Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Coyote hunting... do the rules of sporting still apply?

I posted this to gauge others views on varmint hunting and whether most of you apply the same rules to hunting varmint as you would to larger game like deer or elk. What prompted this was a video I saw on youtube in which two guys are coyote hunting in Texas. The coyote is shot and injured, the hunters proceed to approach the animal and attempt to finish it off with a pistol by rapid firing into the animal. The camera man has to eventually take the animal out with a headshot but they continue to shoot the animal a couple of times afterwards. I'm by no means attempting to start a debate but I personally found this non-sporting and tasteless and was wondering how others viewed it. I'll not post a link to the video but instead will post the title "West Texas Redneck Coyote Huntin 1-2-2010 Eps. 1" and you may choose to view it if you wish to better obtain an opinion. Mods, if this is not in line with forum rules, please remove and accept my apologies.

I'm not gonna look at it but, but from your description, I wouldn't do that to a Norway Rat...let alone a gorgeous creature like a coyote...

So in my case I guess the answer is "yes"...sporting rules apply to coyotes..decency is decency...

Ingwe

I understand that there are those out there that view coyotes as a nuisance and a danger to livestock and as such may not hold them in the same regard as deer, elk, or other larger game. I am interested in all aspects of hunting including varmint hunting and was pretty confident this was not common place but just wasn't sure how others viewed it, "Good riddance" type of view. I reported the video in the hopes it will be removed.

I say No.

My answer is yes, Sporting rules apply and should be taken the same as any big game animal. There is alot of people in this area that do not agree with my view on this subject, but I still believe they should be taken cleanly and with respect. I hunt coyotes on my days off from work for ranchers and also shoot them at my work (a Regional Airport servicing Private, commercial and military aircraft) Either way, I represent all sportsmen and want to do it in a positive way, unlike those in the video.

I agree with the sporting rules and I wouldnt hunt with anyone who wasnt like minded. Yes there are those who dont care and that is fine with me, they are free to do as they wish. Me personally, i still view them as a living creature and see no need for them to suffer. Even if they are a nuisance, you should excercise your humane side and kill them the most efficient way possible.

I have my coyote rifle at the ready in the truck. I would not hesitate to take an "opportunity dog" if I saw one. Of course I hope I am a better shot than you describe, cause I want to skin it. I am not sure this qualifies as sporting.

I put the title of the video in my OP so you could decide for yourself whether it's sporting or not. I'm all for taking an opportunity when it presents itself but these guys went beyond that when it was clear the dog was down.

Doesn't matter what you're shooting they all deserve the dignity of a swift death if you are hunting them. Yup, coyotes kill livestock, house pets, rodents and all sorts of other critters but it's the circle of life. Take into account that we as hunters are doing the same thing that they are every time we go into the field. We are hunters just the same as they are. I personally wouldn't want somebody busting a cap in my azz while I was sucking down a Big Mac. Would you?

I have a great deal of respect for all animals that I hunt and to me personally it would be disrespectful to the animal and harmful to my own character to treat something that way.

Idiotic to post a video of it for sure!
In Minnesota coyotes are classified as varmints, which is different than a game animal.
You can take them in any way except with lights at night.
Coyotes don't wait for their food to die of old age.
However the guys I hunt with will not shoot one sleeping,
they wake it up and then shoot at it as it runs away?
They track down every wounded one and try to kill it so that it doesn't suffer though.
Adrenaline makes some people do some stupid stuff I guess.

I'm a firm believer in the "extreme prejudice" doctrine for eliminating nuisance critters and such.

But I've never had a problem with a simple follow up headshot, if the first shot didn't neutralize the situation.

That's what the 22mag ruger is for......

These self proclaimed "rednecks" are just idiots, not rednecks. Too much Beer and dope makes people do stupid stuff!! They think this crap is funny and all it really does is put another nail in the sportsman's coffin. Of course I have shot animals and not immediatley killed them, but I did my very best to dispatch them quickley and humanly. As we all know funny things happen at times when we hunt...makes for great campfire stories, but we shouldnt post it on a world wide web!!

The animals we hunt deserve respect and should be dispatched as humanly as possible.

This should not be an attack on coyote hunters. The animal could have been any species.

The folks in the video and their methods are to blame, not coyote hunters or varmint hunters...

Wanted to make that clear...

Not intended to be an attack at all actually, just wanted to make that clear. I concur and do not want to lump anyone into any particular category and I understand the individuals in the video are not an accurate representation of varmint hunters as a whole. Basically, just wanted to know if any other varmint hunters out there viewed it as extreme or unsporting, or if coyotes in particular are viewed that lowly.

Didn't watch the video, I'm assuming they got carried away filling a coyote that was wounded full of holes. Sadly enough there are plenty of idiots in the world and they engage in all manner of pursuits. That said, I kill coyotes however they come, in my traps, off the snomobile (that's legal in MT), coming to the call, sleeping in a hay stack, I'm not picky. I enjoy looking over a nice bundle of my own furs, pretty sure it doesn't matter to any of the coyotes how they got into that bundle. A lot of guys out there killing coyotes wouldn't have the first clue how to properly put one up. Is it unsporting to kill things and not know what to do with them?

I concur and can assume that they got carried away as well. IMO only, it is a waste to kill something and not know what to do with it or to not use it in any way, but that's me. They seemed like a couple of kids with a rifle and time to kill fulfilling some little fantasy of destroying something without considering decency, humanity, or sportsmanship.

Nothing quite like a coyote hit with a .264 bullet out of a 6.5x284, almost as bad as being hit with a Sierra 2500 at 60 mph. You can give them the coup de grace after reassembling them.

Came around a curve in a redwood forest area I managed, only to find a dead coyote in a turn-out. Some local wag (I know who he is) had propped the coyote's head up with a field tip arrow and placed a note on it. The note read, "Call 911 - Wiley Coyote." That about sums it up.

LOL...Yea there should have been a roadrunner holding that sign!!

+ 1

An exception for me is when I'm not sport hunting coyotes but merely trying to eliminate a problem. I will do all that I can to make a quick kill, but if the coyote is raiding farm stock, etc. I won't pass on a poor shot that I would otherwise. Personal ethics call. YMMV. Along that line, I don't shoot coyotes unless I want the hide and will skin it, or am eliminating specfic nuisance coyotes.