Various questions about suburban coyote hunting

[smithkl42]

I live in unincorporated Woodinville, and there are coyotes all around here. Inspired by this article (https://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/predator-hunting/urban-coyote-hunting-tactics/), I'm considering availing myself of the nearby and off-season hunting opportunity. I started by throwing up a trail camera in my backyard, and it shows multiple coyotes coming through almost every night. But they're rare during the day, I can't really use a bow at night, and I'm way too close to other houses to use a firearm. I've tried calling from my yard during the day, but not with any luck so far, and I'll be getting some weird looks from the neighbors if I keep it up much longer. (I may consider getting an air rifle, perhaps with a night scope of some sort - are those worthwhile? Any recommendations?)

Scattered around the unincorporated King County areas where I live are occasional large parcels (40+ acres) that seem to be "green belts" (whatever that means) and which don't seem to be owned by anybody in particular. At least, the King County parcel viewer (http://gismaps.kingcounty.gov/parcelviewer2/) shows no ownership information - not by the county, not by any city, not by the state, nothing. How would I find out if it's legal to hunt there (presumably with a bow or an air rifle)? Anybody in particular that is worth calling? (I've checked with King County Sheriff's office in the past about this sort of thing, and they were as clueless as I was, but maybe I just wasn't talking to the right person.)

Any other suggestions or guidance?

[Thermal Predator Control]

Is the land in city limits, or in county?  If it’s in city limits you can hunt yotes with a bow.  Talk to wdfw

[smithkl42]

The land I'm thinking of is (so far as I can tell) outside city limits, so county land.

If it really turns out that nobody owns it, I presume that means hunting with appropriate weapons is allowed, but I'm wanting to make sure, as I really (really) want to be sure what the law is if I end up having conversations with anybody.

I've sent an email to TeamMillCreek@dfw.wa.gov - not sure if that's the best contact method, but I suppose it's a place to start.

[Bob33]

The land I'm thinking of is (so far as I can tell) outside city limits, so county land.

If it really turns out that nobody owns it, I presume that means hunting with appropriate weapons is allowed, but I'm wanting to make sure, as I really (really) want to be sure what the law is if I end up having conversations with anybody.

I've sent an email to TeamMillCreek@dfw.wa.gov - not sure if that's the best contact method, but I suppose it's a place to start.

All land is owned by someone.

Good luck.

[optic2]

The land I'm thinking of is (so far as I can tell) outside city limits, so county land.

If it really turns out that nobody owns it, I presume that means hunting with appropriate weapons is allowed, but I'm wanting to make sure, as I really (really) want to be sure what the law is if I end up having conversations with anybody.

I've sent an email to TeamMillCreek@dfw.wa.gov - not sure if that's the best contact method, but I suppose it's a place to start.

Get OnX maps (https://www.onxmaps.com/) and you can see who owns the land, then you can go ask them if it's OK to hunt their land.

[smithkl42]

OK, some additional research (e.g., https://recordsearch.kingcounty.gov/LandmarkWeb/Document/GetDocumentByBookPage/?booktype=PLAT&booknumber=203&pagenumber=063) shows that these are basically owned either by a nearby homeowners association, or jointly by everyone in a nearby development. So they're a special type of private land, and I would presumably need the assocation's permission to hunt there - which one suspects would not be easily forthcoming.

[grade-creek-rd]

For a weapon, maybe consider a crossbow (check local laws) but most of the time they are allowed in firearm restriction areas...plus they are quiet and don't look like an evil gun!!! (an air rifle might get you a fast and furious PD response).

For land ownership...more than likely the greenbelts are owned by a homeowners assoc...maybe search specifically for public lands and stick to those or where you have permission...a great way to ask for permission is to ask if the property owners have pets, inform them of the coyote problem and that they eat pets, and carry mange and Parvo...

For clothing...personally I wouldn't recommend wearing camo. Just earth tones like brown or green, for some reason non-hunters see camo and think "red neck" and all of the bad things that go with it. My neighbor was driving up by Buckley the other day and a lady came out yelling at him because he pulled to the shoulder of a public road to look at some elk in a field. He had on a camo (Sitka) vest and the lady started calling him a poacher...anyway, you get the idea.

For more info on this you can check outa link to a blog in the shotgun for coyotes thread...

Grade

[Calvin Rayborn]

The land I'm thinking of is (so far as I can tell) outside city limits, so county land.

If it really turns out that nobody owns it, I presume that means hunting with appropriate weapons is allowed, but I'm wanting to make sure, as I really (really) want to be sure what the law is if I end up having conversations with anybody.

I've sent an email to TeamMillCreek@dfw.wa.gov - not sure if that's the best contact method, but I suppose it's a place to start.

Get OnX maps (https://www.onxmaps.com/) and you can see who owns the land, then you can go ask them if it's OK to hunt their land.

 

[smithkl42]

I've been using Huntstand for effectively the same thing (as at least the browser-based version is free). How does it compare to OnX?

Ken