OT - Coyote Hunting is a Blast

[salvo]

I started Coyote hunting last month and have had 5 days in the field, 22 stands and zero Coyotes!
I'm getting better at it though, last Saturday I called my first coyote in with a hand call, but it came in over a hill and spotted my truck in the wash 200 yds back, it was still exciting calling a coyote with a hand call. I even bought a Foxpro caller and like to switch off with the hand calls or add to, with the Foxpro.
I got my first shot at a Coyote today, but in the excitement I missed a 125 yd shot, my partner tried a running shot but it was not meant to be! This one came in to the Foxpro caller. Any ways I'm hooked, hope to get one, one of these days.

I need a lever action varmint gun, I see the Browning's come in .243 and 22-250 whats the word on these? can they shoot with the bolt guns?
I put a scope on my Bushmaster AR and it's a pretty nice rig for coyotes, but not my style I think I may get a .204 Ruger barrel for my Contender, hey they have a small lever

[bsaride]

I am gettin started this year too.

I am going to put a 22 HP barrel on a Savage 99. have 140 rounds and a mould.
Now I need to swap the barrel. BTW I joined Predator Masters and there's some
great info on the forum, bet there are several members out Vegas way.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/ub ... hreads.php

I noticed that there are some that say a 30-30 will work as well.

[Old Time Hunter]

It is pretty cool hunting isn't it?

Spent five days last week coyote hunting. Snow was so deep that if you got off your snowshoes you were up to your waste in it. Used an electric caller and after 20 minutes got a report back that raised the hair on the back of my neck...must of been five or six that responded. Unfortunately I did not get a shot, did manage to glass two of them for millisecs thru a small opening in the heavy forest across a 200 yard frozen marsh. I used a 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser with a 120 grain BTSP. I'd love to have that round in a lever. Of the four of us hunting we only saw two more in addition to the two that I saw and we have a totally different perspective for hunting the next time....you do not get second chances.

[salvo]

Your right, no second chances. Every thing must be perfect to fall into place. Those videos make it look easy Like they say "If it was easy every one would be doing it"

bsaride, I joined PreditorMasters too, a bunch of people from S. Nevada are members. I have met two members so far and went hunting with them, every one is happy to help get me up to speed, great forum!

[Rusty]

I see a lot of guys use something in close to spark the yotes attention like a feather on a stick or something. Have y'all tried anything like that yet? I've been thinking of starting myself.

[bigbore442001]

Try using a decoy of some type. It can help out with some shots. Here in New England many hunters set up bait piles to hunt over. It is becoming a very good way to hunt these creatures as for some reason they can be very call shy.

[Nath]

30wcf would be fine but as you have a contender! The contender would be nice to tote I bet.
Glad your having fun, good when they come in ain't it (fox's for me though).

Nath.

[AJMD429]

My son got his first shot at one yesterday, with a .223 bolt gun, but it was moving, and he lead like you would with a bird and shotgun, so all it got was a really close sniff of hot gilding metal. Maybe next time.

He was using some sort of mouth call, and a goat placenta for bait. Today he's going out with a chicken for bait.

[rangerider7]

I have hunted coyotes for years. They can definitely become call shy. Using a decoy and an electronic call helps. Coyotes can see, hear and smell around 10 times better than us. They know where the sound is coming from just like turkeys from 2 miles away. Putting an electronic call a few feet away from any type of decoy increases your chances tremendously. It seems to be more fun to call by mouth and diaphragms so I do all three. They will try and get down wind, so be aware. If they see your truck it is over. I use all my guns to hunt coyotes, from a 22 mag lever to a scoped AR 223. I also recently got a 700 Remington 22-250 with a 6.5/20 scope for the long shots. Read all you can and subscribing to Predator Extreme Magazine will help. There are some good videos out too. Have fun. We are the only predator left to slow them down in most of the country. The toll they take on our cattle is increasing yearly.

[86er]

Your luck is about like mine. I've hunted coyotes around 12 times this year, and while I've heard them nearby I have yet to see one. Of course I see them hunting for other stuff and in the backyard, but no luck calling them in.....yet. Good luck!

[JReed]

Welcome to the addiction. I have hunting dogs for a few years havent been able to get out this year but hopefully that will change. PredatorMastersis a great place to learn the ins and outs. I have been lurking over there for a year or so. Good folks that are crazy about busting dogs.

[leeloader]

I've been hunting yotes for about 30 years. Used a old boom box with Johnny Stewarts tapes at first! It did work. I'm older now and use an electronic call and a 1894 Marlin in .357 to do my dirty work. The 1894 with 158gr xtp's really do a great job and it handles great in the thick stuff. I have shot coyotes with varmint calibers and at all different distances but the lever is the most enjoyable to shoot. I have a 35 Rem Marlin 336sc made in 1953 that was my dad's but it istoo much for a coyote,but I have used it. Big hole on the other side! The AZ desert is a great place to grow up.

[Modoc ED]

I use an electric caller with a remote speaker and a piece of coat hanger with a piece of cloth tied to it for a decoy. Even with little to almost no wind the piece of cloth futters and peaks the coyote's curiosity pretty good.

It is calving season here and many of the fields that have calving cows are full of coyotes. A lot of times you don't even need a caller or decoy.

One thing we have to watch out for here is Pumas/Mountain Lions. They have been know to come to a call too. A lot of guys here will only hunt coyotes in twos.

[salvo]

I'll be getting my Trapper licence so I can shoot Bobcats. NV allows two tags a year for Mountain Lion so I'll get a tag for them also, just in case . I agree it is much safer to have a buddy along!

The only decoy that one of the guys have is a "MOJO" battery powered Wood Pecker, one wing spins and looks like it is injured. Jury is still out on it. I like the looks of the MOJO Critter, might have to try that one, anything that distracts the Coyote has to be good. I definitely have learned a new respect for the wily Coyote.
30-30 or .357, I have those covered, are you guys using them with open sights or scoped?

[Modoc ED]

I think there's a MOJO with what looks like a squirrel's tail on it. It kinda rotates and works pretty darn good. I just take a piece of metal coat hanger (about 18" long) put a tight loop in one end and tie a piece of white cloth to the loop and stick the other end of the coat hanger in the ground enough to hold it up. The length of the cloth should be about 8" to 10" long and perhaps 3/4" to 1" wide. When it flutters/waves in a breeze it'll get a coyotes attention pretty quick especially, when you've got a wounded rabbit call going.

Around here there are so many vehicles out and about on the farms and ranches (trucks, tractors, ATVs, etc.) that most coyotes don't spook just at the sight of a vehicle -- even when the vehicle is moving.

[Old Savage]

This might be a good load for what you are doing.

[DBW]

Try using a decoy of some type. It can help out with some shots. Here in New England many hunters set up bait piles to hunt over. It is becoming a very good way to hunt these creatures as for some reason they can be very call shy.

Baiting isn't hunting IMHO.

In my mind hunting involves searching... like when you misplace your car keys. You don't sit in your vehicle hoping the keys to come to it. No... you actively search for the keys... thus you are hunting.

[bigbore442001]

I'll politely disagree on whether it is real hunting. It is legal and culturally accepted in New England so I will continue to use this method to hunt predators. I'll be honest, I have not had any coyote come to any of my baits. I have a trail camera and I have recorded crows, fisher cat , red and gray fox. No coyote. I know some hunters have been using bait on Cape Cod with a great amount of success. Even with bait it isn't a sure fire thing.

[salvo]

Old Savage, I was hoping some BLR owners would chime in, that is a great group!
I have never even handled a BLR, they never looked quite right to me, but I could get use to groups like that.
The older short action steel frames seem to be preferred by some, how do the newer ones compare?

My Bushmaster .223 is not shooting well, not sure what the problem is, it grouped fine two weeks ago, I had to pull the scope to fit a fold down rear sight and ran out to the desert to check zero and the dang thing is all over the place Every thing is tight, I did take a spill last week, I don't think the scope got banged, but something ain't right.
I have to get this sorted out before next weekend!

[BenT]

The BLR is as accurate as any bolt gun. It is a rotary locking bolt levergun. The drawback is the trigger pull.But that can be somewhat fixed. The short actions are as handy as the a 30-30 Win. I myself would get one in 257 roberts . They made them in the 90's. The 243 is more common than the 22-250 in the used market. If you buy one in a caliber that works for what your doing, you will probably never part with it. I have one in 308 that I will never sell. Now the long actions aren't as well balanced. I had one in 7mm mag and it was one of the most accurate guns I've owned. But it wasn't as well balanced as my 308.

[rangerider7]

I have seen a pack of coyotes grab each leg of a newborn calf on the way out and rip it apart more than one time. Then those that were still there took the cow down from the rear. These are not game animals. I'll get them anyway I can. I'm the only predator they have to fear.

[dr walker]

Good job on getting out there.
There are definitely some good advice coming in from everyone.
When I first started, the number one thing that increased my calling success was joining a local varmint calling club. They ran monthly hunts and a few times a year would pair novices up with experienced callers.

I miss the hunting grounds of Arizona.

[salvo]

I love hunting in AZ, Javelina, dove and quail, I'm sure these predators will lead me their again.

rangerider7, that's what got me started predator hunting, we have a small heard of cows on our land in Southern Utah, three cows will be birthing within this month. Hopefully I have learned enough to clear the coyotes out this weekend coming up!

[Modoc ED]

Check out this web site for coyote and other varmint hunting. There are a lot of good links too.

http://www.varmintal.com/

[salvo]

Thats a great site Modoc ED, I made and have been using the Bi-Fur-Pod shooting sticks.

[Modoc ED]

Thats a great site Modoc ED, I made and have been using the Bi-Fur-Pod shooting sticks.

Yep, it's one of the best all-around sites for hunting that I have ever seen and it has the most comprehensive lists of links on the net.

I too have a set of Bi-Fur-Pod sticks.

[bsaride]

Was cleaning out the garage and a piece of wood kept wispering in my ear.

Yep, it wanted to be made into something useful. 30 minutes later, cut
drilled, hardware scrounged, ground off nail heads, used thick superglue
cuz I couldn't find any epoxy....

I now have my own set of Bi-Fur Pod shooting sticks!

Next weekend I will work on holster, belt, knife sheath and Bi-Fur Pods
to come up with a snakeskin covered camo setup.

[salvo]

bsaride, sounds like you are ready! The bi-pod works great! I went up to the property in Utah, one calf was born last week and another on Saturday, both are doing fine. I was able to get two shots at Coyotes, the first was a long shot from my folks porch using my Dads Winchester 88 in .243, I missed, it was at least 300 yds. and I wanted to scare him out of the area at least. I nailed the second one on Saturday, he came in to the FoxPro caller and I shot it just under 200 yds with my Bushmaster .223. He flipped on his back all four legs in the air. My buddy said to keep shooting! by the time I got him back in the sight he was back up on all fours and stumbling away. I could not find him, searched for about an hour at least he wont be making any more baby's.
Those Coyotes are one tough animal and very smart too! I have a new appreciation for the little dogs but they still must go!