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Coyote Hunting MA
- Thread starter Catdaddy
- Start date
StevieP
NES Member
I plan to go out soon, and if I get one with a nice coat I'd either stretch it and make a wallhanging out of the fur, or maybe a nice hat.
Plenty of places in eastern MA to hunt. Just takes some time to find them and do some scouting. I grew up on the south shore and moved to the Cape in '01. I don't drive more than an hour for any of my hunting. This year I found three new spots within 15 minutes of home.
re: Night Time
Made some comparisons of the options I currently have, which is not much. Moonlit sky, partial clouds, no snow cover.
- HIVIZ fiber optic sights: the front red is useless, while the green at the rear are visible. Maybe a green or yellow front would work better?
- Nikon Prostaff Shotgun scope: this scope seems to gather light a lot better than the naked eye. The heavy reticle is visible, but I think an illuminated reticle would be better.
- Bushnell TRS-25 red dot: useless. The lowest setting is way too bright, and the glass does a poor job of gathering light.
My budget is a long ways off from a PVS-14 & Aimpoint, so I'm thinking a scope with an illuminated reticle and large objective lens. Some predator hunters have suggested the Vortex Crossfire scope with V-Brite reticle. http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/crossfire_II_riflescopes
Made some comparisons of the options I currently have, which is not much. Moonlit sky, partial clouds, no snow cover.
- HIVIZ fiber optic sights: the front red is useless, while the green at the rear are visible. Maybe a green or yellow front would work better?
- Nikon Prostaff Shotgun scope: this scope seems to gather light a lot better than the naked eye. The heavy reticle is visible, but I think an illuminated reticle would be better.
- Bushnell TRS-25 red dot: useless. The lowest setting is way too bright, and the glass does a poor job of gathering light.
My budget is a long ways off from a PVS-14 & Aimpoint, so I'm thinking a scope with an illuminated reticle and large objective lens. Some predator hunters have suggested the Vortex Crossfire scope with V-Brite reticle. http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/crossfire_II_riflescopes
Is the vortex crossfire capable of being used on a shotgun? I didnt see anything specifying caliber/firearm that the models are built to handle.
Other than the cape, Im not familiar with eastern ma (aside from beantown), but out here in western ma I havent had the time to scout coyote as I've been busy scouting geese/ducks. But what I've done thus far is stop by a couple dairy farms and ask them how their coyote population is and if they've been a problem. Most of them will say something like "f*ck those yotes!" or something to that effect. I ask if they'd be willing to allow me to hunt their land for them. One of them has also turned into a goose hunting spot, although not as plentiful as I had hoped as there are other fields directly in their flight lane.
DrRansom
Instructor
It's more than just an Aimpoint anyways...to hunt with NV effectively you'd need something with an integral IR illuminator, like a DBAL, and you wouldn't want to rifle-mount the NV tube, unless you like ID'ing targets with a live rifle. Honestly, after reading that you can't hunt with lights up here, I don't know if it's even worth the effort... :/
Yep, no "artificial light" permitted. Not to mention, a lot of NV scopes have built-in IR. But, if you can't see it with your eyes...
With the limitations of the firearms permitted, the effective range isn't very far. So I was thinking a head mounted PVS-14, with an Aimpoint PRO? But that gets into thermal money. I'm thinking this season might not be the one to get into NV gear. There's supposed to be some new NV stuff coming out at the SHOT show. Recently, pricing on some thermal gear has dropped considerably. Hopefully that trend will continue.
Calling at night just doesn't seem feasible without a large budget. Once it gets cold enough, I'm going to set a baitcicle. I'll use a trail cam again to pattern them, and take it from there.
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They're more active at night, but nothing coming in close enough to shoot. I've seen them during day only once or twice, but haven't tried real hard. I know a farm where they dump old carcasses I want to try though.
DrRansom
Instructor
I don't think you'll have any luck with the NV + day optic. Some guys say that you can use the tube and the red dot together, but it isn't easy to get any kind of a cheek weld with the tube in the way, and you're looking at some POA shift because you're seeing the dot through the other eye. Need illuminator + laser.
Also, the fusion stuff is cool, but super-expensive and not really necessary. Thermal is best for ID'ing the suckers, not super for making the shot - again, you need another device for POI (eg., a laser or reticle). I don't know that I'd buy stuff fresh on the market either, unless you like being the QA team.
Anyone ever use a whole raw chicken, the type you buy at a grocery store as bait for coyotes?
My thought was to temporarily wire it to a tree and have the wind blow the smell out to where I think they are.
This is for firearms and not trapping.
My thought was to temporarily wire it to a tree and have the wind blow the smell out to where I think they are.
This is for firearms and not trapping.
I haven't hunted over the "baitcicle." Just captured the goings on with a trail cam. Judging by the photos, it took a few days for it to be found, and about a weeks time before there were regular visits to it. Set a new one out last night, and will check for tracks near it after this recent snowfall. I know the critters aren't phased by my visits to the site, as they show up on cam soon after after I've been there.
Check out this article for some tips http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles...tor-techniques/2011/01/predators-hunt-hunters
In reference to the article pupchow posted.
I like the way he lessened the amount of bait he would take out to his site.
My problem is that I could never get out there everyday.
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I had thought about picking up a whole chicken and hanging it up against a tree at the start of the hunt and than let out a few calls to catch their attention and then see if the chicken smell would pull them in.
Sort of stuck in a holding pattern right now though since it is to cold for me to be getting out there.
I like the way he lessened the amount of bait he would take out to his site.
My problem is that I could never get out there everyday.
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I had thought about picking up a whole chicken and hanging it up against a tree at the start of the hunt and than let out a few calls to catch their attention and then see if the chicken smell would pull them in.
Sort of stuck in a holding pattern right now though since it is to cold for me to be getting out there.
^ that whole chicken thing is never going to work unless you sit there all day and night waiting for something to walk by... they're just not that stupid or hungry. If you want them to frequent a bait pile it needs to be a substantial pile maintained over several months.
Believe it or not they're pretty well fed in these parts.
Believe it or not they're pretty well fed in these parts.
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My uncle and I went out for yotes last weekend. Sat there for about an hour with the foxpro, nothing. We dumped a deer carcass and 3 duck carcasses for bait. Left for the afternoon and came back around 3:00pm for a last light hunt. Nothing. Went back the next morning, tracks everywhere, the spine of the duck was all that was left. The deer carcass had been picked clean and the bones were chewed up, some carried off. Bait will work, but likely it will draw them out overnight... at least in my experience.
re: bait timing
Last year's baitcicle trail cam pics showed the majority of night time activity occurring a couple of hours after dark. There was also plenty of activity during daylight hours, between 7-noon. There were the odd 2-3am visits as well. Daytime activity seemed to peak during lulls after snow storms, with clear skies and calm winds.
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Once I confirm some activity on this new site, I'm going to try setting up an hour before light, and an hour before dark. Sitting absolutely still for four hours, in sub-freezing temps, will be a bit of challenge. Might be time to break out the ground blind.
Last year's baitcicle trail cam pics showed the majority of night time activity occurring a couple of hours after dark. There was also plenty of activity during daylight hours, between 7-noon. There were the odd 2-3am visits as well. Daytime activity seemed to peak during lulls after snow storms, with clear skies and calm winds.
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Once I confirm some activity on this new site, I'm going to try setting up an hour before light, and an hour before dark. Sitting absolutely still for four hours, in sub-freezing temps, will be a bit of challenge. Might be time to break out the ground blind.
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![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
We've had similiar experiences, it's like they know that it's a trap realise you're there, watch the area til you leave then feast in your absence.
Chris M.
NES Member
Didn't see or hear a thing yesterday pm. Snow was very loud/squeaky. I haven't called one in yet this year but still love it, maybe even more than deer. Funny thing is ever since about early Dec they've been active at night not 300 yds from the house. Nothing all last summer. Even my son came down the stairs last night (when they were howling)and said 'wow, they're right over there' behind the neighbors house. Love it.
Most of the yote activity has been at night..trail cams show no day time activity at the baits..just at night..you can hear them yelping all night...did have some fox and a few bobcats at the bait...been to cold to sit out at night for yotes...now its crunchy with the snow and ice covering...need to get a few more buckets of blood from the meat cutter when he slaughters a pig or cow to get the long range call going...
