New Record Coyote Wins Hunt

A coyote entered into the Mosquito Creek Sportsman's Association mid-February hunt smashed all prior weights - Mike Galbraith's 53 lb. coyote broke all previous records - the chase for the record breaking coyote began around noon on the opening day of the hunt, Feb 16. - five dogs pushed the coyote for over 6 miles - 4 other hunters missed it before a blast from Galbraith's shotgun dropped the large canine

This year the club registered 4,836 hunters - these hunters harvested 193 coyotes - the total purse for the hunt was well over $48,000 with the top 2 prizes of $9,672 - there are a number of other hunts put on by other clubs but this one is the largest one

Wow that’s a big one. What state.

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Originally Posted by glen

Wow that’s a big one. What state.

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Pennsylvania - the hunt was for 3 days

I shot 52 lb one couple years ago, they may be bigger in ON

Thy just finished a coyotes contest near my place biggest was 49lbs I believe . Southern ontario.yhe group I hunt with had over a dozen over 30lbs biggest was around 45lb

I know a guy that traps that gets many over 50lbs. He says its because the pig barn near by with 1500 pigs in it, huge dead stock pile at the back, coyotes don't even need to hunt to feed

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

My biggest was 57lbs.
25 yrs ago.
on a bathroom scale so can't guarantee the accuracy but it was what we had at the time.
I've heard of lots larger then mine.

A good number of years ago, I took a very large one to our local MNR [at the time ] office, it was weighed there on their scales at 63 lbs.

WHAT ! No I got a hundred pound yote .....Honestly !
Glen

I wonder if any of those bigger yotes are coy wolves

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Originally Posted by tom gobble

I wonder if any of those bigger yotes are coy wolves

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More likely one of those elusive Algonquin Wolfs ....:moose:

Randy (Road on this forum) has taken and posted many over 60lbs, may not be the norm but they are definitely out there (southern Ontario) ...

Re: 60 pound coyotes. Whoever is stating these weights might want to check their scales with a certified calibration weight. At work we have a necropsy ledger that contains more than 2600 records for coyotes. All the carcass weights were taken using a government certified $4000 OHaus electronic platform balance. Essentially every township from southern and central Ontario is represented in the data set. The heaviest weight out of 2600+ records is a 54.2lb male from Cavan Twp near Peterborough and it was an animal that had direct access to an unlimited supply of deadstock.

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Originally Posted by Fenelon

Re: 60 pound coyotes. Whoever is stating these weights might want to check their scales with a certified calibration weight. At work we have a necropsy ledger that contains more than 2600 records for coyotes. All the carcass weights were taken using a government certified $4000 OHaus electronic platform balance. Essentially every township from southern and central Ontario is represented in the data set. The heaviest weight out of 2600+ records is a 54.2lb male from Cavan Twp near Peterborough and it was an animal that had direct access to an unlimited supply of deadstock.

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How long was it dead before it was weighted?

Even frozen there is dehydration if they are not sealed.

I'd love to post a scanned picture but something isn't working with the forum as of late. Can't seem to post any pictures directly from my PC.
Also, many of my past posts are now pictureless.

On another note to Fenelon. there's also 600lb+ bears in Ontario. They do exist!
For one reason or another just because you haven't seen a 55lbs+ dog doesn't mean they don't exist in other areas.
Maybe more wolf then coyote. Who knows.
I've never duplicated that coyote since - he was a big bugger for sure.

There definitely are some big coyotes around.
I had posted a pic. of my 63 lb. coyote dead, with hide still on along with two normal sized ones . I also posted a pic of the hide hanging on the side of our small barn along with other normal sized coyote hides, that 63 lb. was much larger and longer than the others.
When I said it was weighed at 63 lbs. at the MNR office, I took their word for it, I don't know if the scales were Gov. certified, also the dead coyote was weighed about 4 hours after it was killed so there would not have been too much dehydration within that time frame.
At the time , one of the CO's said there could be a lot of wolf in that coyote, just by looking at the head,but the only way to verify would be to have samples of hair given to a MNR biologist to have them study the hair and determine how much wolf if any was in the coyote.

I still have the original pics in an album and they are also on photo bucket which I cannot access unless I pay an ridiculous amount to do so.

Thanks JC for your 63lb post.

I sure don't like any insinuation that I tell fish stories.

I have never shot a turkey here in Niagara larger then 22 lbs. Nor have any of my friends since 1988.

We have NY birds. Rochester area transplants.

but head out Simcoe way and guys are getting 24 to 26 lbers.

they have some Iowa blood in them from what I'm told.

I seen a dead 26lber from out that way and was amazed at the size.

Just because they're not in my neck of the woods ... that's my problem I guess.

:scream: SIZE DOES MATTER! :scream:

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Originally Posted by SK33T3R

Thanks JC for your 63lb post.

I sure don't like any insinuation that I tell fish stories.

I have never shot a turkey here in Niagara larger then 22 lbs. Nor have any of my friends since 1988.

We have NY birds. Rochester area transplants.

but head out Simcoe way and guys are getting 24 to 26 lbers.

they have some Iowa blood in them from what I'm told.

I seen a dead 26lber from out that way and was amazed at the size.

Just because they're not in my neck of the woods ... that's my problem I guess.

:scream: SIZE DOES MATTER! :scream:

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I have the pictures here to prove what I have said, and to the unbelievers they are welcome to see them , but for being an unbeliever it will cost them a bottle of " Glenmorangie " Single Malt [not cheap] .:)

I have been hunting coyotes for over 40 years , and have killed all colours and sizes, the numbers of , I won't even mention here as most will not believe.

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Originally Posted by G Skinner

WHAT ! No I got a hundred pound yote .....Honestly !
Glen

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Ya well sorry Glen I got a 101 pounder...........he was tested for steroids and pasted the urine test!

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Originally Posted by jaycee

When I said it was weighed at 63 lbs. at the MNR office, I took their word for it, I don't know if the scales were Gov. certified, also the dead coyote was weighed about 4 hours after it was killed so there would not have been too much dehydration within that time frame.

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Yes that was basicly my point 4 hours fresh from the field or four, six, eight months in a freezer can make a difference.

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Originally Posted by jaycee

I have the pictures here to prove what I have said, and to the unbelievers they are welcome to see them , but for being an unbeliever it will cost them a bottle of " Glenmorangie " Single Malt [not cheap] .:)

I have been hunting coyotes for over 40 years , and have killed all colours and sizes, the numbers of , I won't even mention here as most will not believe.

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I think I saw the pics of it you posted them awhile ago. If I remember there were a couple of people posting pictures of some big ones in that thread.

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Originally Posted by SK33T3R

I'd love to post a scanned picture but something isn't working with the forum as of late. Can't seem to post any pictures directly from my PC.
Also, many of my past posts are now pictureless.

On another note to Fenelon. there's also 600lb+ bears in Ontario. They do exist!
For one reason or another just because you haven't seen a 55lbs+ dog doesn't mean they don't exist in other areas.
Maybe more wolf then coyote. Who knows.
I've never duplicated that coyote since - he was a big bugger for sure.

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I have seen Skeeter's man cave. He has multiple record class bear mounts and more 150 inch+ (like 20 or more - I didn't count) whitetails on the wall (all compund bow Ontario deer) than any hunter I have ever met. If he says it was 55+ lbs I believe him. His reality is bigger and larger than the exaggerated reality that many hunters seem to inhabit.

geesh Joe! you're making me blush!
thanks for the kind words. You're welcome anytime!

stay in touch!

Skeeter - my intent was not to offend or discount the fact that you had an animal that size. I'm saying that I highly doubt anyone that says they've taken a 60 pound coyote, and I mean coyote in the truest sense. It's like the proverbial 210lb buck that becomes a 260 lb buck, or the 370lb black bear that weighed 500. I don't know where your animal was harvested, but I'm pretty confident that it wasn't a coyote at that weight. You're right, it most likely would be either a wolf/coyote hybrid or even potentially an eastern/Algonquin wolf.
We've known for decades that other than strictly agricultural southern Ontario, we have basically three different "forms" of coyote-hybrid-wolf in the upper townships of what I call "southern" and central Ontario. As an example, both the houndsmen and trappers see all three forms in the area that I live and trap. I live right on the agricultural/Canada Shield transition boundary in north Victoria county. To the immediate east and north of me are some of the protected closed townships that the MNR are defining as eastern wolf habitat.
I trap the following in this area:
Central Verulam, Fenelon, Ops, Manvers, Mariposa Townships - at least 90% are what I call coyote, based on appearance. Tongue samples are being submitted to MNR for DNA analysis. Dogs are usually about 40 - 45 lbs, females 36-40lbs, lighter bone density on front forelegs and back legs, narrow pointed paws, thinner muzzle, narrower nose pad, pelt colour is variable but they tend to have more ruffous reddish colour around ears, nape of neck. Sagittal crest, zygomatic width, canine diameter is less than on other types. These are the animals that even George Kolenosky identified as coyotes back in 50s and 60s, before we knew anything about DNA testing. They are smaller on the fur boards when you put the fur up.

North Verulam, Somerville, north Fenelon, south Harvey Twps - definitely a bigger animal - longer leg bones, bigger paw, wider canine, cleaned skull has wider zygomatic arches, thicker muzzle and slightly higher sagg crest. Tend to lack as much rufous around the head as a general observation. I've also noticed the dark rump spot above the tail tends to be more obvious. These I'm sure are hybrids, or what Kolenoky called "Tweed wolves" back in the primary research days. I've trapped lots of males that were 48 - 55 lbs over the years. The biggest was just shy of 57 lbs, after three weeks frozen whole in a walk-in freezer at work. Females are usually about 38 - 44 lbs. They usually board on a wolf board. This size of animal (the males) are the ones that are very difficult to hold unless you beef up your dirt hole equipment eg. they will rip a two coil #1.75 coil soft catch leghold to pieces (you just find the jaws laying beside the trap) and they will pump short rebar stakes, or single stakes out of the ground. You have to add an arc weld blob to your 1.75 frame, and add an extra base strip on the frame, plus a beefer coil kit, if you want a 1.75 to consistently hold them. I switch to #3 four coil Bridger traps and have never had the trap tore up since. On a side note - it is predicted that these large males will be tough to hold with the new RCRs (relaxing cable restraints) that are now available, as the 122.5kg max. break-away limit is too low.

I've only trapped 3 animals in almost 30 years of trapping that I think are what they are calling eastern (or is it now Algonquin) wolves. All three were in central and southern Somerville Twp. I've also seen the same body form in a couple of animals from central Harvey Twp. Large canine width, thick muzzle and big sagg crest. Thick bone in front forelegs rather obvious, feet appear to be too large/almost clumsy for the size of the animal. One male had mange and was in very poor body condition but he was still 56 lbs. Female was 52 and the other male was only 41, but was a very young animal based on the tooth root closure.

Fenlon no offense taken.

Like I said - it was one of the first coyotes I ever took. It was taken right in the middle of the Niagara peninsula. I carried it out over my back with the butt right by my ear. the muzzle was hitting my calves and bled all over me. I was 6'-2-1/2" at that time. a strapping hockey player. I had a hard time holding it up for my mom to take a picture. She went in and got a bathroom scale. 57lbs is what we got. guaranteed the scale was off. but in which direction? :silly:
If it was a woman's scale it probably was light! If it was heavy I think my mom woulda put it to the curb! HAH!
anyhow that's the story.

I shot more, lots more, coyotes since then and only had one that approached my biggest one. All the rest do fall in to your weight classification. There's a big coyote contest down here every winter and the winner is usually 50lbs+ but not by much.

Anyway the good thing to hear is that guys are out there shooting these things. They're an invasive species as far as I'm concerned. They're making an awful dent in game populations.

Good luck to all!