless this time of year.  If they need to be thinned out just make it happen.  If you shoot them with a 308 win that isn't exactly what I would call a pelt friendly cartridge anyhow.  Just let it rain fur and lower their numbers.  



I'm not someone who believes that every coyote should be a dead coyote, but the numbers are well out of proportion in many parts of the state.  One more comment, just because you think that you will just go out and kill a couple, it's easier said than done for many people.  There are a lot of yotes out there because they are not easy to kill.  



Good luck.

I have no illusions on how difficult it'll be.  Just hoping to keep them off the deer herds and turkey flocks around our leased property.

I am looking to get into 'yote hunting in SE Wisconsin as well if you would like a hand. I have a place right near here where the landowners want the dogs gone, but I just got my hunter safety so I would like to head out with someone else first I think. For reference I am in Northern Ozaukee County...

That said, this is gestation time so unless you are doing it to get rid of vermin then most guys wait until late August when the pups are out of the den.

That starting to get a little too close to bow hunting for my liking to be making all that noise.  Maybe i'll wait.

I've got a video on calling canids. Electronic rabbit cries seem to bait them in real well. They hang cautiously around the perimeter for a while, can't stand it any more, and finally drive in after the wounded rabbit.

If you're not calling them in, forget it. I have NEVER seen a yote while bearing a rifle.

Good luck as the coyote is one of the smartest and weariest animal out there.  I've found calling in Wisconsin is pretty much a waste of time.  EIther chase them with houndes or just luck into them.  This time of the year try to find a den and then camp over it.

I've had luck with an electronic call (rabbit in distress) and a motion decoy that looks like a rabbit ("Quiver Critter", about $30 from Fleet Farm). The decoy is the key to success. They need something visual to finish the deal. Without it, they'll stay out of range if they respond to the call. We've had as many as 4 or 5 come in at once when hunting wide open areas at certain times of day (early & late). For rifle use, finding open areas where you can see them before they see you is mandatory. Up north, the only open areas big enough for good yote hunting/calling are undeveloped frozen lakes just before sunrise.... yotes in my area cruise the lakes every night for scraps left by ice-fisherman. But that's strictly a winter tactic.

When the lakes aren't frozen, and all hunting is now in heavier cover, we use shotguns with #4 buckshot, as all shooting will be close and fast. Once it "greens up", hunting heavy woods is almost impossible. They'll detect you long before you'll see them in the heavy cover. If you're lucky enough to locate an active den, you'll get some action if you are persistant in watching that area, terrain will determine rifle or shotgun.

Read the hunting regs if you intend to use shotguns. After June 1st and until fall, you can no longer use buckshot, you're limited to size BB or smaller (non-toxic shot like Hevi-Shot in BB goose loads will do a number on a yote under 50 yds ). I've seen them stalk my turkey decoys on more than one occasion too, and a turkey load will roll them if they're within range.

We've seen more yotes than deer, over the past 7-8 gun deer seasons hunting in the Nicolet. It wasn't legal to shoot them until a few seasons back. A 300gr  .45-70 just about turns a yote inside out if you hit one in the chest with a head-on shot.

They're getting to be a more common and frequent sight here in the greater Grafton/Cedarburg area.

I have a 22-250 that I bought specifically for yote hunting. I'm still messing around with different loads, but I can get groups under 1" at 100yd when I do my part.  Need to get somewhere where I can see how they do at longer ranges.

That said, I've only been able to get out a few times for actual hunting. I've seen a few, but never got a shot off any for various reasons. It's been a few years since I actually went out for em. I promised myself to go and hunt more this past season, but never did get to go. Will have to try again this fall.

I have had at least one coyote come in to a mouth call. Not electronics calls, that I've noticed. I no longer have that call (some Johnny Steward model), but wouldn't mind getting another electronic one.

A good site to hang out in is predatormasters.com. I used to be on there a lot when I got that 22-250, but haven't been there in a few years.

Nice thing about hunting coyotes is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of pressure on them in this area. The downside is ANY coyote can be educated fairly quickly, so you need a lot of different areas to hunt.

Is it legal to hunt yotes suppressed at night?

Yes it is (it goes without saying, you need fed tax stamp for suppressor to hunt with one... same for SBR & SBS).

Yote hunting is now open 24/7, 365 days, statewide... where general hunting is legal (check local regs).  

Residents required to have a small game hunting license and non-Residents required to have a furbearer license

Illegal to possess a rifle larger than .22 caliber rimfire or any .22 caliber or larger centerfire rifle
during the gun deer season in shotgun-only deer hunting areas, unless it is unloaded and enclosed within a carrying case.

Illegal to possess or control shotshells loaded with a single slug or ball while hunting any game bird or wild turkey except during open gun deer or bear seasons. Shotshells loaded with a single slug or ball are legal during any season for small game species, including coyote, fox, and bobcat, but not when hunting game birds or wild turkeys.

Illegal to possess shot or shotshells loaded with shot larger than no. BB (including buckshot) from June 1–Dec. 15 while hunting except:
1.  Non-toxic shot size BBB and T may be used for hunting waterfowl.
2.  Shot larger than BB may be possessed and used for the purpose of hunting bobcat

Illegal to use or possess laser sights while hunting unless you are visually handicapped and possess
a Class C Disabled Permit.

You can use a light at "point of kill" or to find your way, but using a light to search for game is considered illegal shining.

Electronic calls or amplification are legal. (prohibited for turkey and waterfowl hunting only).

Battery powered motion decoys are legal. (prohibited for turkey hunting only)

Baiting for coyotes is illegal, but it is legal to hunt over road kill, or other carcasses found in woods, as long as you do not move or manipulate the carcass in any way.

Thanks!

Can anyone tell me if "point of kill" has legal meaning?  I can't find a definition or case law for it at all.  I'm not sure I'd want to be the test case for it, because the courts also decided that somehow electromagnetic waves outside the visible light spectrum are "light," so take it FWIW.  Some people use blue or green flood lights to illuminate an entire area for night hunting, which should be legal by the letter of the law IMHO, but...

Do dogs even freeze when you shine white light on them?

None that I can find either, but it's in the regs regardless. It's a disgressionary thing for wardens to determine depending upon circumstances. It's been in use for years for racoon hunters, and hunting for coyotes was "no lights" allowed. It was changed a few years ago to put coyotes under the same regs as racoons for night hunting. IMO, it's purpose is to discourage shiners and poachers, who may be looking for deer and use the excuse that they're hunting coyotes or racoons.

The way I would interpret it is, it's technically illegal to use the light until you have spotted your target and the light is then only use for illumination for taking the shot. If you're sweeping an open field with a spotlight, that's not what you're doing.

I'm actually amazed at the coyotes that people don't see!  My family has 80 acres I Marquette County.  Several years ago I contacted a few local guys off the Wis Trappers website to see if they were interested in trapping on the property.  About 5 years ago a guy trapped 9 coyotes.  He came back this year and got 7 of them.  All from just 80 acres!  

You may not use or possess "with the intent to use" lasers..  There is not a general prohibition of possession although I am sure some warden would have a bird just seeing it on your rifle.   You may not use a laser or a flashlight which is weapon mounted at point of kill.  



I don't think you would deny that IR LIGHT is "visible" with NV equipment.  The fact that the naked eye can not discern it is not relevant according to the verbiage of the Statute...

About 8 years ago I was driving through Grafton just after sunset and saw a pair of them lurking next to a shrub in someone's front yard. Looked like they were waiting to cross the street. One of them met my eyes as I rolled past.

Thought they were doing away with shotgun-only zones.

Where does it say that the light used at point of kill cannot be weapon mounted? I get it for lasers, as lasers cannot be used day or night without class C permit, and just having one mounted on a weapon while hunting can be construed as "intent to use".

OTOH, a weapon mounted light that is mounted so as to illuminate only where the sights are aiming, can be argued logically that the "intent" here is "point of kill" usage... it's illuminating the same area your firearm is aimed at, which is legal if you're shooting at a game animal, whereas a laser isn't.

Those are the 2013 regulations, still in effect, and are irrelevant until november's gun season. If & when shotgun zones are eliminated, that reg will be changed by the change to rifles allowed for deer. Whether or not all shotgun zones will be eliminated, I have no clue. There's none near me, so I've never paid much attention to that possible change because I've got no dog in that fight.

Double meaning in this discussion for "LIGHT EM UP!"

Yep. You cannot use IR light either except at point of kill.

So if you guys have some NV equipment, you are not allowed to use the IR illuminator except at point of kill.

The exception in the  Statute verbiage which I listed above is for a "flashlight".  Only a "flashlight" may be used at point of kill.
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"Flashlight" is explicitly defined as being of a hand held design.  This would exclude a weapon mounted light of any type.  I certainly would not wish to be in court arguing that my weapon mounted light was designed to be carried and held by hand but just temporarily attached to the weapon.  I would speculate that the counter argument would be that you redesigned it to be weapon mounted.  
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Weapon mounted flashlights are designed to be carried by hand also, most of them anyways. So you can still mount it to your rifle. Just because it's designed to be carried and held by hand doesn't mean it has to be. Just like a handgun is designed to be fired with one hand, or a rifle is designed to be fired from the shoulder. It's not illegal to shoot a handgun with 2 hands and shoot your rifle from the hip either.

Well if we are going to assume that the courts and legislators know everything about SCIENCE! then let's go ahead and outlaw radios, cell phones, and any other electromagnetic emmitters we carry on our person, "because shining."

The statute is explicitly regarding shining, which CANNOT BE DONE WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVELENGTHS IMPERCEPTIBLE TO THE HUNTED ANIMAL(S).  Deer's eyes are biased into the UV spectrum, and cannot see anywhere near IR.  If it is not visible light, the statute does not apply, even if the courts have erronesouly said that it does. Now please stop calling IR "light," as you are perpetuating the misnomer.

It would be an entirely avoidable and unnecessary citation if you just do not have it mounted while hunting.   You may beat the rap  but you may not beat the ride..


Are you reading a different Statute than I am?  The ability of the animals to perceive, discern, etc the illumination is irrelevant.  The animals are not doing the shining,  The humans with NV scopes and goggles are...  Unless you have the funds and are willing to spend the time in the courts system rebutting the premise that what comes from an IR emitter does not fit the definition of "light", even though the technology is cheap and readily available to make it visible to the person using it and that it illuminates deer and other game animals to make night hunting easier, I would not recommend that you hunt at night with it attached to your weapon.    
Please direct me to devices which project EMR in the "invisible" spectrum other than IR onto game at a distance to illuminate it and the corresponding device which allows you to view this illumination.  
Is your cell phone such a device?  
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The way I've always interpreted that verbiage was the statute was worded that way to outlaw the use of vehicle mounted lights, not weapon mounted lights. It's to limit the size of the light, not how it's actually held or used. You cannot, under ordinary circumstances, use 100 watt offroad lights or high beam headlights that are handheld. IMHO, the wording is designed to limit the capacity and illuminating power of the lights legal to use, to those which have been designed to be handheld, because of limits in powering them up by portable flashlight sized batteries.... not limiting them to actually be held in your hand. If the intent was to outlaw weapon mounted flashlights, why didn't the statute just say so, instead of all the dancing around it?  (or even suggest that in the FAQ, like it states in words other than the statute uses, that lasers are illegal?)

Using your interpretation, it would be difficult at best, if not impossible, for a person to hunt alone at night with a long gun, and still legally use a light at the point of kill to illiuminate their target (which is the intent of allowing lights at point of kill,  to aid against unnecessary wounding, and for proper target ID). I don't think that's the intention, unless you can show some precedant where someone was cited for a weapon mounted light while racoon or coyote hunting (or other where usage of a light at point of kill is legal). Someone cited while deer hunting poaching would not apply, because in that case, a weapon mounted light would be "intent to use" where use is illegal, just like hunting with a laser sighted weapon (turned on or not, it's still intent to use where such use is illegal).

FWIW... I hunt yotes with a DPMS M3 with a Surefire G2 mounted in a CAA mount on a picatinny rail under the forearm, where my forward hand's thumb can push the temporary "on" button to "light up" my target while simltaneously holding the rifle.

With a push of a button on the CAA mount, it slides on or off the rifle, and it's still a "flashlight" wherever it is, becaause of it's limited size & capacity to produce light. I use it off the weapon to find my way, and when ready to shoot, I clip it on. I often hunt alone, so I don't have much choice other than to shoot my rifle one-handed. I will continue to do so. If I become a "test-case", so be it. I think I'd win that one.

There is nothing illegal about how to use your flashlight or where it's mounted, whether it's in your hand, on your head, tucked between your leg or mounted on your rifle  at the point of kill. The emphasize on this law is to stop you from shining, not how your flash light is used at the point of kill.

I double checked with the DNR just for you. It is legal to have a weapon mounted flash light, so long as it's only used at the point of kill.

You are right, I am wrong....
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The DNR does not interpret it as needing to be actually in your hand to use it and it MAY be attached to your weapon.  
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It's not hard for me to find them, because they have a den about 200 yards behind my house. The little bastards love to make a racket at 2AM when everyone is trying to sleep. Some nights it sounds like they are having a coyote party or a fight club, LOL. And since my nearest neighbor is only 150 yards away, and since I don't have a suppressor, I usually leave them alone. I really need a suppressor....

Yes you could use the reflection of any electromagnetic radiation in the exact same way as an IR illuminator is used.

Haven't you seen Predator?

The big problem is the WI statutory definition of "shining" is bullshit - the whole point of shining a light isn't just to see the animal, it is to get it to stand still so you can easily shoot it; I have NEVER heard that term used in any other context excepting out statutes.  Oh well - that's what Gen 2 and Gen 3 are for anyways.  No emitter, no radiation, no ability for ignorant rubes in robes to decide that was isn't actually is.