Coyote Hunting Connecticut, Laws, Regulations, Season, & License Info

Coyote classification & license in Connecticut

What is the classification of coyotes in Connecticut?

A fur-bearing animal for hunting and trapping purposes — the coyote sits in DEEP’s furbearer trapping list alongside mink, muskrat, weasel, gray and red fox, raccoon, opossum and skunk, and its hunting season and pelt-tagging rules are published with them.¹²

Connecticut also classifies the coyote a second time, and this one is not about hunting at all. Under the potentially dangerous animal statute:

No person shall possess a potentially dangerous animal. For the purposes of this section, the following wildlife, or any hybrid thereof, shall be considered potentially dangerous animals:… (2) The canidae, including, but not limited to, the wolf, and coyote.³

That is the answer to the pet question at the bottom of this page, and it carries a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per offence with each day a separate offence.³

What does the real scoping work in Connecticut is neither label. It is the distinction between state-owned land, state-leased and permit-required areas, and private land — see firearms and public land.

Are coyotes protected in Connecticut?

No. The coyote hunting season runs 1 January – 31 December with no daily and no season limit.²

Compare the fox in the same table: red and gray fox run 1 January – 28 February and 17 October – 31 December, with a daily limit of three combined and a season limit of thirty.² The coyote gets the open door the fox does not.

Is a hunting license required to hunt coyotes in Connecticut?

Yes — a Firearms Hunting License, or the Small Game and Deer Archery Permit if you are hunting with a bow.²

2026 fees:

All license, permit and stamp fees are half price for resident 16- and 17-year-olds.⁴

Connecticut’s resident firearms license at $19.00 is the cheapest in New England, and a resident aged 65 or over pays nothing at all.⁴

The prices above are resident prices. A non-resident pays more, and may need a different license — see what a non-resident needs.

Is hunter education required?

Yes, for a first license. The Conservation Education / Firearms Safety course is required of

such persons as are applying for a license to hunt with firearms or to hunt with bow and arrow or trap for the first time.⁵

The examination has a Connecticut-specific element worth knowing about, because it tells you what DEEP considers the two rules people get wrong: an applicant must correctly state

the regulations for hunting in proximity to buildings occupied by persons or domestic animals or used for storage of flammable or combustible materials and the regulations for shooting towards persons, buildings or animals.⁵

Bowhunters need a separate course. Proof of the CE/FS bowhunting course, or an equivalent from another state or country, must be shown when buying the small game and deer archery permit — and a previous bowhunting license no longer qualifies as proof.⁶

Can a non-resident hunt coyotes in Connecticut?

Yes. The non-resident firearms hunting license is $91.00; the non-resident small game and deer archery permit is $135.00.⁴

There is a three-day non-resident bird hunting license at $35.00, but it is limited to migratory and resident game birds and does not cover coyote.⁴

Plan around two things. Connecticut is a small state with very little open public ground, and on the public ground it has you are limited to rimfire — so a non-resident who has not arranged private-land permission in advance is hunting a .22. And Sunday hunting is private land only, with the permission rules set out under Sunday.

See also is a hunting license required — the license rules there, and the exemptions and add-ons that go with them, apply to you too.

Season, hours & limits in Connecticut

What is the season for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

Open all year:

Coyote: Jan. 1 – Dec. 31²

Trapping is the dated one: 1 January – 15 March and 8 November – 31 December, with no limit.¹

Connecticut also runs a short statewide closed period in October — no hunting and no dog training from 10 October to half an hour before sunrise on 17 October 2026 — but coyote hunting is expressly excepted from it, along with squirrel, deer, turkey, waterfowl and rails.⁶

What is the bag limit for coyotes in Connecticut?

No daily limit and no season limit.²

What are the legal hunting hours for coyotes in Connecticut?

Half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset, and that is the whole answer:

Foxes and Coyotes: 1/2 hour before sunrise until 1/2 hour after sunset.²

Compare the row above it. Raccoon and opossum get “no restrictions on state-owned lands open to hunting and on private lands where landowners have given permission,” except during the shotgun deer season.² Connecticut gives the raccoon hunter the night and withholds it from the coyote hunter. That is a deliberate distinction, not an oversight — see night hunting.

Can you hunt coyotes on Sunday?

Yes on private land, no on public — and this answer changed in 2025 and changes again on 1 October 2026.

Until October 2025, the only Sunday hunting in Connecticut was archery deer on private property. Public Act 25-138 rewrote § 26-73 and opened Sunday to all species on private land:

Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, Sunday shall be a closed season except for hunting on private property and for the purpose of trapping under the provisions of this chapter. Sunday shall be a closed season for the hunting of migratory birds. The possession in the open air on Sunday of any implement for hunting shall be prima facie evidence of hunting.⁷

Three conditions attach, and the third catches people:

Written permission, carried on you. The Act requires a Sunday hunter on private property to “(1) Have the written permission of the private property owner where such hunting is conducted, and (2) carry such written permission upon his or her person during the hunting.”⁷

Forty yards from a public trail. No Sunday hunting on private property “within forty yards of a blazed trail open to the public, including, but not limited to, Connecticut blue blazed trails and federally designated and regulated trails.”⁷

Carrying is evidence of hunting. The prima facie clause means that walking a Sunday woodlot with a rifle is treated as hunting unless you can show otherwise — which matters because on public land Sunday remains closed.

And a further change lands on 1 October 2026:

NEW! Effective October 1, 2026, written permission will no longer be required for small game hunters to hunt on private land on Sundays. Permission from landowners to hunt small game is still required all days of the week, but verbal permission is sufficient.²

Until that date, get it in writing and carry it. Members of fish and game clubs and their guests do not need separate written consent to hunt on Sundays on club land, provided the underlying agreements are already in place.⁶

Can you hunt coyotes during deer or big game season?

Yes, and the season never closes for it — but the private land shotgun/rifle deer season changes what you may carry.

Hunting on private land with ammunition larger than .22 caliber rimfire long rifle during the private land shotgun/rifle deer season is prohibited unless the user has a valid private land deer season permit and landowner consent form.⁶

So for those weeks your centerfire coyote rifle on private ground depends on holding deer paperwork you may not have. Without it you are back to rimfire, or to a shotgun.

The orange rule also changes. Connecticut requires 400 square inches of fluorescent orange above the waist, visible from all sides, from 1 September through the last day of February. Coyote and fox hunters are exempt when hunting from a blind — but that exemption is itself switched off “during firearms deer seasons and fall firearms turkey seasons.”⁶

Night hunting in Connecticut

Can you hunt coyotes at night in Connecticut?

No. Connecticut’s coyote hunting hours end half an hour after sunset and do not resume until half an hour before sunrise, every day of the year.²

There is no night season, no night permit, and no landowner-consent route to one. This is not an omission — Connecticut grants night hours to raccoon and opossum hunters in the very next line of the same table and withholds them from coyote hunters.²

The only night route is the crop damage permit, and it is not a hunting license:

When it is shown to the satisfaction of the commissioner that wildlife is causing unreasonable damage to agricultural crops during the night and it is found by the commissioner that control of such damage by wildlife is impracticable during the daylight hours, the commissioner may issue permits for the taking of such wildlife… by such method as the commissioner determines, including the use of lights, during the period between sunset and sunrise, upon written application of the owner or lessee of record of the land.⁸

That permit is issued to a landowner or lessee, or to a qualified person they designate, and only where night damage to agricultural crops is demonstrated.⁸ It is a farm tool, not a sport route.

Can you use artificial lights for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

No — there is no legal hour in which to use one, and vehicle-mounted lights are separately prohibited outright:

No person while in a motor vehicle, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle or by aid or use of any light or lights carried thereon or attached thereto shall hunt or take any wild bird, wild quadruped or reptile or amphibian regulated by the commissioner under this chapter.⁹

A violation is a class D misdemeanor.⁹

Even where Connecticut does permit night hunting — raccoon and opossum — it prohibits taking them “with the use of a light from a motor vehicle.”²

Can you use night vision in Connecticut?

There is nothing legal to use it on. Coyote hunting hours end half an hour after sunset,² so the question never arises for a coyote hunter in Connecticut — an optic that helps you see in the dark is only useful during hours you may not hunt.

The words night vision, thermal and infrared do not appear in the 2026 Connecticut Hunting and Trapping Guide.⁶ There is no rule permitting them and none prohibiting them, because Connecticut solved the problem at the level of the clock instead.

Scouting with one is a different question, and one to be careful about: § 26-74 reaches the use of a light from a vehicle,⁹ and possession of a hunting implement in circumstances suggesting you are hunting is treated as evidence of hunting under Connecticut law.⁶ Leave the rifle at home.

Can you use thermal in Connecticut?

Same answer, for the same reason. Thermal is not prohibited in Connecticut and it is not permitted either; the coyote season simply has no dark hours in it.²

If you own one, the honest use for it here is scouting — locating a family group’s travel routes at last light so you can be on them at legal hours the following morning. That is legitimate and useful. What it cannot do is extend your day.

Are there specific weapons restrictions for hunting coyotes at night in Connecticut?

There is no lawful night hunting to attach one to. The restriction Connecticut does write for night hunting applies to raccoon and opossum:

When hunting at night, rifles or handguns using ammunition larger than .22 caliber rimfire or shotgun shells larger than #2 shot may not be used. Note that rifles or handguns using .17 caliber rimfire ammunition are permitted for hunting at night.²

It is a useful sentence to know even so, because the same .22-rimfire ceiling is what applies to a coyote hunter on state land at any hour — see firearms.

Firearms, ammo & suppressors in Connecticut

Are suppressors allowed for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

No. Connecticut’s provision is one sentence long and has been on the books since 1949:

No person shall use any silencer on any firearm when hunting.¹⁰

Note what it does and does not do. It is written against hunting, not against possession — Connecticut regulates suppressor ownership elsewhere and this is not that statute. But for a coyote hunter the answer is complete: the can comes off, or stays home.

What firearms are allowed or restricted for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

This is the answer that depends entirely on the land you are standing on.

The guide states each of these directly.⁶

Three details that matter:

.17 rimfire is treated as .22 rimfire. “It is legal to use .17 caliber rimfire firearms in all situations where it is legal to use .22 caliber rimfire firearms.”⁶

Muzzleloading rifles follow the rifle rules, except that on state-owned land a muzzleloading rifle up to .36 caliber using round ball only is legal.⁶ That is the one way to put something heavier than a rimfire on a coyote on Connecticut state land.

High-velocity air guns are legal, restricted to a single ball or pellet-like projectile, and are subject to the same restrictions as rifles and handguns.⁶

Handgun hunters need their carry paperwork: “A person using a handgun for hunting must possess any required state/town permits to carry.”⁶

Crossbows are legal for all species with a minimum draw weight of 125 pounds, a permanent fixed rifle-type stock with a functional mechanical safety, and a bolt at least 18 inches excluding the broadhead. Folding stocks are prohibited; adjustable stocks and telescopic sights are permitted.⁶

Possession of a firearm while archery hunting is prohibited.⁶

Are there any ammunition restrictions?

Yes, and they are the land rules again rather than a load list. The .22 rimfire ceiling on state land and the #2 shot ceiling on state and state-leased land are ammunition restrictions, not firearm restrictions — the guide writes them as limits on the ammunition used.⁶

Waterfowlers on any land may use up to and including size BB steel shot from a boat, blind or stationary position; lead shot is prohibited for waterfowl, rails and coot.⁶ Neither reaches a coyote hunter.

Connecticut writes no caliber floor for coyote and no bullet-construction restriction. On private ground outside the deer season, the load is your choice.

Can you hunt using a .22 LR or other rimfire cartridge?

Yes — and on Connecticut state land it is the only rifle you may use.⁶

.17 HMR and .17 Mach 2 are expressly permitted anywhere .22 rimfire is.⁶

Take the range limit seriously. An eastern coyote here runs 30 to 50 pounds and 48 to 60 inches nose to tail.¹¹ A rimfire is a close-cover proposition on an animal that size — which suits Connecticut’s terrain better than it sounds, but not the open Litchfield hayfields.

Is there a magazine capacity limit?

Not in the hunting law for coyotes. The three-shell limit in the guide is written for waterfowl, other migratory birds except crows, deer on state lands, and turkey.⁶ None of those reaches a coyote hunter.

Connecticut firearms law is a separate matter and a strict one — the state restricts large capacity magazines and regulates which firearms may be possessed at all, independently of the hunting code. Resolve the status of any AR-pattern rifle under Connecticut firearms law before you travel with it; that question sits outside a hunting page and is not one to guess at.

For a coyote hunter the binding numbers are the caliber ceilings by land type, not a magazine.

Calls, bait & dogs in Connecticut

Are electronic calls allowed for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

Yes, expressly. Connecticut names the coyote in the permission rather than leaving it to inference:

The use of electronic calling devices is prohibited when hunting wild turkeys and migratory birds (except crows). Electronic calling devices can be used when hunting crows, coyotes, other small game, and deer.⁶

That is one of the cleanest e-call answers on this site — two prohibited species, everything else permitted, with coyote named on the permitted side.

Are decoys allowed for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

Yes. Connecticut writes no decoy restriction for coyotes anywhere in the 2026 guide or in chapter 490.⁶

Is baiting allowed for coyote hunting in Connecticut?

Yes for hunting. Connecticut publishes no baiting prohibition for coyotes.⁶

Trapping is where bait is regulated, and coyote trapping on private land carries a specific rule: when using padded metal traps under the private-land coyote provision, “no visible bait may be used.”¹ The commissioner’s trapping regulations reach “the type and kind of bait and lures” generally.¹²

Can you use dogs to hunt coyotes in Connecticut?

Yes. Connecticut writes no prohibition on hunting coyotes with dogs, and the statute contemplates hunting with dogs generally — there is even a license class for owners of packs of dogs.⁶

Two constraints to plan around. The statewide October closed period covers “no hunting and no training of dogs” from 10 October to half an hour before sunrise on 17 October, though coyote hunting itself is excepted from it.⁶ And dog training on private land needs the landowner’s permission like anything else.

In practice Connecticut is poor hound country. With a top-to-bottom drive of under two hours and dense road and housing networks, a running pack is very difficult to manage lawfully here — and § 26-74’s vehicle prohibition means you cannot follow them the way you would in the Appalachians.

Property, access & methods in Connecticut

Can you hunt coyotes from a motorized vehicle in Connecticut?

No, and Connecticut’s version covers the light as well as the gun:

No person while in a motor vehicle, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle or by aid or use of any light or lights carried thereon or attached thereto shall hunt or take any wild bird, wild quadruped or reptile or amphibian regulated by the commissioner under this chapter.⁹

A violation is a class D misdemeanor.⁹

And you may not carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle — the exception is for handgun holders with a valid Connecticut permit to carry pistols or revolvers.⁶ Connecticut defines a loaded hunting implement broadly: a rifle or shotgun with a live round in the chamber or in an attached magazine, a muzzleloader with the primer in place, a flintlock with powder in the pan, a bow with an arrow nocked, a drawn crossbow with a bolt in place, or a charged high-velocity air gun with a projectile in place.⁶

Hunting or shooting from or across the traveled portion of any public roadway is prohibited, as is shooting toward any person, building or domestic animal when within range.⁶

Paraplegic hunters and those with the loss or loss of use of both lower extremities may use an all-terrain vehicle under a DEEP permit, provided no loaded rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader is possessed while the vehicle is in motion or on a public highway.⁹

Is it legal to shoot coyotes on private property in Connecticut?

Yes with permission — and private land is where Connecticut’s coyote hunting actually happens.

Permission is required and verbal is enough for coyotes: “All hunters are required to have permission from the landowner when hunting on private lands. Verbal permission for the hunting of species other than deer and turkey is sufficient.”⁶ Deer and turkey hunters need written consent on an official DEEP form; coyote hunters do not — except on Sundays until 1 October 2026, when the written requirement still applies. See Sunday hunting.

The 500-foot rule is the binding constraint in a state this developed:

It is prohibited to hunt with, shoot, or carry a loaded firearm within 500 feet of any building occupied by people or domestic animals, or used for storage of flammable material… unless written permission for lesser distances is obtained from the owner and carried. Landowners, their spouse, and lineal descendants are exempt from this restriction, providing any building involved is their own. The 500 foot zone does not apply to bowhunting.⁶

Two things follow. A landowner has substantially more room than a guest does on the same ground. And the bow is the tool that unlocks small Connecticut parcels — the 500-foot zone simply does not apply to it.

Connecticut also protects the landowner who lets you on. The recreational use statute provides that an owner permitting recreational use without charge makes no representation that the premises are safe, confers no invitee or licensee status, and assumes no liability for injury — subject to the willful-or-malicious exception.⁶ Worth quoting when you ask.

Can you hunt coyotes on public land in Connecticut?

Yes, on state land open to hunting — but under the tightest weapon rules in the state.

On state-owned land you are limited to .22 caliber rimfire rifles and handguns and to shot no larger or heavier than #2, at all times.⁶ On state-leased and permit-required hunting areas, rifles and handguns of any caliber are prohibited outright.⁶

Sunday hunting does not extend to public land — § 26-73 opens Sunday on private property only.⁷

Two further public-land points: trap or target shooting on any state property or public hunting area is prohibited unless it is a designated range,⁶ and hunting and trapping on a designated wildlife refuge or closed area is prohibited.¹³

Is it legal to trap or snare coyotes in Connecticut?

Trapping yes, on a trapping license, and Connecticut has built a coyote-specific route that exists nowhere else in New England. Snares are not on the legal list.

The legal implements are “Box Traps, Live Traps, Deadfalls, Padded and Unpadded Metal Traps, Smooth Wire Traps, and Species Specific Traps,” each subject to restrictions.¹

Padded metal traps are normally confined to burrows and underwater — except for coyotes:

May only be used in the burrow of a wild animal or below the surface of the water… Except that, any person who has completed a DEEP-approved coyote land trapping course (trapper must carry proof of course completion on their person) may use padded metal traps on or below ground from December 1 through January 31 for the taking of coyotes on private land parcels of at least 10 contiguous acres where the landowner has given written permission explicitly for the use of such traps. When trapping coyotes in this manner, no visible bait may be used, pan tension must be two pounds or greater, and traps must be securely anchored to the ground.¹

That is six conditions stacked on one another: the course, the proof on your person, the two-month window, private land, ten contiguous acres, and explicit written permission naming the trap type. Miss any one and you are outside it.

The general trapping rules on top: written landowner permission to set on another’s land, the trapper’s name legibly stamped on or attached to every trap, and no more than 24 hours between visits.¹² The coyote trapping season is 1 January – 15 March and 8 November – 31 December.¹

And every coyote pelt must be tagged before it is sold — see after the shot.

Is it legal to poison coyotes in Connecticut?

No. Connecticut does not publish any provision permitting the poisoning of wild mammals, and the commissioner’s own extraordinary taking power — the broadest in the chapter — is expressly limited: it may be exercised “using any method consistent with professional wildlife management principles,” and “such taking shall not include the use of a snare.”⁷

Poisoning is not among the legal methods of take published for any furbearer, and the legal implement list for trapping is closed.¹

Are there protected areas or additional local restrictions in Connecticut?

Yes, and one of them is a whole town:

Hunting Prohibited in Westport: By special state regulation, hunting within the Westport town borders is prohibited.⁶

Beyond that: state wildlife refuges and closed areas are closed to hunting and trapping,¹³ state-leased and permit-required areas bar rifles and handguns entirely,⁶ and the 500-foot occupied-building zone and the public roadway rules apply everywhere.⁶

Municipal ordinances are the layer to check. Connecticut towns regulate firearm discharge locally and DEEP does not collect those rules. In a state with 169 towns and this settlement density, ring the town clerk before you hunt new ground.

After the shot in Connecticut

Are there regulations for possessing or transporting dead coyotes or pelts across state lines?

Yes — every coyote you shoot must be reported or pelt-tagged, and Connecticut gives you the choice:

Foxes and Coyotes taken by hunting must be reported online or by telephone (1-877-337-4868). Or, they can be pelt tagged. To be sold, all fox and coyote pelts must be tagged.²

For trappers the requirement is firmer:

ALL BEAVER, RIVER OTTER, RED FOX, GRAY FOX, WILD MINK, COYOTE, and FISHER PELTS must be properly tagged before they are sold, exchanged, given away, otherwise disposed of, or retained for personal use. These pelts must be tagged by the last scheduled tagging date of the season. Fur dealers are prohibited from buying or selling untagged pelts of these species. Foxes and coyotes taken by hunters, instead of being pelt tagged, should be reported online or by telephone… If reported online or by telephone, pelts do not require pelt tags.¹

Read that carefully, because the two halves point different ways. A hunter who reports the animal by phone or online does not need a pelt tag — but a pelt without a tag cannot be sold. A trapper must tag before the pelt is sold, exchanged, given away, disposed of or even retained for personal use.

Taxidermists may accept untagged animals or pelts but must have them tagged by the next scheduled tagging date, with a paper tag attached listing the hunter or trapper’s name, license number, town of harvest and date of harvest.¹

Can you sell coyote pelts, and do you need a fur handler’s license?

You can sell your own pelts, tagged. Buying raw furs as a business needs a raw fur dealer’s license under § 26-42, and § 26-43 separately regulates the sale of raw furs to unlicensed non-resident dealers.¹⁴

The tag is the gate. “To be sold, all fox and coyote pelts must be tagged,”² and fur dealers are prohibited from buying or selling untagged coyote pelts.¹ A phone-reported coyote is lawfully possessed but not lawfully saleable until it carries a tag.

Pelt tagging stations and dates are published each season in the trapping guide — the 2026 list includes Natchaug Forest Headquarters in Eastford among others.¹

Is there a coyote bounty program in Connecticut?

No. Connecticut has no coyote bounty. The state manages the coyote as a year-round unlimited-take furbearer with mandatory reporting, which gives DEEP harvest data without paying for it.

DEEP’s published position on the species is that the coyote “is now a part of Connecticut’s ecosystem” and “is one wildlife species that has adapted to human-disturbed environments and can thrive in close proximity to populated areas.”¹¹

Are coyote contests legal in Connecticut, or can I hunt in Connecticut for an out-of-state contest?

Connecticut has not prohibited predator hunting contests. Neither chapter 490 of the general statutes nor the 2026 Hunting and Trapping Guide contains any reference to contests, competitions or tournaments for coyotes or other furbearers.⁶¹³

That makes Connecticut an outlier among its neighbours: Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland and New York have all banned them, and Rhode Island borders it to the east.

Two practical constraints apply anyway. Every coyote taken must be reported or tagged,² which makes a contest’s numbers a matter of public record. And a contest run wholly in daylight, off public land where rifles are barred, on private ground requiring individual permissions, is logistically awkward in a way it is not in an open western state.

On the out-of-state question, nothing in Connecticut law prevents an animal lawfully taken here from being entered elsewhere — but the destination state’s rules govern, and if that state has a contest ban you are inside it wherever the coyote died.

Coyotes in Connecticut

Are there coyotes in Connecticut? How many, and where?

Statewide, and they arrived within living memory.

Coyotes were not originally found in Connecticut, but have extended their range eastward during the last 100 years… Coyotes were first reported in Connecticut in the mid-1950s. For the next 10 years, most coyote reports were from northwestern Connecticut. Coyotes eventually expanded their range throughout the entire state.¹¹

DEEP publishes no population estimate, but describes the coyote as fully established and notably comfortable in developed country: “Coyotes are opportunistic and use a variety of habitats, including developed areas like wooded suburbs, parks, beaches, and office parks.”¹¹

Size: “Most adults are about 48-60 inches long from nose to tail and weigh between 30 to 50 pounds, with males typically weighing more than females.”¹¹ The larger eastern size is attributed to interbreeding with Canadian gray wolves.¹¹

Color varies more than the field guides suggest — usually grizzled gray with a cream or white underside, but “individuals having blonde, reddish, and charcoal coat colors.”¹¹

Are Connecticut coyotes dangerous to people or pets?

To pets, DEEP is specific about the threshold:

In Connecticut, unsupervised pets, particularly outdoor cats and small dogs (less than 25 pounds) are vulnerable to coyote attacks.¹¹

Some coyotes will also take small livestock and poultry.¹¹

To people, the risk is very low, and DEEP’s guidance is directed at coexistence rather than removal — its coyote material sits under a “Living with Coyotes” heading.¹¹

Coyotes here defend territories against other coyotes and against foxes, which is why fox numbers and coyote numbers often move in opposite directions on the same ground.¹¹

When is coyote mating season in Connecticut, and when do pups arrive?

Breeding runs January to March, with gestation of about 63 days:

In Connecticut, the breeding season is from January to March… Pups are born in spring (April to mid-May), and litters range in size from 1 to as many as 12 pups; the average in Connecticut is 7.¹¹

Pups are weaned at six to eight weeks and begin hunting with the adults at eight to thirteen weeks; the family group breaks up in autumn or early winter.¹¹ Coyotes are monogamous and pairs usually hold together for several years.¹¹

An average litter of seven is high — high enough to explain why a year-round unlimited season has not dented the population.

When are coyotes most active in Connecticut?

Dawn and dusk, and Connecticut’s hunting hours are built around exactly that:

Coyotes are most often heard around dawn and dusk. However, they may respond to sirens and fire whistles at any time of day or night.¹¹

Because the season closes half an hour after sunset, the practical Connecticut hunt is the last ninety minutes of light and the first ninety after dawn. There is no third option.

Two field notes from DEEP’s own material. Family groups “yelping in unison can create the illusion of a dozen or more performing together” — do not read a chorus as a pack size.¹¹ And a coyote runs 25 to 30 miles an hour ordinarily and 35 to 40 when pursued, and swims strongly.¹¹

For the full breakdown of season, weather and moon phase, see when to hunt coyotes.

These answers get re-checked before they go stale. The verification date at the top of the page is the record of when that last happened, not decoration.

Anything else worth noting about coyote hunting in Connecticut

Connecticut is an easy state to hunt legally and a hard state to hunt well. The season never closes, the license is nineteen dollars, and the coyotes are everywhere. What is scarce is ground you can shoot a real rifle on.

Six things to get right:

Know which land you are on before you pick a rifle. State land is rimfire. State-leased and permit-required areas are no rifle at all. Private land with permission is centerfire — until the private land shotgun/rifle deer season, when it is rimfire again unless you hold deer paperwork.

Daylight only, all year. No night season, no light, no exceptions short of an agricultural damage permit issued to a landowner.

Report every coyote — online or on 1-877-337-4868 — or have the pelt tagged. Untagged pelts cannot be sold.

Sunday is private land only, and until 1 October 2026 you need written permission carried on you. Carrying a hunting implement in the open air on a Sunday is prima facie evidence of hunting.

No silencer while hunting. One sentence, no exceptions.

Stay 500 feet off occupied buildings unless you have written permission for less, or you are the landowner, or you are hunting with a bow.

One dated item to re-check. The written-permission requirement for Sunday small game hunting on private land is scheduled to drop on 1 October 2026 in favor of verbal permission.² Anything you read on this page about Sunday paperwork is the rule as it stands in August 2026 — confirm before that date passes.

Is it legal to own a coyote as a pet in Connecticut?

No, and Connecticut names the coyote in the statute rather than leaving it to a permit decision:

No person shall possess a potentially dangerous animal. For the purposes of this section, the following wildlife, or any hybrid thereof, shall be considered potentially dangerous animals:… (2) The canidae, including, but not limited to, the wolf, and coyote.³

An illegally possessed animal may be seized and relocated or disposed of at the commissioner’s determination, the owner is billed for all costs of seizure, care, maintenance, relocation or disposal, and a civil penalty of up to $2,000 may be assessed — with each day of a continuing violation a separate offence.³

The words “or any hybrid thereof” put the coydog inside the ban as well.

If you have found an orphaned pup, contact DEEP on 860-424-3011 or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator rather than keeping it.

Know something we missed? Contact me and I’ll get it fixed.