Smart deer, dumb coyote?

[coyotehunter 1]

This morning while coyote hunting, I had a little excitement. A doe ran within twenty feet of my calling stand, closely followed by a big male coyote. Needless to say, I screwed up Mr. coyote's dinner plans in an instant. Both the coyote and I were surprised to say the least but I think the deer turned and winked at me as she went over the ridge...Huummmm, smart deer!
I have never seen a single coyote chase a full grown deer before. This was older coyote weighing 43 pounds, and prime. ###I just wonder if the coyotes were running in relay to herd the deer back towards the main pack. I don't think a lone coyote would waste that kind of energy just for fun.

ch 1 ###:confused-yellow:

[songdog]

coyotehunter1 - where are you located? ###I'm assuming not SoCal with a 43lb coyote. ###That's a big one for sure.

I sat in the truck one day with a buddy watching a small forkie eating on a hillside about 100 yards away. ###All of a sudden he takes off at a full sprint and less than 10 yards away was a coyote that had been sneaking up on him. ###We watched the single coyote chase him for almost a half a mile before they went over a ridge and out of sight. ###I dare say the coyote got him. ###Wasn't a pack either just a single.

Out of the 100s of coyotes I've shot, the biggest SoCal coyote has been 36lbs. ###Most are 18-25lbs. ###To think that something that size could take down a 150lb healthy deer by itself is pretty impressive.

[coyotehunter 1]

Song Dog, I hail from Tennessee, close to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. ###Most of our home grown coyotes will run 25-35 lbs. But then some of our "Big Bubba" whitetail deer are heavy also... if I remember correctly some will go around 260 lbs or so, but don't quote me on that. Yep, it was a big coyote, one of my biggest yet but it was not unusual. I have heard of eastern coyotes that have gone over###60 lbs., lots of food and cross breeding with domestic dogs may be part of the reason for the larger size than some of those found out west. My dad killed one last year that went 50, he took it with a 22 Hornet if I remember. Calling them in on a regular basis is hard to do here, the coyotes have plenty to eat year round, also due to the mountainous heavy wooded areas in our area some coyotes can go a lifetime without seeing a human. The location this coyote came from is one of the roughest, least human populated areas around here, many thousands of acres of nothing but mountains, big timber, ivy thickets a rabbit can't get into, rock bluffs and steep ravines. Good for coyotes hard on coyote hunters. Some remote areas do not have access other than by foot, mules or if someone is crazy enough.. a 4-wheeler.
That's what makes it a challenge..
This coyote was not blown up, a local taxidermist friend wanted one to use as a full body mount for display, I'll get some pictures when he gets it done. Sorry, I didn't have a camera with me today.
ch 1 ###

Update:
Song Dog, something you may enjoy. I just found this site about big eastern coyotes.
http://www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/coyote/coyote.htm


(Edited by coyotehunter 1 at 7:47 pm on Nov. 12, 2001)