Old Time Stories and Facts of the Coyote

COYOTE HUNT

By Burgess H. Scott

Sportsmen would have to travel far to find a more slam-bang sporting event than the coyote hunts that Nebraskans of the Sand Hills country put on at every opportunity.

The gist of the sport is setting a pack of greyhounds on the trail of a coyote and following the chase at a near-fifty-mph clip in the stripped-down truck known locally as the coyote car.

One of the ablest of the huntsmen is Ben Ammon of Bassett, whose pack of seven greyhounds and staghounds ran up a score of thirty-six kills last fall. Ammon's coyote car was made from a 1936 V8 pickup. The alteration involving “taking just about everything off of it.” In place of the original bed he has a large crate or cage on the rear to hold six of his hounds. A wide running board on the driver's side is the special place for Bob, his grizzled, 98-pound half-Russian, half-greyhound lead dog.

With the dogs loaded, Ammon takes off over the sand hills at about forty mph, he and Bob scanning the hills and draws for the first coyote to break cover. When the big dog spots the critter, he leaves his running board like a shot-regardless of the truck's speed. He usually rolls end over end a few times before he can get his long legs into action and light out after the coyote.

Bob's departure from the running board is the signal for Ammon to release his six other dogs, which he does by yanking on a pull cord that trips latches on the cage doors, allowing them to fall open in a horizontal position. Using the doors as springboards, the dogs bail out in a yelping, rolling mass. In less time than it takes to tell they have gained their legs and are off in pursuit of Bob and the coyote.

Their quarry is a gray, wolf-like animal ranging in weight from 35 to 50 pounds, and a formidable opponent on the defensive. He preys on calves that have become separated from the herd, and on sheep and poultry. His pelt is useless except as a trophy, and in some states it will bring a small bounty-leaving little more to coyote hunting than the sport involved.

Bob's weight and experience made him more than a match for almost any coyote he reaches, and Ammon has seen the time that he has finished off the animal before the rest of the pack arrived. However, he recalls a hunt on which Bob was late in arriving. Several less experienced dogs were having trouble with a tough old marauder. Bob took one grab at the beast's throat, flipped him over, and the hunt was ended.

The hunt follows a well-organized pattern. On coming along side the coyote, the lead dog grabs a leg and trips the animal. The rest of the dogs close in and the tussle is usually over in two minutes.

The length of the chase varies from three hundred yards to two miles on clear ground, and has been known to last between ten and twenty miles through deep snow or rough hills. Through all of it, Ammon's V8 bounces along in the wake of the pack, taking hills and gullies a tenderfoot wouldn't dream possible.

Sometimes small airplanes are used to spot the animals, a waggling of the wings indicating that a coyote has been jumped. One such hunt was staged in country where two crafty old coyotes have been killing calves. The plane soon found two outlaws and the first was killed after a chase of two miles. After a four-mile run the second was added to Ammon's pile of trophies.

The hounds vary from the type used in dog races to mixtures of longer-haired wolfhounds. They are generally raised and trained by the hunters, and a well-handled, experienced dog can bring as much as $1,000.

As able as the hounds are with coyotes, it's a different story when the pack brings a big timber or gray wolf to bay. When this happens the wolf frequently has to be shot, because you simply can't surround one of the big animals every time with enough dogs to do the job.

Ammon is a staunch supporter of such an activity as coyote hunting for promoting general health and well-being.

“I think every businessman, rancher, or farmer should take a few days off each month, he said. “By doing so they will live longer, and after all is said and done they only live once, and when they leave they won't take anything with them.” Ammon demonstrated this philosophy one afternoon by leaving his ranch in Bassett and bagging five coyotes before sundown.

Although the coyote is hunted relentlessly in almost all western states, he seems not only to survive but to thrive. In fact the coyote has infiltrated into New York State during the past ten years, mated with stray or wild dogs, and produced a distinct breed call the “coydog.” The coy dog is the subject of much controversy, but it seems to have done not to much harm to poultry and livestock. In an article titled “Nature's Quiz Kid,” O.A. Fitzgerald says that much of a coyote's diet consists of crickets, grasshoppers, and grubs-in season.

Ammon's pack may soon have a chance at much bigger and fiercer game. Reports have been coming in that a large mountain lion, ranging far from its natural habitat, has been causing trouble with livestock in the rough, hilly country along the Niobrara River to the north of Bassett. If the talk persists, Ammon will take his dogs north for a try at North America's biggest cat.

FEEDBACK & COMMENTS REGARDING THE COYOTES

I noticed that in the past 5 years in the North Creek area of NYS that the deer population has reduced drastically. And coyote sign has exponentially increased. All I see in the woods are coyote droppings with deer fur in it YEAR ROUND. Yet I read articles that say the coyotes aren't affecting deer populations and that most coyote droppings have fruit and rabbit hair in it. The most recent Conservationist Magazine mentions the same. Is the state DEC in denial?

MATT

Reply: This comment is for Matt on the decline in the deer population in and around the North Creek area. I lived there for the last 13 years in both Wevertown and North River. While it is true that the Coyote population is strong, the winters over the last 5 years are what have reduced the deer population. In the year 2000 we had over 70 inches of snow in the month of Feb, that's in 1 month. We had a couple of years where at night the temperature dropped to 20 below. We had a full month

of this fridget weather. I spend a lot of time in the woods and agree the coyote's take out the weak, but in my opinion it's the winters that have been the real problem.

Thanks,

DAKOTA

(further comments on this topic, would be greatly appreciated)

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