Rules for Hunting Coyotes in Alaska

According to some, there are fewer rules for hunting coyotes in Alaska than hunting rules.
Coyotes are not the apex predators in Alaska, and they know it. With wolves around, coyotes are wary, and for a good reason. Many coyote hunters report spending a lot of time and energy to take one of these rarely seen predators.

This article covers some of the laws regarding hunting coyotes in Alaska. It is your responsibility to know and obey the many regulations that do not appear here. One unwritten law is that successful coyote hunters in Alaska urge you only to hunt where you find coyote sign.

Rules for hunting coyotes in Alaska.

Alaska does not allow the use of “electronically enhanced night vision.”

With no night hunting option, you will have to master the craft of calling in what might be a well-fed, sleeping coyote, or one that’s scared you’re a wolf.

Therefore the following articles are strongly recommended, especially for new predator hunters.

1. 3 open reed coyote calls you can learn now.
2. How to master the best closed reed coyote call.
3. Coyote calling sounds your successful pals keep secret.

Check electronic predator caller prices here.

You need a different strategy for hunting coyotes in Alaska during the day.

Let’s face it; coyotes move a lot more at night. The only way to increase your odds of success is to locate their habitat, find their dens, maximize the property you have, and get access to more property.

Locate their habitat. 

1. Learn how to track coyote sign here. This is considered by experienced Alaskan predator hunters as the most important factor in taking a coyote. Hunt only where you can find coyote sign.
2. Learn what coyotes eat throughout the year here.

Find a coyote’s den.

1. Learn how to recognize and locate a coyote’s den here.

Maximize the property you already have access to.

1. Don’t over hunt what you have already. Here are some tips to avoid over hunting a location.
2. Learn how far you have to move between stands here.

Get more land to hunt coyotes on.

1. Read here to discover 8 ways to get permission to hunt private property.

You will need a decoy, check coyote decoy prices here.

Did you know, all my predator hunting books are worthless for Alaskan predator hunters? That’s because they all deal with night hunting, but, you can find other predator hunting books here.

Conditions when you may not hunt a coyote in Alaska.

• Fur animals MAY NOT be taken under the hunting regulations by the following methods:

– with a dog (except coyote in Unit 20D after registering with ADF&G), trap, snare, net, or fish trap; – by disturbing or destroying dens;

– the same day you have been airborne, unless you are at least 300 feet from the airplane;- with a nonresident small game license.

Using suppressors while hunting coyotes in Alaska is legal.

General hunting rules for Alaska.

Don’t screw up in Alaska, but if you shoot the wrong animal—fess up! Alaska treats self reported accidental criminal acts much less harshly than the ones they have to track down.

Not all of these will apply to coyote hunting, but just in case, here they are:

• Shooting on, from, or across the driveable surface of any constructed road or highway.

• Driving, herding, harassing, or molesting game with any motorized vehicle such as an aircraft, airboat, snowmachine, motor-driven boat, etc.

• A motor-driven boat or motorized land vehicle, unless the motor has been shut off and the progress from the motor’s power has ceased (see page 19 for additional restrictions in Units 1-5 and Unit 6D), EXCEPT:

— A motor-driven boat may be used as follows:

– in Units 23 and 26 to take caribou;

– in Unit 22 to position hunters to select individual wolves for harvest;

– under the authority of a permit issued by the department.

— A motorized land vehicle may be used as follows:

– under the authority of a permit issued by the department; – in Units 7 and 15 with a permit, see page 12;

– A snowmachine may be used to position a caribou for harvest, and a caribou may be shot from a stationary snowmachine in Units 22, 23, and 26A;

– A snowmachine may be used in Unit 17 to assist in the taking of a caribou and caribou may be shot from a stationary snowmachine. In Unit 17, “Assist in the taking of a caribou” means a snowmachine may be used to approach within 300 yards of a caribou at speeds under 15 miles per hour, in a manner that does not involve repeated approaches or that causes a caribou to run. A snowmachine may not be used to contact an animal or to pursue a fleeing caribou.

– A snowmachine may be used to position a wolf or wolverine for harvest, and a wolf or wolverine may be shot from a stationary snowmachine in Units 18, 22, 23, and 26A – A snowmachine may be used to position hunters to select individual wolves for harvest, and wolves may be shot from a stationary snowmachine in wolf control areas and in the following areas:

-Units 9B, 9C, 9E, 17-19, 21-22, 24, 25C, and 25D, except on any National Park Service or National Wildlife Refuge lands not approved by the federal agencies;

– A snowmachine may be used to position hunters to select a bear for harvest in bear control areas and bears may be shot from a stationary snowmachine, see predator control supplement online at http://hunt.alaska.gov for area descriptions.

– An ATV may be used to position hunters to select individual wolves for harvest, and wolves may be shot from a stationary ATV in Units 9B, 9C, 9E, 17, 22, and 25C, except on any National Park Service or National Wildlife Refuge lands not approved by the federal agencies.

• Using an electronic control Taser-type device that temporarily incapacitates wildlife, EXCEPT under the authority of a permit issued by the department.

• Using poison or other substances that temporarily incapacitates wildlife, without written permission from the Board of Game.

• Using a bow that shoots more than one arrow at a time. • Using a machine gun, set gun, or shotgun larger than 10 gauge.

• Pursuing with a vehicle an animal that is fleeing.

• Using a helicopter for hunting or for transporting hunters, hunting gear, game meat, trophies, or any equipment used to pursue or retrieve game, EXCEPT helicopter use may be authorized to rescue hunters, gear, or game in a life-threatening situation.

• Using a crossbow in a hunt restricted to bow and arrow only. You may use a crossbow in any hunt that does not restrict weapons. For big game, minimum standards are listed on page 19.

• Using a pit, fire, laser sight (excluding rangefinders), electronically-enhanced night vision, any forward looking infrared device, any device that has been airborne, controlled remotely, or communicates wirelessly, and used to spot or locate game with the use of a camera or video device, any camera or other sensory device that can send messages through wireless communication, artificial salt lick, explosive, expanding gas arrow, bomb, smoke, deer urine, elk urine, or chemicals (excluding scent lures), EXCEPT:

— Electronic calls may be used for all game animals except moose.

— Scent lures (without deer or elk urine) may be used for ungulates, and for bears ONLY under a black bear baiting permit.

• Using moose, caribou, or reindeer urine as scent lures in Units 12, 19-21, 24-25, 26B, and 26C.

• Using wireless communication to take a specific animal by a person until after 3:00 a.m. following the day after the use of the device, EXCEPT:

— Communications equipment may be used for safety but may not be used to aid in taking of game.

— In the Unit 20D bison hunt, the use of ground-based wireless communications to locate bison is allowed.

— In Targeted moose hunts, the use of ground-based wireless communication to locate individual moose for harvest is allowed.

Using artificial light, EXCEPT:

— Artificial light may be used while tracking and dispatching a wounded game animal; however, a hunter may not be on or in a motorized vehicle while using artificial light.

— Artificial light may be used by resident hunters taking black bear under customary and traditional use activities at a den site Oct 15-Apr 30 in Unit 19A, Unit 19D upstream from the Selatna and Black River drainages, and Units 21B, 21C, 21D, 24, and 25D.

• Using a trap or a snare to take big game, fur animals, or small game, EXCEPT: you may use a trap or snare to take grouse, hare, and ptarmigan (see definitions of fur animals and small game, pages 34-35).

• Intentionally or negligently feeding deer, elk, moose, bear, wolf, coyote, fox, wolverine, sheep, or deleterious exotic wildlife (see page 142), or intentionally leaving human food, animal food, mineral supplements or garbage in a manner that attracts these animals, EXCEPT: you may hunt wolves, fox, and wolverine with game parts that are not required to be salvaged. (See page 17 for list of game parts that are allowed to be used for bait.) Use of any type of bait other than those allowed on page 17 will be considered a violation of the feeding regulation.

• Wearing foot gear with felt soles or other absorbent fibrous material while wading in freshwater streams.