snowmobiling

mantorvilleyote

mantorvilleyote

New member
Does having a local snowmobile trail running through the heart of your coyote properties make them less apt to come in and make them more skidding or, like any animal, do they become used to the noise and just wait until after the noise is gone?
 
It seems like around here (UP MI) they use them to their advantage. I see them all the time running the snowmobile trails that parallel the road. Never shot one in the vicinity though...
 
In my world snow mobile is a four letter word! The snow mobiles scare the coyotes away.... a long way. Sure am glad that I haven't had to deal with them for 3 years. I've had many stands ruined by a collection of sleds.
 
Hounds and snowmobiles will make coyote use drainage culverts and brush piles more often, instead of laying out during the day. When they go in or under, calling is useless. Often they will not leave underground beds until wind drops below 5 mph on windy days,I believe they are unable to hear nearby activity until the wind drops off.
 
Originally Posted By: spotstalkshootHounds and snowmobiles will make coyote use drainage culverts and brush piles more often, instead of laying out during the day. When they go in or under, calling is useless. Often they will not leave underground beds until wind drops below 5 mph on windy days,I believe they are unable to hear nearby activity until the wind drops off.

I wasn't sure if they just got used to the sounds, same as living in a metro area and just being used to the areas or if they would move to a different part of their territory and resume normal operations until they felt safe again.
 
12-15 years ago, around the middle of February, I was near Kenyon hunting coyote and Fox. I was watching 4 coyote during the day, 3 were trying to work out who was going to breed the one female. This was right next to a high use snowmobile trail. The section was low cutting through a drained bottom, in places there was barnyard weeds standing near the trail. Several sleds came along while I was trying to figure out how to get within range. The coyote moved over and layed down at the outside edge of a weed patch, letting the snowmobiles cruise by. I was excited thinking I still had a chance. But as soon as the sleds crossed the section road the female was up and running to a large stand of trees about a mile and half away. That is as calm of reaction I have seen to snowmobiles. Road graders blading gravel roads will often cause coyote and Fox to move. At night the reaction to vehicles is usually the sit and watch,as long as the vehicle continues to move without slowing. When the sound of the vehicle is gone ,I see them get up and continue on their travel. In the winter the sound of gravel off the tires really travels a long ways.
 
To echo what the others have said, if snowmobiles are common in the area, it won't be a problem as long as you don't set up too close to active sledding areas and they come near by as you are calling. But if they're rare, they will be skiddish. As mserman said, here in the UP sleds are running around all winter and they are used to them and like to travel the packed down paths, mostly at night, to get from bedding/hunting areas easier. I called a fox a couple years ago that walked within 20 feet of my parked sled as I was calling about 100 yards away.
 
On the Island of Newfoundland where i am from we do not have a railway anymore so when the rails were removed they turned it into a ATV/walking trail many residents use it all year long with ATV and Snowmobile ..its not too bad to hunt near the trail for coyote..but the one thing that does make a huge difference is Chainsaws...many residents cut their own firewood and i found that coyotes will not go near an area until the chainsaw has been shut off and not ran anytime soon..they will however come to the area after dark most likely to hunt snowshoe hare that come out to feed on the cut branches.
 
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