8 CIRCULAR 7, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



A 12-gage pump shotgun loaded with BB shot is good for hunting 

 pups that have left the dens but are still together. They may be 

 found lying under sagebrush or among the rocks and are more easily 

 hit with a shotgun than with a rifle when they start to scatter. 



TRAPPING AND SHOOTING ADULTS 



A hunter should leave as few traces as possible of his visit to a den. 

 He should carry several traps, with w^hich to try to capture the old 

 coyotes. It is well to set a few traps "blind" — that is, without bait 

 or scent — in the trails leading to the den, although some coyotes 

 never return to a den after a hunter has visited it. A good set can be 

 made by burying a dead whelp, leaving one foot exposed, and setting 

 traps nearby. Holes that have been cleaned out for dens make 

 excellent places for trap sets, particularly for catching females as 

 they go in or out before whelping. In such a situation, two traps 

 should be set blind, one on each side of the entrance or mound. Other 

 favorable sites are the beds where old coyotes lie, presumably on 

 guard. These beds may be close to the den or on a hillside or canyon 

 rim half a mile away. The coyote-getter, a device for controlling 

 coyotes, may be set about dens in the same way as that described for 

 traps. 



Further information on trapping coyotes is contained in Fish and 

 "Wildlife Circular 2, Hints on Coyote and Wolf Trapping.^ 



When coyotes are sighted near their dens they are usually quiet, 

 and some good shots may be possible. A hunter should never dis- 

 mount from his horse when a coyote stops to watch him, but should 

 wait until it starts moving and then dismount on some high spot and 

 be ready to shoot the instant it stops again. If it does not stop of its 

 own accord, a low whistle will often halt it long enough to offer the 

 hunter a good target. 



2 Obtainable free from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago 54, 111. 



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