I've read a theory (maybe here?) that shooting coyotes this time of year isn't necessarily a wise move. The theory, which makes sense to me, is that it is typically the males you might see out hunting and they bring their prey back to the den for the female and pups. If you shoot the male and the female then has to hunt, they tend to go a bit overboard and kill more than necessary. I certainly don't know this to be true but it certainly seems plausible. The other potential outcome is that if you shoot a female with pups in the den, they starve to death.
Neither of these seem particularly palatable to me so I tend to avoid shooting this time of year. My question is, at what point do the cubs become capable of fending for themselves? I have no issue killing a coyote old enough to hunt but starving any critter to death isn't in my wheelhouse, even if it is a stinkin, dirty, no good, scoundrel of a coyote.
Neither of these seem particularly palatable to me so I tend to avoid shooting this time of year. My question is, at what point do the cubs become capable of fending for themselves? I have no issue killing a coyote old enough to hunt but starving any critter to death isn't in my wheelhouse, even if it is a stinkin, dirty, no good, scoundrel of a coyote.