New to Coyote Hunting

ascain

Button Buck
As the title says I'm new to coyote hunting. Over the past couple of years, I've been hearing more and more coyotes around the house. I live in rural eastern NC with fields and woods all around the house. I don't own an electronic call, but Saturday night before last I saw an old Bluetooth speaker sitting in the house. Threw some fresh batteries in it and found a cottontail distress video on YouTube. The field behind my house is about 500yds long and backs up to a creek in the woods. Sat the speaker about 10 feet into the turn rows and backed up to the edge of the yard. I squatted down and played the sound for about 30 seconds before two came trotting in from my right. They came within 10 yards of the speaker, which put them only about 15 yards from me. I knew as close as they were getting that I had called in a couple of neighbors dogs. I stood up and they didn't run off - surely domesticated dogs. I wasn't prepared, as I was mainly wanting to hear them vocalize in the woods, so I had to walk a few yards back to my truck to get my spotlight. Hit the critters with it, and I was very surprised to see what I was sure by now must be dogs were actually coyotes. When the spotlight hit them they just turned and trotted off to the woods, in no real hurry. This was unusual to me, considering everything I have heard about coyotes is that they are very skiddish and overly cautious animals. I know they could see me in the moonlight because I could see them, and I had no cover between us.

Anyway, I decided to try to get some on camera to try and estimate how many there are. Set up my camera at the end of the field and slung out a $5 bag of dog food from Dollar General, an old bag of peanuts, and a couple cans of viennas. Been throwing out dog food and viennas every couple days for about a week and a half now and have already gotten some on camera pretty much any hour of the day. They'll come out at 3:30 am one morning, 12 noon another day, 5:00 some evenings, and 7:00am some mornings. I've caught as many as 3 at one time on camera.

A friend has a foxpro and came over Saturday night. We left the house on foot and began walking down the path toward the creek about 10:00. We got about 200yds into the field and spooked one. We saw him when he started running from left to right across us at about 75 yds. We couldn't get a shot on him but dropped the foxpro where we were and backed up and crouched. Again, there is no cover in this field. Called another one in after about 20 mins, he also bolted left to right across us at about 100yds and we couldn't get a shot off. After the second one came and went, the pack got all wound up in the woods and vocalized for about 3-4 minutes. We heard them about 20 minutes later and they had crossed the creek.

They are definitely very active and as far as I know are facing no pressure from hunters in my area. Any tips on hunting them? Baits, strategies, etc?

I can't directly hunt over the bait pile, because it is about 500yds away from the house, and there's a slight hill dropping off toward the creek. Like I said there's no cover walking back to it just more fields to the left and right. Any tips would be appreciated.
 

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nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Well you have started their education. Each trip will get progressively harder to cal them in, bank on that.
 

cowgirl

Four Pointer
Best thing to do is hire a trapper. This is the most effective way to kill them. They learn the calls quickly. Yours probably already have. The traps will hunt 24/7.
 

ascain

Button Buck
I don't particularly want to hire a trapper. I am interested in beating them back some, as those first two all but walked up in the yard with me. (I have a lab that stays inside, and would hate to have her out one night and something happen between her and a couple of coyotes.) I enjoy hunting and think I would enjoy the sport of predator hunting. I wouldn't be opposed to setting some traps myself, but I know even less about that than I do about coyote hunting.
 

cowgirl

Four Pointer
Sometimes a local trapper will trap for you for the furs. You could ask around. I agree they need to be shot or something. Sounds like you got a lot there. Good luck getting rid of them!
 

Larry R

Old Mossy Horns
Night Vision is best thing since peanut butter and jelly. Toss up a few short logs to hide behind and game on.
 

Paulnc11

Button Buck
Night Vision is best thing since peanut butter and jelly. Toss up a few short logs to hide behind and game on.

Is it legal to hunt them at night? I have a fox pro and want to give its try. I just don't know much about it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Is it legal to hunt them at night? I have a fox pro and want to give its try. I just don't know much about it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The answer to that is yes except a very few counties down east. But you need to read the regs digest, for the legalities.
 

Ncgundogs

Spike
You can keep calling with the fox pro but you need to figure out what series of calls work best for your area there is no right or wrong way for call sequence u would need to figure that out just make sure you don't call too loud and when they come in either stop calling or turn the call volume down and always hunt the wind if you can't get the correct wind then try another day hunting the wind incorrectly will educate the coyotes
 
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Dan

Four Pointer
If you have an area you can set up a bait site and shoot from your house it's very effective. I've killed 18 from my porch in the last year. All but one at night. Get a red spotlight for your rifle and that will get you started. Other items that help are night vision and a cellular cam that notifies you when something is at your bait site. The more people that start killing these the better.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
What kind of bait do you use to set up a bait site? This sounds really interesting!!
Most people use road kill deer, farm animals, groundhogs etc. I can tell you that the more in the open the more loss you will have to vultures. If you can wrap it with field fence etc that will keep them from dragging so much away from your bait site. You are still going to loose a decent amount of bait to vultures no matter where you place it. The larger pieces of bait you use the better because it makes it easier to secure so they can't drag it off. 'Yotes are naturally secretive and want to take it away to feed.
 

DC-DXT

Twelve Pointer
Most people use road kill deer, farm animals, groundhogs etc. I can tell you that the more in the open the more loss you will have to vultures. If you can wrap it with field fence etc that will keep them from dragging so much away from your bait site. You are still going to loose a decent amount of bait to vultures no matter where you place it. The larger pieces of bait you use the better because it makes it easier to secure so they can't drag it off. 'Yotes are naturally secretive and want to take it away to feed.

I have some bears where I hunt, anything you can bait yotes with that the bears will not eat?
 

Dan

Four Pointer
Everything nccat said is correct. As far as bait, basically anything but you do need to secure it. I drive rebar or a t post and then wire my bait to it best I can. Your local meat processor can hook you up with bait, roadkill, just whatever is available. My bait is pretty much in the open but that's where I can shoot from my porch. I'm sure they'd feel safer if there was more cover. Most of my visitors are between 3am and daylight.
 

Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
Or you can do like someone posted sometime back....take a cable or rope and hang from a tree...on end tie one of the 3 treble hooks...big fish hook..like 3-4" long...hang piece meat on it....just high enough for coyote to stand on his back legs and get meat in his mouth...check in few days and he will be hanging there if he don't get eat by his brothers....kinda cruel but works. Now I do not know if legal...best check regs.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Or you can do like someone posted sometime back....take a cable or rope and hang from a tree...on end tie one of the 3 treble hooks...big fish hook..like 3-4" long...hang piece meat on it....just high enough for coyote to stand on his back legs and get meat in his mouth...check in few days and he will be hanging there if he don't get eat by his brothers....kinda cruel but works. Now I do not know if legal...best check regs.
Actually you are delving in felony waters there, all you have to do is catch a dog.
 

Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
Actually you are delving in felony waters there, all you have to do is catch a dog.
Or anything that gets hold of that meat....going to get hold of that hook and no way to get loose if dangling off ground. Got to really want to get rid of some coyotes to do that and very cruel way to do it, but can you imagine them getting educated to this way of trapping/catching...I can't. They do not know that hook in meat or there brother hanging there...why? I bet this is done more than people think and if done in remote places and no one around be hard to catch whoever done it. They get hungry and they going to eat said meat hanging there for a free meal. Cruel.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
There's that reading thing again,,,,,

Wasn't there some posts earlier about hunter competence?
 

Larry R

Old Mossy Horns
Not but a couple of things excite me more than a dead coyote but anyone that would "capture" even a coyote using hooks is pretty low in my opinion. For me it doesn't have to be against the law and covered in the Regulations Digest to refrain from doing such a cruel thing.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Not but a couple of things excite me more than a dead coyote but anyone that would "capture" even a coyote using hooks is pretty low in my opinion. For me it doesn't have to be against the law and covered in the Regulations Digest to refrain from doing such a cruel thing.
I totally agree.
 

Luv2Boutdoors!

Ten Pointer
Not but a couple of things excite me more than a dead coyote but anyone that would "capture" even a coyote using hooks is pretty low in my opinion. For me it doesn't have to be against the law and covered in the Regulations Digest to refrain from doing such a cruel thing.

I agree as well
 
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