Any and all advice for a new yote hunter

j-bird

j-bird

Well-Known Member
I plan on starting to hunt yotes.....never actually hunted them before. Any and all advise is appreciated. Right now I have a scoped 22-250 and plan on hunting open crop fields.

My boy wants to try it at night, which I have never done before. I have only shot a few yotes while deer hunting and they show up.
 
Hunting at night legal in Indiana?

In Wisconsin light can only be used at the point of kill, so no shinning around looking for them or infrared scopes and spotlight. That pretty much limits my night hunting for coyotes to the nights where the moon is bright enough to see.


I have been visiting http://www.predatortalk.com/ to try to learn so stuff
 
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Pay attention to the wind,plan that if calling they will always try to circle you so make it so they have to expose them selves.Give them something visual to see.Coyotes will usually come in quicker than bobcats.I have had yotes come running after the second squall.For aq fun hunt give squaling coons a try
 
You will need a call of some kind, whether an electronic call or handheld mouth call. A rabbit squaller or wounded rabbit from the electronic caller is my #1 used call. Don't be scared to get loud and rowdy with it. Handhelds are the cheapest until you figure out if you like coyote hunting or not. I have used a few electronic callers and they all work, but I believe in buying American, so I bought a Foxpro. After using it, they make the best e-caller, IMO. They make one now that is right around $169 and has 200 sounds on it. They also make one that is super simple and has 20 sounds on it for $109 but for an extra $60, why not get the better call with more sounds? You won't use all the sounds to hunt with, but they sure are fun when friends are over.

I have an electric decoy that spins a fake fur tail round and round, but you can get by with a feather hanging by a string on a stick, blowing in the wind. This is used to keep their attention off of you.

I prefer the wind to come from behind me and either blow at an angle to the left or right. If you know where they usually come from, you can use this to your advantage. If you don't know where they come from, study the area and set up with the wind at your back and hope they play the game. Ex.- You are hunting your pasture looking North and the coyotes come from the right(East). The wind is blowing WNW, coming from behind you. Put your caller and decoy, if you have one, on the down wind side of you. The coyotes will try and circle to the down wind side and smell what is making the noise and inspect the decoy. This usually allows you to see them and before they can catch your wind and shoot them. If you have the wind in your face, they can and will circle behind you and smell you and you will never know they were there.

Learn how to lip squeak or use the back of your hand. This can get them to come that extra little bit you need for the kill or get them to stop for the shot.

I have better luck when it is cold, overcast and sprinkling/snowing than I do on cold, sunny bluebird days. If there is snow on the ground, it should up your odds too, because they will be hunting looking for warmth and energy.

You can learn a few things about howling at some point. It works pretty well during their rut, which is Jan-February here in Tennessee. I don't just sit and hunt with howls going. I tend to howl a few times in the AM at my first set and then use rabbit the rest of the day, with a few howls in the PM right before it gets dark.

Be prepared to shoot! Don't sit down and turn the caller on before you are completely set up. I have had coyotes come running out of the brush with less than a minute on the call timer.

I will update as I remember things or chime in if someone remembers for me....:D
 
Wind, electronic call, plan a good set-up, etc.
I've found yotes are the very visible during early-mid summer when litters are being born. If you are hunting to reduce populations this is a good time to attack. They have many mouths to feed and bold, lots of daylight activity.
 
Kabic said:
Hunting at night legal in Indiana?

In Wisconsin light can only be used at the point of kill, so no shinning around looking for them or infrared scopes and spotlight. That pretty much limits my night hunting for coyotes to the nights where the moon is bright enough to see.


I have been visiting http://www.predatortalk.com/ to try to learn so stuff
Click to expand...
Yes - night hunting with light is legal for yotes in IN.
 
buckdeer1 said:
Pay attention to the wind,plan that if calling they will always try to circle you so make it so they have to expose them selves.Give them something visual to see.Coyotes will usually come in quicker than bobcats.I have had yotes come running after the second squall.For aq fun hunt give squaling coons a try
Click to expand...
I'm not saying we don;t have bobcats, but I have never seen one on my place (in person or on cam). I will keep the circling in mind as well.
 
I think we will start with a few mouth calls and I like the feather/string decoy trick as well. I decoy deer from time to time so I understand the value of a decoy. I will certainly keep the circling concept in mind when looking at set-ups. Most of the areas I will be hunting are harvested crop fields. I have no idea if we have a snowballs chance with this, but we will see. Based on some other reading I have done, it sounds like hunting them may not have a real impact on deer numbers as it is, but that is a different discussion altogether. Thanks guys.
 
I have a MOJO critter that I think helps a lot. Might think about packing a 12 gauge with some BB's for the close fast ones. I hunt a bunch of public ground where that is my only option. Enjoy and prepare to be humbled by one of the smartest animals you'll ever hunt.
 
I agree with almost all of Doc's post. The only thing that I would do differently is to hunt a cross wind if possible. If you approach with the wind at your back or call to cover with the wind at your back, some of those coyotes are gonna smell you and never show. If you can approach likely cover and hunt a cross wind, most of them will go downwind to try to smell what's making the fuss. Just be sure that you have good visibility downwind so you can snipe them before they smell you. Another tip: learn what a coyote bark sounds like. When they're moving, you can almost always stop them with a bark. Be on them though, because they may only stop for a few seconds. Good luck !
 
OK - my boy has been trying to get his first yote and seems to be struggling. I have tried to relay to him the information above and have went with him a few times. Things I have seen and maybe you all can give me some ideas.

#1 - he prefer to hunt them in the dark. I personally think this is a big issue as our own sight is so grossly reduced.
#2 - he seems to love to call.....and I mean a lot. First with a howler and then he seems to think he needs to hammer on a squalling rabbit call every 5 minutes. I think he is calling to much.....
#3 - we will hear yotes in the distance mostly "yipping"......my boy will hammer on a howler call and it seems to be pushing the yotes away....
#4 - he has no actual decoy (since he hunts mostly at night).
#5 - he selects spots based on where he can see and not on wind direction.....
#6 - he wears camo but seems to think he can stand at te edge of a field and that is OK (yes it's at night) but I would think he would still need something to hide him....even in the dark.

He seems to think that a yote is going to just come running out into a 50 acre flat bean field, and I don't think so. In farm country a yote knows that being in the open is a great way to be shot at. I keep trying to get my boy to hunt them like we would deer. Play the wind, call sparingly (more realistic) and hunt the first and last light magic hours of the day. Maybe I am way off base on this, but what he is doing isn't working and we can hear yotes in the area......

Can anyone recommend a book or DVD or the like on how to best hunt yotes in farm country east of the Mississippi?
 
I usually howl a couple of times in the morning and a couple of times at last light. I have had them come in at both times. The rest of the time, I am running a rabbit screaming of some flavor. I use an electronic call so I don't get out of breath, but it pretty much plays the entire time I am hunting. If I have a 30 minute set, it will play for 20 minutes or more. There will usually be a break in between, of a couple of minutes, if I decide to change rabbits and there is a break in the am and pm between howls and starting my rabbit. I have hunted with a few people that are extremely good at killing coyotes and I am copying what they did when we killed yotes. The biggest thing that I like to do is start my calls(electronic) off to where I can barely hear them and then after a few minutes, I turn the volume up. I never go wide open, but if it has a max of 10, I stop at 7-8 and will go to 9 if the wind is blowing hard. I haven't seen a coyote yet that doesn't like a dying rabbit, but some will make a commitment if you stop the rabbit for a couple of minutes and switch to a dying bird or even a rat. If he has a mouth call to toss in a pup distress while the rabbit is playing, that helps. It makes it sound like one of the yotes has bitten a pup trying to sneak a bite. I like to try and end with pup distress in case a coyote is close and hasn't committed, sometimes this gets them to step out or run in to investigate. IF the coyotes you are hunting have been called to, shot at and/or seen their friends die, like deer they will be pressured and will avoid the ruckus. You have to adapt and think a step ahead of them and beat them at their game. Cut them off at the pass so to speak.

I have also noticed that I have better success when it is cloudy or overcast completely. If it is going to snow or rain, it makes it even better. As for hunting fields, it works, but you need to have an idea of where they are going to be coming from. That way you can get closer or even cut them off before they get there. The wind just needs to be in your favor so you can see them before they get down wind of you.
 
I'm reminded of the joke about the stubborn mule and the 2x4, but.....I won't go there.

He's doing almost everything wrong. Wind direction is by far the most important part of a coyote hunt. If they smell you nothing else matters ! If you can get him to call to coyote cover with the wind at cross-angles or in his face, making sure he can see a coyote trying to get downwind, and start calling at first light, sooner than later he's gonna see some action. Night time may be the right time, but not for guys who haven't got some coyotes on the ground. My two cents.
 
Check out this site for a few ideas. https://www.hightechredneckincorporated.com/
They sell night vision products, good how-to videos on the website. I spoke with a guy who does a lot of night calling. Said his success rate was 5% during daylight, but increased to 50% at night. Success was seeing a coyote and taking a shot, not necessarily bagging one. They are very hard to hunt during daylight in my experience. I am 0-10 on my daylight hunts, so I feel your pain! I haven't taken the plunge on nightvision as a good setup will run you $500-1,000 or more. Good luck!
 
As others have said if the wind is wrong he is already beaten. On my public land I like to get in cover and typically can't see 40 yards, but I also have to use a shotgun so a 200 yard coyote doesn't do me much good. But again if the wind is right and you have limited viability so does does the coyote. I leave my caller running the whole time I am set up 20-30 min typ.
 
holly brice said:
Hey I have a question on night hunting...is it easier to hunt by moonlight or do I just need to get nightvision?
Click to expand...
You need thermal imaging like an ATN scope. Moonlight is hardly ever light enough for properly identifying what you are shooting at. Shooting at fleeting shadows in the moonlight is not a good idea.
 
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