Here where I live call and hunt coyote is pretty open country . We have some pine ridges . The tree lines are mostly where there are creeks or rivers . We have a lot of rough country with deep draws , steep hills , rock piles sage brush covering some of it . Then you have the mountains with open pastures , pine covered hills , large rocks , deep canyons , willow choked creeks and aspen groves . I have one pasture here that the coyote love that has hills that are 30 to 40 degrees with a lot of cedar trees in them . That pasture is 2000 acres and the cedar draws are a little over 200 acres with one small spring in one draw . When your ground crewing for the plane or chopper you tell them where the coyote are in relation to those land marks down this draw in that brush at such and such spring , in that rock pile in this pasture . Sound carries far here you can be seen from a lot of places down lower then most roads as the roads take the high route to keep from being drifted closed by snow but you have a lot of places to hide your truck and yourself . I may only have 3 or 4 coyote in a 3 by 5 mile area most of the year if I've done my job . I went to work for one ranch that was 60,000 acres in 1986 , they were docking 70 to 72 percent lamb crop , you start with 110 to 120 percent lamb crop . They were running 6000 head of ewes . The first year I worked for them I killed 25 coyote in the summer . Then during the first winter I killed 9 adult bobcat and 20 more coyote . They start lambing May 12th and dock in June that next year they docked 85 percent lamb crop and with in 4 years they were docking 109 to 112 percent lamb crop . And that is why I was called then went to work for that ranch . At 100.00 average per lamb that is a lot of money taken out of the pocket of the rancher and 75.00 per coyote is money well spent .
Coyote hunting tips
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geo4061
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So were you out there 24/7? Did you work several ranches at one time? Did you have a full time job? That is an awesome batting average. Like ReemtyJ said I would not want you on my trail.
I worked at a power plant on the afternoon shift so I could hunt coyote in the mornings till about 1:30 or 2:00 in the afternoon . I only sleep 2 to 4 hours per day , a habit I got in when I was in the service , In 40 years I averaged 10 to 15 days a year that I didn't hunt coyote and worked on average for 5 ranchers some times more and sometimes less .The county I live in is bigger then a lot of eastern states . I did some for the county and worked for wildlife services ( USDA ) as well at times . I averaged 216 coyote per year for 36 years sometimes more sometime less . Normally putting on 30,000 miles a year on my truck just hunting coyote , I called, trapped , snared and flew for coyote as much as I could as often as posable . When I go to work on a new ranch I run the fence lines set them up with snares then call in the chopper to fly it . I get the squirters in the snares that way and often will get 5 or more that way in a day , the coyote have been flown for by the chopper and planes so much some killed some chased some wounded for so many years that some of them run from it long before you could ever see them some lay down and don't move for up to half an hour after they have flown on . It doesn't matter what you do there will be some that live through it and will lead by example to others , their pups and mates and that is why you need to keep changing your ways of calling often not using the same sounds all the time , knowing what sounds the animals are making at what time of year not using coyote vocalizations all year long or all the time , remove your kills even when their fur isn't any good , don't make more sound then you need to ( call softly , walk softly and shoot well ) . So many people will do the same thing every time they go calling as an example some will start with a howl at every stand then they will follow that up with rabbit distress doing that same thing for as many stands as they make in a day and the sound over laps from one stand to the next . They had a coyote or two that were coming from a long way out that they didn't see on stand number one so then on stand number two they make the same sound from a different location and the coyote that heard them on stand number one hear them on stand number two and have now learned that sound and that it isn't natural so might come in to a distance lay down watch and listen then they see a person stand up walk away they just learned to be very cautious of that sound and didn't even get shot at . Just some of my observations yours may be different then mine you live in a different area then I do but I'm thinking the coyote are similar to the ones in my area just like people they have differences but also common traits from one area to the next . I retired from control work and the power plant 3 years ago and work on one ranch now just to keep busy and in touch with that life . We have unintentionally done a selective breeding program on the coyote we kill the ones that aren't cautious the ones that are don't get killed so then breed with others that are and have more pups per litter that have the tendency to be cautious food for thought maybe ?
I also don't include the coyote taken from flying in my average those are the pilots coyote I just shot them for him . I also don't include any pups taken from the den but if you are doing control work that is one of the best ways to get the killing stopped fast kill the adults and the pups then there is no reason to kill livestock for the most part by the other coyote .
bet your girlfriend/wife was the 1st to tell you that and she tells you that still, now and then!
geo4061
Well-Known Member
Of the methods you used which one was most effective, snares, fly overs, calling, or.
snares are defiantly effective I use them in fence lines no trail set snares for me here too many deer , antelope and livestock , traps also work well , denning was the most effective tool for control work . No one thing can be done by it's self over and over and expected to be effective in controlling coyote . I use calling when denning to locate the adults and call them in to kill them , then you need to be able to track so you can find the den unless the pups are old enough that they will howl at you so you can locate them . When you do locate the den then calling gets the adults in on top of you fast if you haven't already killed them or just got one killed . Studies have shown that just to keep coyote number the same you need to kill at least 75 percent of the years pups . If you just want to have fun call them or as Reemty does stalk them I had to do that on some as well as ambush some of the wise ones . If I don't have much time and they are killing in several places at once with the right sun light and good location on them them flying gets it done best . All of the tools you can put in your bag have their time and place and will be the best at one time or another no one method is the do all end all with coyote . The absolute best coyote control is nature , a good wet snow when the pups are just a few days old kills a lot if a young pup get wet and chills it dies , the mange kills old and young alike as does distemper , I've found five pups and two adults killed by lightening on a hill side then I've found eight headless pups in a draw mountain lion tracks all around .
geo4061
Well-Known Member
When I go into a set. I have played it out in my mind. A scenerio of things(sounds) that would happen together naturally. How do you prepare for a set?
Well it's pretty much the same as you I do some meditation and visualization of the different scenarios . I have pretty much figured out where the coyote will be living or laying up before I go in to a stand . I plan my route to the stand before I start moving in to it and watch as I move slowly to it looking and listening as I go . I've been out there enough to know what animals are around and what sounds work best at that time of year . I set up then spend time looking and listening 10 to 15 minutes before I start calling to let the other animals , birds ect. calm back down no matter how good you are at getting to your stand the animals and birds know you are there . I spend that time to feel out the area I'm going to call figure out the distances to different land marks and see what the travel routes to me are and what route they are most likely to use . If you really want to learn about getting to your stand , observing what you are seeing of the route in and out to your stand then what you want to look for and see when you get there study what the Seals do and what the long range patrols do they are better then I ever will be study how they learn to use the land to their advantage .
Being a hunter is different then hunting . Being observant is different then looking , it's using all of the senses that you have at your disposal . Try to understand what it is that you are seeing ( what is that mashed down patch of grass , did an animal bed there if so what animal would it have been estimate that by what size animal made that patch of laid down grass look for tracks . What animals are in this area . What is that sound is it a bird or do I have a rodent giving an alarm call for the world to hear because I startled it . What is that smell is it an elk bull that's been peeing on it's self or is it a dead animal . Where are my feet going to be put down are there things going to trip me or make noise if my feet put pressure on them . Is there things that will make noise if I brush up against them . Do I feel a breeze on me what direction is it coming from how strong is it . Do I feel something watching me where is it and what is it . Allow your senses to talk to you be aware be observant . Study the animal you want to hunt so you know where it will likely be at what time of day , know what it eats at what time of the year , where it has it's young and hides them , does it lay on the down wind hill side to sun it's self , in the morning or after noon does it lay up in the brushy creek bottom or in the cut stubble to sun and stay out of the wind as well as have good views of the surrounding area mostly . When it's real windy does it lay up or does it hunt maybe it drops down into the deeper draws at that time finds a cut bank lays at it's base in the sun or uses them for hunting animals that lay up in them when it's windy or stormy . if it's summer and hot what does it do , does it change to hunting at night then and lay up from late morning till evening . Does it go under ground during the heat of the day or find shade and dig up some soil to cool off in . There are so many other variables that play into being a hunter , some people come by it naturally , some grew up with it and really don't have to think about it , but most of us have to learn about it and work at being a good hunter . Just do the best you can and keep trying to be better at it .
geo4061
Well-Known Member
Amazed, thanks again for sharing.
