Ok…when to shoot???

Spurchaser

Spurchaser

Well-known member
Alright, I need to know when do y’all shoot at a coyote that won’t stop or stops behind grass or brush?
I am beyond bummed after last night and keep kicking myself for not attempting a shot. I’ve always just been the type to wait for the perfect shot with deer or not take the shot if it wasn’t there.
With coyotes I’ve realized most of the time that’s NOT happening.
I called a coyote ALL the way to the call only to have him catch my scent on the call and bolt. Sorta too embarrassed to even post the video. These chances don’t happen often and I’ve been kicking myself all day over it.
What’s worse is I’d drive in, walked a few hundred yards and made a stand for an hour with nothing but deer and rats sighted. Walked back to the truck and figured I’d walk about 75yds behind it to a little bowl and see what might happen.
First howl and coyotes answered. Went through a few more howls and some mating sounds and nothing. Waited 5 minutes or so and decided I’d play some rabbit distress for a couple minutes and call it a night. The rabbit had been playing 30sec and I see him coming.
So…do y’all take a walking shot or a shot through a little bit of broomsedge? Mouth squeaks stopped him twice and the first time I should’ve pulled the trigger. The second stop he disappeared behind brush. Probably should’ve shot the minute he stepped onto the road. Also could’ve taken a dead away shot when leaving. How do you get over “not” pulling the trigger? Guess I’m more worried about rushing the shots, but with coyotes I’m beginning to think I need to just send it when the crosshairs are in him regardless of whether he’s moving or not.
 
When the apple is ripe, pick it. I'm the type that tries to wait for it to get ripe. My hunting partner always tells me I miss all the shots I don't take. So, in a rodeo situation, I'm generally waiting for a better shot until the rodeo is well under way and all hope is lost before giving up and taking a shot. I miss those a lot of the time... No rodeo, no miss though!

- DAA
 
YES, take the first shot in your compherat zone. If it stops 250-ish, I'll pull the trigger every time.
If you have a partner who tends to wait too long or just can't see them in time, the same thing goes...
 
Sometimes they just don’t give you a good opportunity. It reminds me of a coyote from 2 years ago. A watched him from a 500 yards on a full tilt run coming in. Once he broke 100 yards I made every sound in the book to try to stop him. He kept coming until I waved my arms to attempt to stop him. He ended up hitting the call and leaving just as fast as he came in.
 
Seems like they can usually stand in one place for about 2 seconds. I get them where I feel comfortable, howl and take the shot. My son in law waits for the perfect shot and it's cost him many coyotes. When multiples come in I've let him take his time but when he doesn't shoot and they start moving I shoot one.
 
Dont overthink this shit. Shoot the hell out of em anytime and anyway you can. I have a lot of respect for coyotes but they aint big game animals...they are varmints. Shoot them walking, running, sleeping, standing behind a bush...shoot them in the ass going away or rake them when they are angling away...whatever it takes. Just shoot them.
Its ok to be a little hard on yourself right now, but its just coyote hunting not anything important enough to dwell on for very long. The cure is to call more and shoot them. Thats it.
Some guys will disagree on something Ive just stated but thats ok. Its just my no bs philosophy for predator calling.
 
Not sure why, but when I used a day scope and red lights I was very good at running shots on coyotes. Really high success rates. Once I switched to NV and then thermal it’s like I cant hit a thing when it’s moving, so now I wait for a clean stationary shot opportunity. It costs you a coyote every now and again.
 
hunt0168 said:
Not sure why, but when I used a day scope and red lights I was very good at running shots on coyotes. Really high success rates. Once I switched to NV and then thermal it’s like I cant hit a thing when it’s moving, so now I wait for a clean stationary shot opportunity. It costs you a coyote every now and again.
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Maybe it's due to the lag of the digital scopes?
 
I have a similar problem in that I don't pull the trigger as quick as I used to. I don't like to miss. I am headed to the range to get rid of ammo that I loaded in the past, I plan to see how quick I can get on target and shoot and still be accurate. When shooting off the bench I tend to take my time trying to shoot small groups. I know that getting older doesn't help.
 
I will shoot through grass/broomsedge but not real brush. Unless they are "coming on a string" I also take the first shot presented inside what I think is 200, but I much prefer the 75-100ydrs. ;) Movers ARE NOT MY CUP OF TEA. There is always a diaphragm ready to bark or howl or kiyi which normally gets them stopped.
 
Infidel 762 said:
I don’t try to kill every coyote I see, I try to kill every coyote I shoot at. I have them burn in and out like you described and it just the nature of the beast. It bothers me less than shooting and missing
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This exactly. I try to pick my shots and as such I tend to wait. However, when a shot presents itself, I take it. I would rather wait than miss or worst yet, wound. Seems that most every time I have rushed a shot it has gone wrong.
 
It stopped. No moving targets for me.... other than trap, I like trap.

mark coyote.jpg
 
I'll try to shoot them in the head or thread the needle if they're behind brush. If they're completely covered up I wait.

I dealt with both problems a few weekends ago. I called a coyote in, in about 6 minutes. It was standing behind a yucca plant. Must've seen something it didn't like because I could tell it was getting ready to leave. It walked straight away from the yucca but it was still behind it so I stop the coyote and shot. I saw the wooden stob shaking at the top of the plant so I knew I clipped it. Of course the coyote takes off. I could tell it had no clue what happened so in the heat of the moment I hit either den raid, pup in distress or coyote fight. I basically just hit a button trying to get the coyote to come back.

Not having much hope in getting it to come back I was sitting there cussing myself and looking around for any other coyotes that might decide to come in for a look. About 30 seconds later I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. A coyote ran under the fence where I had just seen the other that I had shot at. It started hopping on its back feet, reminded me of a kangaroo jumping. I barked 3 times as it closed in on the call. After the 3rd bark and it never slowed down, I shot it at about 50 yards. I jacked another shell in my rifle and had no more got a fresh bullet in the chamber and here comes another coyote under the fence where the first one had came from. Again I barked but the coyote sped up instead of stopping. It either saw me or thought those barks sounded mean because it tried leaving in a hurry. My first shot hit at around 65 yards in a back leg, nearly blowing it off. Not knowing where I hit it at the time I got reloaded just as he stands back up. Turns to bite at its leg and I shoot again. I reloaded again as it stood up again and repeated the process. It rolled down the hill on the 3rd shot so I figured it was dead but I had to shoot him again. My 2nd shot went through both of its front elbows, nearly blowing both legs off. My 3rd shot was a grazing shot across its chest, which blew about a hole 3" hole in its chest.

My buddy said "I didn't see any coyotes but it sounded like you were shootin an AR. I figured you had a whole pack run in." I said "Hell no, I just had one that wouldn't give up." The moral of the story is, bring extra ammo. Go ahead and shoot at those moving ones. Don't spend a lot of time waiting on the perfect shot because you may not get one. My own personal rule is, I'll bark at them 3 times. If they don't stop I'm shootin them. I don't want them getting so close all I'm seeing is fur in the scope.
 
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