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Predator Hunting
If your looking for a
exciting time in the woods that presents a
challenge...predator hunting is a must. It seems at least in
our area that we have somehow become over run with coyotes.
At one point this last deer season, I sat in my tree stand
overlooking a large swamp. Out of nowhere appeared two
coyotes about 200 yards below me that just came out of the
wood line and sat on the ice facing back in the direction
that they had just came from.
I watched for a few
moments when up at the other end of the swamp came the
barks, yelps and howls of at least four more coyotes that
were actually putting on a deer drive to the two waiting on
the ice. This went on for about 15 minutes when I saw the
four come out of the woods to meet up with the other
two.
At that point, two turned
my way and started coming up the flow at a trot. Letting
them get within a 100 yards I placed the crosshairs of the
Remington 30-06 on the first one and pulled the trigger. He
dropped like a ton of bricks and the second just stood there
trying to figure out where the shot had come from and what
was wrong with it's partner.
Swinging the crosshairs to
the second the gun roared once again to see him drop. I
really wish the other four had followed their footsteps.
This wasn't the first encounter with coyotes and there were
many. Everyone in our hunting party had at least seen one
during the season. There were also tell tale signs of them
being very successful at deer hunting with carcasses to
prove it scattered about on the 400 acres.
If you want to improve the
deer hunting in your area...one of the first things you need
to accomplish is to reduce the population of coyotes in the
area. They will go first for the fawns and then as these
guys showed us...can and will take down a full size healthy
deer working as a group.
So where do you start? My
first investment was a pair of winter Camo's to blend into
the snowy backstop of the terrain and a good set of optics.
I already had a number of high powered guns in my arsenal
but choose the .223 as a good flat shooting all around gun.
Honestly there is really no perfect gun...it's what your
prefaces are. Here are just a few that seem to fit in the
with majority of sportsmen doing predator hunting
Calibers
.223, .222, 22-250, 22 mag,
.243, .308, 30-06, .270 just to name a few ...a lot depends
on just how close you can get the coyotes to come in.
Optic's
I bought a good set of 10
X 50 binoculars and a 3 - 12 X 50 Bushnell scope.
Game calls
This is where it gets
tricky. So much like trying to decide on which is the best
calls during deer season, the same holds here. There are so
many different ones on the market today that it would take
days to try and go into each one. If your just starting out
and can afford it...buying an electronic call is probably
the the best in that it produces good quality sounds of all
the calls sold. Everything from a rabbit or fawn in distress
to high quality coyote yelps and howls.
I bought the remote
predator electronic call from Cass Creek that comes with a
hand held remote so that you can place the main unit a
distance from you and remotely control which call to
produce. This is great in that the animal hearing the call
comes in looking for what's making the call and not
realizing your even there. We have also used the mouth calls
with great success.
Where to Start...
The first and most
important item that is crucial to your success at calling
coyotes is scouting. It is a simple fact that you can’t call
a coyote if there isn’t one there to be called. When you’re
out in the field scouting look for scat and coyote tracks
that will indicate coyotes are in the area. Look for areas
that have a high concentration of the coyote’s prey, such as
rabbits, prairie dogs, deer, and mice. If you seek out these
types of areas, you’re sure to find coyotes.
The Set-up
How you position yourself
to call is critical. Pay close attention to the direction of
the wind at all times as a coyote’s sense of smell is highly
adapted and will pick you out faster than a deer. When
setting up, make sure you position yourself either with the
wind directly in your face or with a crosswind just like
deer hunting. Coyotes act a lot like deer in that they will
try circling downwind to find out what is making the calls,
so the ideal set-up in my opinion would be with a crosswind
and sufficient open area downwind to see any circling
coyotes.
The buddy system works
well also in that you can position him/her downwind to get
any coyotes that circles your position. If your using a
remote controlled digital callers on the market, you can
position the call upwind of your position and wait as the
coyote begins to circle. Keep in mind that sometimes a
coyote will come directly into and not circle.
Try and position yourself with the sun at your back as this
makes harder for the coyote to see you as they come in.
Another idea is to position yourself under spruce trees that
proved dark shaded areas. By being in the shade it will help
conceal your position and make it more difficult for the
coyote to see you as you blend into the backdrop.
How to call...
Learning how to use the
number of mouth distress calls on the market is a pretty
simple. If you don’t know the correct sound to make, I would
suggest buying one of the many videos on coyote calling that
are on the market or visit places like you-tube and search
for predator calling and practice. Most beginners make the
mistake of thinking they have to sound perfect in order to
call a coyote, but the real truth is that the coyote
really doesn’t care as long as you sound like an animal in
distress.
The thing about
calling coyotes is that no two people or coyotes sound
exactly alike when using a particular call, but the sounds
are all effective, and yours likely will be too. I typically
stay 30 to 40 minutes on each stand especially when calling
in open areas like swamps and meadows. If your hunting
heavily wooded areas, you may want to reduce the time to
10-15 minutes because sound doesn't travel as
far in the timber.
Start out with calling for
10 to 40 seconds starting out low volumes in case their
close and gradually increase every tow to three minutes. If
nothing comes within 20 to thirty minutes...move to a new
location 75 to 100 yards either direction and repeat the
calling sequence.
Good luck and let us know
how you turn out and maybe you might have some good advice,
tips or the stories you would like to share with the rest of
us...send
them to us! |
The New York Hunter
