Coyote Hunting in Massachusetts - The Laws and Folly

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As many gun owners and hunters in Massachusetts know, we are governed by gun and game laws which can defy any theory of logic contemplated by the great mathematicians or philosophers of Western History. As a coyote hunter here in the Bay State, I want to critically opine on the game laws currently regulating coyote hunting here in this very dark blue state.

I have four issues sticking deepest into my sense of reason. I queried Masswildlife about each affront to my most common of sense, and I will share with you their responses (written by a state furbearer biologist), along with my thoughts on each matter.

1) Why is there a published coyote season in Massachusetts?

Many states across America, have no closed hunting seasons on coyote, including Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island (on private land). There’s no concern for maintenance of coyote populations, in fact, coyotes are now prominent members of this State’s suburban wildlife.

The response I received from Masswildlife provided, the coyote season coincides with “coyote pelt primeness (sic)”, when the pelts are most valuable. This makes no sense to me. Perhaps if we were talking about trapping, this reason would have validity. But this is hunting. I know of no hunters who pursue game for purpose of profit. Of course it would be nice to come home with a marketable pelt, or two; but that’s not why we’re out there.

My point here is, a published coyote season benefits no one but the usual cabal of anti-hunters who would start whining and crying the moment changing this stupid law was considered.

2) Except during the Deer Shotgun season, why is it illegal to hunt coyotes with a shotgun using shot larger than FF, (during the day)?


Considering, according to current law, one could legally take to the field in pursuit of coyote with a .338 Winchester Magnum, why is it not legal to shoot at a coyote (exclusive of Deer Shotgun) with ammo commonly used to kill deer? This law is particularly perplexing since the shotgun for deer mandate is due to the general population density of Massachusetts, and rifles for deer are considered unsafe.

Masswildlife’s response: this law is a matter of statute, and can be changed only by an act of the Legislature.

Translation: “We have no idea.”

Since the State’s response to my next two questions, is exactly the same as you've just read above, going forward, I will not repeat this pathetic answer.


3) Why is night hunting for coyote limited to rifles no larger than 22 LR, when this round is generally considered too small for clean, consistent kills?


For a clean, fast kill, a .22 bullet will require perfect placement, at night, at a judged range, and most likely, really fast. This is a wounded coyote looking for a place to bleed.

Someone tell me, what will a .338 Winchester Magnum do during the night, it won’t do during the day? If someone doesn’t like us hunters lighting off Grizzly Bear rounds, night or day, let us use slugs and buckshot.

Masswildlife Response: See Above


4) Why is it illegal to use artificial lights when hunting at night?


Again, we have a law probably written by someone who knows absolutely nothing about hunting, and perhaps had some twisted idea artificial lights gave hunters some kind of unfair advantage. Never mind the fact, the use of artificial lights will allow hunters to more easily and reliably identify their target, and
facilitate more precise aiming. With our .22’s , we need to use lights.

Maybe, when these laws were written, there was some sort of valid reasoning for them. As a lifelong resident of this Commonwealth, I’m thinking these laws were as stupid then, as they are now.
 
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As bad as the laws are now, trading day time use of rifles for being able to use slugs or buckshot would suck...
 
All I know is the laws are stupid and these suckers have been running through my yard almost regularly lately. I really want to try out my new .308 bolt gun...
 
I always wondered if the "pistol not larger than 38 caliber" language means that a .357 magnum and 9mm would be good to go since both are technically not larger than .38. I asked a DFW guy at the DCU center one night at the sportsman's show maybe 15 years ago and only got a snarky laugh.
 
I'll hazard some "common sense" (or at least what passes for it in those that make these laws) possible explanations for the screwy laws you cite:

1. Why a season? Answer 1 is "everything else has a season so why shouldn't coyote? And besides, how will we control you if there's no published season?" Answer 2: "Because the hand-wringers don't want all us crazy gun owners blazing away in the woods all year round killing the poor little doggie-looking friendly animals".

2. Why is it illegal to hunt them using a shotgun? This is probably because state officials coming across a poacher hunting deer don't want to deal with sorting out the cover story of "I was hunting coyote".

3. Why no night hunting and no using lights to hunt coyote? Same as above, poachers out light stunning to hunt deer could use the cover of "we were just hunting coyote" unless caught with an actual deer. This way, they can collar anyone out after dark with the wrong equipment without much worry.

Bottom line being that MA runs on a steady level of convoluted regulations to keep everyone confused and walking on egg shells with regard to firearms laws so why should coyote hunting be any different.


BTW, best of luck in your hunting - get as many of them as you can so I don't see as many in my neighborhood. Maybe we could do something about the fisher cats while we're at it.
 
All I know is the laws are stupid and these suckers have been running through my yard almost regularly lately. I really want to try out my new .308 bolt gun...

I had one going through the yard too last year, I've got 3 little kids. Mr Mathews and I showed him the folly of his ways.
 
Sadly no pets or kids here so I have little to no just cause for shooting one other than the fact theres usually 8-10 of them in or around my yard every night. I live out of the city but I still have neighbors and Id rather not piss them off being new to this town and only having my LTC for a year now.
 
"As bad as the laws are now, trading day time use of rifles for being able to use slugs or buckshot would suck.."

WF, great point. I can see I left the impression this would be a trade I'd be willing to make; I should have chosen better words. I meant to contrast the legality of using any rifle you please during the day, to being restricted to the .22LR at night, and restricted from using slugs and buckshot outside of deer shotgun.

Thanks for pointing that out for me.
 
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"All I know is the laws are stupid and these suckers have been running through my yard almost regularly lately. I really want to try out my new .308 bolt gun..."


84, I guess the trick is to get one of those suckers in the crosshairs of your .308, in a place where you can squeeze the trigger, and not make the 11 o'clock news.
 
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Silver,
"1. Why a season? Answer 1 is 'everything else has a season so why shouldn't coyote? And besides, how will we control you if there's no published season?' Answer 2: 'Because the hand-wringers don't want all us crazy gun owners blazing away in the woods all year round killing the poor little doggie-looking friendly animals.'"

Agreed.

"2. Why is it illegal to hunt them using a shotgun? This is probably because state officials coming across a poacher hunting deer don't want to deal with sorting out the cover story of 'I was hunting coyote'."

I can hear the anti's making this argument. My response is: How do states with more sensible game laws address this issue? Maybe Masswildlife should find out.

"3. Why no night hunting and no using lights to hunt coyote? Same as above, poachers out light stunning to hunt deer could use the cover of 'we were just hunting coyote' unless caught with an actual deer. This way, they can collar anyone out after dark with the wrong equipment without much worry."

Again, I can see this argument being used against us. Along with my response above, I would add: Let's not operate on the assumption every citizen in the woods with a gun, is a criminal.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
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JW,

"Question Number 1) Ma. F&W are control freaks and don't want to give up any kind of control, Allowing those animals to be hunted year round would mean that they are being considered varmints."

Massachusetts has been run by liberals for as long as I've been around. The Liberal Ideology demands control of the normal people.

"Question Number 2) Read MGL Chapter 131 sec 66, This is a "just in case law". This is a law that shows the thinking process of that state, They actually believe that if they ban that ammo except during the Shotgun season on deer that it will keep people from killing deer during the closed season"

Like a poacher will poach only with a shotgun.

Thanks for the reference.
 
I thought you could hunt coye with whatever guns you have unless it's dear season. Some one please confirm it?
 
"I thought you could hunt coye with whatever guns you have unless it's dear season. Some one please confirm it?"

Iv,
During the day, outside of deer shotgun, you can use rifles of .22 caliber or larger, or handguns .38 caliber or larger. However, the use of shotguns loaded with shot larger than FF, is prohibited.

During deer shotgun, rifles and handguns for coyote are prohibited, and you can use shotguns loaded with slugs and buckshot.
 
I thought you could hunt coye with whatever guns you have unless it's dear season. Some one please confirm it?

Hope this helps.....It's all in the Hunting & Fishing abstracts....

The Season for 2015 is Coyote Jan. 1 - Mar. 7 & Oct. 17 - Mar. 8, 2016


CLOSED HUNTING SEASONS
Hunting seasons are closed throughoutthe year on all birds and mammals notmentioned herein or in MassachusettsMigratory Game Bird Regulations pub-lished each September. During shotgundeer season all hunting seasons areclosed except for deer, coyote, andwaterfowl.



During the shotgun deer season
it is legal to hunt coyotes, but not fox;however the following additional regula-tions apply:
• Hunting hours begin 1⁄2 hour beforesunrise and end 1⁄2 hour after sunset.
• Use of manual or electronic calls anddogs are prohibited.
• Rifles and handguns are prohibited.
• Shotguns and muzzleloaders loadedwith slugs, single balls, or buckshotare permitted.
• Hunters must wear a minimum of 500square inches of hunter orange on theirhead, chest, and back.


Hunting hours begin 1⁄2 hour before sunriseand end at midnight, except 1) on WMAsstocked with pheasant or quail during thepheasant and quail season when huntinghours begin at sunrise and end at sunsetand, 2) when hunting coyote during theshotgun deer season (see below). Coyoteand fox may be hunted with shotguns,muzzleloaders, and archery, as well asrifles and handguns with special nighttimerestrictions (see page 32). Coyotes maybe hunted with shotguns using numberedor lettered birdshot (0.230 inch pelletdiameter; up to FF), except during theshotgun deer season (see below). Fox maybe hunted with numbered birdshot only(0.160 inch pellet diameter). It is legalto hunt coyote and fox using bait, decoys,electronicormanualcalls,anddogs.Arti-ficial lights are prohibited. Coyote and foxpelts/carcasses must be checked/reportedwithin 4 working days of the end of theseason by either 1) checking them at anofficial check station (see page 44), or2) reporting them online and writing theharvest confirmation number on a tag ofyour own making, then attaching the tagto the carcass or pelt (see page 44 fordetails). Confirmation numbers must re-main attached to all pelts/carcasses, withthe specific confirmation number issued















 
As many gun owners and hunters in Massachusetts know, we are governed by gun and game laws which can defy any theory of logic contemplated by the great mathematicians or philosophers of Western History. As a coyote hunter here in the Bay State, I want to critically opine on the game laws currently regulating coyote hunting here in this very dark blue state.

You cannot apply logic to the laws of this state. If you persist you will likely go insane.[laugh]

I agree with Asaltweapon.

Bob
 
I'll hazard some "common sense" (or at least what passes for it in those that make these laws) possible explanations for the screwy laws you cite:

1. Why a season? Answer 1 is "everything else has a season so why shouldn't coyote? And besides, how will we control you if there's no published season?" Answer 2: "Because the hand-wringers don't want all us crazy gun owners blazing away in the woods all year round killing the poor little doggie-looking friendly animals".

Hey, don't worry about it! In a few more years, you can use their own argument against them. When they start eating the neighborhood kids, you can propose a season. After all, "it's for the children". Like the recent news article on TV about the exploding population in California. If I lived closer, I drive to their neighborhood and post a sign saying "Coyotes, eat more liberals. They taste like chicken."
 
you should have included not being able to use electronic calls...

You can use bait and electronic calls. In season.

The other restrictions like no lights and no closed season, and gun restrictions are stupid. But so isn't the MA DFW. They don't believe that coyotes affect the deer population......yeah..OK.
 
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The big one for me is using a light, you should at least be able to do so from January 1st to March 8th. I'm alright with the seasons as I harvest the fur, and I use "T" shot which is what I would use even if we were allowed to use #4bk. Centerfire at night would be great, but I use a shotgun 90% of the time anyway.

I've inquired on this many times in the past. The main issue is to change most of these regulations (lights at night for sure) it has to go to a general vote in Boston, outside of the Mass sportsman council and into a chamber full of people not educated on the subject and certainly not hunters. =never passing.

One work around I believe they tried to do was to add "coyote" to the language regarding hunting raccoons at night with a light. That can be done without the general vote. When I asked why they allow coon hunting with a light, I was told it's because "it is more traditional, more of a past-time, and added years ago when people wouldn't raise an issue."
 
Yotes in your yard can be dealt with out of season should you own some chickens and have the go missing at night from said yotes. I have goats and have lost two this year so far. The local police and animal control officer know if some one reports a firearm discharge at 1am near my house that I am protecting livestock or my fowl from other predators worrying them.
 
Again, I can see this argument being used against us. Along with my response above, I would add: Let's not operate on the assumption every citizen in the woods with a gun, is a criminal.

Agreed that they're all "make up any vaguely almost plausible "reason" kinds of arguments. But, that part right there that I bolded for you is exactly the issue. In the eyes of the non-hunting public, particularly politicians that make such regulations and the ones that vote for them, everyone in the woods with a gun who isn't law enforcement or military IS a criminal or someone likely to be drunk/irresponsible enough to be a danger to the entire population in a 10 mile radius. [rolleyes]
 
Those laws and were on the books long before the current attitude that you are making comment about.

That is very likely the case. I don't know myself so will defer to your knowledge. Still, the current attitude I'm talking about is the reason it will be difficult to impossible to change them any time soon.
 
I think most people covered it already, but I'll add a little.


1) Why is there a published coyote season in Massachusetts?


They have the season during prime pelt season. Also, they end it when there are cubs in the den. A true hunter would not leave starving pups.

Of course it would be nice to come home with a marketable pelt, or two; but that’s not why we’re out there.
Speak for yourself. I'd LOVE a nice pelt or two. No luck so far.


My point here is, a published coyote season benefits no one but the usual cabal of anti-hunters who would start whining and crying the moment changing this stupid law was considered.

Wrong. But it also benefits them. I'd think extending a week or two on both ends wouldn't hurt.



2) Except during the Deer Shotgun season, why is it illegal to hunt coyotes with a shotgun using shot larger than FF, (during the day)?

I'm guessing this is for poaching, or the possibility of it.

The better question is where the heck can I find BB or FF ammo in 12 ga 2 3/4 shells? The only stuff I see is the "hevi-shot", and it is nonstandard stuff, and only in 3" shells.



3) Why is night hunting for coyote limited to rifles no larger than 22 LR, when this round is generally considered too small for clean, consistent kills?


Better still, why not the new .17's? I think maybe they could do something like no larger than .223/5.56 or something like that, or no more than x grains of powder and y grains bullet. In any event, the VERY LEAST they could do is include ALL RIMFIRE.




4) Why is it illegal to use artificial lights when hunting at night?


I'd say this is for poaching, or the possibility of it.












...I can hear the anti's making this argument. My response is: How do states with more sensible game laws address this issue? Maybe Masswildlife should find out.
...
Along with my response above, I would add: Let's not operate on the assumption every citizen in the woods with a gun, is a criminal.

Good idea about checking other states, but you would have to do this legwork FOR THEM. Propose the language in a bill, and then give them the evidence.

On the second point, I bet they DO think everyone with a gun is "criminal", or "future criminal".


During the day, outside of deer shotgun, you can use rifles of .22 caliber or larger, or handguns .38 caliber or larger.

For the record, you can also use smaller than .22 and .38; in both rifles and handguns.
 
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Hi all, resurrecting this thread as I have a coyote that has taking a liking to my property. I have seen him/her during the day, evening and early morning. It doesn't seem to afraid of people, although I moved towards it with my dog this am and it did take a few steps back (@ about 100 yards).

I have read the comments here and on the Ma Coyote "hunting page". I am not a hunter, and don't plan on getting a license to hunt.

I am frustrated that if I were to take one, say in the back yard while the kids were out I would lose my LTC. Anyone know of this happening? I guess it all depends on the COP of the town. I do live in the Montachuestt area in the stix. Still don't want to take chances.
 
"IF" that coyote is posing a threat to the children, Livestock or crops, Then MGL Chapter 131 section 37 applies. You "Shouldn't" have a problem with regards to your LTC. If you do choose to dispose of that critter, The three S's apply. Shoot, Shovel and SHUT UP. Mostly the shut up.

Ah yes- Massprudence!

Still might get me a nee-to .410 to keep stashed in the garage.......
 
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