Coyote hunting in MI

[EE_Reloader]

Hello Everyone,
I'm pretty new to coyote hunting. I picked up a thermal in December when i finished grad school and wanted to get more serious about it. I haven't had much success and have been struggling to get anything to come to my caller here in Michigan. would really appreciate some pointers and would really like to maybe link up with a group of guys that enjoy the hobby. Any help and discussion is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[RussellJ]

Hello Everyone,
I'm pretty new to coyote hunting. I picked up a thermal in December when i finished grad school and wanted to get more serious about it. I haven't had much success and have been struggling to get anything to come to my caller here in Michigan. would really appreciate some pointers and would really like to maybe link up with a group of guys that enjoy the hobby. Any help and discussion is appreciated. Thanks.

Right now, it's coyote mating season, use howls & mating sounds. When I get to my calling spot, I will wait a good 5 to 10min. to let everything settle down before I start to call, I will howl once and wait for maybe 15 min. before howling again and when your done calling that spot, I will also wait 10min or so and seen if one shows up. It is easy to over call. This time of year, use howls, don't over call and be patent.
Also, at this time of year the coyote population is at its lowest. They are on the move; being seen & heard more often due to mating season. The highest coyote population is in the summer. A GREAT time to call is deer fawning season as I call it. Lots of young and dumb coyotes.
I don't have the thermal or night vision setup, so I need a little daylight and have been playing cat & mouse with a pair of coyotes behind my house sense Wednesday evening. Missed one Thursday morning and was wakened last night with one of the bastards howling within a 100 or so yards from my house.
Good luck. Don't over call and most of all.... Don't get frustrated!!!

 

[WyleWD]

Right now, it's coyote mating season, use howls & mating sounds. When I get to my calling spot, I will wait a good 5 to 10min. to let everything settle down before I start to call, I will howl once and wait for maybe 15 min. before howling again and when your done calling that spot, I will also wait 10min or so and seen if one shows up. It is easy to over call. This time of year, use howls, don't over call and be patent.
Also, at this time of year the coyote population is at its lowest. They are on the move; being seen & heard more often due to mating season. The highest coyote population is in the summer. A GREAT time to call is deer fawning season as I call it. Lots of young and dumb coyotes.
I don't have the thermal or night vision setup, so I need a little daylight and have been playing cat & mouse with a pair of coyotes behind my house sense Wednesday evening. Missed one Thursday morning and woken-up last night with one of the bastards howling within a 100 or so yards from my house.
Good luck. Don't over call and most of all.... Don't get frustrated!!!

+1^^^ Excellent advise. JME WD

 

[boltfluter]

This time of year a coyote pup in distress call will sometimes bring them in. Even though there are no new pups yet. They are very territorial and this seems to push their buttons!

 

[Dimner]

Hello Everyone,
I'm pretty new to coyote hunting. I picked up a thermal in December when i finished grad school and wanted to get more serious about it. I haven't had much success and have been struggling to get anything to come to my caller here in Michigan. would really appreciate some pointers and would really like to maybe link up with a group of guys that enjoy the hobby. Any help and discussion is appreciated. Thanks.

I'm not successful at yote hunting yet, but I'm trying to learn. One thing I have found to be helpful in Michigan is snow. If you are not particularly concerned about spreading scent on your way out, look for tracks behind your setup.

The first 5-10 times I sat, I would call as normal and on the way out I would see tracks in the snow behind my setup. In spot #1, I got frustrated one day and followed the tracks and figured out how they were flanking me. Changed my setup location and I actually was able to see the yote the next time I called. Did not have a shot though.

Did the same thing with my two other spots. Was able to see another at spot 3 but not at spot 2.

Anyway, use the snow if you can

 

[EE_Reloader]

Thanks for the advice RusselJ. I think might be overcalling. Do you use a female invitational howl or do a more aggressive howl when you call?

Bolfluter, I' ve never used a pup distress but it makes sense this time of year. I'll have to give it a try on my next set.

Dimner, that's solid advice. I'll pay more attention next time. We have a bit of snow on the ground but the mild winter hasn't helped keeping snow on the ground.

 

[wedgy]

Most thermal users have a hand held scanner so you don't have to wave the rifle around, What type of setup are you running ? I assume you know they will often circle downwind of the caller to get a wiff of what it is.
Good luck !

 

[RussellJ]

Hello Everyone,
I'm pretty new to coyote hunting. I picked up a thermal in December when i finished grad school and wanted to get more serious about it. I haven't had much success and have been struggling to get anything to come to my caller here in Michigan. would really appreciate some pointers and would really like to maybe link up with a group of guys that enjoy the hobby. Any help and discussion is appreciated. Thanks.

Another great time to coyote in Michigan is during the spring turkey season. The male coyote is hunting hard so he can feed the family(the female with a litter of pups). Rabbit/rodent in destress calls seem to work well at this time of year. If you're turkey hunting and a coyote comes charging into your turkey decoys? Go for a head-shot on the coyote with your turkey shotgun. Body shots will kill them however most of the time they will run off and die.

 

[EE_Reloader]

Wedgy, I am running an Iray Rico G LRF 640x50 on the rifle and a AGM 25×256 as a scanner. The AGM was my first thermal and instead of getting rid of it I decided to use it as my scanner. I keep it in a chest pack when I am moving in and out of my stands. I am playing the wind and setting up to where I can get a downwind shot if I have to.

I'm running an AR in 223 using my reloads with 55 grain v-max bullets and N140 powder on private land. On the occasions I decide to night call public land I am running a Savage 17WSM because you are only allowed rimfire or shotguns under the rifle line. I attach both rifles to a swivel head tripod.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I would start with female howl/yips/barks. With this moon phrase, coyote are expecting to SEE a coyote at the location of the caller. And they know all most exactly where the sound is coming from even from a long distance. Place the caller where it is hard for the coyote to see the" coyote "making the racket. Hunt side winds whenever possible(easier shots). If you can find roadkill, or deer predation locations(deer distress sounds work) coyote will be nearby if good cover for bedding during the day is close. Good binoculars are handy during bright moons, especially open snow covered areas. Seems like I spend way more time scouting,usually looking with spotting scope/bino, than hunting. I know where I stand, where the caller is placed, how I can get in and out without disturbing the area and where the coyote are coming from. If you think coyote are close to start with, lower the volume or even a mouse squeaker works(300 yards).

 

[Dimner]

Someone needs to build a caller into a drone. Then just fly it to the spot

 

[J_idaho]

My experience is that late season can be tuff they have been hunted all winter and there could still be mating going on. Coyotes travel allot more to find a mate. And are not in there normal areas. Hardest part is finding them. Call move half a mile. Most coyotes are traveling at first light. I always start with a low howl then move to rabbit. Hungry or not they don’t want other coyotes hunting in their territory. Good luck. Remember coyotes drink water just everything else.

 

[EE_Reloader]

Went out last night and called for a bit. Didn't see any coyotes but I saw 42 deer and 2 opposums. It was pretty cool to see all the deer eating and enjoying this warmer weather.

 

[EE_Reloader]

Went out over the weekend and called near Pround Lake. Did some howling and got the coyotes to respond. Saw one at 300 yards but it was too far to shot in the dark. It was cool to hear and see them. Gonna have to work on getting them closer.

 

[EE_Reloader]

I'm back at it again doing some night hunting before deer season starts. I've made 5 stands in the Jackson area after getting an invite from a friend. Last night was pretty cool and we made 3 stands. Saw lots of deer and other small critters but no coyotes. Gonna keep trying. Hopefully some of you have had better luck

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Scouting is everything, especially on properties that coyote may use/travel thru but not part of their core territory. Lately I have been seeing pups hunting road ditches, grasshoppers and frogs are easy for the less skilled hunters. So if I was walking in as the coyote are working their way out of bedding areas, I maybe tipping my hand. I'm out in row crop land, so the food source probably different in your location but some looking around should lead you to the pup foods.

 

[EE_Reloader]

@Coyotefurharvester the stands we hunted have produced coyotes for my partner in the past. He invited me and I jumped at the opportunity. I am gonna keep trying and calling. I've come to really enjoy just sitting in the dark, such a difference from the chaos of my everyday life.

 

[EE_Reloader]

Went out last night coyote calling here in Mid-Michigan. I set up with the wind and played "coy family" first on the Foxpro. I got an answer almost immediately. Sounded really close so I decided to use male howls and hopefully have a territorial male come in. The grass is pretty tall on public land so I was wasn't able to see far but I had one walk down a trail. I saw him and as soon as I flipped my safety he bailed and didn't give me a shot. I was at 80 yards and thought he wouldn't hear it. I tried some other calls but nothing else got an answer. Gotta be ready to go when the actions starts. Gonna give it a few days and try again.

 

[EE_Reloader]

Finally after chasing coyotes for around 3 years I was finally able to close the deal on one last night. Very exciting hunt, she ended up coming to coyote calls and eventually a male coyote howl that peaked her interest. I tried to attach a picture but it's saying the file is too big for the server. I'll have to figure that out.

 

[Webster]

Finally after chasing coyotes for around 3 years I was finally able to close the deal on one last night. Very exciting hunt, she ended up coming to coyote calls and eventually a male coyote howl that peaked her interest. I tried to attach a picture but it's saying the file is too big for the server. I'll have to figure that out.

Go to https://www.irfanview.com/ and d/l the free image editing program. It's top notch and free.