The folks at the Rocky Mountain Supply in Dillon Montana took coyote hunting to the competitive level this past weekend. It was advertised as the Dog Days of Winter Coyote Derby.

Tyler Linse, who is from Ronan and now goes to college in Dillon, and works at Rocky Mountain Supply, was one of the employees who came up with the idea. “We thought it would be a fun way to spend a winter weekend and help manage the coyotes in the area”, said Linse. It must have caught the attention of a few hunters because 44 teams and 7 individuals register to compete for cash and prizes. The cost to enter was $25 for an individual and $40 for a team.

“We only had 10 coyotes brought in, so the hunting was a little more challenging than we expected”, added Linse, “the weather conditions probably affected the hunting as it was windy and warmer than normal”. Cold and no wind are ideal for coyote hunting especially if you are trying to call a coyote within range.

The winners were determined by a point system. 10 points for a coyote, 3 points for a fox, and a half a point for a rabbit. The winning team of John Ward and Tater McKay from Dillon brought in 2 coyotes. In second place, was a father-daughter team of Mitch Voss and his daughter Scout. The Voss’s managed to bag one coyote and 10 rabbits.