Got invited to hunt coyotes

Status
Not open for further replies.

chains1240

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
381
Location
West Michigan
A friend of mine let me hunt on his property last year. First time I got a deer, three actually. He is a dairy farmer and has a lot of calves on his property. The coyotes are getting up in numbers and getting bolder. He has seen them trying to coax his dog out into a field. He finally said enough is enough and invited me out to take care of the problem. I have never hunted coyotes before so any tips would be appreciated. Only rifle I have is a .308. But, I am not looking to keep the hides.
 
Nothing wrong with a .308 Win for varmints. I have .308s and .223s for varmint/target. I use the .223s on woodchuck sized targets to 300 yards. I use the .308s for larger varmint, or for longer distance.

Geno
 
Tips

Bath with a scent eleminateing soap before going and pay attention to the wind

Wear camo, even at night.

stay quiet while sitting and waiting

be prepared when calling them in to wait hours to get a shot

Be prepared to not get a shot after calling for hours to get them to come in

with the caliber rifle you are useing any shot you make into a kill zone is most likely a DRT hit.

if hunting at night a good red LED capable spotlight is a very nice to have item, the red generally won't spook them like a white spotlight will. The Red light will not have the same range either though.
 
You might want to watch "Predator Quest" on the Sportsman Channel. Coyotes don't stand a chance when Les "gets to calling". A word of advice, he always has a shotgun handy as a backup for those multable close up coyote encounters.

Ken
 
First, use 110 grn bullets, something designed for varmints. Try the Hornady V Max 110 grain.

Calling. Don't waste your time calling in one location for hours on end. You have been seen, smelled, or there are no coyotes around. Because this is a dairy farm, get an old fashioned cassette recorder and ask the owner to tape the cry of a newborn calf. This is what the coyotes are used to hearing out there. Dying rabbit calls have always worked for me, too. You could sneak the recorder into a brushy area and back off a bit. Also what works, a human baby crying! Sounds alot like a bawling calf.
Smell: no matter how you dope the wind or hunt into the wind or how much soap you use, there is always a scent unfamiliar to a wild animal on your clothes, gun, boots or whatever. I have some stuff that absolutely stinks but covers scent. I put a few drops of it downwind. I also bathe with non-deoderant soap and use clean clothes but after a few hours of hiking and sweating I am not sure it is much use.
Decoy: find a taxidermied rabbit or something like it and tie a feather to it's ear. When the feather starts moving in the wind a coyote can see it and zero in. It also keeps them from looking around. If you don't have the rabbit, tie a feather to a branch near the ground. I found a jackrabbit in a pawn shop. The decoy is placed away from your location.
Camo: They can see maybe better than they can smell. That is why a call placed at a remote location with a decoy works....sometimes. Even if it is only 25 yards away I think it works better.
If the farmer says he has coyotes they might be easy to find as they are probably used to seeing humans on the property. The rest is up to you. Dial in your rifle. 110 grain 308 MV 3150 fps +/-, zero @ 200, +1.5" @ 100, -7" @ 300. Also check the wind drift @ 10 and 20 mph. Tape this to your gunstock. Maybe you can borrow a rangefinder and laser the distances to landmarks around the property and make up a cheat sheet! Maybe find the property on Google Earth. It is kinda fun to do all the homework and then have it come together when you bust one at 300+ yards.

Another thing, when you call, do it into the wind. But sound travels and a coyote can zone in on the sound from any direction so look around. Or, position yourself so that a coyote's approach path is unlikely from the direction that your scent is flowing. Not sure if I phrased that correctly. If you are in hilly or rocky areas, a coyote is unlikely to climb down a cliff so that is where you sit as long as the wind is in your face. An animal will pick up movement first, even if you wear camo. Sit motionless as possible, round in the chamber, scope covers off, safety on, rifle in postion for smooth target acquitition, good stable shooting platform.
 
Last edited:
Calling all coyotes...Hope it is productive for you and the 308 round stated above is good to go, but you need to practice see where it hits etc...But you know that...Right???
 
one thing we do for a rancher around here is hang the dead yotes on the fence nearest his barn, its pretty well lit at night so we can take out some extra ones trying to come in for a cannabalistic snack, their greed gets the best of em, though thats up to if your friend wants you doing that, weve okayed it with our rancher as the barn is across a dirt road from his cattle pasture
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top