Prozacaddict

Hello all, I recently got permission to hunt coyotes on a big cattle farm here in Wood Co. West Virginia. The farmer says he sees them all the time while he is out cutting hay. I am going to go out to the farm this coming wednesday to hunt them. I plan on going out a few hours before dark and sitting till dark. I have a 22-250 and a Phantam Predator call. I need any help/suggestions oh how to set up and what sequence of calling to do for this time of year

Thanks
CHad

hardcorehunter

Great weaponn choice; I love the 22.250. Get a pair of shooting sticks and get set up where you are in a shadow if possible. If he leaves big round bales there set up in a shadow against one of them. Food is easy to come by this time of the year but there are young ones out and curiosity will surely have them come in for a closer look. I would try no calling at 1st and see if you just might get some shots at dusk or dawn as it sounds like a lot of yotes there. Start with a calling sequence of 30 seconds and wait another 10 minutes before calling again. The yote will always generally try to approach from downwind so set up with the wind crossways to you and so that the yote has to cross open ground to get to you.I bought Randy Anderson videos and I am glad I did. I would recommend them if you can. Good luck.
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Prozacaddict

Thanks for the advice. What type of distress should I use. My electronic Phantam game call has 12 different sounds. Which would be the best for this time of year?

Thanks again

Rammer

Fawn/rabbit distress should work well, and even throw in some mouse squeaks, sinec more than likely the 'yotes are out micing in the fields.

I agree with hardcore - get the Randy Anderson videos if you can. You will learn ALOT by watching them.

JoeRE

This time of year a pup in distress call should really work on the adults if you have one.

Prozacaddict

My call has the pup in distress. Should I try it first, or try the mouse squeeks or Rabbit Distress first. I plan on getting there around 630 PM and getting set up let things settle down and sit till dark. Hopefully I will be posting pictures. What do there coats look like this time of year?

Howler

I think the pup distress would be my first choice, BUT the rabbit distress, or rodent distress, should be also effective, expecially if no one else has been in the area calling.
The pelts aren't prime this time of year for sure. In most parts of the country, the pelt won't be worth a dime on the market this time of year!

Prozacaddict

Well, the results are in from an evening of hunting and no pics to post.
My buddy and I went out to the Farm I was telling you about, we set up overlooking a huge field. We set up in a cross wind with the creek behind our back and sat behind a dead fall tree. We got there around 5:30PM. At 6:30PM my buddy said there is a yote!!, I thought to myself that he was messing around, but to my suprise I looked up and there one stood about 100 yrds away in the middle of the field. I told my buddy to take it since he spotted it first. He is known for being "flinchy" behind a firearm, and when his shot rang out I was close behind for a follow up shot. He shot and the yote spun around and took off across the field, I took a running shot and missed by a mile. We went to look for sign and saw nothing. Now this all happend within an hour of setting up and using no calls at this time. About an hour later I spotted another coyote on the far edge of the field working its way along the field edge, I told my buddy there is another one, I took careful aim waiting for it to stop and "Click" nothing, the primer failed to fire. Now the gun I am using is a Thompson Encore 22-250 and it is my fathers gun, so I am not use to it, I immediately cocked the hammer and "click" like a dumba** I didnt change shells, so by the time I put another round in the gun, the yote was 200 yrds away just a few feet from the fence line going into the woods, I took an offhand shot knowing better and we found no sign of a hit. So for my first time out coyote hunting, I saw 2 coyotes and hour apart and without using any calling sequence. From 7:30 PM till dark, we used calls off and on with pup yelps and rabbit squeels. I figured the fawns were big enough at this time of year, so I elected not to use the fawn distress. I figured since the area has not been hunted and the coyotes are not use to the calling, that we would have called some in instead of just seeing them without calling. I do not know what to do now. I am going to go back tomorrow evening and sit in the same place, who knows if they are out patrolling in broad daylight. The farmer says he sees them all the timeand they usually follow close behind when he mows the fields in the evening. Last year the yotes killed 7 of his calves at $700 a piece, so he wants them killed. he is paying $50 a head for the yotes that we kill. I have horses and buy hay from him so it will be nice toshoot them and trade them for hay with nothing out of my pocket,and doing something that I like to do. . Let me know what you all think and any suggestions that you might have.

Thanks

North Texan

A couple of suggestions:

Hold your fire until you think you've got the coyote dead to rights. You weren't calling them, so they may not be call wise, but they will be paying a lot more attention to their surroundings. Shooting and missing puts them on alert.

If you can, shoot from a rest. Get a bipod or a set of shooting sticks. Or at least prop up against something so you can steady your aim.

Prozacaddict

Thanks for the advice, like I said my buddy flinches alot and we should have both fired at the same time as he was scratching his ear in the middle of the field in broad daylight. He should have never missed it in the first place, but this was the first time ever coyote hunting and the first coyote I had ever seen in the wild while being outdoors. I am an avid hunter and I hunt quite a bit and I have never seen a coyote out in the field while hunting. It was such a great experience in seeing this animal in the wild. We will take this as a learning experience. We were sitting among a dead fallen tree, so each of us had a solid rest, my shot was taken off hand while kneeling as the coyote ran off after he took his shot at it. But still there is no excuse, lol.