First Coyote Hunt

Watch the wind.

Watch the wind.

Watch the wind.
I’ll second this. I am no expert as this is my first season hunting but I had many encounters with coyotes during deer season. I called them in with a doe bleat a few times. They always came in from up wind but circled me about a hundred yards out and got down wind of me before figuring out what I was. They are smart.
 
Try to plan your setup before heading to your stand. Be sure to break up your silhouette. Wait a while (15 min) before firing up the caller. Get into a shooting position prior to calling. Don't move while calling. Don't overdo the volume. They will circle downwind from the point of interest every time. Usually. Consider adding a motion decoy (i.e., Mojo Critter) to your setup. Don't overcall. Don't leave your stand until after you've waited it out for possible stragglers by at least 15 minutes. That also helps to avoid educating them to the association between the caller and you. Don't be hesitant to use non-typical sounds. Be prepared to see non-target species come out of nowhere to check out the caller.

I've gotten blanked a bunch of times but something interesting/fun happens most of the time.
 
My buddy makes shallow holes in the ice on the swamp by his house. He lets the holes fill with water then he dumps in deer guts or road killed critters...anything dead, and lets it freeze over. He calls them gutsickles.
The coyotes will show up and lick and gnaw at the gutsickles but they can't carry off the bait. He sets up his blind about 75 yards away and whacks them with his rifle.
 
Tried coyote every weekend in October.
Have a call plan for that electric call, play the wind and you'll have better chances at the normal times (sunrise/sunset).
I managed to call a lot of predatory birds like hawks and a doe, never saw a coyote but I also hunted mid-day.
 
I like hunting at night for coyote, covers all your movements, although you still need to play the wind and be as quiet as possible. They can come in very fast so always be ready. Good luck!
 
No coyote. Plenty of sign though. At first light we called in two hawks. They were searching hard for my distressed little bunny. Later in the morning about twenty blue jays were ready to wreak carnage on the electronic call. So that stuff was pretty cool. Will be heading out again soon, maybe for an evening hunt.
 
Get a squirrel tale and and tie it to a stick then run fishing line back to you set up . The combo of electronic call and motion they cant resist . I also try to set up in a position where im backed up to a natural rock formation or even a fence so they cant circle completely behind me and watch the wind. Keep a sharp eye out to you sides all the times. Good Luck
 
Dumb question. Why do we hunt coyotes? Are they over populated ? I remember back in the 90’s one of them killed a toddler on the cape.
You can thank all the Mass Coyotes to a girl from my high school class. Her dog lost a leg to a trap and she was the spokesperson for the anti trapping legislation in the 90’s. Of all things to save dogs, the irony. Before anyone asks, she is guilty as sin.
 
Pretty sure no toddler was killed on the cape . there has been only one fatal attack by coyotes in north america in the last 50 years. Happened in canada they killed a jogger. I hunt coyotes to put the fear of man in them , because there getting much bigger and aggresive . They have proven that if you hunt coyotes heavily they produce larger litters. They have attacked a few people in mass and its only a matter of time before a child gets killed or badly mauled.
 
Adding a dumb question to the thread. What do you do with the pelts?
We have only done a deer hide and a squirrel hide so far. Squirrel is just laying around.... could make a coaster out of it I guess. The deer hide will be hung on the wall. It is my son inlaw's first deer ever. The coyotes; we may try to male something with them.
 
We have only done a deer hide and a squirrel hide so far. Squirrel is just laying around.... could make a coaster out of it I guess. The deer hide will be hung on the wall. It is my son inlaw's first deer ever. The coyotes; we may try to male something with them.
You could make a blanket like Woodhouse did with all those German scalps (Archer reference).
 
New to coyote hunting as well. I've tried a few times at various times of day and trying to play the wind. I've heard them a few times at night (have land owner permission) but never saw anything. Have a new thermal coming tomorrow so perhaps that will help seeing them before they see me kind of deal.

Would like to meet up and perhaps do some hunting together if that's an option. Good luck and I'll post my updates.
 
I setup a bait site Wednesday evening, now that we've got some cold air moving in. It was getting hit this morning. Usually it takes about a week for them to show up on the regular.
 
After days of frigid temps and gusty winds, the forecast for Thursday evening is looking good. I'm going to pull some trail cam cards today and give them a look.
 
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