How do you hunt over dead cows?

Kizmo

Kizmo

New member
I hate dead cows. I've hunted them at night both with and without calling, and have never killed anything doing so. At the same time, after about an hour I feel like the dead cow is a ball and chain around my leg. I want to hit another spot, yet my mind keeps telling me to sit there, how could another spot be better than this? Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with this in a couple of months.

You guessed it. While scouting Saturday I stumbled upon a 2-3 day old dead cow. A few yote tracks were in the patches of sand near it but only a few. This cow is in a place by the river that I love to hunt anyway.

How do you guys do it? Calling or not. How long do you stake it out?
 
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Pick A spot you can shoot to it. Check it at first light and last light. Could howl yotes in the evenings at the site. Other then that you are gonna have A long boring day. Most of the ones we do over such bait is mornings and out of the tractor when we are feeding cattle at the ranch. lol... Other thing is that the bait laying there will keep yotes in the general area, So calling like you normally do in areas around it is quite effective. Have done that quite A bit. And had some good times calling em to friends.

Rhino.
 
Thank you for the reply. Many of the dead cows I have watched at this place never exhibit any evidence that yotes are feeding off of them. It seems they much prefer fresh young calf meat.

In any event, I will probably stake it out tomorrow afternoon and night. How far away from it should I get? This one is in the old riverbed, so 150 yards or so is the only convenient tree.

Anyone else have any suggestions?
 
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A farmer friend of mine has the luxury of having it right outside his milking barn. Every 30 minutes or hour he peeks out the window and if they are there then they aren't there long! He spends many hours in the barn, so it's not really like going out hunting them.

Drag the ole heifer out onto the back 40 and relax on the couch and peek out the back door every now and then.

I have also tried hunting over a dead calf many times and the darn thing can sit there for weeks without being touched, then in two days it's gone. They get real skittish around calves out here, but not so much with deer. I usually don't count on the bait, but set up near it and use a call. If the call at least gets them close then maybe they will remember the bait and come in closer. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm heading out this afternoon. Feeding times are supposed to be about 5:30PM-9:00PM. I plan to do some intermittent calling. I'm hoping that upcoming denning season (= smaller home range) + fewer calves at the place = more interest in this carcass by the 'yotes than I've seen in the past. I am also encouraged by the fact that this one is in a remote corner of the property, as opposed to the last one that was right next to a two track.
 
Well, I had my usual luck. The rancher called me at 3:30 PM to tell me he spotted a yote about 1/4 mile from the dead cow. Of course, it was gone by the time we got there. The only thing of interest to report was a huge gobbler with a hen strutting less than 100 yards from the cow. It took me awhile to pick him out from the 50 or so buzzards that were hanging around. Only heard two lone dogs howling last night, one of which was across the road on another property.
 
In my expierence with dead livestock the coyotes won't feed on them if they have recieved any antibiotics prior to death. The fist thin coyotes eat on a dead cow will be the kidneys. If they have not fed on the cow within the fist 36 hours they are not going to. The best time for hunting over dead stock other than at night would be at first light. Just my 2 cents.
 
Originally Posted By: JLWilsonIn my expierence with dead livestock the coyotes won't feed on them if they have recieved any antibiotics prior to death. The fist thin coyotes eat on a dead cow will be the kidneys. If they have not fed on the cow within the fist 36 hours they are not going to. The best time for hunting over dead stock other than at night would be at first light. Just my 2 cents.

Interesting. I may stake it out one more time in the morning. I need to find out where that gobbler is roosting anyway.
 
I went to another property last night, so I was dragging too much to go this morning. Only heard one yote, about 2 miles away, right after dark.

As is usual for my luck when it comes to choosing time and place, the rancher again saw the same coyote at 9:30 AM(which, BTW, is BLACK!!) at the same spot he saw him the other afternoon, along with a smaller one. I suspect they have a den in the nearby block of woods, and am going to adjust my strategy accordingly.
 


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