Coyote, a word that fills most people’s minds with hatred; an animal that always has a “shoot at sight” tag on its head in the mainland of USA, especially because of their unusual growth in population which impacts the number of deer in most states.
One the other hand, Native Americans admire them, they call coyotes - “the god’s dog”. Now, emotions may differ from men to men, but on one thing everyone is unanimous – coyotes are the smartest predator on earth.
Hunting coyote is different than hunting other animals, they aren’t game animals; they’re predators. So, hunting coyote is actually hunting another hunter. A hunter who doesn’t hunt for mere amusement or adventure, they hunt because they feed on them. It makes a coyote a born hunter with all the abilities to be one of the best one.
This article is basically a comprehensive guide on coyote hunting for the beginners. Here we’ll tell you about coyotes (we think, this info will help you to understand them) in Part One. This part will cover common features, nature, and characteristics of coyotes.
In Part Two, we’ll talk about some required information that you should know for coyote hunting. It includes all the information about the best time, best places for hunting them, required coyote hunting gears, the best weapon for hunting them.
Part Three is all about - how to hunt coyotes, that covers all the coyote hunting tips and tricks along with the post hunting measures. Here we’ll also cover the common mistakes that a beginner hunter may do and how to avoid them along with some must take safety cautions.
In the last part (Part Four), we’ll answer the most common questions/ curiosities regarding coyotes and hunting coyotes.
PART ONE | Overview of Coyote
In front of his den (source: Brent Cizek)
Coyotes are versatile animal; it has powerful adaptability to cope up with the different environmental condition. They are now praised as the master of adaptation.
And for this reason, you can find them abundantly throughout North America and Central America. Unlike other wild animals, urbanization doesn’t have any negative impact on their population. Instead, their population has actually increased over the last 150 years in this region.
Coyote population expansion in North America
There are 19 subspecies of the coyote that exist in the USA. They are smaller than the wolf but larger than a fox, the average weight of an adult coyote is around 18 kg which varies from 7 to 20 kg.
Coyotes are normally light gray and red with little cinnamon tint. Apart from these 19 subspecies, different coyote hybrids with domestic dogs and wolf are also available in these subcontinents.
What does coyote eat (food habit of coyote)?
Coyotes generally feed on the meat of other animals. They eat meats of almost any kind of animals, birds, fish, insects, etc. However, their most common preys are rodents, deer, hares, birds, reptiles, etc. They don’t even mind going vegetarian - eating fruits and or vegetable if they failed to collect any meat.
The fact is, coyotes from different regions, eat verities of things. Some of their foods are so wired and unusual like other animal’s shits or carcasses of dead coyotes! They even eat grass, soybean, cotton cakes, etc. if they need to.
As mentioned earlier, coyotes are hunters. They always like to hunt other small animals singly. But, hunting large animals alone is difficult for them. So, they team up with other coyotes.
FUN FACT-1
Coyote and Badger: an unusual friendship
A rather interesting fact about a coyote is that they sometimes collaborate with American badgers to hunt prairie dogs and ground squirrels. This amusing joint venture, a rather unique behavior for an animal, benefits them both with more successful hunting.
Here’s a video on coyote and badger corporation-
Knowing coyotes food habits and hunting places well results in more success in hunting coyotes. Usually, during the early winter (mid-September – October) is the most fruitful hunting time for coyotes.
During this time of a year, they are more focused on food than anything else. So, usually, luring them with rabbit distress call or other prey will be more effective.
Coyote mating season
Coyotes’ mating season starts when female coyotes enter into their estrus period (when female coyotes are ready formatting) in the late winter (January to March). During that time, female coyotes howl with increasing intensity to attract male coyotes.
Coyotes are monogamous animals, coyote couples stay loyal (!) to each other during a whole mating season, no matter how many options they have. Hunters can utilize coyotes’ matting season by using howling calls or other coyote sounds.
Coyote den (where coyote lives?)
Normally coyotes travel a lot in group. So, they aren’t much worried about a permanent home or shelter for sleeping. However, if they want a den then they normally take abandoned burrows (dug by other animals), tree holes, caves, drainage pipes, tree logs or any other suitable place as their den. Coyote dens are normally found in canyons, banks, washouts etc. However, they can live in any types of terrains including woods, fields or bushes.
Coyotes are social animal. They love to stay in a family they form with their partner and raise their offspring carefully. The necessity of a den becomes important for them when a couple is going to have their offspring. The female coyotes decorate and clean their dens to prepare it for their future babies. Until the babies are grown enough, the parent coyotes devotedly raise their children inside the den – feed them, take care of them and protect them.
What are the threats of coyote?
Apart from the human hunters, the biggest threat for coyote is Wolf. Wolves don’t like them very much, especially because both of them compete for the same prey. Study shows that the number of coyotes is significantly less in those areas where wolf exists than the areas where they are absent.
Jaguar is another predator that is also a threat to the coyotes, as they both compete for the mule deer. It’s unfortunate for the coyote that they can’t win over Jaguar. So, they get killed by this great cat too. Apart from these two, they face few attacks from beers, and that’s all; they don’t have to worry about any other animal.
FUN FACT-2
How to differentiate wolves, dogs and coyotes from looking at their tails?
Coyotes, dogs, and wolves came from the same forefather. So, they have lots of similarities. They are even interbreeding with wolves and dogs and making new hybrid babies! Usually, armature eyes may find it hard to differentiate them for their similar features. Now, here’s an interesting tip for them (obviously not for experienced hunters), if you notice a running canine (coyote, wolf, or dog) then observe their tail, it will tell you what it is. How?
Well, dogs keep their tails upward, wolves keep it straight, and the coyotes place their tails downward between their feet when they are running. Get it?
Why coyote population is increasing when all other predators are declining?
Coyotes are the master of adaption. Unlike any other animals, they have always been taking advantage of all the man-made changes. Destroying wildlife habitation and hunting of big predators men are actually helping coyotes to breed and increase without any threats. They’re opportunistic eaters, they eat almost anything. And, their range of food is also increasing. For example, a couple of centuries back when they only hunted small animals, now they are hunting even large deer. Why? Because they are evolving!
From an article published by the Nature magazine, we’ve come to know that, the number of coyotes isn’t only increasing but also this species is evolving . The scientists have found that the modern coyote genes have a good share from the Great Lakes wolves. During 1800, when the number of wolves declined to a great number, wolves were forced to settle with local coyotes and produce hybrid wolf-coyote babies.
Hence, the result is the large-sized modern northeastern coyotes. During the 1800s they were only around 25 lbs (12 kg), whereas now they weigh nearly 35 lbs (16 kg). This increasing size and strength enable them to prey upon large-sized animals.
Also, the coyote doesn’t mind trying new foods. They even eat fast foods from household wastage!
So, their physical evaluation, food habit, absence of larger predators, faster breeding, ability to cohabit with humans all are contributing to their increasing population.
PART TWO | Hunting Coyote (Background)
Why hunt coyotes?
Before answering the question - how to hunt coyotes, let's know - why hunt coyotes, first.
Coyote isn’t strong as other large predators like a jaguar, grisly, or lion and they aren’t even fast as the cheetah. So they rely mostly on their clever minds. It’s been believed that the coyote is the cleverest animal among all. That’s why they are imagined as the trickster in North American folklore.
So, obviously, hunting coyote require clever mind. A hunter has to be cleverer than a coyote if he really want to make it his prey. Being one of the sliest animals in the jungle it’s very hard to hunt them. And, that is why hunting coyote is extremely challenging. Hunters, who love hunting coyote, love it because they want to win that challenge. Actually, they won’t provide tasty meat like deer; therefore, wining over them is the only desired reward that a hunter can get (other than their fur).
Another reason of hunting coyote that actually move the hunters is the craving for the excitement of hunting during off-season. During the off-season, when hunting all other game animals is forbidden, what can you do other than that? Hunters have to stay active, right? They have to practice and improve their skills too.
Surely there are some other benefits of hunting coyote, such as - population control, saving domestic animals or other harmless wild animals, making some extra bucks with the fur etc. But fact is hunters don’t actually bother about those so called benefits. They are just the byproducts. Hence, only the “excitement of hunting” is real!
Limiting the rapidly populated coyotes is another reason to hunt them. Unlike many wild animals, coyotes are breeding faster despite the growing urbanization and climate change. Hence, this large population faces scarcity of natural food and attacks farm animals frequently in many areas of USA. They even break through neighborhoods and hunt roaming pets if they find any. That’s why farmers and wild life preservation departments of different states encourages the hunters, by not imposing strict rules.
Licensing and rules regarding coyote hunting
It is good news for the coyote hunters that coyotes are already declared as the least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This means, coyotes are not considered as endangered animals that should be conserved by any law, because of their abundance. So, there is very few restrictions hunters face to hunt them.
Best time for hunting coyote
In most states, hunting coyotes are allowed all over the year. And, with proper calls and techniques, you can actually hunt them any time you want. But, if you’re searching for “the best time” then it’s another story.
The best time of a year for hunting this critter is winter. In late winter (late January to March), during their mating season, coyotes become most active and careless for searching a mating partner. Afterward, when the female coyote got pregnant their male partner becomes the responsible one for collecting foods. So, you will notice more movements during this period of a year (March to May) too.
Temperature also seems to have a great impact on their movement. The cooler the better, they move most in the coldest hours of a winter night – from midnight to early morning.
It’s a common knowledge that coyote moves most during the dawn and early morning, and also during the evening hours after the sundown. So, these two periods are the best time of the day for hunting coyotes.
However, as coyotes are nocturnal animals, therefore, like most predators they like to hunt in the dark. And, likewise, some recent studies show that coyotes are becoming more interested in hunting at night to avoid humans now.
Another key thing to remember here, moonlight always plays a vital role in this case for most wild animals. Coyotes aren’t any different than others as they also get increasingly agitated during the full moon. So, it’s also a great time for hunting coyotes.
Best Places for hunting coyote
The good thing is you can find coyotes anywhere near your home. So, you actually don’t have to travel a long distance to reach them. Rather than wasting time on traveling, you can spend more time on actual hunting. One thing you should keep in your mind, always take permission from the landowner prior to your hunting, if you’re planning to hunt on private land.
Coyotes are abundant all over the USA; especially the southwest region is best for hunting coyotes. However, some states have more coyote population as well as hunters’ friendly rules to expedite coyote hunting. Considering these, we’ve selected some best states for hunting coyotes:
Hunting coyotes in Arizona
Coyotes are spread all over this state as it’s the most common predator here. If you spend one night near the field then you’ll hard a lot from them. According to the Arizona Game and Fish website, around 13 thousand coyote hunters kill around 35 thousand coyotes each year.
License: For hunting coyote in Arizona, a hunter who is 10 years old or more must have a license. Anyone below 10 can hunt without a license but he/she must be accompanied by an adult license holder. You can visit this link to check your license options and buy one for you.
Season for coyote hunting: There’s no restriction for hunting coyotes and can be hunted year long.
Bag limit for coyote hunting: Unlimited
Nighttime coyote hunting: Nighttime hunting is allowed for a specific time of a year (1st December to 31st May). During this time of a year, you can hunt coyote all and night long, no time restriction. It’s great news for the hunter. However, for hunting at night you’ll be able to use only some allowed weapons.
In addition, artificial lights are also allowed for nighttime coyote hunting. But, you can’t use a light attached to a vehicle though. All types of electronic night vision scopes or thermal scopes are prohibited for nighttime hunting. However, devices such as laser range finders, scopes with self-illuminating reticles, and fiber optic sights with self-illuminating sights or pins that do not project visible light onto an animal are allowed.
Weapon allowed for hunting coyote: All types and sorts of legal weapon is allowed to hunt coyotes in Arizona.
Buy license here: https://www.azgfd.com/license/
Hunting coyotes in Colorado
Coyotes are considered as a furbearer (animals with valuable fur) in Colorado. A small game or a furbearer license is required to take coyotes in Colorado. But, during the big game season if a hunter has already possessed a license then he doesn’t need any other license to take a coyote.
License: required
Season: Statewide: January 1 - December 31 annually, which means coyotes can be hunted all year long
Bag limits: unlimited bag and possession
Hunting hour: from one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sunset.
Nighttime hunting coyote in Colorado: Nighttime hunting is allowed for hunting coyotes with some restrictions on using artificial lights. Artificial lights are allowed for night hunting in both private and public land. However, in the case of public land, you should take special permission before hunting coyotes. You’ll have to specify the place and time for that permission.
Weapon: Any types of rifle, shotgun, air gun, and handheld bows and crossbows are allowed.
Other equipment regulation: Electronic call devices are also allowed for hunting coyotes
See this document for further information: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Regulations/Ch03.pdf
Hunting coyotes in Kansas
Kansas is a haven for coyote hunters. According to Kansas Wildlife, Park and Tourism, there’re nearly 80,000 coyotes are hunted by the harvesters and licensed hunters each year. Which is huge!
License: Hunting license is required to hunt coyotes in Kansas. Visit this page for more information on license types and fees.
License: required
Season (statewide): All year long, means no season limits for coyote (1/1/19 - 1/1/20).
Bag limit: Unlimited
Nighttime hunting (all day): Nighttime hunting is allowed for hunting coyotes. But, artificial light, including optics that project or amplify light, is prohibited. However, hand-held, battery-powered flashlights, hat lamps, or hand-held lanterns may be used with .17 and .22 rimfire rifles and handguns to take trapped coyotes.
Weapon: All types of firearms (except fully automatic) and bows are allowed
Other equipment: Calls, lures, baits, and decoys are allowed
Hunting coyotes in Nebraska
Coyotes are available in Nebraska. The Nebraska Game and Park Commission consider coyotes as an unprotected non-game animal. And, they believe hunting them is an important population management system for protecting other resources. Therefore, they facilitate hunting of coyote with less restrictive rules and regulations - great news for the hunters! Coyotes aren’t tagged as a furbearer in this state but hunting rules are similar in most cases.
License: Residents of Nebraska do not need any permission for hunting coyotes. However, non-residents hunters should have small-game hunting permission for that. To buy hunting permits visit here: https://ngpc-home.ne.gov/ps/faces/index.xhtml
Season limit for coyote hunting in Nebraska: Year-round, no season limit for coyote hunting
Bag limit for coyotes in Nebraska: unlimited
Hunting time: You can hunt coyotes any time of the day (24 hours)
Rules regarding hunting coyote at night in Nebraska: Hunting coyotes at night is allowed in Nebraska. For hunting at night, hunters can use artificial lights. But, like other states, you can’t use a light that is attached to a vehicle.
But the most interesting fact regarding nighttime hunting in Nebraska is the state’s law allows the use of night vision devices in Nebraska. This means you can use night vision scopes mounted on your weapon (rifle or crossbow) along with night vision binocular or monocular. This surely makes coyote hunting at night in Nebraska much more exciting for the hunters.
Weapon limitation: There’s no weapon restriction for hunting coyotes in Nebraska. Hunters can use any type of rifle, shotgun, or bows for that. However, during the firearm deer season in November, hunting other animals with centerfire guns is prohibited. You can only use them for hunting deer. Or, you can use rimfires for hunting coyotes during that time. Also, carrying a loading shotgun isn’t allowed during the firearm deer season.
Other equipment: Electronic predator calls are allowed for hunting coyotes. Using decoys are also legal for hunting coyotes.
Hunting coyotes in Nevada
Nevada is a great place for hunting coyote, as the coyotes are classified as the “unprotected” animal so a license isn’t required to hunting them. And, this law is the same for the non-resident hunters as well – a non-resident can also hunt coyotes without any license in this state.
License: not required
Hunting season for coyotes: no season limits
Hunting time: most counties in Nevada allow hunting from a half-hour before the sunrise to a half-hour after the sunset. However, few counties accept nighttime hunting (see below).
Bag limit: unlimited
Nighttime hunting and artificial light use: Nighttime hunting laws vary from county to county. In some counties, any night shooting and artificial lights are strictly prohibited whereas in other counties nighttime hunting is legal with some specific restrictions regarding firearms. Counties that allow nighttime hunting and also the use of artificial lights (spotlights) are Churchill County, Lyon County, Humboldt County, Douglas County, Mineral County, Nye County, Esmeralda County, Carson City County, Storey County, Clark County, and Lincoln County. In these 11 counties using night vision scopes or binoculars isn’t prohibited now.
One thing we should mention here, state laws regarding nighttime hunting and use of artificial lights can be changed from time to time. So, it would be a better idea to recheck the most recent regulations from the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Weapon: you can use any sorts of a legal weapon for hunting coyotes including rifle, shotgun, crossbows, etc.
Visit the official website of the Nevada Department of Wildlife (http://www.ndow.org/Hunt/Seasons_and_Regulations/Furbearer/Coyote/) for further information.
A coyote couple
Hunting coyotes in Utah
Utah isn’t only a nice place for coyote hunters; it’s even providing special rewards to those who help them to control the coyote population.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, official state wildlife preservation department of Utah, has been organizing a special program – “Utah's Predator Control Program” for the hunters to remove coyotes.
Under this program, any registered hunter will get 50$ for each properly documented coyote killing (trapping or hunting) in Utah! Actually the DWR of Utah is giving incentives for hunting coyotes here and that’s why, I would say, Utah is one of the best places for hunting coyotes. However, you must complete their online training to register in this program which will allow you to hunt for one year. A hunter must do this training each year.
License: required
Season limit: Coyote hunting is allowed year-round in Utah.
The legal time during the day: Generally, from one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sunset.
Bag limit: Unlimited
Nighttime coyote hunting in Utah: Nighttime hunting laws vary county to county in Utah. Where state law doesn’t restrict nighttime hunting, some county has a strict restriction against it. You should contact the local sheriff's office to know the exact rules and regulations regarding this.
The same thing go for night vision devices.
Each county has its own regulation regarding night vision devices, however, the state laws don’t prohibit using night vision scopes but some county does. So, knowing the local rules of your hunting place would be better.
Legal weapon: Any legal weapon is allowed for hunting coyotes
Hunting coyotes in Wyoming
Wyoming is another great place for hunting coyotes as there is no license requirement for hunting this predator in this state. Actually, there isn’t any type of limitations on hunting coyotes here, except you just have to stay away from the public road while harvesting them, as in their official site, Wyoming Game & Fish Department (https://wgfd.wyo.gov/) mentioned: “the only restriction on taking of coyotes is you cannot harvest a coyote from any public road.”
License: not required
Season limit: No season limit
Legal time during the day: Generally, from one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sunset.
Bag limit: Unlimited
Nighttime coyote hunting in Utah: Yes and no.
Yes, you can hunt coyotes at night if you do it in private land and if you have written permission from the owner of that private land. In that case, you can also use artificial lights. So, no permission, no artificial lights!
But, you cannot hunt coyotes in a private land at night.
Legal weapon: All types of legal weapons i.e. rifles, shotguns, pistols, and crossbows.
Other equipment: However, an interesting thing is you can use night vision devices if it’s not aided by any artificial lights.
Hunting coyotes in Virginia
Coyotes are considered a nuisance species in Virginia. Therefore, no license is required for hunting them in Virginia. However, county laws may vary from state laws regarding hunting coyotes. So, you should contact the Commonwealth Attorney’s office for future information.
Virginia is one of the most lucrative places for hunting coyotes; especially the nighttime coyote hunting has the least restrictions here.
License: not required
Season limit: So season limits on private lands.
However, in public lands (National Forest lands and Department lands) you can hunt coyotes only from September 1 through March 10 and during the spring turkey season
Moreover, you might hunt them in squirrel season too if not specially prohibited in a particular year.
Legal time during the day: Coyote hunting is allowed during day and night. However, hunting is prohibited on Sunday with some exceptions.
Bag limit: No bag limit
Nighttime coyote hunting in Virginia: Virginia is one of the best places for hunting coyote at night. You can hunt at night all year-round. It allows using all types of artificial lights if they aren’t attached to any vehicles. Also, night vision devices – thermal scopes or night vision scopes, binoculars, or monocular are allowed using for nighttime coyote hunting.
Legal weapon: All types of legal weapons are allowed for hunting coyotes. See this list.
Regulations regarding other gears: Electronic call is allowed for hunting coyotes in Virginia if you have written permission of a landowner in private lands. On the other hand, e-callers are allowed to use private land if there aren’t any special prohibitions.
Using hunting dogs is also allowed for coyote hunting in Virginia if there’s no special restriction applied.
Visit this page for further information about hunting coyote in Virginia.
Best Places for hunting coyote
You can use rifle, shotgun, or crossbows for hunting coyotes. In the case of shotguns, you will have range limitation (around 50 yards) and shot-shell will damage the coyote hide. On the other hand, shotguns are more useful for moving coyote as the spreading shot-shell reduce the chances of missing an approaching coyote.
Rifles are more useful in the case of hunting coyotes. As most of the time, you’ll have to take a long-distance shot. They will rarely come very close to you, so when you see them from a long distance you will have to shot them quickly before they flew. For hunting coyote, you won’t need heavy rounds – mostly .223 and maximum .243 would suffice. Hence, for successful hunting, you should use flatter rounds with fewer trajectories.
If you’re planning to hunt with a crossbow, it would be more challenging. With a crossbow, the hunting range would be less than 70 yards. So, finding a chance of a clear shot from that distance would be rare. You’ll have to be very patient and cautious about that. Arrows will not give you many benefits like a shotshell or a rifle round. It will not have a long-range or a wide shot.
Coyote hunting gear list (complete):
Coyote hunting gears (a portion)
Similar to hunt any other animal you'll need some equipment and gears for hunting coyotes. So, here's a complete list of coyote hunting gears for you -
- Camouflage vest, face-mask, gloves and boots
- Night vision scopes/ night vision binocular or monocular
- Coyote hunting lights
- Electronic predator call or mouth call
- Coyote hunting decoys
- Binoculars/ monocular
- Rangefinder
- GPS
- Blind
- Hunting chair/ seat
- Shooting stick (important)
- Bow hunting gloves
- Bow hunting gears (in case of bow hunting)
- Hunting action camera (if you want to record your hunting)
PART THREE | Hunting Coyote (How to hunt coyotes - Strategies and Tips)
Taking solid cover is crucial for hunting coyote
Scouting/ How to locate coyotes
Obviously the main sign of coyote presence is their tracks. Try to find out the places where coyotes hang out, hunts, and sleeps. You can always ask farmers if you can ask the right question then their answer will be very helpful for you.
Also, coyote poop is another crucial thing for scouting indicates their hunting region and natural habitats. They use their droppings to demarcate their area of dominance. So, when you scout for them look for coyote droppings too.
Other than these, you can use trail cameras or thermal imaging cameras to identify their location.
Remember adequate scouting is the basic step for successful coyote hunting. Try to identify more than three spots of possible coyote presence. You can then move from one place to another after calling and wait for some time to increase your success rate.
How to take cover during coyote hunting (taking cover tips)?
Coyote has great ear – they listen and notice every unusual sound like a voice, chattering, shotgun cocking sound, door slams, etc. So, be as quiet as possible.
They also have great vision- they can see even a little sudden movement. Cover your face with face musk, the hand with gloves. Reduce any chances of displaying glittering goggles, optics, weapons, etc.
Another handy tip you should always remember while taking a stand is to face downwind with the wind in your face. The wind is very crucial for hunting coyotes. Downwind reduces the chance of blowing your scent to warn your prey, and also will carry any unwanted sound in the opposite direction.
On the other hand, downwind will reduce the coverage of your electric caller’s sound. Therefore, you should place your e-caller in the upwind for maximum coverage.
How to use calls for hunting coyotes (coyote calling tips)?
Coyote hunting at night with decoy and e-caller
Coyotes are pretty vocal and communicating animals. They make different types of sounds (howls, yips, barks, whines, or growls) depending on their moods and necessities. Also, they are very much curious animals too. So, a mere mouth call can draw their attention easily.
However, modern electronic calls have various types of calls that could trick even the most educated coyotes. Also, this predator call would keep your hand free to take a shot rapidly if a coyote comes to you charging.
Coyotes are more focused on hunting during the early winter, before the mating season, and also after a mating season when the male coyotes gather foods for their pregnant partner and afterward for their pups.
During these times, using “prey calls” like rabbits in distress is more effective in luring coyotes.
On the other hand, during the mating season, howling or barking or yipping or any other coyote sounds bring more results than other calls. Hunters should use their predator call wisely.
How to use decoys in coyote hunting (decoy tips)?
One of the best ways to hunt coyote is to use decoys with proper calls. Coyotes not only have keen ears but also a very powerful eye sight. They can locate their preys from a long distance. Therefore, hunters can utilize this fact to lure coyotes out of their cover by using decoys.
In recent time, using a high-quality coyote decoys for hunting coyote becoming popular among the hunters. A modern decoy can make realistic movement which you can control remotely from your hideout. In this way, it can appear to be more natural and realistic to a coyote.
If a coyote responses to your call then a decoy will increase the chance of tricking them. Consequently, using decoys properly with the right call will increase the chances of a success even more than you can imagine.
However, if you really want your decoy to be effective, then you should put decoys in the right place before starting calls. Don’t give away your presence by moving across the field to place your decoy during hunting. Remember, you may not sense a coyotes’ presence, but they will see you!
Where to shot at a coyote to kill it in one shot?
This is your sweet spot
For a clean kill, you should target the heart. Coyote’s heart positioned in just above their front legs, a little forward than other big game animals. The best way is to shot them right through their front shoulder from the front. And, from the side, placing your shot right above their front legs will kill them in one shot.
You should be careful about one thing – if you put your bullet in the right spot but from a different angle then you may miss the heart; and, consequently it which will cause them a painful death. Try to avoid that.
What are the common mistakes concerning hunting coyotes? How to avoid them?
No coyotes around
It’s the basic of any types of hunting. You must be certain the presence of your prey. But, sometimes hunters tend to work little on scouting and finding a proper place for hunting coyotes. They just choose a place for hunting where there might be or might not be enough coyotes. Consequently, their expedition becomes a futile one.
Calling mistakes
Using common calls could be a major mistake in case of hunting coyotes. Coyotes, as I have mentions earlier, are intelligent animals. They can remember and educate themselves. So, if they hear any calls that they have hard before they just get cautious.
So, try to use uncommon calls, especially in the region where coyote hunting is a common phenomenon. For that, my suggestion is to go for a good quality electronic predator call. Most modern calls have hundreds of different types of calls recorded in them. Find some rare and realistic calls and mix them up.
Another armature mistakes regarding calls is to call too often. Calling too often is unrealistic and it could scare the coyotes away. Also, if you call a lot less then it could also do the same. The ambient condition, coyote population, number of hunters etc. are important criteria to select the effective frequency and intensity of your call. Try to find out the correct style by experimenting different style of calling.
Low visibility
Can you see it?
Sitting in a place from where you don’t have clear view over the region. So, you may already call a coyote in but you failed to hunt it because you couldn’t even saw it. So, try to find out a place which will allow you to see at least 70-80 yards around you.
Hiding mistakes
This is another mistake most rookie hunters tend to make. When you enter in your hunting zone or the spot you’ve selected to set you up for the hunting, you should take adequate cautions.
Try to keep quiet as much as you can from the beginning, even when you’re near your hunting spot. Coyotes are sly and observant animal if you make too much noise when you enter the hunting region such as loud noise from your vehicle can scare them away even before you start your hunting.
Also, make your hideout as concealed as possible. Camouflaged hunting dresses and weapon is a must for concealing your presence from the coyotes.
Decoy mistakes
Try to put or replace the decoy in the middle of a hunt is a mistake. Usually, hunters place their decoys in the grass or bush in a way that a portion of it can be visible from a long distance, before that they start calling. If your decoy seems to be not in the right positions after a while doesn’t walk over to rearrange it. This action might destroy your day-long effort to bring in your prey.
Remote controlled motorized decoys are a modern addition to predator hunting. It’s effective. But, if your decoys make an unusual sound (i.e. mechanical sound from the motor) then it will give away your set up. Careful about that too!
Lack of patience
Patience is one of the most important virtues of a hunter. When you deploy your decoys with effective calls, keep patience for at least an hour to give your call enough time to work. Many hunters lose their nerve by the time and pack up for another place. It’s a clear mistake. Remember, in the case of hunting coyotes, success only comes to those who keep patience.
Safety caution
Safety is the first thing that you should take very seriously in any type of hunting. We aren’t going to discuss all the general safety cautions here, just only the particular things regarding coyote hunting:
You should be very careful about the coyote pack while hunting as they could be dangerous as a team. Cotes in general are afraid of human beings. So it’s very unlikely that they would attack a hunter. However if, by any chance, you got attacked by the coyotes then make a loud sound. You can carry a device like a siren, whistle, or alarm for that, or make clapping sound and try to appear taller and larger to scare them away. Also, never try to turn and run away from them; rather take backward steps slowly to get away from them.
Be careful about the identity of your target while seeing through a scope. Coyotes are very similar to the wolf which is restricted in many states. Especially during nighttime hunting, an inexperienced eye might miss the difference. You should also make sure that your target isn’t a dog either.
PART FOUR | Conclusion
So, we’ve come finally come to the end of our long article. We’ve tried to cover almost every aspect of coyote hunting here. We hope, you’ve enjoyed it and found it useful!
If you think of anything that we missed, then let us know in the comment section.
Happy hunting!
FAQ (if you still wondering…)
Why coyote howl at the moon?
No paranormal or mystic reason for that so far we’ve found. They don’t actually howl at the moon either. However, the moonlight, not the moon, causes some agitation in their behavior- they become more active during the full moon.
Not because the full moon makes them crazy or anything, it’s just the moonlight that allows them to see at night. And, they become more active (hunting mostly) during the bright night and usually they communicate more at that time.
Coyotes are vocalized animals, they always communicate with each other through various sound. Howling is one of their most common sounds which they normally use for alerting other coyotes of their presence. Sometimes they howl to warn intruders to stay away from their territory or let the team members know their location during hunting at night.
Can you eat coyote?
Yes, you can! It's true that most hunters would be disgusted by the idea of eating coyote meat, however, many love the taste of coyote. Coyote meat tastes like beef, according to the persons who tasted them, with the same tenderness. You must cook the meat thoroughly to get the maximum taste out of it.
Where you can hunt coyotes without any license?
In some states of the USA, coyote hunting doesn’t require any hunting license, for instance, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming, Virginia, etc. In these states, you can hunt coyotes without possessing any license to kill them.