Guns for hunting coyote. What Do You Think !!

[Brendan Kelly]

I think you should be aloud to kill coyotes with what ever you want.
whats the diffrence between a 22.250 and a high powerd rifel. the coyotes still dead ?

also the goverment says there doing damage but we KNOW they are doing damage, if they know this why cant we kill them year round and why do we have to use a gun that most people probley dont own and have to purchase ?

What Do You Think !

[Shane Pinsent]

Poachers will be poachers, but why make it easy for them?

[Fred Woodman]

you have to think like the department of wildlife. Its tough to follow thier logic.Remember in the early days of the Sunday Hunting argument ( for those old enough to remember) the main reason for no Sunday hunting was to keep Berrypickers from being shot. The fact that none had ever been shot from Monday to Saturday didnt matter.

 

Its how they think.....

Having said that there is no doubt in my mind that enabling people to carry "Big Game" high power rifles with Coyote licenses will put more big game on the ground illegally.

[taylor brenton]

how old do you have to be to use a 22.250/223 ???

[Peter Emberley]

16

[taylor brenton]

thanks!

[Jordan Harris]

I think you should be able to use whatever for hunting coyote, I do have a 22-250 but why limit it, I would mind using my 30-06 or 30-30 sometimes or even a slug gun

[Allan Nippard]

Its all about trust Jordan, giveing people the chance to carry more high powered firearms up`s the temptation to shoot big game animals.

[Peter Emberley]

There are lots of moose being crippled by people using 22-250s & 223s. Some people just have to poach SOBs. Some people like shoot at anything just to hear the gun go bang. My cousin told me wildlife found 8 dead moose in the woods left to rot in area 44 . They also said there will be a major difference in the amount of moose in that area next year.

 

[Allan Nippard]

This is true Peter, i cant understand why in the hell people just cant point a camra insted of a firearm durring the down time of big game hunting. im expecting a major decline in licences this year, moose population seems to be low here in central. spent all winter back and forth in the country and only seen 2 moose. and very little sign. not sure how the rest of the island is doing but there has to be some kind of control over firearms. harsher fines? more officers? even bring in the moose decoy set up off season and come down hard on anybody who takes a crack at it.

[Peter Emberley]

I totally agree!!

[Steve Blackwood]

As a number of people have already pointed out, restricting the firearms for coyote hunting has much less to do with coyotes and more to do with moose/caribou. And, as others pointed out some people will poach with the restricted firearms (smaller caliber) despite the fact that they have a great chance of simply wounding an animal, but that doesn't mean the laws/regs are bad, just that there are some irresponsible people. In my opinion there are different levels of "wrong" that people are willing to go to. There are a lot of guys who won't shoot at a big game animal because of that chance of simply wounding the animal, and others would probably try to poach with 7 1/2 bird shot given the opportunity. So even though the rules may not be perfect, they probably do deter some people from poaching that wouldn't be deterred if they were allowed to carry a 300 win mag all year. As for the argument that more people would hunt coyotes, and therefore help control the population better I off these two thoughts: firstly I don't know that the hunting pressure makes a significant impact on population. It is generally accepted that coyotes will breed as required to ensure a population proportionate to the food supply, and hunting efforts in other places have proven relatively in-effective (specifically Nova Scotia) so I believe that coyotes are here to stay and we will just have to get used to it. Secondly, no matter what sporting/hunting activity one becomes involved in, there is usually a cost involved, coyote hunting is no different. I understand that there many expensive firearms available for purchase, but there are some other lower cost alternatives as well. Many stores in the St. John's area regularly offer complete "coyote gun" packages for between 300 and 350 dollars (prices approximate, please don't go in looking for a deal and quote me!), as well there are second hand rifles for sale from time to time. A third option is to borrow a rifle from a friend/family member. Simply put if someone wants to hunt coyotes outside of big game season they need an appropriate firearm and I, for one, don't think this is unreasonable. For those that disagree with me let me ask this: do you also think that salmon anglers should be allowed to use a spinning rod instead of a fly rod just because they may already have one? I for one don't but it is the same logic I think. Lastly on the subject of stricter fines and harsher enforcement my two cents would be this is maybe an option but it should be an option tempered with good judgement, something that enforcement bodies tend to be short on, again just my opinion. The legitimate poacher should be prosecuted as harshly as possible but he guy who simply forgot to stick his registration card in his wallet and is otherwise following the laws of this province does not need to be harassed any further than is the case right now. Don't get me wrong, I endeavor to follow the regulations at all times to the best of my ability/knowledge, but it seems that things have gotten so regulated that a simple mistake can have disasterous consequences for an innocent person. This is just my opinion guys, hope I have not offended anyone, just something to think about.

[albert linegar]

  The concern is for moose and caribou, here's more. A waterfowl hunter who has hunted all fall and did not get a shot at a duck and is now hunting with a shotgun loaded with # 2 lead shot or even buckshot, { buckshot begins at size B } and now that the ice is melting and water is opening up, there , right in front of him is a bunch of ducks/ geese. For the one who might not be a poacher " AT HEART " the temptation to take a shot may be far stronger than the self discipline necessary  to resist.Then there are those who only want an excuse to get a shot at waterfowl before anyone else can get a shot at them , that is to say those who wait for opening day. If there is concern for waterfowl at the beginning of coyote  season when there is just over a week before waterfowl season begins , shouldn't we be more concerned about  waterfowl after waterfowl season closes since from then up to July the waterfowl season is open for those who want to poach them, and they have a perfect excuse to carry the shotgun. The same thing goes for a " Big Game Hunter " who did not fill his/her license last season and out of nowhere there is a dandy bull right in front of him/her and he/she is standing there with a  300 mag. In an instant he/she feels as if still hunting moose and " BANG "   OOPS ,the poor sob is frightened to death because they are not " Poachers at heart " , This is a burden which can be avoided , as for the poacher magnumitis helps only them. What I would like to see , therefor would be to ban the shotgun and go to a smaller caliber, namely the 22cal. rim fire, which many already own and are very cheap for those who don't . These rifles are deadly accurate out to 100yds. and depending on bullet type and weight beyond,they can out perform even quad buckshot at that distance since at 100 yards any buckshot even quad buck would be useless. As for close in shots any rifle will kill at close range also,but for those rare shots  that may or may not be lost I think the gain would be well worth the loss.I would like to say also that I own several shotguns , a 30.06 and a 22 cal revolver, so there is no gain for me in what I am suggesting here , except my concern for the game we love to hunt, and for the person who may inadvertently shoot before thinking. We all have arseholes but  a few are " ARSEHOLES AT HEART " and we can't change that . UNFORTUNATELY .   Good Post Steve.

                   Albert.