Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 84 lb coyote

A friend just showed me a Facebook post of a 84 lb coyote killed in SW Michigan. Pics are of a guy holding a huge dog and a pic of a digital scale reading 84 lbs. I have killed perhaps 6 coyotes in my life and they were all 30-40 lbs. Without pics I would have certainly called BS and even with pics, I 'm skeptical. Supposedly the hunter is talking with DNR and or some biologists.

SW Michigan is an area with a really high deer density and lots of ag land, so there is certainly lots of nutrition. Also, not that many coyote hunters. For those of you that actively hunt coyotes, does this seem even remotely possible?

405wcf

If it's a true coyote----No.

I’d have not told anyone I shot an 85lb “coyote”.
Sounds a bit too much like a wolf.

No wolves in SW Michigan. Certainly does not line up with my assumptions about coyotes.

There were no wolves in Kansas, until some coyote hunters killed one.

Just sayin'

I caught a 120 pound beaver once. Me and a couple of my friends were in a bar and I......wait a minute......never mind

I think it’s pretty well settled that the northeastern “coyotes” aren’t really “true coyotes.”

Prior to the days of widely accessible dna research resources there was all kinds of speculation and absolute nonsense circulating around about them, at least where I am from in northern New York (Canadian border northern.)
I think today it’s prettier well accepted that there is generally (individuals will vary) dna showing coyote, large proportion of grey wolf, and traces of domestic dog. ( My wife’s cousin recently sent a trail cam video from out back of his place showing a blue healer running with what appears like a female coyote in heat.)

For years I was involved in trapping coyotes up there and ran them with hounds as our primary winter recreation. I’ve seen all colors and sizes, from the classic silver and brindles to fox red and coal black. The biggest I’ve ever seen anyone actually weigh on a scale was 72 pounds. One year I trapped a couple, a few days apart, that I believed were every bit as much work to lift up on the back of the quad as an 80 pound bag of horse feed.

The words “always” and “never” are two words I don’t use discussing wild animals.

85 pound coyote, no way.

One of the biggest coyotes I've ever seen was in Michigan, but he was nowhere near 84lbs.

I shot one once that may have been 50 pounds or a tad over, but I did not weigh him, biggest one I've actually weighed was 42 lbs.

What he said...

Evnin fellows, I'm in central Ontario & we used to run hounds on coyotes every day in the winter. Buddy had about 20 hounds plus or minus. We're on the edge of timber wolf territory & feb, march when there breeding we would get into one or two of them (best pile the dogs on him if you realize it's a timber) they can kill a lot of hounds quick!!! Now I don't think the bioligests will admit they will inter bread, BULL CHIT. Timbers are just like you & I were in our teens at a new watering hole. We usually averaged 40 to 50 dogs a year, average wt. 35 to 45 lbs. Got the odd one over 50 & they were what we call brush wolves ( timber x coyote) Some end up looking awful dog like, ( house dogs cross yote). We got one south of us once that went 80lbs on a farm grain scale, more timber than yote. It & coyotes were ripping wire mesh off of peasant cages & steeling dinner. Guy called us to thin them out but we never went back because of tree huggers. Had permission for 4sq miles & still ran into trouble. Most yotes around here don't have dew claws. I believe they get tore off on brush, or crusty snow when there young?. Used to run into coyotes from another area other than our local location & it almost always ended badly. I guess not knowing the area once they get pressure put on them I think they just bail out & head for home turf. Have caught hounds 20 miles away, not fun & a long day & sometimes in the middle of no were on a snowmobile with too many dogs to ride out, did I mention of it ending bad & late. One dog on sled two or more behind on leads make it hard to even back track. Tell me why multiple hounds never go on the same side of a tree??? 🐾👣🇨🇦

Wolf-cross, or coydog.

its on Facebook and it does not look at all like any kind of cross breed. It looks like 100% coyote.

there a video too and it LOOKS like 100% coyote.....Digital scale.....etc. IDK how to get the video

I think that if the hunter is talking with the DNR, they will have a warden and a citation book ready for having shot a gray wolf. Wolves aren't supposed to be in central Wisconsin either, but they are. Same with cougars. They weren't here either until they were. SSS not Facebook. Reminds me of the lady that shot the Siberian Husky and mistook it for a wolf.

Wolf looking for a new territory? I recommend the 3S method of disposal. Pappy may be right as well, some king of cross. I have never seen or heard of a coyote much bigger than 50 lbs.

idk what it is but, I would have shot it. Wouldn't have felt bad either. need to see its face better but like I said, it looks like a coyote to me. Never seen a coyote over 50lbs in my neck of the woods. 40-45lbs is huge in my eyes.

Looks pretty wolfy to me, the body anyway.

its like winning the lottery....some wins you just don't tell folks about hahahaha