Well what does it take to start hunting them ??

Think of this as a how to thread, post tips and advice

I want to start this fall, and all of you talking about it makes it seem more interesting then other types of hunting to me.

Dimitri

I hear tell wolves are a whole other ball game to hunt. Mainly because of territory size and the fact they do pack hunt all the time.

Coyotes are a lot of hard work in timbered areas like the eastern half of north America. The learning curve is a long one, but not impossible like a lot of folks will tell you that have tried and failed. Persistance and good woodsmanship are key to success.

Weapons, any centerfire rifle, or shotgun loaded with anything from lead bb to number four buckshot.

Calls, you can get started with a hand call. Any call from the oldest names in the bussiness will work great, Sceery, Johnny Stewart, Lohman, Haydels, or Burnham Bros. You want to make a four or five note sound with a rythem similar to a baby crying, WHAAH, waah, waah, wa.

Get your self a topo map of your area and start driving around the back roads looking for tracks crossing them. Mark on your topo where you find the sign. If your roads are on the section lines drive around that whole section. Where you will find the signs are in the low places such as creeks and hollows, where fencerows divide porperty lines, where old farm roads join the main road. Do this and you will see a pattern forming. This will teach you what the travel lanes look like. Travel lanes are what all animals use to travel accross country. If you have hunted white tailed deer and scouted the trails to feeding and bedding areas, then you have a concept of what I am talking about. The only diference is coyotes use the terrain features , man made and natural ,to travel over much greater distances.

Once you have done your road scouting and found a few places with a lot of sign, go talk to the landowners about hunting there and walk the ground. What your looking for are places where the sign is going in several diferent directions. If the sign is one directional you need to keep looking elsewhere. Sign such as tracks going in several directions and a lot of scats tell you that area is used by them a lot and the best choice.

And for your part of the continent, find out where all the deer yards are in your area. When things get tough the coyotes won't be too far from these in late winter.

Now get out there and start your lessons. We can discuss setups and such later. If Chet puts up that wind post we will get several good lessons in there , so keep an eye out for it. L.O.

Little Obion,

Thanks for the reply

I will start looking for where they are I wonder if the MNR will tell me where the complaints for wolves and coyotes are.

Dimitri

Hi Dimitri! What part of Southern Ontario are you from?
No wolves in our part of the world but there sure are coyotes, Coyotes are no good dirty buggers almost as bad as the folks at MNR who will not help one bit Calling has started to take a good hold around here where as in the past most of the coyote hunting was done with dogs. Chicken farms are a magnet as are pig farms. Coyotes like to hang out and feast on livestock that has died and been thrown out. Most farmers will let you on if they've had problems and you don't show up with a whole gang of guys.
Coyotes in S Ontario are unusually large as compared to the western ones and often go as heavy as 50lbs and sometimes even more but hide quality is lower than the western ones. Generaly brownish and drab thus used in collars etc. Mange is also comon so becarefull of handling cuz we can catch it too. The size didcates the use of the centerfires that can knock them down. .223 is fine but don't stretch 'er too far. The .243 and hotter .224's are better choices
Calls work well but you need to learn to watch the wind. Rabbit distress is the most common and there are plenty on the market. In our climate the closed reed types tend to freeze on cold days so open reeds are a good choice
Here's a sound file of a rabbit distress call in action
www.ihud.com/file.php?...hbunny.wav
Have fun /tt

Tom,

I've moved around alot (currently in the GTA for school and yes I hate it ), by next hunting season I will be in London or Guelph so we will see how it goes when I start hunting coyotes then

I will pretty much end up asking farmers if they have had problems and go from there

I'm going to probably hunt alone seeing as most hunters I know arnt too interested in hunting animals other then deer, moose, ducks and geese.

You think the 8mm Mauser has enough power ??

Dimitri

High again Dinitri! I live just outside London in a small town called Aylmer.
8mm is plenty of gun for sure but there is a calibre restriction in place in most of the sothern part of the province alowing .275 or less. That's fine for coyote guys anyway as the best choices are smaller like the .25's and less. Can't blame you for wanting out of GTA

Tom,

Yes as far south as you are there is that restriction, Guess this gives me a excuse to buy another rifle when I move down there for work after college.

Dimitri

Dimitri,
Buy ALL of your TOYS before you get MARRIED! BUY, BUY, BUY! And get a prenuptual agreement to guarantee you keep your TOYS.

As far as what it takes to hunt coyotes well that is simple. Calls, good rifle or shotgun, lots of time and patience. Oh, lots of stealth and wind/scent observation too.

popgun wrote:

Dimitri, Buy ALL of your TOYS before you get MARRIED! BUY, BUY, BUY! And get a prenuptual agreement to guarantee you keep your TOYS.

Don't worry I was planning to do this long before now.

Too many divorces and stuff nowdays, and too many people on the forums I visit say they wish they did that from the start

Dimitri

popgun, that's some good advice. There ought to be a special forum on that alone. Wouldn't apply to me though, been married for 42 years, same woman, and it doesn't bother her if I spend on my hobby as long as I let her spend on hers
Keep it coming...

Congratulations on making the right choice the first time. I was not so lucky or smart in my first choice and went out the door with only a motorcycle, guns, and clothes in an ice storm.
The second is a winner and we have been married since September 11, 1976.

Popgun,

I'm glad I've heard so many stories and stuff from older people so I learnt all that

It was a ice storm but atleast you got whats important for the most part your bike and guns

Dimitri

Dimiti if 'n you move down to London I'll drag ya out for some calling and fill you in on some more of the details what shouldn't be shared on a public forum concerning hooking up with the other sex
I've been with the same one for about 28 years but she don't have a key so she can inventory the gun safe/tt

TomTalker,

That would be fun to learn from someone who knows how to call

Well next January I'm gonna start hitting all the Tool and Die shops to try and find myself a apprentiship in Guelph and London so we will see where I end up

Dimitri

popgun wrote:

Dimitri, Buy ALL of your TOYS before you get MARRIED! BUY, BUY, BUY! And get a prenuptual agreement to guarantee you keep your TOYS. As far as what it takes to hunt coyotes well that is simple. Calls, good rifle or shotgun, lots of time and patience. Oh, lots of stealth and wind/scent observation too.

Sage advice Chris.

A mate has just recently gone through a nasty divorce and his ex wife's scum sucking, bottom feeding parasite, lawyer even had an O/U Italian shotgun (that was a family heirloom handed down to my mate by his father when he was a teenager) included in the family assets.

Luckily the gunsmith that did the valuation had seen this problem before and gave a "husband friendly" valuation.

I would love to go coyote hunting. We don't have any over here and dingos aren't as proliferant so the closest we can come is feral dogs or foxes.

Cheers, Vince