Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Trapping Wondering how to dispatch trapped coyote

I trapped coyotes professionally from 1988 to 2002 when we left eastern Washington and moved to Alaska. I did year round coyote work, so much of the year I wasn't concerned with fur, just dead coyotes. It did give me the opportunity to try all the above mentioned methods. I always came back to a CB short or CB long to the head or heart. Blood spilled is minimal, death is quick and fur damage is non existent. Fur buyers do not care about one 22 caliber hole in the head or in the chest.

I tried 22 LR HV hollow points early in my career and found they produced a lot more blood than the CBs. Subsonics were not common back then and even the standard velocity 22 LR tended to produce more blood than the lowly CBs.

I used the heart stomp for a couple years but after having one really tough, old, battle scarred coyote that just wouldn't give it up, I quit using that method. After trying them, I found choke poles just took too much time for me to mess with so I only used them to release non target catches, like bobcats out of season.

I never found a little blood in the set area to be a deterrent to future catches. My best set ever, I got eleven coyotes in the same set and same trap over the course of the fur season. The trap had almost no dye or wax left on it by coyote number four but kept catching. It was on a wheat ranch I nor anyone else had never trapped, and was between a huge apple orchard and a cattle ranch. Coyotes were thick that year and especially thick in that area. I would scoop up any small puddles of blood and get them away from the immediate set area but a few drops never caused me any issues.

The CB to the heart is pretty impressive when done properly. I always waited for them to get into a position where they had the trapped foot extended, opening up the chest area and allowing an easy heart shot. It would put them down right now and death was almost as fast as a CB to the forehead. Sometimes it would take a few minutes of them dancing around to get that shot. When I was long lining, doing 175-250 miles a day on several large ranches, I didn't have time to wait for the heart shot so almost always resorted to the CB to the forehead.

I agree with the above and 160’s comments. The guys at Mn Trapline and their products/service are second to none.
When trapping or snaring and a live coyote at hand a single .22 hole does not affect much and with a stitch or two after skinning before put up you won’t be docked much. I’m not a skull guy so bang end of story. As mentioned a bit of cleaning soap on the desirous ones and maybe a borax rub and your good to go.
Today with the fur market as is.. do what you will to dispatch.
Get after them, won’t be long now and they’ll be showing rub.

Osky

22 LR or Short.
In the head, behind the ear, if that shot is not available, between the eyes angled down a bit to get er in the brain.
They are a coyote, but we should dispatch them as humanly as possible, IMO.
Not a bunny hugger by any means, done my share of wacking things.
Good luck

Finally, nothing but common sense. I guess we North Country boys think alike. Looking through this thread all I could think was there's sure a lot of kid stuff here. At least a few suggestions from people who have never BTDT.

I trapped a lot of coyotes here in MT and I always used a little RG pistol with 22 subsonics in the ear hole or just a good crack on the top of the base of the snout with a club. Always worked for me.

I am surprised at the number of trappers responding to this
post. Great thread OP.

I always carried a 22LR handgun when I trapped. The coyotes were left in the woods to rot, but the small hole in the head didn't seem to hurt the fox values.

I usually rig a chain around their legs & lower them slowly into a large pool of water in which I’ve released at least three hungry sharks.

If money is no object, sharks with lasers attached to their heads.

.22 Short HP tight in the armpit.