Shooting a coyote while wild turkey hunting

[rick_iles]

You have a quote from the regs that says you can't carry a rifle as well as a shotgun while turkey hunting?

From the regs.....I guess you would have to convince a JP you were only hunting coyotes, while turkey calling over turkey decoys....good luck with that !

79 - O.Reg 665/98

Hunt wild turkey with illegal firearm

Set Fine: $150.00

Total Payable: $180.00

A person who hunts wild turkey shall not use a firearm other than,

(a) a shotgun, including a muzzle-loading shotgun, not larger than number 10 gauge and not smaller than number 20 gauge loaded with shot sizes number 4, 5 or 6; or

(b) a cross-bow, long-

[Snowwalker]

If you mean carrying a rifle or shotgun for yotes during a bows only season..you will be charged.

Not South of the French River. Read your Regs.

I am not geared up for turkeys. I have a rifle and am targeting coyotes.

[rick_iles]

With all due respect..No I would not be charged for hunting deer with a fawn decoy and my rifle/shotgun in a shotgun/archery only season. Same as hunting coyotes over turkey decoys during an open turkey season.

Since many season over lap, the type of gear and way one is hunting tells a lot. I have seen deer come charging or walking in to a coyote stand where an ecaller was blasting the old jack rabbit distress. Would you as a CO charge me for hunting deer because one walked in to my coyote setup?

You cannot use a rifle to hunt anything during a shotgun only season. With last years early snow, I wanted to get out for yotes with the rifle. Since there was a controlled shotgun season on, I called the MNR. I was told I could not use my rifle during the shotgun hunt, even for yotes...

[rick_iles]

Not South of the French River. Read your Regs.

I am not geared up for turkeys. I have a rifle and am targeting coyotes.

You are right with the shotgun rifle in s bows only season. I meant to say, using a rifle during a shotgun only season.

[Snowwalker]

You cannot use a rifle to hunt anything during a shotgun only season.

Look at page 79 of your regs under Firearms in the section on Small game. Last sentence of first paragraph.."This restriction does not apply south of the French and Mattwa rivers......"

[rick_iles]

Look at page 79 of your regs under Firearms in the section on Small game. Last sentence of first paragraph.."This restriction does not apply south of the French and Mattwa rivers......"

Read post 54.

[DGearyFTE]

My previous post was to address a comment related to whether or not it is moral or ethical to shoot a coyote after the breeding season i.e. during the summer.
In the area where I am there is an open season on coyote. It is now turkey season. It may be worthwhile to look at the regs and get a better understanding. It does not state that you cannot have two firearms to hunt. It states which firearm you can have to hunt a particular type of game.
If one is to walk out of the field with a bullet hole in a turkey then one can expect that there is charge of illegal hunting waiting for you if you are caught.
On the other hand, if one is to use the legal firearm for each respective game type there is no wording i.e. the regs are mute on such a situation.
I am therefore placing the onus to prove that I have violated the spirit and/or intent of the regulations. In other words there are two types of game legal to hunt at the same time. Where is the wording that says you cannot hunt both? If there were to be wording you would expect it to be explicit. It is clear that one can have at the same time a legal allowance to shoot bear and moose or bear and deer at the same time since the seasons in some regions overlap. What if I decided that I wanted to have a muzzleloader for deer and a center fire rifle as well for bear?
I am not going to accept that I am guilty simply because there is a perception of guilt. Again, the onus is not on me to prove innocence, it is on the other side to prove guilt by intent.

[Snowwalker]

What if I decided that I wanted to have a muzzleloader for deer and a center fire rifle as well for bear?
I am not going to accept that I am guilty simply because there is a perception of guilt. Again, the onus is not on me to prove innocence, it is on the other side to prove guilt by intent.

Because at least one of the animals is big game( ok they are both big game ) you can only have one or the other loaded at a time, but yes you can have both with you. When hunting coyote because they are small game the restriction of only having one type of firearm loaded does not apply. Having two loaded firearms is a safety thing. By that I mean you would never want to walk around with both loaded.

[Snowwalker]

Read post 54.

Have you read the full section in the Fish and Wildlife Act that the text is from? There is more then quoted in the hunting regs.

[DGearyFTE]

Having two loaded firearms is a safety thing. By that I mean you would never want to walk around with both loaded.

Good point! I have a true aversion to shooting myself. As an ex-military guy I am of the school that there is no such thing as an 'accident' with a firearm.

I find it easiest for myself to simply wait until I get to the spot where I want to hunt and load there. It takes the guess work out of the equation since there is really no way to be able to effectively hunt on the walk in with a shotgun and a rifle. Given that it is before daylight it is not an issue since I can't see to shoot and it is also illegal.