Coyotes can be hunted year round in most states, and if you have problem coyotes keeping your local deer herds (or the family pets) on high alert, then maybe it’s time to turn the tables. There are many good reasons to hunt coyote during early fall as the first frosts begin to sweep the land. The following tips will help make your trips afield more effective.
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| To fool sharp-eyed coyotes, make sure
you’re in head-to-toe camouflage, including your hands and face. |
1) Bigger coyote packs are easier to spot:
During fall months, coyote groups are still close knit and the young ones are hungry — and gullible. The more coyotes on the prowl, the more movement on the ground. This means it is easier for you to spot coyotes as they come to calls or hunt along game trails or river corridors. Use good binoculars and scan the region around you often.
2) Oh, say can you see?
Fall leaves seem to longingly cling to trees and make fall hunting difficult in many areas. You will need to take a stand along farm paths or old logging roads, or around open harvested crop and hay fields, where you can observe at great distances. Coyote hunting is often a long-range game, so if you cannot see the distance because of leaves, move to the edges of open areas where you can spot approaching coyotes. Then settle in against the vegetation and start calling and hunting.
3) Use the shadows and cover to your advantage:
Use the shadows and cover to your advantage: Camouflage everything as your hunt, including hands with gloves and your face with a mask, and be certain you are fully covered before the first coyote call is blown or the electronic caller’s button is pushed. A top reason that hunters often fail to connect with coyotes is because coyotes have hunted—and found—the hunter before the person is prepared or hidden.
4) Fall fur is warm:
Coyotes in the fall have generally transitioned from summer to winter coats. Because the coyote’s thicker winter fur keeps them warmer, they are more reluctant to take action of any kind, including trotting in to a calling hunter. You’ll find they are more active (and easier to call near) during the cooler parts of the day, normally at dawn and dusk. Be afield during those hours, and hunt something else during the heat of the midday.
5) Give them the goods:
If you hunt an area where deer are plentiful, deploy the fawn decoys and small game look alikes when you call and hunt coyotes. Duplicate the foods the coyotes have been eating all summer, and you can be ahead in connecting the dots of your rifle to coyote fur.
Coyote hunting in the early days of fall takes some planning and proper clothing so you do not overheat and sweat, thus making your scent more likely to be detected by any approaching coyote. Move slower after you leave the truck, pause often and consider a camouflage day pack to store your outer clothing layers in until you arrive at or near the final hunting site. Then suite up, settle in and begin hunting. To tip the game in your favor, always try to sit and observe for at least 10 minutes after last call note is sung. You could be surprised by a non-committed coyote that simply sneaks in to take a look.