Coyote hunting is one of the fastest growing predator hunting sports in America. Populations are strong, land access is easier to come by, regulations are liberal, and coyotes are challenging game for hunters. For newcomers to the predator hunting sport, the challenge can lead to frustration. These six tips will help smooth the learning curve.
Being Downwind Is Vital
The number one rule for coyote hunting is staying downwind. Coyotes are primarily driven by their noses. They find food and seek safety by scent. Ignoring the wind while whitetail hunting is costly. In coyote hunting, it’s devastating. If winds are swirling or your setups are no good for the prevailing wind, it’s a good day to do some scouting. If an approaching coyote looks uneasy, he is most likely trying to find a way to get downwind of you.
Wait For Mates
Where there is one coyote, there are others. If a coyote stops, stands, and looks around a lot while coming in, don’t take the shot yet, there is a good chance there is another coyote. It is a good idea to wait for the other coyote to appear before shooting. If the newcomer takes off running on the shot, hit the predator with a Ki-Yi coyote call. The Ki-Yi is a distress call and it will often stop a coyote and give you a chance to shoot.
E-Callers Ease The Learning Curve
Electronic calls are illegal for many game species, the sound can be quite deafening. But when it comes to predators such as coyotes, it’s open season in most states. Electronic calls or E-calls make it simple for novice predator hunters to call as well as a veteran. Most come with a wide range of calls, that reach all kinds of areas from different yard lengths, including coyote vocalizations and prey distress calls like screamers. Remote control features make operating them simple.
Hunters learning the coyote calls must practice in order to get it right. Predator hunting is a hard sport and at the beginning, very tough to get your hands on some good game. The howls of a coyote are one of a kind and although some people think it may be easy to imitate, it takes more than minutes to learn. Some animals sound similar but in reality they are all somewhat different. Can you think of the sounds each animal makes; bobcats, dogs, turkeys, a rabbit, white-tailed deer. When it comes to coyotes there is also not just one type; there is the eastern coyote, western, central…etc. The electronic call can be helpful when predator hunting, but while holding a rifle and setting up traps and decoys, it is hard to keep track of all your equipment while trying to stand still and be quiet so the mouth call is a good sound to learn as well.
Shooting Sticks Kill Coyotes
Coyotes are often shot at long distances in different areas. Shooting sticks and stands will steady the shot and ensure accuracy from the rifle or preferred gun. More importantly, if your gun is ready on shooting stands, less movement is needed to prepare for the shot. Movement will bust you just as often as scent while coyote hunting.
Concealment Is Key
Head-to-toe camouflage is a necessity. Pants, jackets, gloves, hats, and face covers are not an option. Due to wind, scent blocking clothing is big business in the whitetail community. Scent is even more important when coyote hunting. You should always play the wind, but scent blockers will help if a coyote circles around you. Trapping an animal is a difficult job and that’s why being concealed is so important, any sound can startle the predators hence the reason it takes so much time and practice to learn how to properly hunt coyotes.
Put Some Miles On
If there are receptive coyotes in the area you are hunting, they will come to calling within 15 or 20 minutes. Don’t spend more than a half hour at any given setup. On calm days on flat land, you may want to move a half mile or more to the next set. If conditions are windy or terrain is steep, you could move as little as a few hundred yards before starting to call again. Remember to always approach a new hunting area downwind of where you believe coyotes will approach.
If you’re getting started in coyote hunting, these tips should make finding success a little easier. The best way to learn the finer points of whacking ‘yotes is to hunt with an experienced coyote assassin. If that isn’t possible, the folks here at foremostcoyotehunting.com have you covered. Good luck!
