Coyote on the Peninsula

[RemingtonMike]

I went over to Eastern Washington for a week with my grandfather and got my first large/small game killed, it was a female coyote at about 60 yards using a Remington 700 VSSF heavily upgraded I scored a heart/lung shot I have spent the last week coyote hunting and I have fell in love with it. and I would like to give it a try on the Peninsula (I live in Sequim) I have hunted before and completed hunter safety course 2 years back. Because my grandfather drives long haul I cant get info or tips from him but he did recommend this site. So i was wondering about areas up here with good hunting, I've got all the essentials and I'm working on finding an electric call, decoy, and hopefully a new decent jacket that fits me. Anything would help. Thanks.

[AWS]

They are just about everywhere on the penninsula, just a lot harder to see because of the cover.  You might want tto add a mountian bike to your equipment list to get behind closed gates.  I've never hunted the Sequim area, I'm on the others side. Get public lands maps, do a lot of scouting ride the logging trails looking for tracks and scat.

Aws

[d-rock]

Still learning to yote hunt myself too but get out and hike, making sure you are on land that is OK to hunt. Look for sign, then hunt a lot.  I've been asking these questions on here too and the common answer is it easier on the East side hard, on the West.  But I think it's agreed when you get one on the west side its worth the bragging rights.  I have seen Coyotes in some of the bigger cities at night, they really are everywhere.

[sivart33]

use a shot gun with 00buck.  turkey choke or yote chock,  have fun getting close.  farthest shot was 75 yards, closest was around 10.  i have only had one run out into a clear cut and he was a young one. 

[littletoes]

As you "ride" the logging roads, watch for areas in the road itself that have either "black" or green colored dog crap in it. When you come to a good area, you'll start seeing quite a bit of it.

Think of "calling" THOSE areas. You see, animals have to conserve energy, and walking the roads is easier than busting the brush for them too.

As you are scouting, think of the wind, of visibility-what it will take to make a good stand, where you can see the approach of a dog, NOT JUST WHERE "YOU" WANT TO SEE HIM, but where he might actually come from. Where would you sit, the dog will try to wind you, so think of your back trail-what your "cone" of scent was/is doing, in the area you are about to hunt.

Get a camo that will work in the area you are going to hunt in. Nothing too dark, most are indeed too dark, yet you don't want to be too light either. It doesn't have to be perfect, just has to break up your FORM.

If you are hitting an area that gets hunted a Lot, your odds will be horrible. Watch for fired casings, or shotgun hulls. Yea, its sacrilege for a hand-loader to leave good brass, but not all hunters are hand-loaders.
Watch for tracks, people AND dogs.

A beginning? Sure hope so! Good Luck, wear them boots out, but remember, volume of country doesn't rule over quality or knowledge of country. 

[rainshadow1]

There are a few coyotes in the DNR and NF, but only a very few. There's a ton in the valley. But it's very very very hard to secure huntable land. It's frustrating. I travel to the East side to hunt the open public sage land. So much more fun! Hunting a postage stamp of a former californian ranchette with the neighbors yelling at you and calling the Sherriff... it's not worth it!

If you're hot on 'em, hunt the lowest public land you can,  learn and know the no-shooting and firearm restriction areas, and knock doors on the best possibilities in the valley. Set up a shotgun and explain to the landowners how you're going to be a safe and responsible steward of their land. It's very tough, they're extreeeeeeeeeemly educated and people wise around here, but it can be done.

[sivart33]

or find places that people do not go.  i have only gotten one in a used public area,  yes there is dnr land that people do not use, cause they dont know about it.

[JimmyHoffa]

Pretty much like rainshadow said, there seems to be a lot of pups down in the valleys.  I see more running around the yards than up in the mountains.  I've seen a couple on the roads (FS Rd 27 and 28) and the fields along Palo Alto Rd and Happy Valley Rd.  I've tried calling in a grassy field along FS Rd 28 and had one answer, but couldn't see him.  The others have just been sitting in the roads.  I hear a few at night down near the south end of River Rd and out near Slab Camp.  For the high country, I just don't see them at all, but hear them some nights, especially if there are fresh gutpiles.