Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Getting Started on Coyotes?

I live in western Washington, and I'm interested in getting started hunting coyotes. I shot one 40 years ago, and I seem to remember using a Winchester Model 12 with #6 shot in paper shells.

How/where can I learn to do this?

thanks,


Okie John

pm sent

Thanks rong and the other folks who have PM'd me. I appreciate the help.


Okie John

There are some good books by Ron Spomer, Gerry Blair, and Phil Simonski that can get you started. Tony Tebbe has a good DVD "So you want to be a predator caller"

Learning to find public lands is an esential skill, there is a lot of unknown public lands in every state. I don't even bother trying to get access to private land as it takes too much time , is too much maintinance, and is too easy to lose. Most private lands have some public land in the vicinity to call on.

The biggest thing is to get out there and call, learn by your mistakes and by your successes, it will get easier as you go.

Hunt the foothills surrounding farmland. Coyotes hunt mice in the fields then roam the surrounding land out of sight where it's safer when we're out there trying to separate them from their hides.

What time of day do you guys find to be the best for calling coyotes? Or is there any special time....

I am assuming that night calling is not legal. Best times are first and last couple hours of daylight. However they can be called anytime.

Night calling is legal in Montana, and I think it is in North Dakota. I don't know about your state, check the regulations.

okie john

Coyote hunting is an enterprise that you can spend <$15 or $$$$$$$$. To get started you can use any center fire firearm you already own such as your deer rifle and/or shotgun. A closed reed mouth call such as:

Haydel Coyote Call

This call also includes a squeaker.

Or an open reed call such as:

Crit'R Call

The open reed takes a little more practice but can produce a vast variety of sounds.

E-Callers can range from $20 to $$$$ but are not absolutely necessary (I have a very old FoxPro that has 16 calls and it still works). I often use mine to practice sounds with a mouth caller especially such things as pitch and cadence.

Go here and do a little reading lots of free info:

Grand View Outdoors

Other general advice:
1. Scout, find a place that has coyotes/sign.
2. Get away from your vehicle.
3. Be quite, no door slamming, radio/stereo....etc.
4. Call into the wind or at least cross wind.
5. Watch the down wind side, coyotes like to circle around.
6. Wait 15-20minutes or even longer to let things quite down before calling.
7. Generally call 15-20 minutes then take a very good look around before standing and walking off.
8. Coyotes can be called at any time of day but usually early AM and evening are best.
9. Most important of all just go out there and do it.......................it becomes addicting.


Have fun.

1). Always hunt in a spot where they have to expose themselves to get downwind of you

2). Hunt when it’s. Damn cold... early, early in the morning for the best results

3). Jan & Feb. is mating season, you get a lot of doubles in those months.

4). If you can take 2 guys one with a shotgun 4 shot or bigger, and one with a rifle

5). Sneak in un-detected, and don’t walk over where the yotes will come in, they’ll smell your scent trail.

6). 65 grains or higher, a 243 or 22-250 just kills them dead, a 223 and they’ll run a bit

7). Watch some calling coyotes tapes, then modify them to your environment (calling the thick stuff, vs. more western open area type hunting)

8). Bury yourself in a hedge row, and get 100% setup before you call, use shooting sticks or bipeds so you don’t get busted lifting a barrel

9). Have a decoy to get the yotes to focus on it vs. looking for you, put it 20-30 yards out ... an owl with a bit of fuzz under it works fine... or just a critter decoy

10): If you hunt when it snows, white camo is a good thing

11). Some yotes come immediately, some take a few minutes, very, very few take more than 20 minutes.

12). distance between stands = how far can they hear you calls, and where you can get upwind.

13). Talk with local farmers about where the packs are and offer to use shotgun only to help knock them down... to establish some trust

14). Take a “howl” call out with you at dusk to call from the road and see where the pack is that night, if you can setup on them as close as you can get is quietly. (Dirt roads are NOT quiet)

15). If you slam your truck doors just get back in and go to the next stand

You're wasting time. Sit down and start calling.
It doesn't have to be cold to call coyotes. If that were the case a lot of guys wouldn't kill a damn thing. Go when you have the chance to go despite the temps. Some of my best killing days weren't cold at all.

doubles, triples, quads can be killed any month, and not necessarily more so during breeding season.

[bleep], I kill truck loads of coyotes with 25 and 30 grain bullets. It doesn't take a cannon to kill a coyote.

Don't need to bury yourself at all. Blend in to your surroundings the best you can, but no need to bury into anything.

A decoy is not necessary.

Here is a link to a BLM land finder.

https://blm-egis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6f0da4c7931440a8a80bfe20eddd7550

Lots of folks use AR15's with 55 grains soft points, 55-60 grain V-max - Nosler Ballistic tips and Sierra 55 grain HPBT #1390 and on and on and on. All work pretty good within the basic theories of physics, you can't have it all.

Youtube is your friend here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/CoyoteCrazeVideos/videos Watch the 2 part 10 yotes in 1 day


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDOgLU8mxXKMkUpTR_82WLg/videos These guys are great too.

You will find much, much more on the side bar in the related video section


I use the lucky duck revolution electronic caller. Lots of folks like Sceery brand mouth calls along with probably 30 of magnificent brand calls.

allpredatorcalls.com is a great source for this type of thing.

The tip about exposing the dogs as they try to wind you is invaluable. They will always try to walk a lazy circle around you trying to pick your scent up in the wind. You will see this in the video. Rick and Geoff + the boys from HI teach this stuff.

Most of my easy Coyote shots take place off my back patio Saturday and Sunday early morning. Jan - June without calling or anything. They come every year for my dog. Last year they got my cat.

Inavertantly took my first called in coyote this season. Seven year old son and I were out deer hunting on some heavily hunted public ground, mid day as this is the time of day that worked out best for him. He was not allowed to go until homework was finished.

Still working on instilling the importance of wind direction to him and being quiet. We truly did improve on this as the season progressed. While we did not harvest a deer this season. No worries last day out we were getting down near the slew bottom near a waterfowl refuge. The geese were hanging around much later than usual this season. When the geese were starting to come off the lake we took some cover to observe.

The place we took cover was looking over a long iced over channel with cat-tails for a good distance and there was next to no wind & it was in our face. We no more than took cover and a coyote popped out on the icy channel nearly 200 yards out. Made my son aware of the coyote and instructed him to hold cover. I gave a couple of real loud lip squeaks like I was trying to atract richardson ground squirrels.

The Coyote surly heard the lip squeaks and proceeded our way. A few more quieter lip squeaks and a minute and a half later or so the Coyote was fifty yards out and looking to leave the channel and come in on us. Shot opportunity was not going to get any better so I whispered to my son to cover his ears. When the coyote stoped next the CZ527 6.5 Grendel barked and the coyote went to sleep instantly. Pricless experience shared with my son without a doubt.

Up to you to choose your poison, guys work with anything from archery equipment to deer rifles and everything in-between. Should you wish to save the hides I may encourage anything from a 17 Hornet to 17 Remington if you are solely after Coyotes.

Where you walk in doesn't matter, you don't know where the coyote will come in from, it's generally from where he is, to where you are.

Doesn't have to be early, early morning. Mornings are my favorite, but Ive had days where they don't turn on until high noon till 3....you never know, that's calling.

Doesn't have to be 65 grains or higher, I use a .17 mach 4 utilizing a 25 grain bullet, several hundred have fallen to that little rifle.

Don't bury yourself in anything, if you do, your cutting yourself short on shot possibilities, sit, where you can see 360 if you can.

The best decoy you have is the thing making the sound, that's all you need.

One can get after them at night in Oregon. Ones light, however, can not be connected to or powered by a rig.