River Bottoms- NEWBY

[Kevin23]

Hello everyone, I am pretty new to coyote hunting. I've shot them while hunting other things, but never actually hunted them. I have a few places to hunt, some open farm land and some river bottoms. I have standing permission to hunt any time I want on the river bottoms, and the property owner was really pushing me to try it this winter as we saw a lot of dog tracks when hunting last fall. I have shotgun with hornady BB magnum coyote for up close, and bought a savage 243 and got it dialed in with the 58gr vmax and appear to be good to go for the open farmland. I have a foxpro caller as well. So I was planning on taking the rifle and shotgun, since the longest open shot in the bottoms is maybe 100 yards. I figure shotgun them if they come in and rifle them if they hang up past shotgun range. (obviously shots with good backdrops when hunting closed areas like that). So do I have to do anything special for hunting these river bottoms? There's no rabbits, but lots of squirrels and a million woodpeckers, and its mostly grass in the open areas so lot and lots of field mice as well. The property owner said I can hunt them all the way until turkey season, and he does shoot at them during turkey season each year so I know they are down there in the late winter and early spring.

So how would you guys approach an area like this?? Just start at one end of the property and call for a bit then move a couple hundred yards and sit some more? Am I right to be thinking along the lines of a woodpecker or mouse sound?

Thanks for any help!! it is MUCH APPRECIATED!

 

[wjh131]

Give a howl and be ready. If they haven't been called before, man, you're in some for good, quick, fun action!

I'd try a rabbit distress. Or if your Foxpro has a nutty nuthatch call, it'll do the trick.

And since this close in set-up, try a mojo out front to draw their attention to so you'll have time to get that shotgun up.

Good luck.

 

[mcseal2]

Good advice above. I use the mojo for the same reason. I'd have the shotgun or rifle up on shooting sticks and ready. I don't put a bipod on a gun for close shooting, just use sticks. The Primos Rapid Pivot bipods are nice because they can be removed instantly and would be my choice if I was to carry a shotgun and rifle. Rifle on the bipod pointed toward the 100yd shot with the butt set just to my right, shotgun in my lap to take anything left of the rifle's direction. I usually carry just a 16" AR with 60gr sp bullets and a 1-4x scope anytime shots past 50yds might be an option, but long shots aren't. Go with what fits you, the shotgun has advantages over my rifle I just don't like to carry that much. Some really fragile rifle bullets moving fast seem to blow up on grass so I don't like them in the thick stuff, and they can make a mess of a pelt that close. My 204 with 40gr Superformance V max loads is a good example of that. I've never used the 58gr from the 243 so can't comment there.

Be as still as possible and only move your eyes if you can. Make sure your scent blows out over the open fields if at all possible and be prepared to shoot a coyote before it gets your wind. If possible set the call and decoy upwind of your position so something circling downwind in the cover comes right to you.

Good luck.