Coyote scouting

[Rookie furtaker]

Question for you fellas out there...I found fresh coyote tracks and scat in a 6 square mile radius. How many dogs would be occupying an area this size...thoughts? I also heard some group howls last night. One actually crossed my footsteps as I was leaving today. Wind was horrible though didn't want to ruin it. I WILL BE BACK

[Misterjake23]

It's hard to say.  Depends on how big the coyotes territory is, amount of food available, etc.   Coyotes don't run in "packs", but they do maintain a family group.  This is usually a mom, dad, and current off spring .  They often will also have a pup maybe two in proximity from the previous year.  Six miles is nothing for a coyote.  I would guess a minimum of 4-6.  Possibly more depending upon the availability of food.  That's just my opinion.  I'm sure there are other thoughts also.   A lot has to do with the time of year it is.  In the fall they will start to disperse the pups, so there may be fewer.  In the spring and summer the pups will still be with the family so there will be more.

[Rookie furtaker]

Six miles is nothing for a coyote. Considering I put in 8 miles yesterday. I did get some good locations yesterday scouting. Hopefully I can nail down my first coyote soon! Thanks Misterjake for your thoughts. The food source is pretty good lots of deer rabbit, mice, birds..

[Hern]

Jake gave sound advice. That's a tough question without being there with you.
You found tracks and scat. How many tracks, how much scat?
Tracks coming and going indicate a good travel way. Different size tracks reveal more than one Coyote, possibly a family group. A single track, is just that.
Scat, fresh and old near one another, indicates Coyote frequent that area, feel comfortable there and are in the area. Single scat is hard to determine what's happening.
So, what did you see while scouting?

In my area, Coyote 'hot spots' are dairy farms, pig farms, turkey farms, chicken farms and pheasant farms. These properties are constant producers over the whole year, season after season, because of the 'dead piles', farm animal activity, smells and sounds. Yes, farmers must dispose of dead animals properly nowadays, but if you ask farmer and explain the Coyotes are near the 'dead pile', they will tell you where it's at. Cows, Pigs, Chicken & Turkey are big time draws for Coyote and often overlooked.
Now it's up to you where to set up. Nearby or travel way? Scout it out. It may take a few seasons to find the best setup.

[QUATTRO]

Finding sign and hearing coyotes close while scouting is a great start..not to mention you got a visual on one as well. By now most are paired up and should be territorial...you can expliote that factor if you get within their territory.. The transient coyotes, who are unpaired for various reasons, will be operating in between these spaces. Like MisterJake said, the family units right now might consist of a male and female pair and the previous years offspring that didn't disperse in the fall. I have also heard that sometimes siblings will stick together for their first winter too. Ours hasn't been that harsh so I'm not sure if they would have felt the need for that or not??..Another thing to consider is, sometimes 2 coyotes can sound like 4 coyotes when they start getting vocal...no matter the scenario, you're putting in the time afield and finding sign.. When you continue doing that, as you are, it's just a matter of time before it all pays off...good luck and keep us posted!

[Rookie furtaker]

Thanks Quattro! Eventually my persistent will pay off. Basically while scouting yesterday found lots of tracks coming and going. There was new and old scat. Your right two dogs can sound like 4 going off. This old mining area so it's prime location. Lots of watering holes and atv paths. Like I said before the food source is there as well. I know this area since I was a kid (now 35) and there have been dogs there ever since. I just started hunting them though. I will keep you posted

[QUATTRO]

Hey RookieFurtaker, check you PM inbox..