Me and my friend are trying to start coyote hunting while we are at college.. We dont really know how to start because neither of us has ever done it. Hopefully some of yall can give me some tips on where to begin..

thanks, Jordan

·Scent Elimination: I’m often amazed at the great extent people will go through to eliminate their human odor while deer hunting and this is good! But if you’re going after coyote you’d better take even better care of your odor, or just stay home! I guarantee coyotes will smell you if you don’t. Never ... never ... never underestimate what a coyote can smell.
·Camo- Choose a camo pattern for the conditions your hunting in. It’s hard to beat a quality snow pattern this time of year. No matter what the pattern I always try to sit near trees and bushes to breakup my outline.
·Guns– Two guns I use religiously is my 22 hornet and my Remington full choke 12 gauge with #4 shot. Since the majority of the coyotes are shot up close and personal both types serve my purpose.
·Calls- While there are numerous calls on the market, my personal favorite is Wood Wise Game Calls. I would really recommend the fox in distress mouth calls for coyotes. Quaker Boy game calls also make a cottontail screamer, which works well. One of the biggest mistakes a caller can make is calling to loud. You don’t have to! Keep it mid tone and pleading. Remember also to give the coyote time to respond to your calling. I have killed many of my coyote waiting 30 minutes or longer after I’ve stopped calling. For me, mouth blown calls seem to work better on coyotes than electronic calls. Sometimes all it will take is kissing the back of your hand to imitate mouse squeaks. I’ll also do this if a coyote begins to hang up.
·Night or Day- If I had a preference I would choose daytime hunting. For one I can use my 22 Hornet and usually I know he is close by. At night, I’m not always sure which direction he’s approaching. Over the years my best luck came between the hours of daybreak to 11 am.
·Wind- Know your prevailing wind and set up accordingly, 9 out of 10 times that coyote will want to get a whiff of you. Wind direction can be your greatest ally.
·Locations- Since most of my calling is in the daytime, I like to set up in close thick cover. The thicker the better for me. A system I have used for years was to go out at Dusk and give a few calls on my holler. If I got an answer, I was usually sure that coyote was getting up from his bedding area, or areas he felt most comfortable in. Then it was just a matter of sneaking in the morning before he or she got back there and try calling. It’s a great way to get these eastern bad boys, plus eliminates a lot of wasted time. Remember to make the coyote feel comfortable when he starts to come in. Don’t just try to call him out into the wide open. Let him approach near cover, shadowed areas or maybe by multi floral rose bushes, etc. The more comfortable he is, the less suspicious he will be. Try to think like the coyote and always assume one is coming in.
·Movement- Keep all your movement to a minimum! They have great eyesight.
·Decoys – They work if you’re willing to put up with the extra gear. I guess I’m getting older because I’m always looking to leave stuff behind. In all honesty, I feel a good scent in the air is as much, if not more, of an attractor to the coyote than the decoy. Often time’s coyotes caught wind of my scent attractor and just came a running. Good fresh Bobcat Urine, Rabbit Urine, or Red Fox Urine is all that is needed. You can dispense it into the air or place it into a dispensing unit. Of the three, I love to use Bobcat Urine, coyotes eat cats and they love the smell! It doesn’t matter if you have Bobcats in your area or not, it works.
Well ..There you have it. Coyote hunting is a lot of fun, but it can also be very disappointing. Never give up, but keep at it and things will begin to happen. Hopefully a few of these tips can produce results for you, better yet “fur on the board”.

thanks a lot sheridan.. one more question. Is a .270 too big to hunt coyotes with?

Winter pelts are worth some $$$, otherwise I look at it as population
control.


Shoot the lightest bullet you can find.........................best you can do (unless you reload).


If I could only own ONE rifle, it woulb be a .270 Win.


Strange, I don't even own one......................yet !

sheridan did a great job at breaking it down
but for the VA loction im sure your hunting it would also be smart to carry a 12ga with full to modified choke bb to buck shot.
Any hi powered rifle will be good to kill a predator/varmint
As far as scent you will never fool or mask your scent from a dog it is simply impossible. So check your wind thats your best bet.
during this time of year when insects,seeds,berries,acorns,ect are scarce or gone, Yotes stick to meat so your best bet is to use rabbit distress,bird distress(grey fox magnet),rodent squeal.
They need the meat to make up for all the lost energy they burn stayin warm. This is also a plus because you can pretty much hunt anytime you want wether it be noon or midnight. Obviuosly you need find good cover.And try to keep the sun on you back. Now when you get to your location saturate the area with your call and really sell it to em. If you get no results after about fifteen minutes move aproximatly four to five hundred yards away.Your best bet is to have several loctions already picked out and move around til you strike gold. This should all be good to get you started.

Get running walkers.