Coyote books

[trappnman]

I don't have many coyote books- maybe a doz, 15. I buy 1 or 2 a year.

just bought one by a famous trapper.

whole thing was very short, and with an incredible lack of detail.

its not that the advice was wrong- it was spot on in my opinion- and I am sure he was a top notch trapper but just bare bones stuff.

no date on book, but pre fur boom, probably from pics in the 40s=50s

was this type of book the norm back then?

[johnthomas]

i buy some books like that every year also, usually at conventions, sometimes for just a buck or two used , sometimes i get new ones, kinda like a collection iguess, but the bare bones is what ya get lol, not much visiting fer sure, and most of the sets are very old timey, and would take alot of time compared to the sets today, but they are really the same sets as we use now looks to me like, in fact alot of the sets people have written about since the fur boom are no different at all they just cut out the buried sheep heads, buried hog guts etc, wiley miles book is a pretty good one but still old timey, jim mast old book on trapping is another old penciled in sets book, however if a fellow was to just use mast method of trail setting he would have much success but my goodness it would take alot of traps lol, wiley carroll is another very bare bones one as far as the set methods but of course wiley goes on alot about someone he knows makin belts out of rattlesnakes in the middle of a scent formula darn near lol, just his way i think, i also have two sets of old methods that wiley carroll purchased from old time trappers that are typed pages, with written in pen sets and some simple lure formulas to go with them that wiley sold many years ago, all pretty much the same methods as we use today just a bit different, i enjoy all them on rainy or blue days myself and wish there was a trapper museum somewhere so all of this stuff would not be lost to future generations, oh well, enough of my rambling.

[trappnman]

you know john, thats a very good idea. We do need to have some some sort of trapping museum.

[ohiyotee]

Hey you guys where you been, Tom Parr has a great trap museum in Galloway Ohio. Mostly traps , some periodicals. Tom is the president of the natca or north American trap collectors ass. great club.

[mac]

Trappingman asks "was this type of book the norm back then?"

Yes, from what I have seen, and I am a method book collector. It should be pointed out that if a man is a good trapper it does not automatically make him a good writer. Just as if a man is a good writer, it does not automatically make him a good trapper. The very best trapping writers are a blend of both worlds and somewhat rare. There are several paper tigers in the history of our sport, profession or what ever one chooses to call it. Which I guess is entirely another topic.

I have often felt when reading old methods that some were intentional vague. It may or may not be a coincidence that some of those writers sold personal instructions. Just a thought.

Mac

[frenchman]

Dates should be on all books, methods used in undated books sometimes are illegal now, and it sucks for our image.

At least with a date, you can put things in perspective.

This being said, for the price, it is still a good investment to buy them, if nothing else, just to keep you trapping-brain turning...

[Wiley]

What is missing in the area of documented coyote trapping knowledge is an indepth understanding of coyote behavior and how it varies from coyote to coyote, from area to area, and from season to season. Without a basic understanding of coyote behavior as it relates to seasonal and daily human disturbance, prey availability, habitat, coyote populations, coyote age distribution, harvest levels, etc. etc., no book will be much assistance in helping a beginning trapper achieve the highest level of success they can achieve for their given circumstances.

The sets are pretty basic but where to place SOME OF THOSE SETS changes from area to area and from season to season.

Most books do not begin to cover the most important aspects of coyote behavior which are relevant to trapping coyotes in numbers. Knowing why coyote behavior changes seasonally can help a novice trapper be cognizant of those changes and adapt their sets accordingly. The less informed keeps doing things the same way and expecting different results. Not everyone has the luxury of moving to heavy coyote population areas to make catches that are impressive to the less informed.

Once a basic understanding of variables that affect coyote behavior are understood, then a beginning trapper can start to learn how to overcome those variables and take a higher percentage of coyotes in their particular area relative to their competition.

I may write just such a book someday for those who are really serious about achieving a higher level of coyote trapping success.


~SH~

[Steve Gappa]

I would love to read it.

And I think thats the big difference in the older books versus today- more books today try to incorporate more theory.

[bankrunner]

You guys get to writng. Wiley and his coyote book and Steve with his late season coon book. I would definately buy both.

[3n]

I think Slim Pedersen's three Problems and Solutions books are the best I have read on predators even better than O's Hoof Beats...get busy on that book Wiley.

[Rod17]

Steve and wiley

Interesting topic. I have often wondered about the utility of information in "older" books say, for example, Bill Nelson and others from that era. These men were giants in the history of coyote work -- and I mean no disrespect in the comments that follow.

I agree with Wiley that overall the construction and location of sets is pretty basic. However, the idea of coyote behavoir changing over the years is interesting. I mean, today, people are everywhere and their scent is everywhere. The avergae coyote today must be exceedingly unconcerned with the smell of humans...in the correct place, that is. So, Does this means coyotes have become less wary and suscpicious..and/or do our methods change with their behavior?


Look forward to comments

thanks

Randy

[trappnman]

randy- I think that human scent per se isn't a factor, but I also see- based on one short year in WY- that coyotes that have few human interactions, pay less attention to sets than coyotes here at home that have daily interactions with humans

[musher]

frenchman said:

This being said, for the price, it is still a good investment to buy them, if nothing else, just to keep you trapping-brain turning...

That's what internet trapping sites are for! At least the ones where they actually talk trapping! ;D

[BK]

I own a few coyote books from back in the days I usta trap for them more.
For sure my favorite book was written by Roy Kuykendall.

[Wiley]

Basic coyote trapping is no more difficult than finding fresh coyote sign on location with tracks coming and going. Using a backing towards the prevailing wind with an attractor in front of that backing (hole, bone, etc.) and lure and/or bait and/or urine. Then a properly modified trap bedded in the ground which is properly guided. The basics are always the same prevailing wind, backing, attractor, lure and/or bait, well bedded and guided trap, and the travel route with fresh sign. In that order every time.

That is going to catch coyotes in many situations. Removing the highest percentage of coyotes and knowing when to move and knowing how far to move and knowing when to wait and knowing where to move to. The line management questions are where it's at and learing the best locations for any given area.

Catching multiples, removal of family groups, dispersion, diet changes, etc. etc.

I enjoy some of the older literature because those guys spend more time learning what the coyotes were doing and why then we spend today. Heck as far as ADC work, denning has become a lost art. Denners of days gone by used to start tracking individual coyotes in the dirt and making smaller and smaller circles looking for more sign and fresher sign until they finally located the den. Those men are mostly gone replaced by young guns who never really learned to read sign and understand it.

There is some coyote droppings that don't even resemble coyote droppings once the insects and weather has gotten through with it. You need to learn that seed piles, plum pit piles, deer hair, chewed bones, etc is sometimes as good as a track or turd where tracks and turds are now absent.

There is a lot more to learning the coyotes in any given area than to actually trapping them.

Radio telemetry can teach you a lot about the coyotes in your area. I'm currently privy to GPS collar information in this area for about 40 coyotes over a number of years. Some of the things I have learned is how far coyotes will sometimes travel from their denning areas to calving areas in the spring. I've also learned how distinct some territorial boundaries are. I will learn exactly how far a number of coyotes are traveling from their den sites or how much time a bitch spends in the den nursing the pups.

These GPS collars are taking readings continually. The technology and the knowledge to be gained is immense.


~SH~