hc4runner

Well bow season is over and its still to cold to fish, so I thought I might do a little coyote hunting. The area I will be hunting is flat farmland with fencelines and drainage ditches. I am new to yote hunting and I need some advice. Mouth calls? Electronic calls? Which is best for a beginner. The only rifle I have is a Ruger 280. or I can try to call them in close and use 12 gauge 00 buck.
If electronic calls are my best bet, which brands are the best. Thanks.

hc4runner
MO. bowhunter

coyoteseeker

hc4,go to the topic "brand new to coyote hunting" also click on bhw's link he has alot of usefull info.the only thing i will add is,since your hunting flat land with only fence lines and ditches these two things are what you will need to watch.the drainage ditches especially the coyote will utilize to approch your area. set up with one of these ditches on the up wind side of you running with the wind or cross wind.what the coyote will do is run in the ditch and every so often pop up and look for the distressed animal.a smart coyote may not show his whole body but rather peek over the edge.all you will see is his ears,top of head and eyes.this can be very diffacult to see so you realy need to be on your toes,a good pair of binos helps .the 280 will fold them up in a hurry but pelts may not survive,i don't know, never shot one with that round.elec calls/hand calls??its a matter of personal preference,they both will work.for me i like hand calls but alot of guys like the electronic calls.a good but pricey call box is the fox pro.i carry both but most times use hand calls.if hand calls are your choice you must practice,practice,practice.you need to sound real and a coyote knows whats real and whats not.

Edited by - coyoteseeker on 02/08/2003 07:52:16

noway

If you are just a beginner get a closed reed cottontail call and practice with a tape to get the sound right, then go for it.
Later on if you really get into it the electronic caller gives you several options for more versatility.
Predator calling can be tough, IMO you can spend the money on the electronic caller later if you decide you really like calling.
The majority of people don't stay at it long because you can get easily discouraged.
Most experienced callers will tell you they can call in just as many with either hand calls or electronic calls. For the beginner the electronic call may give you more confidence that you sound right.
The sound is not the most important thing, you need to call where there are coyotes and with a good setup so you can see them if you do call one in. People call in coyotes with some pretty bad sounding rabbit imitations.
Use your .280 if you don't care about the hides. Just watch your background closely in farm country.
Good luck!

coyoteseeker

noway is right about set being more important then calling sound.but if your attempting to call in educated coyote and fox then calling sound or the ability to sound real is just as important as set up.predator hunting is becoming very popular and unless your calling in the wide open expanses of the west theres a good chance that the coyote your trying to work has been called to before.i say this becouse the coyotes in my area have been worked many times,shot at,chased by dogs,persacuted to the hilt.a beginner caller who has little practice time will have minamal succsess at best if any at all with these dogs.this is why i always say practice becouse you just don't know any more if there educated or not.

Edited by - coyoteseeker on 02/10/2003 18:17:22

walleyeman

i wuld say that electronic will work the best for ya.