Coyote shotgun tips?

Zion9

New member
Hey everyone, I was just curious what tips you all have as far as shotgun hunting coyotes, where/how to set up, kind of choke you recommend, kind of shells etc. I'll be hunting in east TN and southern Kentucky where there is heavily wooded areas and hills/mountains. I'm new at this and would appreciate any advice no matter how insignificant it may seem. Thanks.
 
Yote Yoda(he lives in Kentucky)says shotguns don't work on coyotes there. He also said the water swirls counter clockwise in the toilet when flushed. Maybe the two are connected? I dunno.
 
I'm defiantly no expert, but wouldn't you just have to use the thick cover and hills to your advantage and just lure the coyotes real close? Like for instance allowing them to crest a hill where you are waiting on the other side, or actually setting up in the woods and forcing them to use the path of least resistance to get to your position?
 
We use a shotgun in open country to take coyotes, it doesn't have to be thick cover to use a shotgun on coyotes.

When we first started calling coyotes in 1983 with cassette callers we had quite a few coyotes run right up to the caller. They would smell the caller when they got to it and they would then turn and run off.

At that time we didn't know that you could "WOOF" at them to try and stop them. So quite a few coyotes that came all the way in to the e-caller got away.

So we started having a guy lay down about 15 to 20 yards from the caller with a shotgun. It worked good but was not very comfortable. So we came up with a camo pillow to put under our heads when we were laying on our back with the shotgun on our right side. The pillow has to be big enough and firm enough to prop the shot-gunner's head up so he can see.

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The above picture is what it looks like with a shotgun guy using a pillow. We normally have a rifle shooter laying prone back behind and above the shotgun shooter.

The shotgun shooter can't see that well but he doesn't need to as long as he is looking towards the e-caller and doesn't move.

Quite often when laying down this close to the e-caller the shotgun shooter will hear the coyote's feet hitting the ground before he sees the coyote.

When laying down like this or laying down prone with a rifle most of the coyotes are not very concerned when they look right at you because your profile is so low to the ground.

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You can also use the firm pillow to lean against brush so you can lean back into it. It gets your head up a little higher, so you can see better and it is more comfortable than not using a pillow.

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In the above picture you can see the shotgun shooter on the left laying down. In the middle of the picture is my Foxpro e-caller and on the right is a coyote.

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In the above picture the shotgun shooter is leaning into a bush and has just shot at this coyote. You can see smoke by the shotgun and a green Rem empty hull in the air about 2 feet to the right of the shooter. So the Rem HD BBs are between the shotgun and the coyote.

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This is the next picture, just after the BBs found the coyote.

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In this picture my son Wes is just sitting up from laying down with the pillow.

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The shot just hit the coyote in this picture.

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In this picture you can see that there is no cover for about 2 miles and the shotgun put this coyote down from about 25 yards away. The rifle shooter got to watch it all take place.

When using a shotgun like this along with a rifle shooter to back up the shot gun shooter we don't try to stop the coyotes. If the coyote stops in good rifle range the rifle shooter shoots the coyote. If the coyote hard charges right up to the e-caller the shotgun shooter stops the coyote with his shotgun.

Some coyotes feel perfectly safe in wide open country with no cover. If you stay low enough so your profile is 20 inches tall or less they are not too concerned about what you are.
 
When I see those pics I get tired just thinking about how far you had to walk to get there.
 
Originally Posted By: BBKWhen I see those pics I get tired just thinking about how far you had to walk to get there.

You would not get tired of not seeing other hunters.
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I wish I could walk that far without seeing a road.
 
Originally Posted By: BBKWhen I see those pics I get tired just thinking about how far you had to walk to get there.

Most of the time we don't walk over 400 yards to set up a calling stand. We park in a low spot or on the oppostie side of a hill or high spot and then sneak over the hill or high spot to set up our stand.
 
Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeOriginally Posted By: BBKWhen I see those pics I get tired just thinking about how far you had to walk to get there.

You would not get tired of not seeing other hunters.
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I wish I could walk that far without seeing a road.

Man, you've got that right. Too many people, roads and lights around here.
Very nice pics and hunt setup.
 
I just got approved for the PM forum, and this happened to be the first place I landed. What amazing live action pictures! I have been hunting in CO my whole life, and am trying to take predator hunting to another level. I hope to catch some pics like this soon, thanks for the inspiration! P.S. I stopped carrying my shotgun to each set when hunting alone because too many dogs were holding up at 65 yards, and I was having to shoot them on the way out while transitioning to my rifle, not as easy shot. My AR has no problem putting em down at 15 yards. Mainly coyotes and other miscallaneous man things!
 
It seems like most people who use shotguns are using electronic calls with a decoy. Can you be successful with hand calls, no decoy and a shotgun?
 
Originally Posted By: Zion9It seems like most people who use shotguns are using electronic calls with a decoy. Can you be successful with hand calls, no decoy and a shotgun?

That is the way I began - yes you can be successful. However, it is tougher to seal the deal.
 
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