Coyote hunting advice - NC

[punkey71]

So my FIL called me and said to head down to NC and do some coyote hunting next week. He's just south of the Uhwarrie Forest in a small town called Ellerbe.

He's never coyote hunted and neither have I. His excitement came from a recent article in their paper discussing the horrible coyote problem in his immediate area. He hears them often and *thinks* he's seen them on occasion. There is talk of a bounty being offered on them so he wants to get some insight - as do I.

He lives on ~100 acres with 15 acres in crop (soybean) and the rest in pines, hardwoods and trails. Rolling hills and a couple small streams occupy his property as well.

We hunt deer and turkey with great success but have never considered coyote since we don't actually see them.

We've got a borrowed PVS-14 and he says he's buying an electronic call - an ICOtec GC300 is what caught his eye.

Any general advice for two morons who have no idea what to expect? Call strategy? Dusk? Morning? Late night?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks!




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[Trigger]

Pay attention to the wind. Coyotes will come to near the call, then circle downwind. If you can locate the electronic call in one location, then place your blind 75-100 yds away, 90 degrees out from the wind you will minimize chances of being scented. Use expanding varmint bullets in your choice of .204 or.223 caliber. Spot the coyote before it spots you.

Lots of varmint forums out there with more detailed info. Good luck!

[okie john]

Several things leap to mind:

Check with locals to see how bad the problem really is. It only takes a couple of pets getting snatched for a journalist to say that the coyote situation is horrible. Farmers might have a really different perspective.
Ask the locals what the coyotes are doing and when they’re active. Landowners who have coyotes usually know roughly how and when they operate, so ask them. That will give you a lot of insight into how to go after them.
If it IS bad, then I’d consider any legal method, including baiting.
I’ve spent some time in the woods surrounding Ellerbe. Ranges probably won’t be more than 200 yards. If you’re not hunting for pelts, then any rifle will do. There’s a lot to be said for one of you having a shotgun loaded with #6 shot in case you jump one up close.
Make sure that your blind doesn’t just cover you from the front. It should have a solid back as well, as game can see your shadow through the blind if you’re backlit.

Hope this helps,


Okie John

[41magfan]

The learning curve is steep. In this part of the country (I live less than 2 hrs from Uwharrie) coyotes are most often hunted in wooded areas much like deer. In many places, a SG is the preferred weapon of choice, as the cover will make encounters short and sweet.

These guys have figured out how to hunt them in this part of country: https://www.youtube.com/user/tccustomcalls/videos

Watch, learn and enjoy.

[bofe954]

If you're hunting them in the hopes of eradicating them you may want to do some research. Some believe that pressure leads to increased numbers.

If you're hunting them for enjoyment, or pelt, or whatever, then carry on.

[walker2713]

Good advice above....

Also, once you've picked your spot, set your caller and settled down to wait.....be very quiet, move very little and keep a constant vigil at least 180 degrees. Try changing your vision to mid range to longer range periodically, and look for movement. As noted above, wind is key...but also movement and sound. Be very still...

After considering the wind, try to make sure you place the caller so that you have a good view of the area around it, as a field of fire. When you see one first appear, move your rifle very slowly so that you can begin to line up your shot. I use a small folding stool, and a shooting bipod. If you're young, you might want to sit on the ground.

Sometimes they'll appear on the fringe of your calling area and watch....or they may come trotting in or even running like a bat out of hell. If they're moving without stopping, bark loudly and they'll usually stop in mid-stride look around to see where it came from. Be ready, and kill them right there.

If one come in, whether you kill them or not, keep calling...don't stand up or move around. One or more may be on the way in. I'd tell you what the most I've ever seen come in on one calling spot, but you wouldn't believe me.

Since there are two of you, it might be a good idea for one to have a shotgun and the other an appropriate caliber rifle: .204, .223, 22-250, .243 etc.etc. Fifty yards and under the shotgun is king.

I'd spend at least 15-20 minutes per calling session....up to 1/2 hour. I've gone longer but only under exceptional circumstances.

Just some thoughts....have fun, and be sure and post some pics.

You might also take a look at PredatorMastersForums.com.....lots of good folks and information.

George

[Pennzoil]

17847

If you want a book to read I'd recommend Ready For Anything and it's available on Amazon. Glen puts on a predator hunting class here in AZ once a year. I attended this class last year and it was excellent!

[punkey71]

Awesome advice guys.

Thank you.

I will read the above links, forums and videos.

Our plan is to hunt from our existing deer stands. One overlooks about 10 acres of soy bean with the woodline out at about 100-150yds. Another stand is on the line of the woods and the soy beans and a third stand is about 100 yards in the woods.

Not sure what will be best and I'm guessing some experimentation will be needed.

Again, thanks, and any more advice is certainly welcome.

We have shotguns as well suppressed SBRs in 5.56 and 300blk so we should be all set.

Any advice on times to hunt ?

Again, we will have a borrowed PVS-14 at our disposal.



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[walker2713]

I strongly prefer very early in the morning...just not a night hunter...personal choice.

I wouldn't think that a stand "in the woods" is a good idea....difficulty seeing them early on and taking a shot. Of course I don't know what "the woods" look like, and you can decide that yourselves.

[walker2713]

I confess that most of my experience comes from hunting in New Mexico....have a daughter and family near Santa Fe, and have hunted mid and south regions also. There's a lot of BLM and state land available for coyote hunting, out of state one year license is about $75.

Here's a good morning's take....

17866

[punkey71]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170706/816277658f3c6bb667bdf153ecc02736.png

This is an overview of the property. The house is just south of the edge of the photo.

The marker shows one of the stands that over looks two of the three ~5 acre soy bean fields.

Another stand is directly north of the marker about 100 yards into the woods in a recently thinned pine forest with ~50 yard lanes. The last stand is at about 2 o'clock to the marker on the edge of the field and hardwoods.

I'm thinking we'll sit where the marker is and place the caller ~50 yards away in the field at about 10 o'clock relative to the stand.

I don't know if the photo is of any value but I figured I'd throw it up to help those offering advice.

Thanks again everyone!


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[41magfan]

With only a hundred acres to hunt, you're going to be limited to just 2 or 3 calling opportunities before your property is somewhat inoculated to the calling. If you attract any coyotes that either bust you or are shot at and missed, forget about them coming to the call again for the foreseeable future.

Using elevated platform stands is an excellent idea as I've seen a lot more coyotes from elevated positions than I have when hunting on the ground ..... which leads me to this.

One of the most successful coyotes killers I'm familiar with hunts them from elevated stands - at night (exclusively) - over bait piles - using NVG. He baits his sites with everything from chicken house die-offs, road kill and dead farm animals. Even when using this strategy, he says his opportunities are often limited. If the coyotes see, hear or smell him during the approach to his stand locations, they will not come to the bait site.

I'm a total rookie at coyote killing, but I'm personally convinced that using coyote sounds (howling, pup distress & females sounds) as a baseline strategy triggers a more predictable reaction from the animals than the predator response. Coyotes in the eastern half of the country tend to live in much closer proximity to each other as well as humans, so I think they act/react a bit differently than their western counterparts.

[txdpd]

Looking at google maps there are some obvious breeding grounds for rodents in area: a landfill, commercial poultry lots and agriculture. I'm not surprised that there's a coyote problem. Is there any way to identify the coyote's primary food source?

I think that the hardest problem that you'll have is that the coyotes aren't going to have to take any risk leaving the woods to find food.

[okie john]

I also did a Google map recon. I'd look for nearby food sources, especially chicken farms. Don't focus just on the closest ones, look for all of them within a 1-2 mile radius. The one with the sloppiest waste disposal program is probably the biggest draw for coyotes. They may not feed on the chickens themselves, but they probably make hay out of all the other stuff that feeds on chicken-related waste. Then look for water sources, then look for routes between the two. Get out on the ground and start looking for tracks, hair, and scat to see if you can establish some patterns.

I'd also spend some time sitting on the porch late at night plotting and scheming, drinking fine brown whiskey, and listening for howls.


Okie John