Coyote Hunting Tips

[hntrtravis]

I'm planning on going coyote hunting on our farm near Houston, MN because of how many sightings and trail cam pics we've been having, not to mention that they beat us to a deer and chewed a lot of it up.

If anyone has any tips please let me know...how to set up, or how to call them, which calls you have found to work better, decoys, electronic or hand held calls, etc.

[buckslayer]

Hunting coyotes is a BLAST!!! Since your asking a fair amount of questions I wil assume your new at hunting them so I will start from scratch.

Firearms: Even though you are in a shotgun/slug zone for deer, you can use rifles for coyotes after all deer seasons have ended. A lot of people use the same rifles they use for deer hunting while others have tricked out 22-250's or .223's. Some even use AR15's and such.

Calls: Even though I have a foxpro electroninc call loaded with 32 different sounds, I still prefer to use an open reed call most of the time as with just a slight change of tongue pressure or air pressure you can get a totally different sound. Makes for a highly mobile option to hunting. I am not a fan of using closed reeds as you are stuck with one sounds, and they tend to freeze up when its really cold out.
When you start the calling sequesce start fairly light and quiet as you may spook predators that are already very close to you. After about a minute of light calling take about as long of a break and look/listen around for movement. After a few quiet rounds start getting louder to cover longer distances.
You should be in each set for 15-30 minutes or so total before moving on to the next spot. If your going to call more then one spot, make sure you move about a mile as again, they have awesome hearing!!!
If you don't have a mile to move and are forced to hunt closer, take a little longer break between calls and switch tone. Also take note of which calls your using at each spot and try to switch things up as much as you can to keep them from getting call shy.

Setup: Just like deer, its very important to setup as quiet as possible as yotes have outstanding hearing! I prefer a set where I can sneek in to a slightly elevated position where I can see a long ways but not so high as to skyline yourself. Yotes also have good sight so if your in the snow, try to wear something white and also use background cover.
In open areas I will mosty use my rifles, but if you deside to hunt heavy cover, shotguns with buckshot work wonders.

Decoys: I don't use them often, but try to use one that fits into the area. A fawn decoy in the dead of winter will look suspicious but a flopping rabbit will work wonders to keep all eyes off you and your callng.

I hope I was a little help. If you wanna chat coyotes let me know as I hunt them often, and all year long.

[boone04]

I recieved a caller for christmas with 12 different calling options on it. Such as

Rodent Distress
Meadowlark
Squealing Bird
Bobcat in heat
High pitched cottontail
Canine Puppies
Yellow Hammer
Coyote pup distress
Canine pups
Kid goat distress
Pleading chicken
Whiteail fawn distress.

Its a Johnny Stewart call and can play any of the two sounds above at the same time. What would you guys start with and how long would you play that certain sound for?

[buckslayer]

I like to start my calling sequence fairly quiet and only for a couple minutes at first to not scare anything that may be within a whispers distance away. After a few minutes of calling I will sit quietly looking around followed up with a little louder call to reach out a little ways for the yotes/fox that may not have heard the first call. I'll adjust my calling according to location also. If I'm hunting closer to the metro area or areas with more houses I'll stay lower then other places to keep from calling in a teenager or some curious kids! IT HAPPENS!!!
Also some places I will sit for only about 15 minutes while some of my other places I'll sit for up to an hour. One of the best tips I can give is to creat an excell sheet that tracks the dates and times along with the calls used at each spot. That way you can switch sounds every time your at a spot to keep the predators from getting used to any one certain call.

If your in an actual farming area or somewhere that raises animals of any kind don't be afraid to use the chicken and goat sounds or other exotics!!!

[mums]

I have heard that electronic callers work best, when you can set up your caller a hudred yards away or so and turn it on and off with a remote

[buckslayer]

I have heard that electronic callers work best, when you can set up your caller a hudred yards away or so and turn it on and off with a remote

This is true! With the remote you get the chance to place the caller out a fair distance away and keep the focus on the sound instead of your movement to get the crosshairs up for the shot.

[OutThere]

I have heard that electronic callers work best, when you can set up your caller a hudred yards away or so and turn it on and off with a remote

i wondered that too.

[hntrtravis]

Went out for my 1st time Saturday night, called 3 in, but due to gun problems, we ended up not getting any

[tree monkey]

I have been out with a rabbit destress call about 5 times now and never saw a yote yet. I know they are there cause the tracks are all over!! What going on?

[buckslayer]

I have been out with a rabbit destress call about 5 times now and never saw a yote yet. I know they are there cause the tracks are all over!! What going on?

Its warming up and they are not in as much of a hurry to get to the food, AND if your in an area that sees other hunters they may have already gotten an education on your version of the bunny blues over the winter.
If your usung the same call at the same locations you may also be educating them yourself. Predators are like deer when it comes to hearing/smell except I think they see/smell better! They can see/hear a mouse from a long ways off.
As we get closer to spring I like to switch things up and start to use puppy in distress sounds. If you don't have an electronic call, but do have an open reed call, stay on the tip more and work till you get a puppy whimper. IT WORKS GREAT in the spring!!

Good luck!