Hunting coyotes primitive style.

[buttonbuck]

I have had 2 come in close when I was hunting these were both during gun seasons I wonder if they go to the shots to find gut piles to eat like bears do? I considered shots at them but it was during prime time. I see them in waterways now and again hear them at night. We have a team of local hunters who supposedly take over 200 a year in a 20 mile circle 10 miles each direction around a local town. They went to my neighbors places and took 4 in that many hours.

 

[luieb45]

Fawn bleats work well,even in Winter.(go figure)

During Turkey season, I've had numerous coyotes and a few bobcats coming in on my turkey calls.
When the dinner bell is ringing, and pickins are slim, it seems they'll come in to just about anything.

A few years ago my dad and I were turkey hunting and had been doing some calling, a coyote came in and we were sitting in the timber on the edge of a wheat field and the coyote was close enough to smell my boot. I didn't shoot him because it was too early to give up on the turkeys but I never did get a turkey that day. I wonder what a 20 gauge 3 in. load with no. 5 shot would do at that distance? :rotf:

 

[hawk]

never called them we glass ,track and run them with dogs with good result

 

[Idaho Ron]

If you want some non traditional coyote calls on MP3 format look up Varmint Al's. I would post a link but that is not allowed. You can get "chickens and tiny dogs" This one worked for me in a area that is urban. There are rodents and howls you name it. On that web page it shows how to make your own call with an MP3 player. THEY WORK! There is a radio shack amp that he talks about. I got one and it makes a handy little pocket sized electronic call.
Also look up "wester-rivers"dot com. They also have tons of sounds for free. They have everything when it comes to sounds. Ron

 

[henbrook]

Also within the forum rules(I hope?),if you want to learn about coyote calling,I'd highly reccomend checking out predatormasters.com forums.It's imho the most complete on-line source for pred hunting with 30,000+(?) active members including many of North America's most recognised names in contest callers,pred hunting,outdoor writers,custom&production call makers,videographers etc.....in other words,it's the pred hunters bible if you sift through the BS.....it will take weeks of fulltime reading to get through the archives alone.there's a wealth of info there to help shorten the learning curve. :wink:

 

[henbrook]

My bud and I are actually planning a 3-4 day muzzleloader/coyote hunting trek next week over the course of hiking 32 miles of sled trails and three cabins with as many calling stops as we can squeeze in?Day one is from home to first camp 10 miles.Day 2 is 13miles to next camp.Day 3,9 miles to last camp and stay another night or two..then call missus for ride home.Should be a good fun,old school hunt!:thumbsup:

We weren't able to go last week but heading out today(FINALLY!) for 4-5 days coyote calling/shed hunting.Unseasonably mild winter here so the X-country trek is out(no ice),we're taking the easy route(truck)to deer camp and gonna call and scour the local deer yards for yotes and sheds for a few days.4 muzzleloaders to use,2lbs.powder to blast,10lbs WW to cast,20lbs deer steak and mooseages to eat :thumbsup: .....and a case of homemade blueberry wine to drink(at night of course).....OUCH! :surrender:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Goodluck Henbrok :hatsoff:

Brits.

 

[bucktales]

Goodluck Henbrok :hatsoff:

Brits.

+1
And bring back some pictures too! :thumbsup:

 

[henbrook]

Back from the woods last night,stinkin' from drinkin'.Didn't get much hunting in at all(we was overcome with wine and beer? :idunno: )It blew a screachin' gale for 1st two days so no good for yote calling,did alot of shooting off the camp table instead,scavenged around 2 cords of wood and got it cut up for next fall.Drove around gawking at deer mostly,there not yarded up too hard this year(snow is about gone) but we seen a couple hundred I guess all totalled over 5 days,the biggest herd was 14 iirc?This time last winter we had 4ft of snow and would see 200 deer/day in groups of 70 or more at times.Did a 'lil coyote calling/shed hunting around the yards Fri-Sat for a few hours each,no luck with either.
My "new to me" CVA Mt.Rifle likes 80gr.of 2F Goex under a 250gr.REAL.The set trigger doesn't work and the trigger pull is quite heavy but I had it shooting 2 inch 3 shot groups and 2"high @ 50yards.I suspect it will do better with some trigger work but as is it's "minute of deer" accurate and shooting at least as well as I can?Hope to try some PRBs through it next time out.

 

[The Baron]

I've called in and shot several coyotes with a rifle, but never with my blackpowder gear. Calling coyotes here in the east is a MUCH different sport than what you see in all those videos filmed in the west/southwest. In the videos, coyotes seem to come running from every direction after a minute or two of calling - it doesn't happen that way! I could write 2 pages of advice, but here's the high points of what I have learned.

1. Call where there are coyotes that will hear you. Sounds simple, but coyotes move around a lot and you have to know where they are to have a successful stand. There's some luck involved in this aspect but scouting is important. One thing for sure is if there are no coyotes within earshot, you can't call one in.

2. Approach every stand like there is a coyote behind each and every bush. Be quiet, sneak in, and keep the wind in your face moving in. If they see, hear or smell you coming, you're done.

3. Setup where you can watch you're downwind side, because 99% of the coyotes you call will try to wind you.

4. Bring your patience... a success rate of 1 coyote seen for every 10-15 stands made is about normal.

5. Your highest chance of success comes the first time you call a new spot. Coyotes learn fast and I have seen a very clear trend that most of my coyotes are snhot the first trip of two in a new spot. I firmly believe the eastern coyote caller only sees maybe 1 or 2 of every 5 coyotes he calls in. The rest see or smell you first and bug out before you ever see them. and once they've been called in and learned that trick once, it gets very tough to fool them again.

6. Stay at least 30-40 minutes on each stand. Eastern coyotes are often slow to come in.

7. Keep it simple. Howling in the east is not very productive - you'll have more luck with basic rabbit/fawn/bird distress sounds.

8. If you want to up your odds of a close shot (e.g. for muzzleloading) use a decoy. A decoy helps encourage the coyote come come close by increasing the realism or the trick, plus it gives them something to focus on and that decreases their chances of seeing the hunter. A decoy can be as simple as a turkey feather tied to a stick - anything that will move in the wind and draw their attention.

9. Eastern coyotes like cover. Calling in the woods presents some extra challenges, but the more conformtable they feel the more likley they will come. In the videos they show coyotes running across wide open spaces to get the the call - that almost never happens in the east.

10. First light is the best time but with two young children in the house I've been hunting mostly mid-day and afternoons and still having success. So while early morning may be best, you can kill them at anytime so give it a try whenever you can!

There's a million other things we could say, but I'll just sum it up that calling coyotes in the east is tough and every one taken that way is a trophy. To do so with a traditional muzzleloader would be one heck of an accomplishment! :thumbsup:

 

[henbrook]

Great post Baron....WOW! :thumbsup: You're experience with eastern yotes is almost a mirror image of my own to the letter with only minor differences.Points #1,2,3,4,5 and 7 are bang on,although some years I would love for a 1 in 15 success rate after 30+ blank stands,LOL.In good virgin country though,1:10-1:15 is about right if I do everything else right?
As per #6,I've cut my stands down to 15-20 minutes max unless there's real good bobcat sign in the area.I've found the majority of yotes that I've called came in the first 5 minutes,and many of those either immediately or within the first 2-3 minutes.Even at 15 minute stands,it's difficult to get more than 8-10 good stands in during a full day between moving and set-up time,but I sometimes stay longer than 15min on the last stand of day...or if I'm just plain feelin lazy,LOL.

#8 and #9 kinda go together hand in hand?I'd agree with using a decoy and have used simple feathers,coontail or rabbit hide on a fishing line etc.,but it seems I rarely use them in cover for whatever reason...probly should more often?I guess I'm of the mindset that if the yote is close enough to see the deke in cover,I should be able to see the yote?I tend to use dekes more when calling over open spaces,powerlines,clearcuts,frozen lakes etc......but then I hate to expose myself when setting the deke...kinda catch 22 type of thing?

Can't argue with #10 much.I also like 1st light best,followed by dusk,but I've often gone for all day calling hikes and had success mid-day as much as any other time?

Too bad you live so far away,good calling partners are hard to find.Most people I've tried to introduce to coyote calling don't have the patience for calling eastern yotes,get discouraged too easily,or make too many mistakes,too much noise,smoke on stand,twitch and fidget,and basically do anything and everything they are not supposed to. :cursing: Aside from that,most of my deer hunting buddies are meat hunters and think I'm whacked for "wasting" so much time calling yotes :youcrazy: ....if they could only feel the rush of having 3 coyotes racing each other accross a lake to get to me first they'd change their perspective? :shocked2: Oh well.....less competition and more yotes for me I guess? :blah:

 

[bigbore442001]

The use of a bait pile is becoming the most successful way of hunting coyote in the east. Calling is very iffy at best in this part of the country. What a number of hunters are doing is making bait piles and for winter hunting, meat cicles.

 

[henbrook]

Yep,hunting over bait is probably the most popular/productive method for most coyote hunters here as well.Personally,I prefer the challenge of calling and like to hunt many different areas instead of being tied to a bait pile...some of the same reasons I don't bait deer.I don't really have the time,patience,nor ambition to tend a bait regularily but have done it in the past and also call on occassion near 3 different DNR roadkill dumps in my area.Why lug bait when DNR does it for me,LOL.
Baiting is great in some instances,for example my bud runs a baitpile all winter on the ice in front of his lakefront camp and spends alot of time there snowmobiling etc.08/09 winter he shot 17 dogs from the warmth and comfort of his camp window at all times of day/night.....not eggzakly legal here(night hunting):nono:but nobody complains about jack'n yotes.:idunno:Better that than runnin'em down on the lakes with sleds....that's just wrong imho.:shake:

Another bud of mine has a lakefront camp that we bait up on occassion but we're not there alot.To make the bait last longer we make as you said a "baitsicle"...fill a 5gal pail fulla butcher scraps and top up with water,freeze it solid,then smash the bucket on location with axe.Or...a beaver sandwich works well and lasts a long time when we can get the beaver carcasses.Wrap 2-3 beavers in hog fence and wire it shut. :thumbsup:

 

[brew]

Thank you Baron,
This is great info.
I went out this morning at dawn and once again no luck. I heard the yotes in the woods behind my house a few nights ago but I was unable to get out at that time. Seems like they moved on.