Anyone out coyote hunting???

[disturbed]

Interested to see if anyone has been out coyote hunting yet. I'm sure some have but I am just late to the party this season. With the fresh snow on the ground I will be taking the rifle and foxpro out tomorrow for a few hours to see if I can trick some into making a mistake. I seen on a FB group that one was shot in PA this past week and one in NY. Both pretty big males. None the less, I am just checking in with the resident yote callers here to to see what the action has been like so far.

[bortle]

Not yet. Just got a call and some snow camo. Never did it before

[Bluto Blutarsky]

This will be my first coyote hunting season as well. I've seen two coyotes while deer hunting over the years, and not once was I able to get a clean shot. My hunting party has a couple of different calls and a decoy to use, and we're going to try to scrounge up some bait as well.

[disturbed]

I got out on Sunday and did a few different sets without any luck. On the way into to my first set I did come across a few sets of fox tracks and one set of tracks from a big yote. Still no luck and it was my first trip after them this season so I need to shake the rust off. I even forgot my new decoy at home to my dismay.

I wish you guys new to the sport of yote hunting the best of luck. It is really a fun and relaxing hunt when the action is slow. I use a e-caller and I enjoy just sitting back in a chair I take and letting it rip while keeping my eyes peeled. I am by no means an expert on the sport but here is a few tips that I learned while I was starting to get into it.

The wind is crucial when hunting yotes. The nose is unbelievable and will put just about any k-9 to shame. Playing the wind is so important as if they even smell a little hint of a human they are gone. I know some guys use cover scents but from everything I have seen and read the over the counter scent masks aren't doing the trick. I always call with the wind in my face although this is helpful it doesn't totally solve the problem because often the eastern yotes will trying to circle you and come in from behind to wind you.

Full camo, head to toe, including gloves and a face net from the moment you start calling. Before you make the first sounds be ready to shoot. No humbling around. I have a set of shooting sticks I take with me and I keep the gun up and ready. I have no gotten shots a few times on yotes/foxes because the gun was sitting on my lap and they either busted me moving or I didn't have the time.

If they are going to come to you it usually it pretty quick. These things are hunters and if they think they can get a easy meal sometimes their stomachs outweigh their judgement. I usually stay on each stand for 30-40 minutes, no longer. Some stands are 20 minutes and I am moving on. The point I am trying to get at here is that you need to cover a lot of ground if you are really looking to see one. I take it a step further and I have few different hunting spots around the outskirts of town and instead of hunting one track of land for a few hours I will drive to a few different ones and make one or two sets at each. This is just a strategy that works for me in my mind.

As far as hunting over bait goes, better pack a lunch. I tried it a few times when I got into the sport and it wasn't for me. I'll leave it at that. I find calling to them is much more exciting and productive. Bait does work, you just need a lot of patience and I think if the yote is hungry enough to come to bait you could probably call him to you.

I have a 3 day weekend coming up and I am hoping to get out at least twice. I really wanna make solid effort to getting my first on the ground this weekend. Post back guys and let me know how you'se do on your trips.

[Qtrborecrazy]

I have to learn, the place where I hunt is covered in track.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences, disturbed. My buddies and I plan to rely on calling, but we're going to try to combine that with baiting to see if it helps.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

On the opening day of big game season in NY, three buddies and I heard a coyote howling literally across the road from us as we started walking onto the property we hunted. The following weekend, we found a dead button buck in the driveway of the property where we park our vehicles directly across form the hunting grounds; it had no gunshot or other wounds so we deemed it roadkill. The aforementioned coyote surprisingly did not feed on the carcass, and it remained untouched until two weekends ago when the carcass was removed either by the state or by locals possibly looking to use it as coyote bait. My buddies and I for a second had the same idea but decided to leave it alone, as none of us felt like explaining to a green and gray patrol why we were dragging a dead deer across the road and into the woods.

I'm surprised that not one single animal touched such an easy meal, especially the coyote, but on the other hand it was right near a well traveled state road, and as others have noted, coyotes are sneaky, paranoid, and clever sons of bitches.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Sorry about the post confusion, moderators. I attempted to edit my post, and for some reason it got deleted, even though I didn't click anywhere near "delete." Chalk it up to coyote fever. ;-)

[disturbed]

QTRborecrazy- Learning to hunt yotes can be a fun process. It really comes down to learning their biology by studying them and spend as much time in the woods hunting/ scouting for them. The first season( I enjoy hunting them during winter but chase them year long) I decided I wanted to learn and start hunting them I was hell bound on arrowing one with my compound bow. Needless to say it was a goal that didn't happen but I learned a ton about hunting them that season(3-4 years ago). I consider calling yotes in to be very similar to call in turkeys during the fall.

Bluto- You are correct in saying that they are paranoid critters and they really are. At other times their stomach gets the better of them and thats when they may give us the chance to shoot one. I would think that if there was a large population of them there that the deer would have been chewed on over 2 weeks. Being close to the road may have something to do with it or not. I have heard of coyotes dragging off road kill before so I wouldn't be suprised if you said that you seen one dragging the deer off. More likely than not I would guess that there is an ample food supply of small rodents in the area that is keeping the pack well feed. In the east and especially up north here be have a lot of forest and farm land that provides great hunting ground for these yotes. If we were out west it would be the opposite.

As for combining calling and bait, I say give it hell. I would prob bait one area and still hunt it at night and call different propertys. I'd have the bait in a field or clearing where I could get back a little and build a good ground blind to help mask movement and scent. I tell people that the difference between a good coyote hunt and a great one is a matter of one yote coming running in. And remember, just because you didn't see one doesn't mean one didn't see you first. I have had a few occasions where I had no idea where they came from and all of a sudden they are right on top of you.

[disturbed]

I spent this afternoon out there chasing them again. Well actually more like giving myself the flu but that's how it goes sometimes. I got a late start, turned the Foxpro on at about 130pm and did w solid one hour set. Figured since I made the effort I might as well just stay longer. I did see a fresh set of yote tracks there right after this past snow storm. With the Foxpro screamin and the primos sit and spin going crazy all I managed to see was a big hawk. Fastwork I got back to the truck and ran across the River and got up on the mountain and called a big powerline that intersects a few wood lots at the bottom of it. Right near the bottom I had a big blind built from late archery and went at it. Stayed over an hour again until my fingers were numb and tried a wide variety if calls from 4 different rabbit distress, woodpecker distrrss, bluejay distress then finished with a make vocal run. No lucky but I will be hitting the corn fields in the morning for 2 quick sets to try my luck.