Coyote hunting in W.Va. Mid-Ohio valley

[JackSprat]

I live in Jackson Co. W.Va. which is on the Ohio river,so my terrain is much like south eastern Ohio..We have had coyotes for a while,but not many,so I have never took up hunting them,and really know very little about them..Well to make a long story short a friend of my Mother that lives up the road from her found her little dog dead with it's head all chewed up,and now my Mother is scared to let her dog out of her site..I told her I would come out some evening,and try to shoot one...From what I understand is that I need some sort of call,and I have looked on Ebay,but there are so many .Are the kind that you blow into more realistic than the cheap type electronic ones(I don't want to spend any more than I need to).,and if I do go with a blow call do they require a certain skill?..I would be hunting in large open fields,or bottoms,so I assume that at a good distance shooting at the center of the coyote is the way to go..I intend on using my 223,but still on the fence about bullets.I have 63 gr Sierra SMP,and 55 gr Hollow points that I bought bulk packaged from Midway.They both shoot well so I would like to get some advice on which I should use..It is hard for me to get away at dark,so I would be hunting most in daytime..I assume evening is best,but I may be wrong..Any advice is appreciated..Thanks in advance.

 

[horsey300]

I live in Jackson Co. W.Va. which is on the Ohio river,so my terrain is much like south eastern Ohio..We have had coyotes for a while,but not many,so I have never took up hunting them,and really know very little about them..Well to make a long story short a friend of my Mother that lives up the road from her found her little dog dead with it's head all chewed up,and now my Mother is scared to let her dog out of her site..I told her I would come out some evening,and try to shoot one...From what I understand is that I need some sort of call,and I have looked on Ebay,but there are so many .Are the kind that you blow into more realistic than the cheap type electronic ones(I don't want to spend any more than I need to).,and if I do go with a blow call do they require a certain skill?..I would be hunting in large open fields,or bottoms,so I assume that at a good distance shooting at the center of the coyote is the way to go..I intend on using my 223,but still on the fence about bullets.I have 63 gr Sierra SMP,and 55 gr Hollow points that I bought bulk packaged from Midway.They both shoot well so I would like to get some advice on which I should use..It is hard for me to get away at dark,so I would be hunting most in daytime..I assume evening is best,but I may be wrong..Any advice is appreciated..Thanks in advance.

I prefer wooden calls, the rasp is better to me than the plastic, if you get a plastic one I recommend the kiyi but I don't remember who makes it, it's a little one. You're getting to the time of year when turf wars will bring more dogs than prey, so howling and barking will be more successful than distress calls. Start a GOOD howl at each set before you begin the various challenges etc and it'll help a lot! For what it's worth, they make apps that you can play on your smart phone to do the calling and save you the electronic callers' price. Download the app, plug in to a good speaker or a Bluetooth speaker, and press play! In my .223 on yotes from 50-300 yds I'm running 50 gr spsx @ about 3200fps, I avoid shoulder bones and kill em dead enough, in the .243 I like all of the bullets I can load to group moa or better @800 yds both of your bullets will do nice damage so I'd plan shots accordingly, brace yourself to the idea that you may have multiple dogs come in at once and it gets fun fast.

 

[horsey300]

I forgot to add, morning and evening are usually best, but we're changing seasons again so even midday would not be inconceivable if you're trying to get the local pack to come thump this new dog on their turf. Also, if you know of a real yappy chihuahua, bringing him along and setting him up JUST far enough away to sound him off, it'll surprise you. All of my dogs are too big for this anymore but the wife keeps threatening a lil yapper and I tell her that's fine but he's going for yotes with me. That's only something I suggest if you don't miss much because in extreme cases they'll completely ignore you to get the dog.

 

[JackSprat]

I forgot to add, morning and evening are usually best, but we're changing seasons again so even midday would not be inconceivable if you're trying to get the local pack to come thump this new dog on their turf. Also, if you know of a real yappy chihuahua, bringing him along and setting him up JUST far enough away to sound him off, it'll surprise you. All of my dogs are too big for this anymore but the wife keeps threatening a lil yapper and I tell her that's fine but he's going for yotes with me. That's only something I suggest if you don't miss much because in extreme cases they'll completely ignore you to get the dog.

Thanks Horsey my sister has several chihuahuas,and they love to bark.I will probably just make a recording of them next time I see her..I will concider myself lucky if I get just one.Some people around here have killed them,but not too often do you hear of if..I've never seen a deer with signs of coyote attack,but I have seen pictures of if on the computer,and it looks nasty..I have heard folks say that the reason we don't have many rabbits anymore is due to coyotes,but I think the rabbit decline started before we started hearing of coyotes around here..I usually aint to keen on killing animals that can't be ate,but there are some exceptions,and I concider the coyote one of them.

 

[JackSprat]

I added a coyote calling app to my phone,and it has several different call for them...Challenge bark...Greeting howl....Pup distress...Coyote,and cottontail...Female coyote howl..and 2 different female coyote esturus chirps.....plus it has some rabbit,and woodpecker in distresss....Which should I use?,and should I just stick with one,or play a couple in sequence?,and how often should I play one?....

 

[horsey300]

I added a coyote calling app to my phone,and it has several different call for them...Challenge bark...Greeting howl....Pup distress...Coyote,and cottontail...Female coyote howl..and 2 different female coyote esturus chirps.....plus it has some rabbit,and woodpecker in distresss....Which should I use?,and should I just stick with one,or play a couple in sequence?,and how often should I play one?....

First, plan on sitting there 45-60 min. Most people leave as the coyotes are coming in, next, only call for a couple minutes at a time at most, then take a 10-15min break, over calling is a death sentence to your set. If they have pups already down there, the distress will help, I'd lead with the greeting, then play between pup distress and challenges depending on what responses you get, once they're in close you can stop em for a shot with a whistle. If they're attacking lil dogs the recording might be very effective once one answers you. If you hear 4, there's only 2. But there's still 2....

 

[alsaqr]

I've had good luck with the fawn in distress call.

Your WV coyotes are much larger than the ones here. i killed one in WV a few years ago that weighed over 60 pounds.

 

[JackSprat]

Thanks for the advice..I may get a chance to get a little hunting in either tommorow evening,or Monday evening,as much as anything I would like to see if any respond to my calls.
I have been doing a little reading on the eastern coyote,and I am feeling guilty about posibly shooting one with dependant young,I think I would feel better about it in a few months,but I also hate the thought of them killing newborn deer,so if I see one I'll try and get a shot,but I have a feeling the odds of seeing one around here will be pretty slim..I just don't think we have very many around yet..

 

[Laphroaig]

the reason we don't have many rabbits anymore is due to coyotes

I've noticed in these parts there are hardly any groundhogs compared to 5 years ago. A local farmer said that they ate all of his barn cats. We hardly ever see them but have caught a couple on our trail cams.

 

[JackSprat]

I've noticed in these parts there are hardly any groundhogs compared to 5 years ago. A local farmer said that they ate all of his barn cats. We hardly ever see them but have caught a couple on our trail cams.

Ground hogs are plentiful here,but I seldom shoot any..I used to shoot them,and give them to an old man that lived up the road,but he died a few years ago...I have ate them,and they are pretty good,but I just don't feel like messing with them..I have also ate a few coon in my childhood days,and remember them as being good too..

 

[SoonerMedic]

I shot this one by pure luck. (S)He ran up on me when I was sitting down taking a breather in the woods...just so happened to have a .22lr on me and two shots later he was as pictured.

 

[Dog Soldier]

In the West there are thousands of coyotes. Government Trappers and hunters take thousands each year. That said, there is no shortage of Prairie Dogs, Rock Chucks due to coyote predation. The die offs occur from diseases such as K-9 Distemper and Bubonic Plague etc.

 

[JackSprat]

I went up on the flats the other day,and sat for a couple hour,and didn't get any responces to my calls..I may get into it a little more this fall..But I realize I don't have the patience for hunting in this humid weather unless my odds are at least decent..

 

[Dog Soldier]

Jack Sprat, I am not familiar with calling in West Virginia. I am familiar with the rural charm driving from Pittsburgh to DC. In the Spring time our Western Coyotes respond to the call of young birds.

 

[JackSprat]

Jack Sprat, I am not familiar with calling in West Virginia. I am familiar with the rural charm driving from Pittsburgh to DC. In the Spring time our Western Coyotes respond to the call of young birds.

I downloaded some free calls as recomended by Horsey,and they sound good but they just werent very loud,so I went to Walmart to get a blutooth speaker,and the one I got for about $15 dollars was always saying"Connecting to bluetooth device,Disconecting from bluetooth device",and made beeping noises when I adjusted the volume,so I took it back,and got on Walmart.com,and ordered me the Johnny Stewart Grim Speaker gs1,because it was on clearence for $32,or $33 dollars..It sounds good and loud,but you can't adjust the volume with the remote,and it has only a few calls on it,and you can't add more like you can with the GS2..I tried the howl,the fawn squalling,and the cottontail squalling .its also got a yelping coyote pup,and a jackrabbit squalling,but I never tried them...The ones I got on my phone have some bird sounds though.

 

[Dog Soldier]

Jack Sprat, I am sure you have those wonderful Bob White Quail. After the Spring hatch the Hen does her call back in the late evening. That should be a good time to call. Coyotes are not active during the heat of the day.
That said, I would much prefer hunting your Southern quail over a close working setter. The excitement of a steady dog on point. The rise of quail and the surge of an A-5 Browning on the shoulder.

 

[Dog Soldier]

Jack Spratt, The reason Horsey recommended the low volume calls is he knows coyotes. They will become "Call Shy", very fast. You can not compare your hearing to theirs. They can pick up field mouse squeaks at over 200 yards. Too much volume and your calls will become useless. If it is legal there, night calling with a spot light is the best.

 

[Dog Soldier]

Jack follow Horsey's advise, Damn that guy is good. He is a real no BS varmint hunter. I may have to make a 400 mile trip over to see him.

 

[horsey300]

I downloaded some free calls as recomended by Horsey,and they sound good but they just werent very loud,so I went to Walmart to get a blutooth speaker,and the one I got for about $15 dollars was always saying"Connecting to bluetooth device,Disconecting from bluetooth device",and made beeping noises when I adjusted the volume,so I took it back,and got on Walmart.com,and ordered me the Johnny Stewart Grim Speaker gs1,because it was on clearence for $32,or $33 dollars..It sounds good and loud,but you can't adjust the volume with the remote,and it has only a few calls on it,and you can't add more like you can with the GS2..I tried the howl,the fawn squalling,and the cottontail squalling .its also got a yelping coyote pup,and a jackrabbit squalling,but I never tried them...The ones I got on my phone have some bird sounds though.

Based on your new info, lead with 30 sec of howling, break for 2 - 5 min then yelp that pup for a good 1-3 min and break for 10-15 min and pup it up some more, break again same intervals, then around 45-50 min, use the low volume calls on your phone with pups or small prey I.e. cottontail, birds, mice, the old dogs investigate before they answer and an inquisitive female may not sound to those pups till she's under 200 yds trying to pinpoint them, keep your gun ready at ALL times because when they come in they're looking for MOTION. Don't give up, I've coaxed a yote outta the shady tall grass at 98 degrees Fahrenheit just because he thought a male was taking his turf, came in all hackled up and everything, after one or two successes you'll get hooked I'm sure.