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coyote hunting questions

Seen 4 coyote while deer hunting this year. I scouted where im gonna set up at. Its on a corner of a 20 acre field. There is timber to the north and to the east of this field. Im gonna be laying in the corner next to both timber lines. So when the sun comes up in the morn it will be to my back. I have an electronic call I will be placing about 75 yards in the field with a decoy. My rifle has a bipod. I think im gonna buy or make a shooting mat to lay on. Or should I buy some shooting stix and just sit there? When using the electronic call how often do you call and what all calls you guys use? Please give me some good details on how to use the electric call. What calls, how often, how long to call and everything else that will help me. I been planing on hunting coyote after deer season since summer and now the time is here. Im gonna get out there this or next weekend.
 
It depends on the eleveation of your hide. You may want to sit with sticks to get a little better view.

Some people run their call continuous others like to break it up. Start with a lower volume in case the yotes are close and you don't want to blow them out of the neighborhood.

Almost any distress sound will work as a food based call, depending on the pressure of calling in your area and what sounds they've heard before. Don't get hung up on trying to sound like an animal in your area as distress is distress to a point and the yotes won't know that the animal sound that use is not from around there.

I like to start soft with food sounds for a few minutes and if nothing happens turn it up a notch. Depending on your terrain it may take a while for the yotes to show up. Any time I am not playing attractive sounds louder I like to keep at least rodent squeaks going on the call all the time at a lower volume. Yotes can hear quite well. Stay on stand at least 30 minutes, 45 may be better.


Watch your wind. Watch the edges, don't expect the yotes to come running across the field to the call (although that can happen) most of the time they will like to hang up at the edge of cover and try to verify what they are hearing with their eyes and noses.

If the sound you are using doesn't seem to be working after 15 minutes don't be afraid to switch it up. High pitched sounds seem to work well.

Good luck.
 
Where I'm hunting at no body hunts coyote. There is alot of coyote there. My brother bought the land 12 years ago and I been hunting there 7 years. I have seen over 30 coyote there while deer hunting. I do all my rifle target shooting there too. I talked to multiple farmers in the area and they all say there is more coyote there now than there has ever been. We have all of our tree stands for deer hunting in the timber and on the tree lines of the timber. On the south side of our property is a flat 20-30 acre field with timber on the north and east side of it. On the far south side of it is a small gravel country road. I seen lots of coyote running the timber line on the edge of the north side of this field to the timber and into the timber on the east side of the field and vice versa. The strange thing....I never once seen a coyote just standing still and hanging out. They are always walking fast or at a slow run on this timber line. Its a trail that they always use from point A to point B. I have seen them cross in the middle of the field too. The corner of the field at the corner of both timbers is where I'm gonna set up for the hunt. At this spot I can lay on the ground and see the whole field and looking to the left I can see the east side timber line and looking to the right I can see the north side timber line. I have a harris bipod and I already laid there and tested it out and I can easily shoot anything in that field with this rifle and bipod. I obviously cant shoot to the other side of the field (south side) because its 750-1000 yards.

I dont have a laser range finder. Im thinking about bringing my 9 year old son with me and letting him range them. Every coyote hunter on this forum suggested 2 sets of eyes is always a +! I can have my boy look to the west and I can look to the south. Thats about as much info I can give you guys. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I prefer sitting with a sling or sticks. Your neck will get tired in prone. Put the call as far away from you as possible and still be able to work it. Lean up against a tree or bush with appropriate camo on . Cover your face and hands. Those mesh netty things work well. Start out low volume and don't move. You move, you loose. I fell asleep once and woke to a yote standing broadside about 10 feet away staring at my caller. I guess that's why, it's not a good idea to put old guys on guard duty. If you can, put the caller in a bush. It just makes it harder for them to I.D. the target. I glued an stuffed Easter Bunny on top of my speaker. Had to spray paint him/her grey. Watch the wind. If the yote barks, your toast, he has smelled a rat.

Tom
 
As much as I like to see kids going hunting with dad, you might want to try the 1st pass by yourself. Fidgiting isn't a good thing when calling. Move the eyes more than the head and don't forget to watch the six. I used to call a lot years ago & we always sat a gun about 50 yds downwind, often out of my sight. They killed 1/2 of them.
 
I did forget to mention a decoy set by the caller. Something with a little movement to catch their attention. That may be all you need to get them to stand still for a moment. If there is more than one, shoot the furthest or smallest first (your call) Lot's of time once you shoot the female (smaller) it's easier to stop the male on his way out of town.

go to the kiyi immediately after the shot. I've had the male just wonder off in no big hurry after just shooting his mate by using that method.
 
Movement is one of the keys to predator hunting, if you can't set perfectly still for 30-45 minutes you will likely get busted in this area. Another thing to consider is that predators who live for any period of time do so because they flank their meal instead of just running in to make sure it's not a trap.

The fact that you see them always at a fast pace shows that they realize they are a target too. When they are comfortable they will move at a slow pace and wander around like most dogs just checking things out. I start with a coyote integration call and only run it for a minute, no more. If there is a pack or a male there it will answer. I then wait for a few mintues and use a female invitation for a minute and then just wait. You need to be able to look behind you because very likely thats where they will come from and being prone doesn't work well for that.

One trick is use a glove with a small plastic stick on mirror on top of it, it will let you see whats flanking you without moving much. You have more odds of your shot being within 20-50yds than a long shot, (here in the timber) a simple 3-9x40 scope would be best if this is the case in your area. One more thing to consider is that when you use a predator game call and use a distress call you are inviting every predator out there, if you have lions and bears or wolves in your area you should carry the correct caliber rifle for a fast back up shot. It would be best to leave your son home until you get the hang of it, good luck. blue

P.S. try predatormasters.com for good info.
 
We have coyote, bobcats and in the last 10 years there has been mountain lion (cougar or whatever you want to call them). Big cats! Very Very Very rarely do people see them. I have a guy at work that his trail cam pics of 2 mountain lions. The person who owns the property is a widowed farmer woman. She stays on the farm by herself. She says she sees the big cats once or twice a week around sun down. Her property is 2 hours from the property I hunt. Who knows....there might be big cats where I hunt. I would crap my pants if a 100 pound mountain lion ran 20 yards in front of me!!!!! Im actually gonna do some shooting today with a new load for my .223. I loaded up some 53g Vmax under benchmark powder. Hopefully I get some good results. I plan on hunting next weekend if I can get off work. Im gonna go by myself. I plan on bringing the boy in a month or 2.
 
Hunting yotes in timber rich areas is not easy and can be more discouraging than enjoyable. Here in Northeast Pa the yotes have been so educated from the last 2 months of our hunting seasons that they are on high alert. I have found here the best time to kill them is the month of September. Jan-Feb is mating season and also can be productive. I use a nikon coyote scope and it works very well on moving dogs. I use a model 7 predator in 243win with 87vmax's. The small gun is very mobile and u can easily swing on a flanking dog. Shooting sticks are nice but i found that a trigger stick from Primos make things a lot easier for fast target acquisition.
 
Lots of good info here. Where I hunt has lots of open fields and lots of timber that runs though it all. Some areas of timber is pretty thick. But there is no "forest". No where is timber that runs miles and miles thick. In mid to southern IL its all crop fields with batches of timber everywhere. If you go down to the very southern part of IL then there is some true forest area. Anyway, I appreciate all the info. I couldnt get out today because of the rain and fog. Hopefully next weekend I can get out there.
 
I use a exercise mat to sit on and lay on.
Get a good decoy set it out at 100 +yds from you, I use the Exetreme Dimension Predator Mini call , I use the kiwi call, wounded coyote pup, and various other calls. It depends what type of year you hunt them IMHO because went there is plenty of food for them to eat.

Always remember a few things :

1) When you put out your Decoy remember that your body leaves distinct odors use a Odor cover.
2) They have good sight
3) Good cover and camo.
4) Last but not least be patient ( best time to hunt them IMHO is early Morning and when it starts to get dark)

Good Luck let us know how you do...............
 
Maybe I'm trying to over simplify it, but if you saw that many yotes while deer hunting..... why not use the same stand/ set up? Has worked for me and several others I've suggested it to.

Biggest mistake most new callers make are 1) calling too much or too long. 30seconds every 10 minutes is plenty. 2) Don't miss your shot or you've educated it to calling and may or may not be able to get it to come in again. 3) Expect to make at least 5-10 trips calling for each yote you see or get. 4) Spending too much time setting up, and not waiting at least 10-15 minutes before you make your first call from a given stand.

Good luck and hope you get a bunch of em. :) WD
 
I am a avid Coyote Hunter. First off I have tried several electronic calls. I have had some luck with them but not even 50 percent compared to the results with open reed calls! Maybe its my luck? Sitting or lying down I do both depends on set up. I do know if you are out callin and something doesnt break up you siloute? They will peg you and if callin you just educated a Coyote! I do like that electronic calls can be placed away from you. But if its daylight the less ya move around placing things and the more stealth the better. I have learned Coyotes to be very cunning prey some say the ultimate preditor. In the midwest I beleive it is true! I have had good luck with rabbit decoys if set in the dark and then hunted over when the sun comes up. Some may argue I over do it but I have been pegged allot. To windy out and more often than not they sent you down wind. I often have seen them creeping off 500 plus yards out. I have also shot them from 15 feet! They often circle out of caution if something doesnt sense right. I had three come inside 15 yards of my call at once two years ago. Best advice I can give you is Beware Coyote Hunting is Vewy Addicting HuhHUhHu. Elmer Fud!
 
I Also have a preference for open reed calls. once mastered you get a cleaner sound. My guess is that there is distortion in many electronic calls and recorded sounds that a coyote can hear, and we can not. I will also disagree on waiting to call after you get to your spot. There may be some merit in doing so if you need to drive into an area or make noise on the approach, but waiting gives more time for your scent to drift and more time for the wind to change. I kill more coyotes , spot and stalk, than by calling.
 
Get one of Randy Andersons tapes/dvds and run it a few times. Lots of good ideas as to calling, how long to set etc.
 
Wylewd nailed it. I threw my JS electronic setup away when the battery died. I make just a few lip squeaks then watch and wait about 15 minutes, then go a little louder on the second round. about a 20-30 minute wait, then sneak out. I have had 300% more luck going by mouth alone versus electronic.
 
I try mouth calls first. Seem to see more when I use'em.
I think it might be because the yotes have heard the elec. call more than a few times and the mouth call almost always sound different with every user.


Kermit
 
Here's a little something to get you motivated. Also a great pic of my favorite hunting buddy. ;D

Regards, Paul

www.boltfluting.com

miscpictures057-1.jpg
 

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