Scouting....What do you look for?

B

Bob/SoCal

New member
For some of us, the season is over for coyote, others it's not. For us that don't hunt this time of year for the ol' coyote, what do you do? The question was raised in the Members Forum so I thought what the heck, let's see what people think?

I scout. Instead of carrying an 8 pound rifle around, I carry a sidearm and a camera. I'll scope out den sites from previous years from a distance, seeing if anyone has decided to make it home. I'll look for new ones. I look for game trails, the frequency of use of those game trails and who's using them.

Now, what do you look for in your part of the country or world?

[*]How do you spot a den?

[*]What do you look for to lead you in the right direction?

[*]What kind of sign are you looking for?

[*]In your area, where do the coyotes tend to den?

[*]Do you watch the goings on from a distance as to not disturb things?
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Thought this could be interesting since we have members scattered throughout the world. If you don't hunt coyotes, just replace with what you do hunt, jackal, dingo's...whatever. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
SOCAL

What part fo SO CAL are you from? I'm down here in San Diego. The public land is pretty scarce here. So is the game. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Have any good sugestions on hunting areas? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Moose
 
scouting is a good idea for now.I think us yote hunter's should'nt hunt till the pups are ready to go on thier own..not to cosher to leave them in the den to starve...so lets all give it a break. so there is more of them to hunt come spring...plus there is a drout going on here out in the west..bear's are starving,bobcat's having a tough time allso...se yu ..mjr
 
Moose:

I'm from North Orange County. So guys, we're not here to debate whether or not to hunt, but if you don't...or even if you do, what do you look for?

Toss some stuff out for the people that don't now what to look for.

edit: Sorry Moose, forgot to answer your questions. I mainly hunt outside of California, AZ, Texas. There are some good spots in the High Desert and even around you in the Imperial Valley. I'd start visiting some of those neat looking areas off the 8, ensure it isn't owned by anyone or just inquire at the local BLM office.

If Dogboy shows up, he might be able to help with the High Desert stuff.
 
Here in Texas since there is not much water anywhere. First find water, then start making circles around the water source until you can locate a definite trail to and from water (best time to look morning. Then try and gain an advantage point and do some watching to locate the den. Most cases the den will be within a half mile from water given enough cover. I donot do as much scouting as I need to, for the most part I just locate water on ranches and figure the best way to approach and try and get to a vantage point and call, works pretty well.

Bob I hunt some this time of year, as ranchers donot care whats going on they just want them dead.
 
I'm not hunting at all right now. The yotes are dennin. I've seen a few males out getting food for the den though.

I will do some scouting but mostly I'll spend my off time working on some loads for my .17 and 243.
Also getting my hunting rig set up the way I want it.

Moose your going to have to do some driven if you want good hunting. But if your one of those nice fellas who plays well with others, I'm sure some of those landowners down that way will give you permission to hunt the property.

There's alot of open space up here in the high desert still. If your up this way work the washes and canyons. Look for sign and if its there, call it..........
 
I don't do much scouting for calling coyotes. It would be much harder to find an area that does not hold coyotes than the other way around. I do make mental notes of areas that show high activity after a snowfall. Sometimes I come across an area that shows an abundance of activity and I do make a note of that. I never go around howling at night, locating by howling. Most of the callers I know can just look at an area and tell whether it holds coyotes.

Now when trapping I want to know exactly where they are traveling. I start checking routes I am confident they will be using to get an idea of traffic and population. Field edges and corners, where the vegetation changes from short to tall, along draws, any trail, path or road. I simply note tracks and scat and heavy travel and set accordingly.

Now scouting for land access is a very fruitful endeavor in the off season. Find people that own large tracts of land and have coyote problems. And preferably have not let every tyro in to call already. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif These are goldmines and will impact your success more than a lot of other things. I am always scouting for more private property to hunt... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 


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