Normally always can do some good. How good will really depend on weather and what kind of country you are in. Normally its always best to try and spend your time killing coyotes from the air in the winter and early spring while its easier to see the ground. Problem coyotes really have to be killed when you can kill them so dont be discouraged if summer is the only time you can fly. Early and late away from the heat will be about the only time you can fly.
I wouldn't be out the expense this time of year unless it's a stop loss situation. Before spending any money you should be clear about just what it is your wanting to accomplish, this time of year is tricky you may or may have the coyotes you were seeing during hunting season! There's just a lot of factors, timing, etc. to have an effective predator management program.
The trappers in San Saba County use them occasionally, usually in the winter when they can see them better. They flew my ranch in addition to the neighbor's and as far as I know they came up empty on my place.
Snares are a lot more effective. I’ve flown and not seen a single coyote and snared 12 the next day. If you do fly make sure you set snares in every slide before you do. You’ll blow a lot of coyotes out of the place and should catch a bunch in your snares.
on our corporate lease (part of a non contiguous 20k plus ranch) we fly for hogs once or twice a year when / if we see a coyote the pilot stays with the coyote regardless of anything until we knock it down.
I bet you could hire professional trappers to come stay at your place for a month for what you would pay for a day in the helicopter. They will trap a lot more animals than you will kill out of the helicopter. The trapping guys like to come during January/February when the coats are at their best. We had a trapper come for 3 weeks and he caught (36) coyotes, (11) bobcats, (15) coons, and (2) skunks on 7,500 acres. I count on my hand the number of skunks I have seen in 26 years hunting the place. He killed (2) in 3 weeks.
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