Coyote Hunting 101

• Posted on 10 March 2021
• By Shawn Rypstra
• 0

Here in southern Ontario hunting coyote is becoming more and more popular. There is a long list of reason why hunters chase these brush dogs, from being a nuisance to suburban areas, selling or using pelts,hurting farmers livestock, or managing deer and turkey populations on your hunting grounds, etc. Here’s a few quick tips to get you started on predator hunting.

Weapons of choice:

• Rifles are usually the first choice, personally I see .223, 22-250, and .243 the most but there’s no need to be really picky if the most accurate rifle you own is a 270. In our area you aren’t allowed to hunt with larger than .275 for coyote.

• 12 Gauge Shotguns with 00 Buck are you best bet when setting up in the woods. Coyotes will show up quiet and right in front of you in the blink of an eye. There is no time to carefully line up your scope. You need open sights to shoot quick and use the spread to your advantage for an ethical harvest.

Calls:

• E-Callers: Primos AlphaDogg is definitely my personal favourite but FoxPro E-callers are industry leaders as well. These calls have pre-recorded calling sequences that make calling in coyotes a lot more simple.
• Mouth Calls: These are a must to have while hunting, even just for backup when your E-caller batteries die and you forgot extras…yes it happens. They are tricky to master but squealing on a rabbit distress in your free time will pay off in the field.

Decoys:

• Adding movement to your setup is probably the best thing you can do to increase your odds of going home with some fur. Battery operated spinning rabbit decoys are great choices. The movement can trick even the most sly coyote to take that extra step out from the tree line. Not every set will result in success but the spinning decoys is critical to giving yourself the best odds.

The Setup

Here is an ideal setup with good wind direction.

I typically won’t go into this set until I have a perfect wind, either North or East. Since there is a road just south of this image the coyotes aren’t likely to get down wind of me. Point your E-caller in the direction you would like to pull the coyotes towards and it can help bring them out of cover where you want them too. I know this property really well which is why I’ve stated where I expect the coyote to come from. Spending time to learn every inch of your hunting properties can really pay off.

If it’s possible, do not place the E-caller directly between you and where you expect coyotes to come from. This isn’t always possible but if you can, it would be a good idea. Coyotes have excellent hearing and when they are looking at your E-caller you don’t want them seeing your movement over the decoy/E-caller.