Going Coyote hunting for the first time WHOOO!!

[rammy]

I have a pack of at least 3 coyotes on a farmers land that is located just behind my house. I talked to him the other day and got permission to hunt them. I have never hunted yote's but have been doing a lot of reading and plan to go do some scouting later today. I picked up a manual calling kit yesterday and have been driving the wife and kid nuts while I practice. my pup calls are getting better it almost sound like a pup, the howel however is quite bad. my bark sound's more like a crow and the howel part, well i have not been able to match it to any living creature on the planet. Oh well, I have been able to stur up the neighbors dogs with the pup call. I plan on going on Sunday morning. OH the kit came with a video that I have been watching also. the kit came form the Knight & Hale company.

 

[Art Eatman]

I've had excellent results with a wounded rabbit call.

When choosing your site, remember to consider wind direction. Ol' Wily tends to first come straight to the call, and then make his final approach from downwind. You try to pick a location where he can't come from directly downwind.

Coyotes have one fatal tendency: If they spook and run, they'll stop and look back just before disappearing over a ridge or into the brush. (A tendency, not an "always".)

During times of lots of moon, they begin hunting a bit before sundown, and/or continue to hunt a bit after sunup. My belief is that they're more easily seen by prey animals, and have to work harder for a meal--which takes more time.

When they're moving and howling, with their yodels sorta intertwining and sounding like umpteen-dozen, they're trying to spook rabbits and mice into movement. Movement = supper.

, Art

 

[El Tejon]

Advice from Paul "Sonny" Casner of Martinsville, Indiana (as best I can recall):

*Very tall man sitting at kitchen table as El Tejon listens in rapt attention*

"Boy, you best pay attention now. Watch yer scent, boy. Put those clothes in a bag with pine branches and don't be using no soap or toothpaste tomorrow. Watch the wind.

Pick a spot where you saw them tracks down by the water. Look like a bush, not a man. Use my poncho, boy. Don't be twitching around none now. Don't look for him, look at nothing at all. The blurry eye sees more.

Don't shoot right away. Don't worry if you lose him, he'll be by shortly, just closer to ya.

Squeal but don't seem over eager. When you shoot, don't rush the mount. Smooth on the mount, smooth on the trigger, look at a single hair on his retched hide. Guide the bullet hard and deep, always be ready to shoot again as there can be more. Bring me his hide and I'll pay ya."

I'd listen to Uncle Sonny, he was the best.

 

[rammy]

Thanks guys for the replies.

Art- I have noticed in all the research that I have done the you are correct on the coyotes circleing in from behind. I plan to have my backside twards a fince row with good cover. Giving the wind is correct if not I will have to make something up on the fly. I saw one really big one (well he looked it to me ) sat morning at around 8:00 to 8:30 am about 50 yrds away form the main road. He had his neck streched up as far as he could looking towards the road in about knee high wheet.

 

[Lennyjoe]

I think I'm gonna go out yote hunting with the 22-250 this weekend too.

 

[Sistema1927]

Take a supermarket chicken, put it in a 5 gallon bucket, shut the lid, and place it outside in the sun.

After 5 days, take the bucket to the place where you want the coyotes to be when you shoot them.

Check the wind, and get upwind of the bucket. (<-- This is VERY important!) Pop the lid off, and dump the contents on the ground. Then, move upwind 50-75 yards, and prepare to shoot the coyotes as they arrive at the "treat".

No need for calls using this method, but it might not be legal in your jurisdiction, so check first.

Just the fact that coyotes would find your bucket contents appetizing shows that they are mangy scroungers who need to be eradicated.

 

[MassHunter2190]

^ -Why can't I think of things like that? Definetly trying that, soon.

 

[Art Eatman]

If you're gonna try bait, most any cooked vegetables and/or meat scraps are attractive to coyotes. I've yet to see "leftovers" survive a night in my yard.

I save the plastic jars from instant coffee. Handy for all sorts of stuff, including carrying some bacon grease out to the field. Pour a little on an old rag that you've wired to a bush.

An added attraction for bobcats or feral cats is to sprinkle some bulk catnip around the bait area. You know, the stuff in the pet supply aisle at the A&Poo Feed Store or your local Hoggly Woggly.

I wouldn't bother with a dead chicken. Tie a string to the chicken's leg; stake it out in an open area in coyote country. You can even do this in a bait area. If no action, the chicken is re-usable. Worse comes to worst, eat the chicken yourownself!

I've never worried about camo. Old khakis do just fine. The main thing is to be still. Ignore itches. Don't pick your nose. The best hunters are those who can do a good imitation of a rock or a stump. "Think like a rock." And that's all the straight line I'll offer to our resident comics.

, Art

 

[rammy]

I was talikg to a TWRA officer yesterday and he suggested taking a brown paper bag and painting several white spots on it and place it on a steak in the field and use a fawn bleat. I tryed my howl call last night and all I managed to do is get all the dogs in a 1/4 mile area stured up.

 

[rammy]

I wounder if my neighbers will mind if I borrow one of their pet chickens

 

[bratch]

Go to your local pets mart and get one of the motorized cat balls that roll around.

Now take your child's favorite stuffed animal; cut it open and put the ball in it.

take the now motorized animal and a stake to your hunting grounds. Plant the stake in the ground and hang the animal from it. Turn the ball on.

Ofcourse an animal from Goodwill would work as well.

 

[444]

I have never used bait, never used camoflauge, never really worried about my scent, never parked miles away, never worried about slamming the doors on my truck, never worried about making noise getting into my hunting spot. I did try to remain motionless while I sat there.
They seem to come right into the call: as long as you don't over-do it. Call for a few SECONDS and be quiet for five or ten minutes. Call with a volume just loud enough for YOU to hear it. The coyote will hear it from a mile away. Don't call often, don't call loud.
The dog WILL circle you and WILL scent you if you set up incorrectly.
Since the dog WILL approach from downwind, set up to shoot in that direction.

It is amazing how far way a coyote will come from.
One morning, I got one right off the bat. Shot it at about five yards with a Colt Officer's Model using the techniques listed above. We decided to move into a new location. I decided to let my buddy shoot and I had him drop me off at the top of a hill overlooking the area he was hunting. In the desert, I could see for miles and two dogs came from the horizon to his call at a full run. They ran in my sight for 10 minutes before they got to him. They were at a dead run as they approached him, appearently scented him and kept right on going: passing within a few feet of him.

 

[rammy]

Thanks for all the info. I will be a lot better off in my hunt now. I got off early from work yesterday and went to scout out the lay of the land where I will be hunting and also look for signs of any coyotes. The land is two medium sized fields butted together that slopes down on 3 sides into heavily wooded areas with a wall of trees in the middle. I figure that area would be a good place to setup. I would have a good view of both fields and good cover from the foliage growing on and around the trees. I didn't see any encouraging signs though. No tracks at the small pond (water source) I did find one pile of scat. Not sure if it was from a dog or coyote. The grass in the fields are calf high and the ground was pretty hard so if they did come through there I would not be able to see the tracks anyway. The wooded areas are covered in leaves from the past fall and old fallen trees. Cattle tracks were the common thing for the day. I did find several spots where the leaves were moved to one side so that the ground would show. On inspection I did not see any spots where something was digging ( no scratches in the dirt)