While many people consider them pests, coyotes are actually one of the most fun and challenging animals to successfully hunt. They can be hard to find, hard to get close to, and ultimately hard to kill. Let’s go over where to find coyotes in your area, and how you can actually hunt them!
Where to Find Coyotes
Coyotes can be found in all fifty states. They can live at almost any elevation, and survive in any terrain. No matter where you live, you most likely have some coyotes living near to you! In order to hone in on where they are actually living, it pays to do a little bit of scouting. Go out to areas that seem promising and look for coyote signs such as tracks, scat, and dens. This will tell you for sure that there are some coyotes nearby, and give you a great starting point!
How to Hunt for Coyotes
Once you have located a good area with plenty of fresh coyote signs, you are ready to start formulating a hunting strategy. There are different ways you can actually go about hunting coyotes, but by far the most popular and the most effective is using predator distress calls. These calls, whether they are hand calls or electronic, mimic the sounds of prey animals in distress. These sounds will attract hungry coyotes looking for an easy meal, and give you an opportunity to see and shoot them.
When calling for coyotes, it is important to pay close attention to the wind. A coyote’s most powerful tool is his nose, and he will use it to his advantage. Sit somewhere downwind of where you think the coyotes will approach from. You should also set up somewhere where you have clear shooting windows and lanes, that way you can have a clean shot whenever a coyote shows up.
Lastly, stay patient. After using the distress calls. Sit and wait for several minutes in silence. Watch the surrounding areas closely, as coyotes are not usually vocal when hunting and if they hear your calls, they should be! Keep your rifle or shotgun at the ready as an encounter could happen quickly! Coyotes also tend to hunt in packs, so if you see one coyote there is a great chance that there are more nearby. Even after you shoot, continue to call and look as you can sometimes harvest more than one animal when sitting and calling.
Final Thoughts
Coyotes are a lot of fun to hunt, but they can be a challenge. By doing some scouting and finding where they live, as well as setting up correctly to call them, you can start successfully hunting them in no time at all!
Want to know more about coyote hunting? Check out the articles below:
Coyotes In The Wild: How To Scout And Locate Them
Predator Hunting: Pursuing Bear, Mountain Lion, Coyote, Wolf, and Bobcat
For more great ideas on how to fish and hunt from the experts, check out the awesome articles on our Bradley Smoker Hunting & Fishing Blog for more great tips & tricks.
