# Anyone been Coyote Hunting ??



## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

Since my bowseason was so short lived this year , I started concentrating on getting things situated for coyote hunting this winter a little earlier than normal . Was able to get a bunch of new farms to hunt , got some new night time hunting lights , got a new caller , etc. Last year was a trial run to see if I really liked it , and the sickness has carried on . 

I was able to get out one last time before gun deer season came in , got out last saturday night with a friend of mine . Tried a few set ups and some farms , then went to one of my newly acquired farms I havent got to hunt yet . We got all out gear loaded up and headed back through the cut corn fields , well about half way back I saw a shadow run across the corn field right in front of us . Didnt think much of it , but stopped anyway and turned my light on and low and behold there stands a coyote 100yds away . It stood there long enough to put a 55gr soft point from the 223 in his chest . Its my first coyote of the season , but didnt exactly go as planned . Would of rather called him in and killed it , but I would rather get one than nothing at all . After a few pics my partner and I headed back in deeper and were able to get 2 more coyotes to respond to us calling . One more was coming our direction , but I didnt see it til I was heading out in the field to pick the caller up . 

I picked up a new gun light for night time predator hunting this fall and love it , there are so many on the market now . It was hard to pick one , but finally bought a Night Eyes Gun Light . It works great , I am able to pick up eyes on animals over 400yds and can identify animals to shoot at 250-300yds . If anyone is in the market for a predator light , definitely look up the website . 

Anyone else been out , been seeing much , or killing anything ???


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

We have been seeing them a lot more regular in the last couple of years around our place. Last winter my boys tried to call them once with a homemade caller (MP3, mini-amp, and speaker). They did not have any luck. We have seen 3 in the last 2-3 days in the field deer hunting so we have made up our mind to get after them as soon as possible after this slug season. I have a buddy with a Foxpro caller so hopefully we can have some success as well!


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

I hunt them every time in the woods they are along with what ever else i am hunting....getting better for a hide to tan with the colder weather coming....end of winter I think is the best for that....but if seen I sure will sling some lead there direction


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

bkr43050 said:


> We have been seeing them a lot more regular in the last couple of years around our place. Last winter my boys tried to call them once with a homemade caller (MP3, mini-amp, and speaker). They did not have any luck. We have seen 3 in the last 2-3 days in the field deer hunting so we have made up our mind to get after them as soon as possible after this slug season. I have a buddy with a Foxpro caller so hopefully we can have some success as well!


Brian I used the mp3 deal last year also , it worked for me actually called in a few coyotes with it . I just didnt like the fact that I couldnt get it out from my calling location enabling them to to come down wind putting them in my lap . But the fox pro is a great tool to have in the arsenal . Your best bet is the first few hours of daylight and then the last hour before sunset , unless you want to hunt them at night . Hunting at night for them is a little different though , I prefer it over hunting in the daytime though . Good luck , its not easy I know that .


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

ironman172 said:


> I hunt them every time in the woods they are along with what ever else i am hunting....getting better for a hide to tan with the colder weather coming....end of winter I think is the best for that....but if seen I sure will sling some lead there direction


The coyote I killed didnt have a thick coat by any means , most of them should though by now . One female I shot last february was beautiful , but then I killed another the first week in march and it had mange . Definitely want to get one for a rug , would of had this done considering his size . But this thing wouldnt die , had to shoot it 3 times . I hit it all 3 times , but he just got tore up too bad .


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I am curious. How many have you shot? I would think that we would have to take a few from the area to really make much of an impact on them so I am hoping we can start popping a few.


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

I shot two last winter and one so far this year , I had planned on targeting coyotes on the farms I deer hunt . Well that didnt go very well , all those farms are loaded with them during deer season . But when I went back to hunt them they were no where to be found . So I started asking where ever I could get permission to hunt them . Not sure how many are in your area , but they can be over hunted and educated VERY EASY . I usually only frequent these farms maybe once a month . I am sure any coyote dead will help , but even if you kill a few . You still have the chance that more can move in the area . 

One of my biggest properties I hunt had one pack of 4-6 coyotes on it , well they have bred like rabbits out there . My last trip out there one night I heard over a dozen howling and carrying on . They were all in different areas of the farm . Unless you trapped them out on a regular basis I think they will always be in the area .


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I imagine that they will indeed get smarter and more wary with each encounter so hopefully we can get them quickly.

I believe I even read an article that suggested that coyotes have a unique innate survival technique that promotes larger litters if the population is stressed. I didn't quite understand it and may try to find it again. If that is true then simply hunting them probably does very little to thin them over time. My buddy also traps. I may have him come out and set some traps on our place as well.


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

IMO I think trapping is going to get you more numbers versus trying to call them in shoot them . I thought about trapping but that takes all the fun out of it for me . I enjoy a challenge and they most definitly a challenge in Ohio , its not as easy as some people think . I would like to kill at least 5 this winter , but I think thats pushing it .


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## FishandHunt59 (May 16, 2009)

BULLDAWG, What color light are you using? I use white for all of mine, doesn't spook predator's!

Steve


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

They can not be over hunted, kill them all. I just read in the NRA magazine American Hunter that coyotes can be responcible for 75 persent of whitetail fawn deaths. Kill them all all year around any chance you get. Yes my opinion has changed.


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

FishandHunt59 said:


> BULLDAWG, What color light are you using? I use white for all of mine, doesn't spook predator's!
> 
> Steve


I use red myself , alot of guys quite using red along time ago and have been using white . But I havent had any problems with red , havent been brave enough to try white on them . The few chances each winter I do have to shoot them , I dont want to take a chance with white . 

Tell me about what light you are using , model , lumens , etc . Might try it some day .


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I saw another one on Saturday while on the treestand. He came within 20-25 yards but stormed in on me too fast and I could not get turned to get a shot.

We are going to work at them hard in the next few weeks. I may resort to having my buddy bring some traps over and try that route too. I agree that shooting them provides more fun but right now killing them is high on my list. I spent about 20 hours hunting this last week and saw as many yotes as deer(3 of each). I talked to a guy who was hunting on the neighbor's property and he said he has seen them several times this season as well. This week he saw 3 on a downed tree on my place and missed a shot at one of them. I think they are putting a major hurt on the fawns in our area. I am anxious to put a dent in them before this upcoming spring.

I found 2 roadkills laying on the edge of road just up from my place, which I was even more bummed about. We don't need more deer harvested by cars in our area. They were only about 1/4 mile from my property so I am sure they were regulars to our place. I picked them up and put them back in our field for bait. Hopefully this week we will get to meet them at their dinner table.


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## FishandHunt59 (May 16, 2009)

BULLDAWG, I use the XLR100 and the XLR250 from Boondock outdoors! The 100 goes on the gun (shotgun, and or rifle) the 250 for scanning! You can get the specifics on the web site! I'm totally happy with both lights!

Steve


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

FishandHunt59 said:


> BULLDAWG, I use the XLR100 and the XLR250 from Boondock outdoors! The 100 goes on the gun (shotgun, and or rifle) the 250 for scanning! You can get the specifics on the web site! I'm totally happy with both lights!
> 
> Steve


Steve , I almost bought the XLR100 and XLR250 last year , but bought some cheaper white LED chinese knockoffs . Made red lenses for them and they worked great for me last year . I am very familiar with the lights from boondock outdoors , I learned about them from predator masters website. But I waited til this fall to buy better lights and went with a guy in pennsylvania that has a light buisness called NIGHT EYES . Bought one of his lights for my 223. , it came with the tailswitch , batteries , and a quick mount for alot less money than the XLR250 . 

I was actually out hunting with a friend of mine 2 weekends ago , he has the same lights you have . Mine was actually a little bit brighter and the beam spot was much tighter . The XLR250 had more of a flood style beam than a concentrated beam . I am able to pick up eyes with my light at almost 400yds with ease . But I have several other lights I scan with , but using a LED headlamp is the way to go . I have tried using a handheld for scanning , but preferred a headlamp . I usually hunt by myself at nights so the less things I have in my hands when I do get a shot the better . Dont get me wrong the boondock lights are great lights and their customer service is top notch , but my NIGHT EYES gun light is great and I will definitely be buying more stuff from them .


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

bkr43050 said:


> I saw another one on Saturday while on the treestand. He came within 20-25 yards but stormed in on me too fast and I could not get turned to get a shot.
> 
> We are going to work at them hard in the next few weeks. I may resort to having my buddy bring some traps over and try that route too. I agree that shooting them provides more fun but right now killing them is high on my list. I spent about 20 hours hunting this last week and saw as many yotes as deer(3 of each). I talked to a guy who was hunting on the neighbor's property and he said he has seen them several times this season as well. This week he saw 3 on a downed tree on my place and missed a shot at one of them. I think they are putting a major hurt on the fawns in our area. I am anxious to put a dent in them before this upcoming spring.
> 
> I found 2 roadkills laying on the edge of road just up from my place, which I was even more bummed about. We don't need more deer harvested by cars in our area. They were only about 1/4 mile from my property so I am sure they were regulars to our place. I picked them up and put them back in our field for bait. Hopefully this week we will get to meet them at their dinner table.


Sounds like there is a healthy population of them in your area for sure . I am not a pro by any means at this , but I would give them a few days to relax and recover from all the guys tromping around during deer season and then get after them . But yes trapping IMO will be a faster more productive way , versus calling at this point . You can call coyotes almost any time of the year , but my personal preference is the colder and snowier the better . I might try to get out at the end of the week when it gets colder out . Because the warmer it is the less they are going to move and the less they have to eat . Also if you do go try to call them in ALWAYS watch the wind , that will make or break your hunt . You can get away with certain things with a deer's nose , but not a coyote. Always keep the wind in your face and hunt the crosswind keeping your downwind side in your line of sight . More times then none they will come in on the down wind side , but they are unpredictable at times and can come from anywhere . 

More times than not they wont come into a wide open field in the middle of the day , sometimes they will do it in low light conditions . But if you want to hunt the fields in you area try doing it at night , they will feel much safer in the dark . But dont be afraid to hunker in next to thick cover in the woods along logging roads or deer trails to hunt during the daytime . Good luck hope you are able to get a few of the deer killers out of you area . Hope some of this helps .


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## GOLDFISH (Mar 10, 2006)

do you guys set snares ? If so how do you go about it bait cable used etc. 
where and how you place the snare? thanks


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

GOLDFISH said:


> do you guys set snares ? If so how do you go about it bait cable used etc.
> where and how you place the snare? thanks


I don't know that answer yet as to how to snare them but I have a buddy who has done it. We are going to probably set some later this winter. When we do I will post details.


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## SeA nYmPhO (Mar 25, 2008)

Go to www.dakotalinesnares.com/. They have a starter kit. I bought one last year and got into snaring. It is fun and addictive.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

SeA nYmPhO said:


> Go to www.dakotalinesnares.com/. They have a starter kit. I bought one last year and got into snaring. It is fun and addictive.


How successful was it?


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

My son & I started using snares 6-8 years ago for yotes. So much more effective and way less time consuming than leg holds. It's easier to get them to stick their head through a hoop than to step on a very well concealed trap ....... go figure. We took 13 coyotes off a farm 3 years ago in less than 2 weeks. No bait used , just trail sets. Lots of tricks to learn & there's lots of info on the net & dvd's. I set one snare along with my **** traps Monday evening & had a young (35 lb) male in it Wednesday morning !!


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

I might have to look into setting some snares on a few of the farms I hunt . These are the farms where I hear them and see them all through deer season , but when I go back to hunt them they are no where to be found . These farmers rely on me to get rid of the coyotes that bother their livestock every year and it has been pretty tough . This might just be the ticket for me . How often are the coyotes dead when you come back to check the snares ???


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

Not nearly often enough !!! Unless they get tangled up really bad or the other yotes attack & shred them, which happens more than you would think, they are alive. The alpha males are quite aggressive , so make sure they are anchored well .... they will do anything in their power to get to you. Several of the older dogs we've caught were pretty nasty. Most of the one year olds or so act much like fox and are very easy to handle.
Bulldawg, pm sent your way


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## SeA nYmPhO (Mar 25, 2008)

bkr43050 said:


> How successful was it?



Sorry just now seen that message. I only got one last year but I only had them set for a month or so. I set a dozen last week and got one the other day.


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