Calling coyotes

Who here calls coyotes?
I am 1 for 4 so far this year. Very first stand on thanksgiving morning I called one in at the 6 minute mark and have had 3 blank sets ever since.

Full moon is tonight.
Not much for snow around in SW Minnesota. Beginning of next week looks white. Being a week after full moon. Not sure how much moon light we will have to call by then.

Hoping to get a trip to western SD in before Christmas or the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
Last trip out there was in 2019 and couldn’t get a response with prey distress. Had to switch to coyote vocalizations to get them to respond.

I do some coyote hunting mainly in east central MN.

Very low percentage game in the areas I hunt. I think it’s getting more difficult because the presence of wolves have made the coyotes hyper-wary because they might run into the much bigger and badder competition.

I do, haven’t yet though. Suppose with shotgun season done I can finally pull out the thermal and rifle and get to it. Daytime would need to wear orange right now with mz season open yet…silly regs.

I need to take up that sport. Last weekend while out Muzzleloader hunting right at the end of legal shooting time. A rather LARGE pack started Howling all over the place. It started as one single yelp, soon followed by a TON more. I thought it came near where several of my hunting buddies where sitting. When we got back to the house I asked them how close they were to them. One of the guys said close enough that he had to leave his underpants in the woods I’m still not sure if he was serious or not That was a serious eerie feeling and they were a fair ways away from me.

fishthumper wrote:

I need to take up that sport.

I’ve been thinking about starting it for years myself. I lack participation in the outdoor activities during the winter months from Jan – March and I feel like this might be my “calling.” Michael and FBRM, what rifles/calibers and scopes are you guys using? I have some relatives who hunt them in North Dakota and they all use 22-250 ARs made by DPMS.

22-250, 223, 243 are all good rounds.

Optics is a good question.
All my optics are vortex including Binoculars, spotting scopes rangefinder. Some are in the viper line and sone in the Razor line.
Sure there is better glass out there but it’s hard to beat the warranty they have.

A funny fact. I have shot more with my bow than anything else. This year is the first year since the early 2000’s I haven’t gotten one with my bow while big game hunting.

One year while glassing for mule deer in SD I had a coyote go by me 200 yards out. Decided to give him a couple of notes of bunny blues. Ended up calling in 4 coyotes and shooting one with my bow that checked up at 50 yards looking for the source of the sound.

Coyotes are one of those animals that no matter what I am hunting it turns into a coyote hunt when I see one.

When I go calling for them I run an E call. But when I am big game hunting I always have a hand call in my pack for those just in case moments.

I usually get out a couple times a year. Been a number of years since I connected on one though. This fresh snow and full moon has me thinking hard about it though. I’ll look at the regs, but are you allowed to night hunt during muzzleloader season? I’ve used a .17HMR, 12ga, .223, and .25-06. Those thermal scopes look like all kinds of fun. But quite the investment!

That’s a good question that I don’t have the answer to. Muzzleloader ends this weekend and I was more thinking about next week. But the full moon is tonight.

I agree thermal looks interesting. Have done most of my calling in daylight though.

I do have access to a good 243 with good optics. I may have to give hunting them a shot. I have access to some land that I know has a fair amount of Coyotes on or near it. In a small island in the center of a field we have a BIG box stand. On one side is a creek bottom, on Two sides there are small groves of pine trees, and on the final side is a Swamp. Its seems to me to be a ideal place to set up and try and call in a few. I’m just not sure where to setup the e-call. Would I be best to set up up right on the small Tree island the stand is located. Or would I be better off setting it up out in the field under some cover. I have no experience and have no idea of where or how to start.

The Muzzleloading ? got me to thinking about a legal ? as well. How would the law fall if while out muzzleloader hunting I also have a 243 in the stand with me to shoot any coyotes I may see. My guess is the Game warden would question that situation a little. I’m not sure if it would be against the law though

gimruis wrote:

…what rifles/calibers and scopes are you guys using?

If you don’t care about preserving the pelt as much as possible, use whatever centerfire you have. I’ve shot them with everything from a .30-06, 243, 22-250, and .223.

When calling in the easter half of MN, the best rifle IMO is a 12 gauge shotgun. Eastern coyotes won’t run out in wide open fields just begging to be shot. They sneak in and they are easily within shotgun range before you ever see them.

fishthumper wrote:

I do have access to a good 243 with good optics. I may have to give hunting them a shot. I have access to some land that I know has a fair amount of Coyotes on or near it. In a small island in the center of a field we have a BIG box stand. On one side is a creek bottom, on Two sides there are small groves of pine trees, and on the final side is a Swamp. Its seems to me to be an ideal place to set up and try and call in a few. I’m just not sure where to setup the e-call. Would I be best to set up up right on the small Tree island the stand is located. Or would I be better off setting it up out in the field under some cover. I have no experience and have no idea of where or how to start.

When calling coyotes there is one thing that is certain. They are going to circle down wind of the call. Now it’s might be at 500 yards or it might be at 5 yards.

As grouse pointed out coyotes when responding to calls don’t like open country. It’s the same way out west on the prairie. I tend to have better luck with broken terrain etc when calling. Try to have the open terrain down wind of you.

The farthest I will place the call from me is 70 yards. Most of the times it’s 30 to 50 yards from me. As far as direction from the wind goes that depends on the set up and wind direction. Some times the call is up wind and some times the call is cross wind.

Calling eastern (Minnesota) coyotes is a different world from western (Dakotas) coyotes. Out west it’s a run and gun world. 12 to 15 minute stands trying to get as many stands in a day as possible. Easterly it’s smaller properties and limited access so longer sits.

Coyotes are not worth much this year but the last ones I sold went for $20 on the carcus. Western coyotes (west of the Missouri River) are worth more than eastern coyotes. They say the have thicker fur out there.
Just like lighter colors can bring more money than darker colors.
Me personally I like the darker ones better.

I will include a pic of a dark male I got in western SD. I sold the fur but should have kept that one for myself.

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fishthumper wrote:

The Muzzleloading ? got me to thinking about a legal ? as well. How would the law fall if while out muzzleloader hunting I also have a 243 in the stand with me to shoot any coyotes I may see. My guess is the Game warden would question that situation a little. I’m not sure if it would be against the law though

I’d have to find the exact verbiage but the answer is no can do.
The GW would issue you a ticket.

haleysgold wrote:

I’d have to find the exact verbiage but the answer is no can do.
The GW would issue you a ticket.

I’ve looked all over the Minnesota Regulations book. Could not find anything saying you could not hunt deer and Coyotes at the same time. I’m sure there would be no problem if you shot one with a Muzzleloader ( Hope not anyway – Know of many who have ) I could see where sitting out hunting deer during the Muzzleloader season with a 243 in the stand with you could look a little questionable. But questionable and legal are two different things.

Found it for you:
Possessing muzzleloaders with other firearms
Muzzleloading firearms lawful for the taking of deer may be possessed only by persons with a valid license to take deer by muzzleloader. While muzzleloader hunting, a person may not possess a firearm other than the following: an unloaded firearm in a case or closed trunk of a motor vehicle, a shotgun and shells containing No. 4 buckshot or smaller, a handgun or rifle capable of firing only rimfire cartridges of .17 or .22 caliber, including .22 magnum or handguns by persons authorized under the Minnesota
Personal Protection Act.

haleysgold wrote:

Found it for you:
Possessing muzzleloaders with other firearms
Muzzleloading firearms lawful for the taking of deer may be possessed only by persons with a valid license to take deer by muzzleloader. While muzzleloader hunting, a person may not possess a firearm other than the following: an unloaded firearm in a case or closed trunk of a motor vehicle, a shotgun and shells containing No. 4 buckshot or smaller, a handgun or rifle capable of firing only rimfire cartridges of .17 or .22 caliber, including .22 magnum or handguns by persons authorized under the Minnesota
Personal Protection Act.

What page was that on? It seems weird that they would allow a shotgun with buckshot or a 22 Magnum but not a Centerfire rifle. I looked all over the hunting regulation book and could not find anything in it.

I found it. Its in the Muzzleloader section of the booklet. I was using a search using Coyote and reading everything it came up with. Should have just looked in the muzzleloader section. Thanks for the find. I guess it would have to be a shotgun or a 22 Mag. to take coyotes with while Muzzloader hunting. Not that I would be likely to do so anyway.

https://youtu.be/git7jze3keI I’ve yodeled a few in . Thermal has been fun . It can be lights out or tough sledding . Just another money pit hobby

Holy cow that one clip has a whole pack coming in!

fwiw I could not find anything in the regs restricting how or when you can coyote hunt during the muzzleloader season. As long as you don’t hold a muzzleloader license I would assume. You can not night hunt during the regular firearms deer season or 4 days prior or 2 days after.
I can vouch for them always circling downwind of the call, except when they don’t. (I’ve also seen them do some pretty stupid stuff.) I still remember a time a few of us were calling a friend’s property. Set up face in the wind overlooking a nice cattail slough and river bottom. Watched 2 coyotes come up our flank about 500 yards out, walk through our friend’s farmyard, cross the road and walk through the neighbors yards, just to get 300yds downwind of us and bust us. Why couldn’t they just walk up the ravine in front of us?

gimruis wrote:

Holy cow that one clip has a whole pack coming in!

Yeah – I want to be certain though that it’s not the cake walk that it seems . Some nights I’ll go 0/4 sits on a perfect night , and sometimes I’ll go 3/4 sits on a night the winds blowing too hard I feel like . It gets tougher as the year goes too for sure , and it’s work believe it or not . Tripod gun and caller all hauling into a set is alot to carry . Of all the people I know that own thermals , I bet less than half actually use them .

What would you recommend for hunting a WMA that doesn’t allow single projectile ammo, or night hunting? We have a huge # of yotes, and feel like I could do a real service for the local community page that is concerned about Fido or their first born going missing…

BigWerm wrote:

What would you recommend for hunting a WMA that doesn’t allow single projectile ammo, or night hunting? We have a huge # of yotes, and feel like I could do a real service for the local community page that is concerned about Fido or their first born going missing…

Lead BB if you can track some down or #4 buck

ajw wrote:

#4 buck

That’s what I was thinking. What’s a good call?

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>ajw wrote:</div>
#4 buck

That’s what I was thinking. What’s a good call?

I have a foxpro fury and lucky duck rough neck.
Not a big fan of the foxpro coyote vocalizations but their pre distress and coyote pup distress are good ones.
Tge lucky duck is louder and the remote talksvto the call at greater distance.
If you go with a Lucky Duck I would go through Rick Pallet and his website is verminator coyote calls. All the sounds on lucky duck come from him.

Lots of guys in coyote contest use BB coyote rounds for shotguns. I know the lucky duck guys shoot a Hornsby in BB.

I’ve guided predator hunting for years. So many factors influence success rates. Probably the biggest hindrances once you get effective of your setup is other hunters educating them. Coyotes are not dumb. Anyone that thinks whitetail hunting is tough has never hunted song dogs.

E-Calls, I have a love / hate for them. Good for puppies and uneducated dogs. A few stock sounds are good. Best are quality recordings added to the caller. Most callers are geared towards volume and distance. Many don’t have a balance tone. Too high in my opinion. Adjustable high and bass is much better.

I lean towards hand calls. Plastic is good to ok. Many wood calls carry a much better tone. If you hunt educated dogs, your sound needs to be spot on. different tones work better n different areas is a critical thing to understand. Snowshoe hare, jackrabbit, cottontail all are different. Always consider the food sources of that area and does the call tone carry in a way that matches. Something many don’t pay attention too.

Know how predators use contours to their advantage. A 1-2 foot change in contour can carry up or down wind like a funnel. Study their travel routes before making sets

BigWerm wrote:

What would you recommend for hunting a WMA that doesn’t allow single projectile ammo, or night hunting? We have a huge # of yotes, and feel like I could do a real service for the local community page that is concerned about Fido or their first born going missing…

I shoot Hornady Dead Coyote, which are nickel-plated BB shot size. Really scorches them.

I have tried multiple buckshot loads, I’m NOT a fan. Just too few pellets to be effective.

A good 3 or 3.5 inch waterfowl load is fine too. Something like #2 steel would hammer them just as well. Not everything needs to be hyper-specialized.

The key IMO on public land is not to enter from the usual parking area or road and start calling. Coyotes are going to be very aware of where the people always come from. Instead, try to find a way to access the back of the WMA quietly and without running your scent through likely cover.

I agree with Randy re e-calls. The thing you have to remember is that a coyote’s hearing is many times better than ours. So blasting an e caller is going to sound very, very loud and unreal to a coyote. You have to have control. Start on the lowest volume setting.

Again, as Randy says, coyotes are smart. Do NOT help them by providing a free education. The key with coyotes is to stay ready and don’t educate them by missing. That’s also where the shotgun comes in, with a shotgun the chances of shooting a double are greatly increased, instead of killing one and educating the other, Once a coyote has been called in and shot at/missed, they become almost impossible to kill.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Hornady Dead Coyote, which are nickel-plated BB shot size. Really scorches them.

I wouldn’t recommend using ANY steel shot.
That stuff just doesn’t have the punch to penetrate yote fur.
It balls up in their fur.

Any of the lead BB size on up will work or tungsten type varieties. Plated helps too.

10 gauge bbb is quite effective on yotes