Coyotes are among the most hated predators among deer hunters and in recent years have come under heavy scrutiny by state wildlife agencies and legislators.

Their impact also is being studied by several researchers and has been for years. Hunters often kill them on sight because of the havoc they wreak on game animals. Some with large tracts of land employ trapping methods or allow trappers to come in and remove coyotes, bobcats and other predators.

South Carolina is taking an interesting tack with a new proposal for coyotes that is something akin to a lottery system. State legislators have proposed a bounty on tagged coyotes the S.C. Department of Natural Resources would catch, tag and release throughout the state.

The reward? A cool $1,000 for a dead tagged coyote. This is a bill working through the legislature and it’s already been approved by the 25-person House budget-writing committee. The bill would direct the SCDNR to tag and release at least 12 bounty yotes.

Bounties and payouts by wildlife agencies are nothing new, of course. We’ve had such things in the U.S. for hundreds of years on predators, mountain lions and other critters. Directing the DNR to catch, tag and release bounty animals is a little more interesting, to say the least, but South Carolina has taken off the gloves on coyotes and feral hogs.

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From Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, the 2016 Whitetails Wall Calendar features the work of deer researchers Wayne Laroche and Charlie Alsheimer, who reveal the 2016 whitetail rut prediction, based on years of lunar cycle research. Utilize this deer moon phase calendar to find out which days the deer will be seeking and chasing so you can time the rut for the best time to hunt.

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