HUNTING THE DAYTIME COYOTE By
Steve Schenck..(Coyote 6974)
As I drove along the snow covered gravel road my eyes scanned across the open
fields that surrounded me.. I closely scrutinized each fencerow and woods edge.
I was day hunting coyotes, and all I needed to see was a dark gray spot against
the white background made by the fresh snow cover. It wasn’t long until I
spotted just that, two coyotes in an open field of corn stalks. They were about
500 yards out near the corner of a fencerow that divided one farm from another.
I quickly formulated a plan on how to get into a position to call one or both of
these coyotes into shooting range.
My plan was to use an old railroad bed south of them to move into the wind to
the area where I’d spotted the coyotes. The brushy edges of the railroad bed
would hide my movement as I approached within calling range. I would walk with
the wind in my face so as not to let my scent drift across the field to the
waiting noses of my quarry. The number one and number two rules of hunting
coyotes during the day are to not be seen and to not be winded. Once a hunter
masters the art of working the wind, and the art of concealment, he is going to
be successful at killing coyotes in the daylight.
After leaving my truck parked off to the south side of the railroad bed I began
my stalk toward the unsuspecting coyotes. I worked into a position that put me
about 300 yards downwind of where I’d last seen them with a clear view across
the cornfield. By the time I’d made it into position to call the coyotes were no
longer in the open. I stayed in cover and leaned against a tree to break up my
human form and began to call. Within minutes I spotted both coyotes coming
straight toward me from about 300 yards north of my stand. I shouldered my
Remington 700 chambered in .243 Winchester and watched through the scope as they
came closer. One of the two stopped about 200 yards out, but the other continued
coming straight in. I let him come in to about 40 yards and sent an 85 grain
Sierra Game King HP into his chest. At the shot he went down DRT. Coyote number
two was wasting no time now, as it began to exit the area. I had chambered a
second round and as I picked up the straight away running coyote in the scope I
settled the crosshairs above its vent and sent another 85 grain HP streaking
across the stalks. The bullet struck the fleeing coyote just right of its tail
root and sent it skidding through the stalks. As I walked out to inspect my
trophies I spotted yet another coyote as it slipped away among the stalks 400
yards away. This is day time coyote hunting. Shooting at close range then
shooting at very long range. Seeing coyotes you would never see hunting in the
dark.
For many years I thought coyotes could only be hunted successfully at night.
Calling with a shotgun, which didn’t really interest me too much. I have learned
though, that they can also be lured out during the day. I’d like to share some
of the tactics I’ve learned for coyote hunting on the day shift.
The first thing you need to do is locate them. Here in central Indiana coyotes
don’t hide behind every bush so if a guy just walks into any ole area and sets
up and calls it’s not real likely that there will be a coyote lounging within
earshot. You can locate coyotes by looking for scat and tracks along country
roads. Seems they just love to leave scat in the open so it’s easy to spot from
a moving vehicle. Drive the roads throughout your hunting areas early in the
mornings before traffic begins moving. If you see scat on the roads you know
there are coyotes using the area. When there’s a fresh snow on it’s easy to see
tracks where they’ve crossed the road. If those tracks are headed toward a
thicket, circle around and set up downwind of it and call. While driving in
these areas at first light scan the field edges along ditches and fence rows
looking for coyotes on the move. If you spot one you can return to the area and
set up and call. Many times I’ve seen them in the morning and when I return in
the early evening they are still close by. I think that coyotes lay up during
the day so many times when you see them moving at first light they are headed to
their bedding areas, so that area is a good bet to call late in the afternoon or
at dusk. This method of driving and spotting is especially effective during the
cold months of December and January when there’s been a good lengthy snow cover.
During these times coyotes are active long into the day, and they can readily be
seen since their dark gray color stands out against the white snow.
Another effective method of locating coyotes is to come into an area a couple
hours before daylight and howl. If you get a response return at first light and
call. Chances are they’ll still be within earshot. You can listen for howls in
the evening, but because of the size of a coyotes range they may be miles away
by the next morning. Any howling you hear though signals there are coyotes there
and it’s a good bet that if you gain permission to hunt, sooner or latter you’ll
call one in. If you are on real good terms with several farmers, keep tabs on
their corn harvest operations. As soon as those combines leave the field, I like
to arrive within 3 or 4 hours and call around those fields. Almost without fail
I’ll find myself looking at a coyote or two through my rifle scope.
After you’ve been at it awhile you will learn to spot ideal coyote habitat. I
look for areas containing brushy creek bottoms or wood lots surrounded by open
corn and bean fields. Coyotes hunt and bed in these bottoms and thickets and use
any overgrown fencerows that connect to these areas of thick cover as travel
lanes. I’ll move in along a connecting fencerow and call, with the wind in my
face, toward the thick cover along the bottoms. If I intend to call toward a
creek bottom or toward a thicket, I feel is holding coyotes, I never let the
wind blow from me toward that cover. Also never approach an area you intend to
call to without using some kind of cover to hide yourself. If you walk out into
the open any coyote bedded along the edge of that habitat will likely see you
and be gone before you ever see him. I remember when I first started chasing
coyotes I spotted a couple in the same area as those I described in my opening
paragraph. I slipped in and glassed the cover I’d spotted them mousing near.
When I didn’t see them, I stepped into the open corn field and was immediately
busted. Those coyotes stood up then took off out the other side of the fencerow.
Because of the brush, I had no shot. Had I held up in cover and called, I have
no doubt I would have called them into range.
With scent control and stealth in your approach being the number one and number
two rules of daytime coyote hunting, we come to what I feel is number three,
choosing a setup location. Because no self respecting educated type coyote will
come in without trying to get a whiff of his prey you can bet he’s going to
circle as he gets close to the source of whatever sound you’re using. Because of
that trait a caller needs to set up where he can see and shoot to his downwind
side. You want to catch that coyote as he sneaks downwind and kill him before he
winds you. Calling with a crosswind makes this much easier. I’ve learned to make
my stands where a coyote will have to completely expose himself in the open if
he wants to get downwind of me. I’ve also learned not to walk in where a coyote
is likely to cross my path before I can see him and kill him. If you hunt alone
this is sometimes tough to do. I save the locations I can’t cover the downwind
side alone, to hunt when I have a partner. Using an electronic caller also makes
it much easier to cover your downwind side. It can be placed away from you so
that any approaching coyote will have to expose itself before it ever winds you.
Another thing you want to be very aware of when day hunting is to not setup in a
nice sunny ground stand. Instead, be sure to setup in the shade.
Tactics for calling during the day differ somewhat from calling at night also.
During the day using a remote operated electronic caller can be an advantage. It
cuts down on movement and you can place the caller out away from your stand
causing any responding coyote to direct its attention away from you. Now when a
coyote sneaks in undetected you can make the small movement necessary to make
the shot on him. I like to use mouth calls and electronics together. Sometimes
when howling I will howl with a mouth blown howler and also howl on my Foxpro at
the same time. I think this adds lots of realism to my stand, sounding like two
separate coyotes standing apart howling. Any call that produces a distress sound
is quit effective for attracting coyotes, whether it is wind powered or battery
powered.
I find there are two basic types of coyotes out there. Hunting during the day,
you will run into both types, and each one takes different tactics to hunt
successfully. There’s the uneducated early season type, that will fall all over
himself trying to run to the call. He’s easier to hunt but usually by mid season
he’s in short supply. Then there are the coyotes that for some reason or another
simply won’t come to calls. At night you won’t see this second type of coyote
because he won’t even look your way so you can light up his eyes. But during the
day you will see him out there trotting across a field paying no attention at
all to the noises you make. There is a way to kill him though. This is when its
time to stalk or to pattern him and hunt him like a deer.
Late in the season many of the coyotes I shoot aren’t called in at all. These
are coyotes I’ve spotted and have then stalked in on. Usually there is no easy
way to get into position to call to these coyotes because they are usually on
the move. It’s nearly impossible for a hunter on foot to get ahead of them
without being seen. About all you can do is parallel them as they move until you
can get a clear shot. Many of these coyotes pay no attention to a call, and have
to be sniped at long range. To me this is the most satisfying way to hunt
coyotes. It truly pit’s the hunter against the quarry. When I see one of these
coyotes, it is usually in an open crop field mousing, or it will be moving along
a ditch bank or fencerow hunting. I will make an approach from downwind of his
location. I will move toward him on foot using any terrain feature I can to hide
myself as I move closer to him. Sometimes I will have him constantly in view and
will be paralleling him as he moves. I will move quickly and quietly stopping
often to glass the area I know the coyote is in. If I can see him as he moves
along I will keep cover between myself and the coyote. As soon as I get within
rifle range I will find a good solid rest, get on the coyote and take the shot.
If I’ve lost sight of him during the stalk as soon as I’m in calling range of
where I last saw him I will set up and try to call him in. If you lose sight of
him you don’t want to move in to close to where you last saw him because it is
easy to unknowingly get to close and bump him. I will also pattern these
coyotes. At first light when I usually see them in the open they are headed to
their bedding areas to lay up for the day. If I can slip into some cover along
their travel route and wait, I can sometimes kill them without ever blowing a
call.
About any .22 caliber center fire rifle, or 12 gauge shotgun, is suitable to use
for hunting coyotes. But.. Although most called coyotes will approach to within
50 yards or less, there are many times during the day, where a longer shot
presents itself. Because of this I prefer to hunt with a rifle. With the open
nature of the central Indiana terrain I take many coyotes at over 200 yards. I
like a sporter weight rifle chambered in .243 Winchester. This caliber shoots
flat across wide open fields and the heavier bullets retain sufficient energy to
flatten large Indiana coyotes at long range. If I’m going to be calling from
stands that I know coyotes will approach to within a short distance I’ll
sometimes use a rifle chambered in .223 or 22-250. But when I know I’ll be
hunting open country my .243 always gets the nod.
Hunting coyotes during the day gives you the advantage of being able to travel
light. No cumbersome light with its heavy battery pack to lug along. During a
normal day of coyote hunting I may walk five or six miles. Therefore I only
carry the necessities. Some of the other necessary equipment I like to carry
while hunting during the day include a good pair of small 10x binoculars, a set
of collapsible shooting sticks, and an air filled camo pad that straps around my
waist. I carry an extra 10 rounds of .243 ammo in one of those plastic holders
from a box of Federal ammo. This keeps the rounds separated in my pocket so the
bullets aren’t nicked while they bang together. I carry a 416 B Foxpro
electronic caller in my jacket pocket, and several mouth calls in another
pocket. Several times I’ve had my batteries die during a stand so I simply kill
the Foxpro and switch to a mouth call. I also carry a length of rope to drag out
a dead coyote with. Forty pound coyotes wear you out trying to grip a leg and
drag it.
Many people ask what is the best time of day to hunt coyotes. Although I’ve had
coyotes respond to calls about every hour of the day, in my experience right at
first light is the absolute best time to be up and calling. I like to be on my
first stand ready to call just as it becomes light enough to see an incoming
coyote. Right before sunset is also a good time to be calling. But really
anytime is a GREAT time to be out there calling coyotes.