Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Dog vs Coyote ?

6mm;

having seen them in action vs. 'coons, bear, deer, and bobcats, I'd put my money on the Plott.

http://www.gobacktothebasics.com/old_time_stories_and_facts_of_the_coyote.htm

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.