Me and my buddy are going to be in a coyote hunt tournament in a couple weeks, but neither of us have gone for them before. So please, tell me everything you know about coyote hunting. Also, I'm not sure what gun to use, I have a .270 win., a .22 and a 20 gauge. In PA I can use any of them, but I'm worried the .22 won't be enough, the .270 will be too much, and the 20 gauge will limit my range. Any input?

 

All the coyotes I have taken were shots of opportunity, so I can't be much help on the ins and outs. I had a co-worker that used to call them in, but unfortunately I lost touch of him when he left our employ.

Of the firearm options you listed, I would go with the .270. I believe .22 is not enough, and a shotgun is great, IF you can get them called in close enough(100 yards or less with slugs, really close if you are using buckshot). Better to have too much gun than not enough.

 

as someone who's tried and failed to call in coyotes-

GOOD LUCK!! best we ever had was a pack an 1/8th of a mile away howling back, then they quit coming closer. never saw them.

use the 270 if thats your only option. but if you can get an accurate AR15 in .223, or a bolt action .223, that would be my first choice. have a scope on it too... i used an AR15 the times i tried coyote calling, but never saw one.

.22 long rifle, takes an extrememly good shot to kill a coyote with, and they dont always sit there like papertargets waiting for you to shoot them. .20 guage- a "newbie"
coyote caller... probably wont get them within shotgun range, no offense, and the .270- may be overkill but... at least they are dead then, and not running around wounded

 

Coyotes are very clever animals, to be sure. If legal, an electronic preditor call works best, a squeeling rabbit. You must be patient and observent, because they can come up behind you, because they sometimes tend to circle and not come straight in to you. Wear camofloge and scent killing clothes. If possible get-up high. As said before, the .270 with a scope, is your best bet, a parctice shooting at distances of 100-300 yards, they can smell a rat a mile away.

Good Luck, you are surely going to need it.

 

Hunting coyotes is about the most challenging thing I've done. My friend and I had a PERFECT setup going. We had bagged a jackrabbitt earlier in the day. We set up in a bunch of rocks, bled out Mr. Bunny all over the brush 100 yards to the north of us and waited. I had my ghillie suit on and my mini-14 in .223 on a bypod. We called in a couple of them with the call and gave one last toot when something spooked them 300 yards out and they took off like a flash. I never got off a shot and we never saw another coyote that weekend.

 

Go to predatormasters.com. You will find a TON of info.

 

Take your 270 and your 20 gauge to every stand. Use the 20 gauge for the close in work. Make lots of stands. Be very still on your stands. Good luck.

 

Good idea, but illegal where I'll be hunting. You're only allowed to have one gun while hunting.

 

Well .22/250 is probably the most widely used firearm for varmints, the .223 would be another very good load, so if you look at these calibers what stands out as the difference these 2 calibers and the .22 other than the range? You could easily use the .22 out to 100yds. But for long range The .270 would be good at a much longer range. If you don't use the .270 for deer huntin or something else, trade it for a .22/250 But let me warn you these dudes are one of the toughest animals to hunt. I've hunted them for years, and the first year never killed anything, I did manage to at least see some my first year to keep my attention, Now the only call I use is a turkey mouth call, just blow it like a squealing rabbit and dieing rabbit. I've used mechanical calls,tube calls, the turkey call works for me the best. Be ready usually will be running in within the first minute, some weary old dogs take a little longer and like to peak out of the brush from a long way away. I usually kill them coming out of a ditch, or wash out in the field. They would much rather use the cover all the way to the prey. I have killed many with a .22cal rifle most at 50yds and under, but you only get about 5 seconds to shoot in most cases so don't have your gun laying on the ground or leaning on a tree. You'll just get to wave by, and its tough to call a yodie thats been called before.

 

bobs75F-250, there is no such thing as too much gun for a coyote. I have had those guys pack off more lead on good shots than any other critter. Try a heart shot with a 45-70 at 75 yards. The guy ran over 200 yards before giving it up. I have shot these guys with TNT bullets ( very explosive on impact) and still they run hundreds of yards. I shoot in my 270 the 90 gr HP at max velocities and the bullet literally explodes on impact and they still will run. I don't kill them for the hides but we have so many down here that if you don't keep the population down, rabies, lice, starvation are all on the agenda. A good healthy coyote is a real good sign that everything is in balance in the pasture.

 

wow, if its really as hard as you guys are saying, we might have to abandon our deer hunting tactics (smoking and being noisy...didn't seem to hurt our chances though). Thanks for all the input so far, keep it coming. And what kind of terrain should I look for(woods/fields/brush etc.)? We'll be going during the day and it will probably be snowy.

 

Use all of that, as for the gun, since its a tournamant and since u cant eat em id go with the .270 (assuming it has a scope on it) with 140 grain ballistic point bullets that knock em dead, and just aim normally like u would for a deer, right behind the shoulder. it would be ideal to hav a range finder. the way "you" hunt deer is the exact opposite of the way u hunt cyotes, u should look like a tree with no wind. i would hunt in a stand and put a mirror up facing the opposite direction of were u wil be looking, if ur main focus is to the rt for example have the reflection part of the mirror towards the lft that way u minimize the ammount of movement u hav to do by almost 100%.

GOOD LUCK

ps. if u ever need someone to accompany u on a deer hunt or w/e hunt look me up thanx

 

I love hunting, but I won't kill something I can't eat, unless its trying to eat me. I've killed Coyotes, but only because they were after my dog.

Unless there is a threat to you and the community, please re-consider your hunt. People killed out all of the wolves in the eastern US because of similar circumstances.

 

Normally I feel the same way about eating what you kill, but from what I've heard, they are overpopulated where I'll be hunting, which I think is a valid reason to go for them.