I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!

[Hardcase]

Got your attention?? ;D

Last year I did some experimenting with some things on coyotes and while I do not recommend it for someone who does not have a considerable amount of experience with coyotes, I thought I would just pitch this out with some observations I experienced.

I decided to NOT BE A COYOTE TRAPPER!!! By that, I mean I did some things that the conventional wisdom says we should not do. I made some "sloppy" sets, leaving my tracks around, not wearing gloves when making the sets, driving my 4-wheeler within 4 ft of the set, even using some rusty traps. I STILL CAUGHT COYOTES!

Now I know this goes against the grain. Goes against me also. I find it very difficult to do the things I am doing which should cause avoidance at my sets. It pains me to "do it wrong".

After 3 weeks of trying this, I came to these conclusions.

1. I live in an area which has rusty barbed wire fences, lots of old metal lying around, both above ground and below. So perhaps, the coyotes are not associating the rusty trap with anything out of the ordinary and therefore are not skiddish about it.

2. Since I live in a populated area where there are always people out in the woods hunting etc. and the farmers are out there checking the cattle, maybe my tracks are not cause for his alarm.

3. Making the sets "bare-handed" has not seemed to bother the coyotes. I do try to keep my hands clean of lure, and sure don't pick my nose , so I am guessing that after a few hours, my scent has dissipated and/or becomes overridden by the smell of the lures and/or urines. I imagine that the coyotes here get the scent of human nearly on a daily basis.

Now here is my conclusion: A coyote is a dumba**. NOT REALLY! But I got to thinking that if the coyotes here got nervous about smelling human, smelling rust, seeing man tracks or vehicle tracks, etc. -- heck, they would fall over dead of a stroke within hours of leaving the den area as a pup! I think the surrounding circumstances of the coyotes in this area has created an acceptance to the above mentioned "mistakes".

Anyone have any ideas or input to this?

[mjedens]

Maybe they haven't been traped is so meany generations, that they are not wise to traping. I bet if you catch a few, out of this pack they will wise up real fast. MJEdens

[rob]

I keep my traps clean of dirt, but I have never boiled, dyed and waxed them. I still catch coyote and fox. My traps hang in the furshed all summer long, I don't know what smells could be contaminating them. After a skunk catch or if the trap gets bloody a new trap goes in place and that trap goes into a water set for beaver. People and there smells are everywhere and as long as you don't broadcast yourself to them, I think your alright. I do however use leather gloves when setting my traps. But after awhile I imagine those gloves probably smell worse than my hands.