Post by: jeepster on January 30, 2011, 08:37:53 PM
ive never hunted any kind of predator before.... i know that there TONS of coyotes in the foothills...
my buddy and i were talking about going out and shooting stuff, making a multiple day camping trip out of it.... after temporalliy losing my hunting dog on the logging roads grouse hunting this past fall, and having spent multiple nights up there... jeez, i dont know how many yotes i heard up night there..........
about all i know when it comes to coyote hunting, is 1) hide and cover your scent, 2) make wounded rabbit/critter noises, 3) wait, and 4) make your shot count....
i have a few rifles id consider using... 1) i have a very nice cz 452 in .17hmr with a 6.5-20x50 lense, 2) my saiga/ak in 223- open sights, and 3) my trusty old faithful savage 99 in sav .300 with a 4x dot reticle scope, and a win.94 30/30 (irons)... all seem like they would do the job, the saiga isnt fitted with a scope and irons are set to factory standards.... it needs to be properlly fitted with a scope and sighted in.... but its nothing i wouldnt use. the sav. 300 is good to go, same with the cz and 30/30... im assuming the .17hmr is inhumane... however that is the gun id prefer to use, mainly because ive never had a purpose for it beyond assassinating paper targets and soda cans....
i just have the itch for some coyote hunting... i would love some input and some basics. ive never done it before, but it sounds like fun....
total noob post i know...... but gotta learn some time... unfortunatley i have to teach myself from what i can learn on my own or read in mags/online....
the 17 hmr seems too light-duty for a coyote, but the terain seems limiting enough that a dog might get with in range... i just hate inhumane shots vs one shot one kill... but ive read people using the 17 for hogs and deer....... so that presents a question...
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on January 30, 2011, 08:43:09 PM
-Steve
Post by: shoot-em-dead on January 30, 2011, 08:45:17 PM
Post by: jeepster on January 30, 2011, 08:48:03 PM
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on January 30, 2011, 08:51:04 PM
-Steve
Post by: jeepster on January 30, 2011, 08:54:17 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on January 30, 2011, 08:58:34 PM
Post by: bobcat on January 30, 2011, 10:10:19 PM
But sounds to me like with what you've got to work with, the 300 Savage would be the best bet. Maybe consider selling or trading that .17 for a bigger caliber varmint gun.
Post by: jeepster on January 30, 2011, 11:13:58 PM
Post by: Decker on January 31, 2011, 05:31:01 PM
Post by: Bofire on January 31, 2011, 06:03:41 PM
Carl
Post by: CAMPMEAT on January 31, 2011, 06:09:08 PM
Post by: jgregg on February 01, 2011, 10:03:53 AM
Post by: Decker on February 02, 2011, 11:44:47 AM
To be honest, cover scent on coyotes seems useless to me. I heard at the predator seminar here in kennewick a month or so ago, that they did a test where they put one bud of marijuana in a jar full of peanut butter, closed the jar and the dog still smelled it. Dogs have too good of smelling to really worry about trying to cover up human odor. Just play the wind.
Sounds like the dogs definitely had the "higher" hand in that one. :P :P :P
Post by: shoot-em-dead on February 02, 2011, 12:09:14 PM
I like the joke- even still though this is a dog- I went to the semminar in Lacy and Jerry Melback said you can multiply a coyotes nose ten times that of a dog.To be honest, cover scent on coyotes seems useless to me. I heard at the predator seminar here in kennewick a month or so ago, that they did a test where they put one bud of marijuana in a jar full of peanut butter, closed the jar and the dog still smelled it. Dogs have too good of smelling to really worry about trying to cover up human odor. Just play the wind.
Sounds like the dogs definitely had the "higher" hand in that one. :P :P :P
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on February 02, 2011, 12:19:58 PM
$800 for a .17 ? Somebody took that one in the shorts, sorry. I've got $425 in mine with scope.
:yeah: You did slightly better than I did. I've got more than $500 in my .17hmr... a $385 Burris Fullfield on a Savage $180 gun. Made up for it, though-- a while back a guy I know wanted to sell a CZ .17hmr with a BSA Sweet 17 scope for $300. You can bet I jumped on that deal! Love those .17hmr's. Wouldn't shoot a Coyote unless I could be sure of an under 100 yard head shot.
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on February 02, 2011, 12:32:49 PM
Post by: Decker on February 05, 2011, 08:10:37 PM
A predator hunting scientist wrote an article about Coyote Olfactory Senses a while back. The gist of the article was that there is no way to mask the human scent, but by misting the air with a mix of other smells you can confuse the Coyote's brain into ignoring the human component of what he's scenting enough to get him to lower his guard. He may be right. I figure I can use every advantage when it comes to fooling those wily critters!
Okay, so here's the thing. I am a long time predator hunter and have killed my fair share. We all know we're supposed to "play the wind". But there ARE exceptions on times when you might want to play it a little differently. For instance, when I first started calling I thought having the breeze directly in my face when calling was the best I could get. Didn't realize that a decent amount of dogs that I never saw probably circled down wind behind me. Actually I know they did because I've had them come running in full-tilt (from behind me) and almost run me over. Personally speaking I usually try to call a cross wind, where the wind is blowing to my shooting side (in my case, I am right handed and therefore shoot to my left.) A lot of times we try to plan this downwind side to an "open area" where the coyote would have to come out and through to get downwind. This is a good idea...unless of course you're dealing with extremely smart dogs, which is often the case. Once a coyote gets fooled in and blasted once or twice, they don't forget. I hunt in the middle of extremely high pressured areas and do pretty well because I am doing some things different than most guys. Good example would be calling on a completely flat piece of ground. Most guys want to find an elevated stand where they can see dogs coming in. In a perfect world, great. If you have to have it like you see it on t.v. fine. (Same thing goes for turkey hunting. Worked as a guide for 10 years and some guys wouldn't shoot a bird unless it came in to a call set up in full strut, while gobbling, etc.) But if you want to kill dogs (or turkeys) that others won't have a chance at try some things different. Calling on a flat sage-covered piece of ground is difficult (mainly cause we like to see them coming) but it's SUPER effective, mainly because 1. The coyote feels more confident because there is some cover and 2. They learn the spots that regularly get called. Take a shotgun and try it. If you have an electronic caller set it upwind 20 yards and hang on. I do all of my calling by mouth and on a sage flat often make a howl and then sneak 20-50 yards downwind after calling once, wait a few minutes and repeat. It's more of a run and gun style but can be awfully fun.
Wind is a funny thing, I've had them come bombard me (up to 5 at a time) directly from down wind across a wide open field from 100's of yards out. There are times I've walked a long distance in to a stand and had the wind change (to bad) and still called it and been successful. I've had this happen with deer to. Had them walk right up to me from straight downwind. You darned well they can smell you, but SOMETHING you're doing or offering is just too much for them to pass up. Those are the glory sets. Those are the ones where they come runnin' SO HARD you can even get them to stop for a shot and you don't kill the dang thing...but who CARES!? That was awesome!