For some time now I've been after coyotes. I got into coyote hunting thinking that it was going to be so easy. I'm good with a rifle and I can take down varmint with ease. On top of that I've run into yotes in the neighborhood, I see them in the parks, I've nearly run them over with my car, and they wake me up in the night howling in the neighborhood. Just a couple weeks ago Natalie and I were woken up by a coyote and a donkey fighting right behind our house. I'm pretty sure the donkey won that fight by the sound of it.
However when I started hunting I quickly learned that seeing a coyote and hunting them are two very different experiences. A coyote seems to know when it is being hunted. In the parks they'll run right up to me. In the wash they get all skittish and are hard to call in. On top of that we have rough terrain and the spots that do have cover have very thick low lying cover. There isn't really anywhere that I can just sit on a hill and watch them from 200 yards away like people do out on the plains. Our options here are to bring a portable blind or try and get under a small tree and hope you can't be seen. It didn't take me long to get discouraged and learn that coyote hunting is a skill that takes time to develop. I spent some time in the coyote hunting groups and was told by people it's not just me, it's a tough state to hunt in and just stick with it and I'll get it figured out. They were right.
People wonder why hunt coyotes. I saw why not? Don't get me wrong, I don't hate coyotes. I like coyotes, I respect them. The coyote is the ultimate predator. They are intelligent, have excellent hearing, excellent eyesight, and can smell you a mile away. However their populations are way out of control. They estimate the coyote population around cities is 10 times higher than out in the open desert. When I hunt coyotes, or hunt in general, I'm giving money to animal conservation. A majority of animal conservation money comes from hunters. A majority of animal activist money goes to lawyers with almost nothing going to conservation. If I don't hunt then the tax payers get to pay some a-hole fed a six figure salary to try and control the population. Not only that but they use methods like the one that got Mike Vic a stay in prison. This is how the feds handle coyote populations.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/12/animal-torture-abuse-called-regular-practice-within-federal-wildlife-agency.html
Anyways I have learned through trial and error coyote hunting in Arizona. On one of my first hunts I unloaded my gun after calling and started hiking back. I then ran into five coyotes with an unloaded rifle. By the time I loaded it they took off. Then I gave one a haircut a couple weeks later. I used to get a huge burst of adrenaline when I saw them. It's not anything like shooting at the range. I missed flesh and just got some hair off this one with my 30 06. Then I called in one that I shot at with my AK-47 and missed. A couple weeks later I called in another but at that point I was so nervous about my last miss that I locked up even though the cross hairs were right on the chest and it turned and ran before I could pull the trigger. Then I had the one that came in next to me. I have a whole post about that one. I had to switch guns, shot it at 200 yards, hit it, watched it go down, heard it yelp, but couldn't find it. A year later I found the remains 75 yards away, no doubt it was the same one I shot. I also called in a couple foxes which I shot and killed while trying to hunt coyotes, and have had several days where I just don't spend enough time out there to find them. I've taken trips with my bow where they come in quick but that's a long story about why you don't use a crossbow with a scope to coyote hunt. On that occasion I had nearly ten of them circling me for 45 minutes. The last mistake I had a few months back I had called in one 50 yards away and took what I thought was a perfect shot and missed. I was using 00 buck shot and thought that was a good coyote round. I quickly learned that is not the correct round to use. A 00 buck is for less than 10 yards, like home defense. From this I learned you need to use a #4 buckshot which has 27-42 pellets, depending on the shot, as opposed to 9 in the 00 buck. I also changed out my choke tube for a Carlson Coyote tube that has a tighter patterns.
On top of the mistakes I've made I have other forces working against me. I have a bad back, a fused lower back, and I cannot sit on the ground without my feet going numb. So I have to bring a backpack with a chair most of the time, which is heavier and bulkier but it allows me to sit. This last week I didn't have a chair and after sitting for 15 minutes I couldn't stand up. I tried to stand and my right foot wouldn't hold up. My foot was folding and I had to balance on my left foot for a couple minutes. Probably the biggest challenge I have had with coyote hunting is dealing with extra gear for comfort or not being able to sit still which ruins a hunt. They can detect the slightest movement so a foot going numb is a game killer. Coyote hunting isn't a hunt like getting quail or deer or something where you are tracking and moving, which is easy for me. Coyote hunting requires a lot of sitting still and patience and it has been a real challenge for me to make this work in my condition. I can hike all day, I just can't sit still on the ground.
Well I've learned from my mistakes and finally got the calling and the hunting down. A couple weeks ago I went out behind my house and I was 50 yards into the wash when I was startled by a loud siren behind me. It started off as one coyote then 3 or 4 calling. I thought I was on the menu. So I kept walking to get 1/4 mile from the house since you can't hunt around occupied buildings. When I got down to the spot where I was going to setup I learned my batteries were dead on my e-call. I used to carry extras and I'm going to have to go back to doing that. So a day wasted. I had a mouth call but they weren't coming in for that. I got bored and wasted my 3 inch magnums buckshots on a jackrabbit.
So this last weekend I went out again and again when I got to the wash they started calling, this time on the other side. So I walked away from them and setup a stand. Nothing came in. I setup another stand and nothing. I started walking back to a spot where I walked right up on a coyote during the Javelina Bow Hunt but before I could get there the coyotes started calling again from the other direction. So I hiked towards them and setup again, and again nothing came in. I setup a fourth stand under a big tree for 45 minutes and started to get mad that nothing was coming in. So I decided to hike to a spot about a half mile from there where I killed a jack rabbit the week before and see what was left of it. This is the part where I made another mistake and took out my last #4 buckshot 3 inch magnum round and put in my #4 2 3/4 inch round thinking I was just going to shoot another jack. I didn't want to use my last magnum on a jack rabbit. I didn't find the jack rabbit but on the way back I found a spot that I thought would be good for calling.
So I decided to setup one last stand. I forgot I had the magnum round in my pocket and only had 4 of the 2 3/4 inch rounds in the shotgun. I had a near cliff on one side of me, a wash on the other, I was standing next to a tree, and I thought I had a pretty good view of the area. After ten minutes nothing was coming in. I got a little distracted, I don't even remember by what, and that is when I heard a loud ruckus out by my call. That's when I saw a coyote pup attacking my mojo critter decoy. I raised my shotgun and let out the first shot at 45-50 yards. I don't know if I grazed the coyote or it just got scared by it threw off the coyote's running. However the coyote was back into a full sprint in no time. I thought oh great, another one gets away. That's when I told myself not today, this effer is going down. I quickly racked another round and knocked the coyote down in a full sprint at over 50 yards. It got back up and started limping away. I racked another round as I ran towards it and knocked it down for good. I then ran after the coyote just in case it was going to get up again. It had one leg up in the air and was kicking. I don't know if it was alive or just reflexes but I put another round in just to make sure. Finally I had a coyote that I not only killed but was able to retrieve the same day.
I went back to get my gear but couldn't find my call. I tried locating by remote but for some reason their was no sound. I thought the coyote had broken my e-call as well. After a few minutes of searching I was able to find my e-call and my mojo critter and pack it up.
At this point it was hot and the coyote was mangy so I didn't keep the pelt. I decapitated the yote and took the head. When I got about 150 yards away I could smell another coyote in the area. A lot of the coyotes mess with skunks and therefore smell like a skunk only the smell leaves with them. So I knew there was a coyote following me and had I setup my call and put on coyote pup in distress call I might have had a double that day. However it was hot, I wanted to get home, and I thought the coyote had busted my call. It was only when I got home that I was able to get it working again.
I walked through the neighborhood with a coyote head in my left hand. I got a weird look from one neighbor and a congrats from another. When I got to the house I rang the door bell several times very fast and opened the door. I yelled "Help Natalie, quick help". I have never seen Natalie get to the door so fast. Right as she was coming to the door I pulled out the coyote head from behind my back and watched her scream. It was hilarious. She then asked why I killed it. Funny question. She knows I'm after them and asked me afterwards why I killed it.
I learned a lot chasing these yotes and I think the future hunts will be much easier. The biggest lessons I have learned are:
- Don't plan on going out just for a couple hours. Even though they are mostly night hunters they will hunt in the day. A lot of them won't come in until late morning. They are educated about hunters and get hung up. So if you start before the sun comes up, which I do, don't plan on seeing them come in for a couple hours, even if they are close by. Most of my hunts I would only call for an hour or two thinking the day is done when in fact it had just started.
- If one stand isn't working, or two, or three, keep going. Don't give up after a couple stands.
- Never lose focus. I've had them come in more than once when I least expect it and am ready to give up.
- Don't wash hunting clothes with laundry detergent. Coyotes have a very good sense of smell. Just water or baking soda when washing hunting clothes.
- Lose the side arm and take a shotgun. I was so hell bent on getting a coyote with my 30 06 that I missed a couple opportunities when a shotgun would have been a sure kill. You never know when they'll come in or how so it's best to have a long range rifle and a shotgun. A rifle is as useless at close range as a shotgun is at long range. It's better to have both in most situations. This last hunt was the first hunt I have had with only one gun. I ditched the sidearm and only had my 12 gauge. In this case I couldn't bring a rifle though, it's not legal in this area so I took my shotgun only and no side arm so I could be more mobile.
Pictures from my hunt. I got up at 5 and was out the door at 05:26. This was around 09:00 at my 4th stand. I was getting very discouraged at this point and about to quit.
Coyote down on my 5th stand at 10:00.
