Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

[Gunpowder]

So then it is time for me to set back and listen to you guys for a couple of minutes as I want to absorb some from you all .

I'm with ButterBean, not much to see here compared to how some of you others get it done. I've often wondered how predator control agents handle these smart coyotes, and I never see them around. But in all honesty I don't spend that many days in the field. I try to spend a day a weekend hunting between late Oct and Thanksgiving then maybe a couple days around Christmas. Deer season's nine days get in the way of that, it takes two weekends out. And I'll usually take 2 or 3 days off from work when conditions are right.

I do well early on, on the first trips to each ranch, then it's scratching out 1 or 2 here or there on the following trips.
I've been contemplating Reemty's spotting methods and how to apply them in the sandhills but with the terrain chopped up it seems un-doable. We do have farm ground if you had permission, which most will grant if you know them. But a lot of it is sewn up for all hunting, lots of coyote hunters here in the sandhills.

Don't take any of this as complaining, I love getting out when I can. This last year managed to call in a pair with my youngest girl with me and later took my nephew and bil out and got one also. That was a neat one as we saw it in the meadow trotting off, and managed to flank it in the hills and call it in. That was my heaviest furred one of the year as it turned out. Also shot my furthest coyote this year at 508 yds, from sitting off of sticks and another at 442. Those Burris Eliminators really work well for calling, at least out to 600, 650 or so you can range one. And they range fast when seconds count. Not much for field of view up close though.

 

[74honker]

One lesson that I've learned that past couple days, TWICE in one day. No matter what I'm hunting, being hid has always been #1. If they see you before they get there they probably aint coming. With lots more turkey experiance than coyote, I get buried and shoot through. Not a problem with a shotgun. Apparantly a big deal for a rifle, even if it's just light dead grass. Had 2 different coyotes, 2 different times within 100yrd and just missed them. Was steady on the shots, was definately not the gun, and the only reasonable explanation....I think. I know I sure stomped my way back to the house uttering various things lol. I'm kinda hard on myself lol. Read reports and actually seen slow motion footage of how even raindrops hitting a bullet in flight can knock it off path. Now I think if it's within a few feet of target it may not be as big of a deal to cause a miss if its just grass and not wood but apparantly closer to the muzzle aint good. Will be far more aware of thus next time.

 

[Gunpowder]

Not being hidden has cost me a few coyotes for sure. There's just not much cover in some of these places here, sometimes none at all. You try to sit in the tallest grass on the hillside, or by a yucca, but this year with the drought the tallest grass was only about half way to your knee lol. Shade helps ALOT, but that doesn't work out always either. So overcast days are often the best for me for those reasons. No glares off my glasses that way. I've often contemplated a ghilli suit, not sure if it would help or not. These are the reasons that when a coyote stops inside 200, I shoot him vs waiting for him to come closer. I passed a shot at 331 this year, knowing he'd come in. Went in a dip and next time I saw him he was 1/2 mile out. Turns out my partner, who was supposed to be watching the other side of the hill, asked me why I didn't shoot him at 350. I said How did you see him? He was on top of the hill apparently prone watching and ranging. Well now I know what the coyote saw lol. That coyote answered my opening howls from a marshy area 1/2 mile out or so, and when my partner heard it I think he repositioned. One of the lessons he needs to learn.

 

[DSheetz]

The challenge is what keeps so many of us interested in it . At this time of the year they have so many things going on in their lives that play into them not being very responsive . It's breading season they want to set up a home range when there is a bread pair and maybe their helper or helpers they aren't very vocal and the sounds we so often use set them on alert so they don't want to fight another or others just yet , depending on where you are there may be a lot of others that have tried to call the same coyote with similar sounds , having spent the winter learning and growing they are more cautious now by their very nature so many of their litter mates aren't around any more and when their numbers are lower they just become more cautious . So often this time of the year I have seen them come to the calls we make but don't come in hard charging and will hold up out there at a distance and have snuck in to where they are just observing you . If you have some livestock around that are having their young now is the time to try and be selective in your coyote killing as far as I am concerned so that I don't make my life and the livestock owners life more complicated then it needs to be any way . The fur season is over so now I like to kill the female when I can especially when I can tell that she is heavy with pups that way the male doesn't have a reason to kill young animals to feed her and the growing young . It gets more important to me the closer it gets to whelping season to take the female but then when they have pups they both will cause you heart burn by killing to care for the pups and more so if one of the adults goes missing . Dam here I am flapping my lips again instead of listening lol .

 

[DSheetz]

I have a lot of country like yours Gunpowder , and have found that the brown duck clothing blends well especially when it's getting older and faded in my area . In places here this year it was so dry that the new grass didn't even get a good start before it dried out .

 

[DSheetz]

74Honker , that is very true especially when we run lighter bullets at high speed your turkey , goose or duck gun with the right shells helps in tight cover and out of the chopper or plane . We have a lot of wind here as well so they drift also .

 

[74honker]

Anyone with turkey experience knows that if a turkey could smell you would never kill one. For those without, a turkey can see 270 degrees at all times with a stationary head, which is never stationary, so 360 all the time. They can hear your safety click off at 100yd. They can't smell 2 ft lol. I think hunting coyotes is like hunting a turkey that can smell lol.

 

[ButterBean]

Anyone with turkey experience knows that if a turkey could smell you would never kill one. For those without, a turkey can see 270 degrees at all times with a stationary head, which is never stationary, so 360 all the time. They can hear your safety click off at 100yd. They can't smell 2 ft lol. I think hunting coyotes is like hunting a turkey that can smell lol.

Not to side track but a buddy of mine Turkey hunts and said he has Yotes show up while he was gobbling

 

[DSheetz]

That's interesting do you guess they want a warm turkey meal maybe .

 

[Gunpowder]

I've considered using a turkey call for coyotes before with a turkey decoy. Many years ago a good buddy shotgunned a coyote just as it was putting the sneak on his decoy. He was just doing hen chirps. That would be something they haven't heard from a caller before most likely.

 

[Gunpowder]

I don't think coyotes see like a turkey, not even close honestly. Birds see colors don't they? I've been turkey calling without a blind, and if you even twitch they're gone. About like calling crows. Better be tucked in pretty good with overhead cover or you won't get them in shotgun range. That's a lot of fun also if you haven't tried it. When I lived in eastern NE we used to do that quite a bit as there's a good number of them there, not many out west here though. They are very easy to call, the first time. If you can hear a group of them, they will hear you and come in almost guaranteed. And you can usually get them to circle back once. Then it's probably over, and they will remember the next time out also and be more wary.

 

[74honker]

Not to side track but a buddy of mine Turkey hunts and said he has Yotes show up while he was gobbling

Yes. I have ruined more than one good turkey setup because a coyote came sneeking in before the tom. They didn't live to tell thier friends!

 

[74honker]

Gunpowder, you are correct, turkeys can see every color of the spectrum and is said maybe even some UV. I guess I was more meaning acuity to movement or just something out of place from WAY off like they can.

 

[justinp61]

I've killed a few coyotes while turkey hunting, usually after making a few calls.

Two or three years ago I was watching turkeys in about a 80-90 acre field, the field is made up of rolling hills with fescue and sage grass. The turkeys were on top of one of the hill tops, gobblers and hens. I was in a draw with a few scattered trees below them about 200 yards away just watching and calling a little.

A movement to my right caught my attention. It was a coyote working his way around the middle part of the hill in the scattered sage grass. The sides of the hill are pretty steep and the turkeys couldn't see him as he made his way around and up to the top. He spotted the turkeys and started making a stalk, it was pretty cool watching him sneak from clump to clump in the sage grass.

One of the turkeys spotted him and putted, all heads went up and the coyote made his charge. It was all for nothing as the turkeys all got off the ground in time and flew into some large oaks in the fence row. He stood watching for a few seconds and started hunting again, He spent about 45 minutes hunting around on the hill top.

I was watching the coyote when another movement caught my attention, it was another coyote and it just about ran me over. She was only about 10 yards away when I saw her so she was only a couple yards away by the time I realized what was going on and tried to get my gun up. I like the male on the hill came up empty.

After thinking on what I'd witnessed for a couple days I came to the conclusion that the coyotes, at least that one had learned that if they flush a turkey that there could be a nest full of tasty eggs near by and it's worth the effort to look.

What I learned while turkey hunting. 1- Coyotes are very smart and have at least some reasoning ability. 2- If you see one coyote (or turkey) in a distance don't focus solely on it. Stay aware of the surroundings as there may be others around.


Just some ramblings from a bumbling turkey hunter.