Anyone hunt Coyotes with their muzzleloader?

[BrownBear]

Leave your truck out there for a few days to let them get used to it, and yeah. If it's new in the landscape, I doubt they'll trust it. Our cabin in the Rockies sits unoccupied for long periods. First few days we're there yodel dogs will walk right up to it like they expect it to be empty. Once they figure out we're there, they won't even come into sight.

Best "blind" I had one year was a tractor we left out in one of the pastures for a month or so. It was alongside one of their regular routes, and I sat still in the cab and picked off half a dozen in as many days trotting by about 30 yards away.

 

[Bad Karma]

I’m wondering if I can be as successful by setting up to shoot from the bed of my pickup truck? I’m thinking I could make more stops in a given period of time than attempting to conceal the truck and walk to my chosen spot. Seems there may be less time for your scent to spread also.

I think you’ll be able to educate twice as many coyotes that way... Your truck has a scent, and sound... maybe if you park and remain motionless and silent for 15 minutes to a half an hour before calling. That’s what I do when I call for coyotes and I typically sneak 1/4- 1/2 mile from the vehicle, moving very quietly to my calling locations. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Gowacky]

I live in an agricultural area, the plains of Texas, so really hiding my truck isn’t possible most of the time. But I expect that even walking 4-500 yards would help. I have soil conservation areas where the weeds are about 2’ tall. I can back up against fence rows or take a seat about 50 yards from a mesquite pasture. The wind is often strong ... 20 mph, plus. Like everyone, I’m sure, if I can shoot from a prone position I have a good chance, sitting, a fair chance, and offhand I may as well save the powder.

 

[satx78247]

We have the "hulk" of a 1949 Dodge 4door on our farm that seems to attract coyotes/coydogs/foxes/feral dogs, like honey attracts bees.

MANY a critter has met their maker withing 25-40M of the old Dodge sedan body.
(My favorite for that "fun & games" is a 14-gauge percussion DB, loaded with BB shot.)

Note: my 1st cousin (about 4 years ago) caught a local thug, who was breaking into our tractor-shed, while hiding in the old Dodge & calling critters.
(Jimmy-Joe S____________ told the CCSD deputy that, "It wasn't fair that that SOB pointed a gun at me. - I was just trying to find something to take & sell." = The deputy & all of the nearby crooks at the county jail, LOL at that.)

yours, satx

 

[nhmoose]

Get you arrested in NH for shooting from a motor vehicle. A hulk that can't move another story.

Get away from your vehicle. Leave it behind a rise or not in the open from where you call your odds will improve. helps with view and smells.

 

[satx78247]

nhmoose,

the only way that the old car body/frame will ever move is if someone drags it off with a tractor. - The predators accept it as part of the scenery.

yours, satx

 

[Gowacky]

I got out last evening on a blind I’d picked. I was going to shoot from a sand dune from a prone position and had about a 20 yard field of view at 40 yards. I had walked the area a little bit earlier in the day and there was a lot of tracks that were fresh as well as other critters and one large deer.

Unfortunately, I never heard or saw a thing. But at least I had a good rehearsal. I think tonight I’ll set up to shoot from a sitting position. I need to be able to cover more ground than I could last night.

I’m also thinking that morning hunts will be better for shooting as it would have been very difficult to make a good shot with open sights as it got later.

Still it was fun and I think I’ll get a shot sooner or later.

 

[Christophero]

Inspired by this thread I loaded powder and a round ball in to the TC Hawkin the other day. Walked a large farm and did some calling but no dogs were seen. Still, it was nice to take the rifle for a walk. Maybe another time.?.

 

[EN]

Yes, I have killed them with 50, 54 and 58 cal. prbs. They dropped instantly. My advice is to call them in. Sit in front of a bush with good visibility with the sun at your back. Don't move. Just move your eyes to scan in front of you. If you must move your head do it slowly
When you see one coming in don't snap your rifle up. It is amazing how fast they can swap ends leaving you no shot. Try to shoulder your rifle when the coyote is not looking at you and do it slowly. There are lots of instructional videos out there on calling sequence and duration and the like. One thing you know for sure is that a coyote has to eat. Making a sound of an animal in distress will work. Try cover scents. They may or may not work but they won't hurt. Nothing wrong with wearing appropriate camo. There are too many variables in coyote hunting to go into here. Sometimes it is best to learn thru experience so you won't forget so easily. It can be the most exciting hunting you have ever done.

 

[Gowacky]

Thank you for the in-depth discussion. I’m trying hard to get one. I’ve been picking out places to make a call and now I will think more about having the sun behind me. I’ve already found that late evening means poor light to start with and it’s fading. I think I’ll plan more for PM hunts and use the sun. What sound do you like best?

 

[nhmoose]

nhmoose,

the only way that the old car body/frame will ever move is if someone drags it off with a tractor. - The predators accept it as part of the scenery.

yours, satx

Then that will work fine! Even if heat is used to be comfortable.
With a blind like that a good bait pile will help a lot. A dead sheep, cow or whatever expect lots of action.

 

[EN]

Thank you for the in-depth discussion. I’m trying hard to get one. I’ve been picking out places to make a call and now I will think more about having the sun behind me. I’ve already found that late evening means poor light to start with and it’s fading. I think I’ll plan more for PM hunts and use the sun. What sound do you like best?

If I am using a mouth call, I like the one that I don't have to keep reaching for it to make a call during the calling sequence. I use the Johnny Stewart PC3 cuz I can either squeak or make a raspy jack rabbit type sound and never have to take it out of my mouth. This of course cuts down on movement. It also works when the weather is cold. The little calls that folks can put on the roof of their mouths are great but I could never get the hang of them. Just try to sound like a baby crying and that can work. Just about every varmint call I have used has worked at one time or other. The closed reed calls sometimes don't work well in cold weather.

 

[Grimord]

I use an electronic call with a built in decoy. I do this to focus the coyotes attention away from me. I place the call about 30 yards out slightly upwind of me. coyotes like to circle down wind of the call, and this position gives me a better field of fire.

 

[Pepperodin]

What would be the purpose of hunting coyote with a muzzleloader? Do you eat coyote? No. So this leaves killing for fur. If you were killing for fur, you would have to use a small caliber bullet such as a .22-250. A muzzleloader will rip a hole in the pelt rendering it useless. So all we have is a dead animal killed for no purpose. This is called waste it is not hunting. It is killing.

 

[Christophero]

Do we eat mice and rats in the house that we kill? Do we eat cockroaches that squash beneath our feet? Have I eaten the possums trapped from the attic of homes that needed my services? No.
I, too, was raised with the mindset that "you only kill what you eat", until I thought about it more in depth. No, I don't and other people don't either. We kill for food, to rid our homes and farms of pests or for pelts. Sure, some do kill just for the fun of it. I killed a mess of praire dogs and groundhogs, and it was fun. But the reason was to also clear the farms and ranches of varmints that cause damage to crops and buildings. (I have et groundhog on a couple of occasions but it has not been to my liking).
I've been called upon by farmers in the past to help rid them of coyotes that they have lost quite a number of head of livestock to. I assure you I didn't eat those dogs but I did do those folks a service.
As for the claim that a PRB will tear up more pelt than a 22-250, not very accurate in my experience. I've had terrible holes with a lowly 223 that the sewing needle and thread took care of in a few minutes. A half inch hole in and out with a muzzleloader isn't any worse than a hide that had what looked like a hand grenade go off inside.
When it comes to game animals, yes, I eat everyone one of them I shoot. For predators and varmints, no, I don't. Hear tell that cougar back straps are a delicacy, though. I wouldn't know.

That said, a coyote was sneaking into my back woods yesterday morning. The Hawkins was still loaded from an afternoon hunt last week. Durn if I must have sailed that PRB over it's back. He should get the hint that I am trying to protect my little dog companion. Letting her out in the morning is always a concern on of the local packs might want her for a snack. I wouldn't appreciate that.

 

[Grimord]

Pepperodin: I hunt coyotes for the furs and the sport when most seasons are closed. I hunt on State Land here in CT, and the largest suppository rifle permitted is .22 rimfire. I have shot coyotes with a .22, but unless hit in the head, or the bullet is slipped between the ribs into the lungs or heart, the coyote runs off to probably die later in the bush. We are allowed to use small caliber muzzleloaders, no larger than .36 caliber, with patched ball only. The 65 grain ball from my .36 is going close to 2000 feet per second, and has far more "knock down" power than a .22. Our coyotes are also quite large compared to those out west. I would say the average size is around 30-35 pounds. My largest so far was 53 pounds. Since I started using my muzzleloader for coyote hunting, I have not lost a dog that was shot, and the hole from the ball is easily sewn up before pelt sale. The only disadvantage I see in using a muzzleloader is if multiple coyotes come in at once. You only get one shot. To date, I have only had multiple coyotes come in to the call twice, but then again our coyote population is not as dense as it is out west.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Was wondering about taking my Hawken's Woodsman 50cal out for coyotes sometime but wasn't sure if anyone had ever used it for predator control before.

I'm planning on going after some this coming January.
Apparently they have gotten thick in numbers and bold over near the farms where my Dad lives..., actually sunning themselves on a long, asphalt driveway about 100 yards from the farmhouse of a neighbor. Well, full coyotes or coy-dogs, it won't matter if I can get in range at 100 yards or less...

LD

 

[Gowacky]

Pepper, in my country, coyotes are a threat to all livestock. So that alone justifies the thrill I get out of trying to call one into range for a shot from my 32. But then I enjoy shooting a wild hog that is destructive to crops and fences.

I take it that you don’t enjoy the thrill of a kill.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Yes, mixing them up seems to work for me. Again, I think the 40 minute rule is best, but if 30 mins work for you that's good. I always sit for an additional five to ten minutes after I turn off/stop calling. Impatience lost me a very nice, huge, gray colored cougar year before last. But I got this one last year.View attachment 1974

That's a big cat, over 100 hundreds?? Have cats here, have seen a few about that size. In Calif. cant kill them unless they are killing livestock, then its pretty easy to get a permit from F & G.

 

[longcruise]

What would be the purpose of hunting coyote with a muzzleloader? Do you eat coyote? No. So this leaves killing for fur. If you were killing for fur, you would have to use a small caliber bullet such as a .22-250. A muzzleloader will rip a hole in the pelt rendering it useless. So all we have is a dead animal killed for no purpose. This is called waste it is not hunting. It is killing.

Having killed them with a .223 and .50 call round ball I can assure you that the .50 is far more fur friendly than the high velocity .22. A smaller ball would be good too, I'm sure.