Slow Southeastern AZ Season

MH.Knives.AZ

MH.Knives.AZ

New member
Hi all,
This winter in AZ seems to be super slow for calling dogs. Coyotes just don't seem to come in no matter what sound I use. That being said I have had more cats and fox come in than usual. There are plenty of dogs on the farms and desert from what we have seen at work and when big game hunting, but they don't seem to respond well to the call. Has anyone else in southeastern Arizona been seeing this?

I have been predator hunting off and on for the last ten years but have been in and out of state. The last three years I have really been trying to up my game and have had really good winters the last two. Not sure what to do this year and any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
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I have noticed the same my area (Northern Pima and southern Pinal counties.) Been getting a few but way different then last year. very little sign in some areas.

Google: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease

Pima County animal officials are warning that a deadly disease in rabbits is spreading through southern Arizona. Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease, RHDV2, which had been detected the last three years in southern Arizona, has become endemic in the area. Apr 7, 2022
 
Yes, the population is very down. I remember around 2017. I used to see a bunch of them everywhere and now I’m lucky to see any jackrabbits at all. I hunt the surrounding areas of Tucson and I go into Cochise county as well. Safford seemed to have the most abundant population of jackrabbits that I saw, but there’s also a lot of water out there.
 
I hunt in your neck of the woods. It’s currently June 2025. I definitely had some luck down off 191 but there is a lot of private land to navigate. I was down there for some summer Coyote hunting just last week and I didn’t call anything in. It’s a very dry year And I have noticed that the coyote hunting has been challenging. Hopefully we get some good rain and fall will be a little better. Follow me on YouTube under Matt in the desert
 
I think even with a.good monsoon it will be awhile...Too late this year to pull off a litter.

S. NM I actually saw more javelina than coyotes, more coyotes than jackrabbits. It was that long ago that coming home from hunting just before dark the ditches were alive with rabbits and you always flushed a couple heading to a stand. I m seeing a couple jacks dead on the road on my way to town.
 
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I lived in Safford for 7 years and that’s when I really hunted coyote hard and did all the contest hunting and all that jazz. I live in southern Nm now and try and make a trip to Az once a year to smash all my old spots, didn’t make it there last year but I think Arizona had some the highest densities when the conditions are right. Heard there was a big rabbit die off a year or two ago not sure how true that is but from your reports it’s sounds like it was bad. Everyone thinks the coyotes control the rodent population but it’s actually the other way around, the rodents control the coyote population. Down years with the rabbits and mice result in skinny coyotes and skinny coyotes won’t have big litters hence the down years.
 
I live in Cochise County. The rabbit population was down the past few years. It appears to be coming back up. I've noticed the cottontail numbers are increasing again.
 
While coyote number are down, there are still plenty of coyotes. My numbers were down a little but nothing to think anything has happened. Several areas I have called this spring and worked over, still had alot of coyotes in them. Enough so that I picked up several new ranches to trap this fall because they are having problems. The wet bitches I did take this spring still had normal sized litters. So the coyotes don't think there is a food shortage yet. From stomach contents I have seen, rodents are their biggest food source.
 
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Crosswind Coyotes said:
While coyote number are down, there are still plenty of coyotes. My numbers were down a little but nothing to think anything has happened. Several areas I have called this spring and worked over, still had alot of coyotes in them. Enough so that I picked up several new ranches to trap this fall because they are having problems. The wet bitches I did take this spring still had normal sized litters. So the coyotes don't think there is a food shortage yet. From stomach contents I have seen, rodents are their biggest food source.
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Good to hear, and your located in Az??
 
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