First post - Intro and some questions

[HikerHunter]

Well, I was just going to say to plant a few varieties so they are dropping apples throughout the late summer and fall, but barebuck went into a lot better detail than I could

[KFhunter]

Well, I was just going to say to plant a few varieties so they are dropping apples throughout the late summer and fall, but barebuck went into a lot better detail than I could

Ya, he's my new apple goto guy lol

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[PKC]

Get a metal detector in that basement before you floor it. Who knows what you will find. I grew up in a house built in 1912 and found tons of cool stuff in the ground.

Great idea!

I would like to take out the coyotes myself.  I'll take any tips you got, birdshooter.

Thanks for that info Barebuck!  I had no idea there were so many options.  What do you mean about a M111 making an 80% tree?

[Bareback]

One of the attributes of rootstock is that it determines tree height. 80% would produce a tree about 20 ft tall at full maturity. With deer around you must consider them eating the leaves, I’ve found the dwarfed trees don’t hold up as well since they never grow above the deer’s browsing height. Contact me when it’s time to plant. I’ll put you in the right direction.

[birdshooter1189]

Like KFhunter said, bait is key. 

If possible, find a window of your house that faces where coyotes come through and you can shoot.  Take the screen out and oil/grease the window so it opens easily and quietly.

Pick your shooting lane, clear brush and build dirtpile/backstop if necessary for your location.

Put bait where you want the coyotes to stand for the shot.  Baits that I have used that works well are: crumbled old smoked salmon, cans of soft cat food, cat hard food, thanksgiving turkey carcass, crumbled up costco rotisserie chicken(I bought a couple rotisserie chickens($6 at costco), crumbled/diced the entire thing, filled plastic sandwich bags with it, about 2/3 cup worth in each bag, then freeze bags. Pull them out as needed to keep fresh scented bait on the bait pile). Bait that is crumbled and scattered will keep the animal at the location. A single large chunk of bait may be grabbed and carried away.

Get a set of driveway alarms. Cheap ones are about $15 each and work ok for close range.  A long range set with multiple alarms is 10X better.  I have the set in the link below. IMO they are worth every penny.  Each alarm rings a different chime on the base unit.  Put one alarm directly on the bait pile.  Put the other alarms on the paths where coyotes will likely approach the bait pile.  If you put two alarms on the same trail spaced by about 50-100', then at 2am or whenever the alarms go off, you know which direction the animal is moving based on which alarm goes off first.  If you buy two of these kits you can have 8 sensors each with their own chime/tune.

https://www.amazon.com/Driveway-Wireless-Rechargeable-Weatherproof-4-Camouflage/dp/B07ZT75T8L/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=wuloo+alarm&qid=1606932532&sr=8-13

90% of the coyotes will likely come through at night.

Option 1: get a flashlight on your rifle.

Option 2: Wire up an outdoor spotlight to a lightswitch next to the shooting window.

Option 3: nightvision/thermal.  I have used the cheap night vision kits below.  They work pretty well for shots between 30-100yds. I have two infrared lights attached to mine which gives better clarity at 100 yds.  A single small IR light like what comes with the kit works fine for up to about 60 yds.  Note that some scopes have IR blocking coatings, so this setup works better with some scopes than others.

https://www.amazon.com/BESTSIGHT-Digital-riflescopes-Portable-Display/dp/B06XJ1M846/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=night+vision+scope+kit&qid=1606932834&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVDQ1TTJKR0Q5OEZNJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjMxMDkzMkg1OFdGVFdBS1RTMyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDQ4MDM1MlpOWjYzRjRFQjRQRCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[KFhunter]

An IR flood at the bait site works very well.

This one is 12v but came with a 120v adapter too.

The biggest isdue with IR is if your trying to see through brush or trees they'll "bloom" really bad and you won't see anything, so a clear unobstructed view to the bait is important.

Otherwise I've done everything just like the post above, even to the lubed window lol

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[KFhunter]

I haven't had to really use that spotlight, as I got an expensive coyote light that came with an IR led I can swap out.

I've got this odepro kit, and its worked very well.  It punched my range way out in optimal conditions. I really like the odepro, reccomend it.

Coyotes shy'd away from the white, but after 45 minutes of constant shining on them they finally came into the hog bait I had out.

But then I got the IR scope and swapped the light bulb the the IR one and they dont shy away from it. 

They were hung up 500 yards out for that 45 minutes on the white, then shot at 30 when they came up to my dog barking in the yard. Then more were shot off the bait, I think a double that night.

I've gotten triples on the IR

One of these days I'd love a high dollar thermal.

[birdshooter1189]

I haven't tried the IR floodlight.  I looked for something like that once and couldn't find what I was looking for. Thanks for posting the link.  I'm in a spot where there's lots of trees and brush that sometimes lights up bright and washes out what I'm trying to see in the darker distance.

I suspect that with a light like that right on the bait, i could sit back with the cheap nightvision kit and potentially make 300yd+ shots.

[Buckmark]

Note: If you put out bait like what is listed get ready to have every raccoon in the neighborhood on your property 
Lots of trash pandas in 407

[LDennis24]

Get something to attract them and keep them interested all year, get out a few cameras so you know whats around and when, get a treestand and if your ok for guns a shotgun and slugs 
I am in 407 and have deer pretty much 24/7 365 around my place and can shoot if wanted to, but the deer are my wifes pets so they are safe from me, i drive 300 miles to kill other peoples deer 

I love posts like this! There's a guy by us that you can't even stop to look at the deer or he will flip out and chase you down like he owns them! Lol!

[KFhunter]

I haven't tried the IR floodlight.  I looked for something like that once and couldn't find what I was looking for. Thanks for posting the link.  I'm in a spot where there's lots of trees and brush that sometimes lights up bright and washes out what I'm trying to see in the darker distance.

I suspect that with a light like that right on the bait, i could sit back with the cheap nightvision kit and potentially make 300yd+ shots.

Ya, puts the bloom in the back.

You'll have to play with the distance, right on top of the bait will bloom everything very bright, but you could set it to shine from different angles and set it a ways off.

I haven't played with it a lot, I'm pretty open here and the odepro ir flashlight is plenty.



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[nwwanderer]

Will need to protect those new trees, deer candy.   Sounds like your 20 will produce, good luck

[fishnfur]

Sounds like a really fun multi-year project.  Time to loose those sea legs and settle in.  My thoughts on multiple ideas:

1.  Killing 'yotes is fun and makes you feel like you're protecting the herd by diminishing their population.  Sadly, numerous scientific studies all showed that predator control on Coyotes has no real effect on the population.  You may keep them away from your property, but you're not going to make a dent in the numbers.  Google it.

2.  Love the apple tree ideas - great input on rootstock - way beyond my paygrade.  I would recommend at least three trees, one that starts dropping apples in late July or early August, one that ripens in September, and the final one that doesn't drop apples till mid to late October.  This will keep deer coming in late summer to mid-fall, and during the best days of the season.  Persimmon is another tree to investigate.  There are varieties that do every well in the PNW and ripen and produce heavy crops in Oct - Nov, which will bring in a lot of deer once established.  Whatever tree you plant, they need direct sunlight 6+ hours a day to be productive.  Sun all day is better. Shade is no good.

3.  Assessing the neighborhood around your property will might give you a clue as to what might bring in deer or keep them there.  Deer require:  Food, cover (both hiding and thermal), and water, the later of which is not typically an issue in W. WA.  Ignoring the water item, doing projects on your property that increase light to the forest floor or into meadows or cultivated land allows more food to grow and is an obvious attractant.  Thinning forests or patches of forest quickly increases the food growing there.
    Forested bedding areas and brush that provides for deer escapement are necessary if you want to keep them on the property.   Leaving brush patches and brushy corridors make the deer feel safe to move and feed close to a brushy edge.  Thermal cover protects and keeps them alive when it is cold/rainy/snowy or super hot outside.  Knowing all that and looking at the neighboring properties, if you see substantial amounts of cover (and water??) for deer to hide/bed, then you should aim at providing a great food source to attract deer on to your property to feed.  Alternatively, if the neighbors all have full sun parcels or mixed brush and mixed timber, then perhaps you should concentrate on creating good bedding areas where deer will come and go from in the mornings and evenings.

IMO - 20 acres is plenty for at least a few deer to call home.  I've got a 10 acre piece of reprod that has a lot of deer coming and going throughout every year (though it sucked this year  ).  You only need a few doe on property to have bucks coming in to your hunting area during the rut.  I would say that 20 acres in most areas might have an average of three doe living there if all the other requirements are met and there is not an insurmountable predator problem.  It doesn't really matter where the bucks live if you have doe.  If you build it, they will come!

Thanks for your service.  Congrats on your retirement.  Been there, done that.

[KFhunter]

You can keep yotes off a property, I did it and continue to.

Now I'm seeing high % fawn recruitment, resident does almost all have yearlings in tow, its nice to see when a few years ago there was none.  I heard a few fawns get taken sleeping with a window open, so I went to work.


It is paying off.

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[HikerHunter]

I thought I remember reading that you can do good for fawn recruitment by knocking back coyote numbers in the spring/early summer, but over time their populations will bounce back. That would help reach the goal of fawn survival if that's what you want.