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First time coyote hunting in southern Illinois

Hey guys. Here in southern Illinois we have some coyotes. How many.....I dont know? All the people I talked to that live out of town in the country say they hear them every night. I have seen a few while deer hunting too. I always wanted to go coyote hunting, but didnt have a centerfire varmint rifle. Here in IL we cant deer hunt with centerfire rifles. Gotta use a slug gun. So I never owned any centerfire rifles. But now it has changed!!! Just bought a Remington 700P .223 1/9 twist with a Bushnell elite 4200 4-16X40 scope and a harris 6"-9" bipod. I got it sighted in too! Shot it at 100, 200 and 300 yards with good groups! I was hitting a 3" by 3" square steel plate every shot at 300 yards. Now I gotta get a electronic call. I guess im asking how hard is coyote hunting? Is there anybody out there that lives in southern IL or knows how good of a coyote population we have? Im thinking we have alot! Can anybody give me some basic tips to coyote hunting? (where to hide, what call to use, how far to put the call from me, do I use bait and ext?????) Give me all info I need to get a kill or 2. Looks like alot of fun by watching the youtube videos!!!
 
LawrenceHanson said:
Coyote hunting is hard. It’s not easy to learn and it takes practice to get good at it, like any finesse sport. For example, it takes most folks three years or more to get good at golf. It took me that long to get fairly good at coyote hunting. During that period of time I spent a lot of frustrating days in the field and a lot of time studying the animal. The coyote is a smart animal and can be a very “sporting” animal to hunt. If it was easy they would be wiped out by now. If you can, find an experienced hunting partner to go with you on your hunts. Two guns, four eyes, and a 360° view is always a good thing.

Lawrence Hanson
Helena Montana

Lawrence said it perfect
 
Get a couple dvd's, learn how to call, and get out there and do it. There's no substitute for experience...and no short cuts in coyote hunting. You'll make alot of stands, and alot of mistakes before you get handy at it. Good luck.
 
Forget the ecaller & get a few hand calls due to the fact everyone uses ecallers & coyotes are pretty educated to them. Hand calls are simple & easy to use and with a bit of practice coyotes will come to find & eat what they are hearing. Hand calls never make the same sounds due to your usage of breath to blow them.
 
I've used electronic calls and hand calls over the years, especially when I lived in Georgia. But I will say this, here in Nebraska I've shot more songdogs sitting quietly in the morning or evening just watching and not making a noise. In the area where I live they tend to run fence lines and tree lines and have crossing points in the waterways of the fields. Some of the places I have to sit you can see a long ways and can literally watch the dogs walk right to you without making a sound. And I have even hunted them from tree stands with GREAT success...they don't seem to look up much and this has become one of my favorite ways to hunt them.

Then there are those days when you think you have to call to see something and still don't get a shot or see much of anything! The above posters are correct, time in the field and experience is what matters. And Lawrence gave you some great advice...sun at back, wind in face. Also, his tip there about taking your kill off in such a way as to leave no trace is a great one because often times if other yotes come through an area I have seen them veer clear of someplace where another dog has been shot recently.

And speaking of hero shots, here is one I shot this past year in November that I let walk up to 89 yards before shooting her. She was over 30lbs. She never knew I was there as she came across the cut corn field, stopped at the waterway for a sniff and pop...there she laid. ;-)

songdog.jpg


Whatever your method, keep an open mind, learn from others and spend quality time in the field. It's a great challenge and one of my favorite things to do year round! And it WILL make you a better hunter and shooter in my opinion!
 
You will have plenty around the lake, but if they are hunted at all they get real smart real quick. If you shoot at one and miss he is educated for a lifetime. good Luck, best time is spotting them with snow on the ground, they are real active then and on the move for food. Should be a good supply fo red fox in you area for next seasons calling.
 
Every time i see them while deer hunting they are on the move. It seems like they are in a big hurry? I never see them just sit still and hang out. When hunting them, do u guys sit in a tree line by a field and just wait patiently and call them? When using an electronic call or hand call, how often do you call and how long do u call? What kind of visible bait can u use? All info would be grateful! and thanks for all the info u guys already gave me! This site has been very helpful!!!
 
They are going to be moving unless you stop them with a woof. One trick that works well is to station another shooter downwind of the caller. We would go at least 50 yds especially in broken terrain. The ones that come flying in get shot by the caller but just as many are shot by the downwind gun that the caller never sees and wouldn't have without someone positioned downwind. Forget the bait UNLESS you place road kills in strategic spots where you can wait in ambush.
 
There is no set time sequence for calling but what worked for me (broken cover) is to start with a 1-2 minutes series at about half volume, wait 3-4 minutes & really lay into it at full volume for 1-2 minutes, reapeat every couple minutes, gradually bringing the volume down. If you spot one coming, any calling needs to be low volume with the call pointing away from you. Don't want them keying 100% to your position.
 
I've been hunting coyote for about 5 years mostly at night in Maine and New Hampshire. We can bait in both states at night from Jan. 1 till spring starts, and have done so with with some pretty good results. Bait is usually beaver or road kill deer carcases. On the nights that tend to be a little slow on dog sightings, I use a Fox Pro Fury to bring them in. The Fury can mix sounds ( dog & rabbit and others) with a remote speaker positioned up to 80-100 yards away from the shooter. Mouth calls also work , but I like getting the calls out in front and near a wood/snow line. As for a rifle caliber ,I use the 223 with Nosler 55 grain ballistic tips. Because I go out at night ,I use the ATN nightvision "piggy back" mounted on a Leupold scope 3.5x10x42mm. Dogs in the northeast weigh anywhere from 30-50 lbs. I hear some dogs are going over 50 lbs , but I have yet to see or shoot one. You will enjoy the challenge and previous comments are right on as far as it being a fun sport. GOOD LUCK
 

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