The Outdoorsman

Ok, I've been reading up hard on hunting coyotes, and Im going to start either this weekend or some time in Jan. My question though is about where to hunt yotes at? What set up am I looking for? Not sure of their tendencies, preferred travel routes, etc. From pictures that I see and what I have been reading, seems like most are taken in open fields. Now with that being said, I have the options to hunt two pieces of land, both wooded but one property has a food plot about 300yds long on it. And both properties have little food plots inside the woods. My question is, where would be the best place to set up for a coyote? In the woods, over the big food plot, along some specific "type" of area coyotes prefer to be in and around? Any help would be greatly appriciated.

Pure Predator

To say with out being there is hard... but you have to think about a few things...

1. Wind.... If you dont play the wind, you just wont play.... Period...
2. Approach
a. your approach, be concealed to your set up spot... If you just go lolly bopping across a open field to get there, they will pick you out, and never respond.....
b. the coyotes approach.. The better of a chance you have to see them the better....
3. Paint the big picture... Using a distress call to entice there hunger... Show them what is making that noise.... via, some type of decoy... Prey decoy... or Predator Decoy... Paint the big picture...

and most of all.... cover some ground...

Dont expect that Movie style... coyote barrelling in on your first stand... It rarely happens... If you dont get a response in that first 15-25 minutes... roll on... If you know that you did everything right... There probabley wasnt anything there...

Another thing to remember.. Coyotes... Like to hunt close to farms and humans during the night, and in the morning they are looking for a place to lay their head... more often away from farms and humans... think about that... IF you are going to set up... Close to sunset... Near farms and humans... In the morning, look for a spot that looks like a good spot to lay their head... Try there...



Check out my website... I have some tips from guys across the nation, use what you can, and roll with it...

Lots of luck...

Mike
www.purepredator.com
Pure Predator Custom Calls

The Outdoorsman

Thanks Mike and I will give your site a look as well.

tdmoe

Do your best to stay concealed, don't put to much emphasis on wind just try to control your scent as much as possible. Iv'e had coyotes on me in seconds after a call and I've had them stand out at the far end of a field and look at me when the wind was blowing in my face.
You don't need to spend money on a decoy either....if you're hunting with a rifle with some ass to it and you see the coyote then he should be dead right??
In brushy areas ( which I hunt alot ) they can be on you quick so be ready.
Start out soft with your calling....REAL SOFT. They can hear distress screams from a long distance and you won't " saturate " a 3 square mile area with screams.
Don't forget it's just as fun to call in a grey or red fox or a bobcat and don't be surprised to call in hawks, owls, crows.
It's a lot of fun. You just need patience.

yodeldog3

Playing the wind is just about the most important part of dog hunting. If you're in a cross wind sit. make sure you have a safe shot down wind, because that's where they will most likely head to on there way in to you. If the wind is really blowing, think about doing something else.

Phil from Maine

Here playing the wind is important as well. What we enjoy doing is putting some bait out on the ice and setting up waiting them out. A good call will help but with bait you do not really need much calling. Once the yotes pick up the wind off the bait they normally come in but are very cautios.. We see the quite commonly while out ice fishing as well. Most those times no one has a rifle with them though..

coyote#68

I like toset up near the edges of cover and feilds with the wind blowing into the feild,so to go downwind he has to come into the open.Always set up with a crosswind or where you can see downwind a coyote will usually try to go around and get downwind somehow.Dont set up with a wind blowing into the cover,this is where they live and they will smell you faster than a deer and be gone without a trace.Sneak in using the lower terrain to your advantage to keep out of sight,use scent control but use the wind wisely.You can call them in the woods but you had better be ready they can get on you fast when it's thick and you wont be able to get a shot off before they are gone.Good Luck!!

The Outdoorsman

Well no luck this weekend, didnt see one. thinking maybe the strong winds might have hurt me?? They were in the upper 30 mph winds and at times more with the gusts.

Howler

Yip, hard wind is the back bone killer of calling coyote. Just this year, two of us were out calling in the sandhills of eastern CO. My partner for the day had blown the "all done" sound that indicated that he had seen nothing and was time to move on. Before we get up from a stand, we always glass, of course in that country we can see a long ways. We'll I spotted a pair of coyotes that were only about 5 maybe 600 yards out, directly up wind. WInd was consistantly blwoing over 20 mph, with gusts of close to 30 mph. I signaled that I could see them, and I then started calling with my loudest hand call that I have. They never responded, at all, not even a look. SO I knew they simply couldn't hear us, even though there were no hills and no trees between us. So we waited for them to move out of sight and we moved toward them. Again, they came back into sight at about 400 yards. Only then were they finally able to hear us, and came. So YES, hard wind is a deal breaker when trying to call coyotes. Especially if the coyotes are in trees, over hills, or in tall grass. All of which will make it harder for them to hear us.

MIKipper

Mike I have done quit a bit of coyote calling & my advice is scent control& set up are your 2 most important issues.