VaRedneck, where do you live? I too am a Virginian and live on the western outskirts of Richmond. I travel fairly widely within the state during the course of hunting and (before I retired) on my job with VDOT. I have only seen coyotes so far in one place: the State Prison Farm that's on both sides of the James River in eastern Powhatan and Goochland Counties. However, and surprisingly, I see them here on relatively frequent basis. In talking with the guards who ride the farm on patrol, they see them fairly often too. They say that the animals don't seem to follow regular routines or paths but can be seen anywhere at almost any time. A couple of years ago I joined a deer drive there on which the kid on the next stand down from me shot a big female coyote. I thought they were dogs since, when they ran by me, one (presumably the male) was nearly black in color so I didn't shoot. At my shooting club the other day the guy at the next bench over said he was fine-tuning the sight-in on his .243 so he could shoot coyotes on his farm in Alleghany County. Fortunately it appears that coyotes have not yet become plentiful here in Virginia but they are defnitely here and probably to stay.
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