Western DIY Coyote Tips

T

TxEnv

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I live in Northeast Texas. Land access here has become very hard to get for coyote hunting (feral hog is the exact opposite). Lots of anti-hunting types moving to the country from metro areas, larger tracts of land are starting to break up into smaller acreages, landowners here can also be difficult to deal with, and some ranchers in the area think you're crazy for wanting to hunt coyotes because they tend to handle the issue on their own with a truck gun. So, my brother and I are looking to take a trip to some western states (New Mexico, Colorado, or Wyoming) to hunt BLM and maybe some private land if we could get access.

I am by no means looking for locations or honey holes. I have experience hunting public land for waterfowl here in Texas so I know how hard guys work to find dogs and get access and don't want to be a out of state guy stepping on toes. I will handle getting BLM maps and finding the larger areas to scout out.

I would like info on the following:

What time of year is better for calling in these states? I assume fall/winter like here in Texas, but I know there are some pretty big contests that I assume hit the BLM land pretty hard. I would like to get in a few weeks before these contests if possible. Is the spring/summer calling any good out west?

As mentioned I'm from Texas, coldest it has been here all winter is 25 for the low and we haven't had any real snow. If the dead of winter is best in Colorado/Wyoming, will I need snow shoes, or other winter type gear a guy from Texas won't have. Does anyone have issues with diesel fuel jelling or starting their diesel engine without a block heater in the CO/WY?

Any towns/areas of said towns to avoid? We would like to find a decent motel(s) to set up a home base and spend a few days scouting and hunting.

Any gear/suggestions you find make life easier out west when hunting?

Thanks for any and all info!
 
I am in Az, but I will tell you that you can call coyotes in ANYTIME of the year. Yes, there tend to be some better times, meaning, more contact on less stands. These times of year are not necessarily the ones that you would think. You have to think like a coyote and not a person.

Winter times tend to see prey distress calls working as they seem more oriented towards feeding. Late winter early Spring-ish time they are pairing up to mate. Spring, pups on the ground. Summer, pups out of the den. All of these different times call for different set ups and different call sequences. During pairing/mating, vocalizations work quite well. Pupping season, pup distress and some vocalizations.

As far as gear, our brush tends to be pretty thick and at least waist high or better, so you're going to want to get up off the ground to see. Get a good stool or even a ladder to hunt from. Don't avoid the brush, get a shotgun and get down in there with them. You may find it harder to get 1,000 yards of clear viewing area. Get yourself a good set of telescoping shooting sticks, or even a telescoping tripod.

As for cold and diesel, we get cold snaps, but not the consistent cold temps that cause a lot of your fuel gelling issues. I lived in Maine. You never left your truck out without plugging in your block heater. Living in western Washington and Arizona it rarely got cold enough to have to plug it in.

Good luck, hope this helps.
 
Mo has you headed in the right direction.

NM has a decent amount of public land is probably closest to you. Up north the winters can be cold, but not so bad you couldn't deal with the gear you have for panhandle hunting. If you hunt down south in the desert country, you'll really be safe.

There are several contests here, but I have a feeling they will soon be illegal, so that could clear things up for you. I don't worry too much about them, as I've had good enough success even after contests.

If you want good weather and response rates, come calling in October. That's before most of the contests and there are plenty of coyotes, even some good dumb ones.
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I'm sure calling can be good in the summer, but I typically avoid the heat and go fishing instead. If you pop over in September, it's still pretty warm but you could probably double up with some good dove hunting.

Albuquerque is out biggest population center, and has plenty of hunters. I'm not near there, but I have a feeling the public ground within an hour of the big city gets hit pretty hard. I hear of good success in the southeast, and there are several towns with hotels that would suit you.

If you already hunt and call in the panhandle, you probably have what you need for hunting most parts of NM. Just keep your truck in good shape, keep a spare tire or two, and basic recovery and self-help gear. Keep plenty of water and some food handy. If you really get in a bind, you may have to wait a while for help. Many places have decent cell service, but the more remote areas where I hunt do not. I carry a Garmin inReach for those locations, if for no other reason than to keep Mama happy.

Specific questions? Feel free to send me a PM and I'll help you out as best I can.
 
A suggestion is NV in Sept(PM Convention) plenty of land to hunt no license and PM will have special rates at the hotel or camp out.
 
I think mid summer ( Before it get very hot)is the very best calling time.
The weather is better and the pups are very accommodating to come up and lick your call.
Can't keep fur, no good, but many states you need a trapping license to take the fur out of state anyway. No and So Dakota are prime coyote destinations also.
 
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I'm from NE Texas near Arkansas, the panhandle would be better hunting than where I am now! In this area (at least on the properties I have access to) summer is hard calling. Lots of hay getting cut which means lots of dead mice and rabbits. You can spot and stalk them but a lot times they follow the tractors around for easy meals; makes calling tough. We've called in some real little pups before during the summer. We also get a fair bit of hunting pressure. Actually got one place to hunt and based on scouting we thought it would be bang up; come to find out two or three other people have permission to hunt the same place. This has happened to us twice. From my experience, we get a better response with vocals all year long regardless of season than with any prey distress. I don't mean any of this to seem argumentative, I was just asking to see if seasons out west played a bigger role in folk's success. Thanks for the tip on the brush!
 
Originally Posted By: DesertRamMo has you headed in the right direction.

NM has a decent amount of public land is probably closest to you. Up north the winters can be cold, but not so bad you couldn't deal with the gear you have for panhandle hunting. If you hunt down south in the desert country, you'll really be safe.

There are several contests here, but I have a feeling they will soon be illegal, so that could clear things up for you. I don't worry too much about them, as I've had good enough success even after contests.

If you want good weather and response rates, come calling in October. That's before most of the contests and there are plenty of coyotes, even some good dumb ones.
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I'm sure calling can be good in the summer, but I typically avoid the heat and go fishing instead. If you pop over in September, it's still pretty warm but you could probably double up with some good dove hunting.

Albuquerque is out biggest population center, and has plenty of hunters. I'm not near there, but I have a feeling the public ground within an hour of the big city gets hit pretty hard. I hear of good success in the southeast, and there are several towns with hotels that would suit you.

If you already hunt and call in the panhandle, you probably have what you need for hunting most parts of NM. Just keep your truck in good shape, keep a spare tire or two, and basic recovery and self-help gear. Keep plenty of water and some food handy. If you really get in a bind, you may have to wait a while for help. Many places have decent cell service, but the more remote areas where I hunt do not. I carry a Garmin inReach for those locations, if for no other reason than to keep Mama happy.

Specific questions? Feel free to send me a PM and I'll help you out as best I can.

I'm in NE Texas near Arkansas, but have worked out near Eunice and Hobbs. From what I could tell working out there my current gear would probably serve me well. I kind of lean more towards hunting Eastern and SE NM for this reason, and since it's a closer drive.
 
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It is a nice part of the state to hunt, if you camp, Brantley Lake state campgrounds near Carlsbad is very nice. I've hunted near Hobb s couple days. Up northeast while not as much BLM land there is some state lands that look good, haven't hunted it but traveled through there looking at homes so I was checking out the hunting too. Ute Lake State campground is pretty nice after school starts. That is one thing nice about NM, they have great campgrounds and are well situated. I've been hunting coyotes in NM for 6 yrs and just moved there full time.
 
Sorry about that; don't know why I got "panhandle" stuck in my head. Regardless, you're correct, the gear you have now should serve you well. You may want to add a few items of lighter colored camo. Except for a few months during the monsoons, much of southern New Mexico is pretty brown.
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If you make it over, shoot me a note.
 
Thanks for the replies. Anybody out there from CO, WY, or MT that could provide info on the fall/winter conditions and any gear you fell is necessary?
 
Winter is that, cold and snow. Where I live there is about 3 feet of snow on the ground, the higher you go the more there is. There is also a tremendous amount of hunting pressure, and not just near the towns. At this time of year you could easily hunt all day with no success, but you could also stumble upon an area that has not been hit, but you won't know until you spend the day calling.
From what I have seen, there are more coyotes where you are from than here. The high desert has coyotes, but not nearly as many as people from the east think. My estimate of population in many areas I hunt is around 1 per square mile, in some areas less.
 
Originally Posted By: 6724Winter is that, cold and snow. Where I live there is about 3 feet of snow on the ground, the higher you go the more there is. There is also a tremendous amount of hunting pressure, and not just near the towns. At this time of year you could easily hunt all day with no success, but you could also stumble upon an area that has not been hit, but you won't know until you spend the day calling.
From what I have seen, there are more coyotes where you are from than here. The high desert has coyotes, but not nearly as many as people from the east think. My estimate of population in many areas I hunt is around 1 per square mile, in some areas less.

I feel like that is about the density I have here. I’m in the eastern part of Texas. Around here 5-6 dogs put you well within the money in a contest. Out in west Texas boys will fill up a pickup bed with them to win. I think small parcels of land here is what hurts my hunting. If people have a coyote problem they can see most of their place from the back porch and most of the “big” places can be covered by a rancher checking his cows in just an hour or two and most of them carry a rifle for the sole purpose of shooting every coyote they see. My thinking in going west is that maybe the parcels of land are so big that it may be a few days or even longer between a human appearance? Just my thinking. I don’t mean to complain about low numbers folks have to do what they have to do in order to protect their livestock....I just love calling coyotes and it’s hard in this neck of the woods!
 
If your having to deal with ALL private lands a trip to a public lands state is fun.

Winters in WY, and north can be brutal sub zero temps are common and combined with the winds just makes it worse. Snow storms and blowing winds can make many of the back roads impassable for days if at all. I live in NW MN right on the edge of the prairie a lot of the roads in the county didn't get plowed if you could get to your house another way.

Southern CO can get cold but usually warms enough during the day.

Southern NM and AZ while they don't have great fur can be a very pleasant trip and there is so much to see and do other than hunting. And the food is outstanding, my wife and I spent our first winter down there driving around and sampling Green Chili Cheeseburgers, So far Sparky's in Hatch has been the best, The Patio in Columbus second.

A public lands chip for your GPS makes thing so much easier. I have one that cover 10 western states fro Kirsch Outdoors. It is fun to have as I travel all over the west and can see all the places that look like a good places to hunt where ever I am. In 2018 we camped in every state west of the Rockies except MT plus WY, and CO.
 
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Originally Posted By: AWSIf your having to deal with ALL private lands a trip to a public lands state is fun.

Winters in WY, and north can be brutal sub zero temps are common and combined with the winds just makes it worse. Snow storms and blowing winds can make many of the back roads impassable for days if at all. I live in NW MN right on the edge of the prairie a lot of the roads in the county didn't get plowed if you could get to your house another way.

Southern CO can get cold but usually warms enough during the day.

Southern NM and AZ while they don't have great fur can be a very pleasant trip and there is so much to see and do other than hunting. And the food is outstanding, my wife and I spent our first winter down there driving around and sampling Green Chili Cheeseburgers, So far Sparky's in Hatch has been the best, The Patio in Columbus second.

A public lands chip for your GPS makes thing so much easier. I have one that cover 10 western states fro Kirsch Outdoors. It is fun to have as I travel all over the west and can see all the places that look like a good places to hunt where ever I am. In 2018 we camped in every state west of the Rockies except MT plus WY, and CO.

Public land is the biggest draw for me; getting to hunt some new country. Texas has very very little public land and a lot of it doesn’t allow predator hunting or is super crowded.

AWS, what time of year would you recommend for CO, WY, or the states farther north?
 
If you can tolerate cold then November and December would be good for northern states. If you want less cold weather, September and October would be good. You can call them in anytime of the year. In Idaho I've called in coyotes in the middle of the day in August.
 
Originally Posted By: BrianIDIf you can tolerate cold then November and December would be good for northern states. If you want less cold weather, September and October would be good. You can call them in anytime of the year. In Idaho I've called in coyotes in the middle of the day in August.

Is there still a lot of snow in October BrianID?
 
Snow is variable from September to November, depending on the elevation and any recent storms. In December, snow on the ground is much more likely but not guaranteed. Generally, you won't have significant amounts of snow in Wyoming and Colorado in October but you could always get a storm.
Below is a picture from my October deer hunt in Wyoming last year. Some of the higher elevations had over 2 feet of snow during my hunt. I was in the same area 3 years earlier and didn't see any snow.
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BrianID said:
Snow is variable from September to November, depending on the elevation and any recent storms. In December, snow on the ground is much more likely but not guaranteed. Generally, you won't have significant amounts of snow in Wyoming and Colorado in October but you could always get a storm.
Below is a picture from my October deer hunt in Wyoming last year. Some of the higher elevations had over 2 feet of snow during my hunt. I was in the same area 3 years earlier and didn't see any snow.

Good to know. Coming from east Texas where it rarely snows I would expect 2-3 feet and think I would need snow shoes to get around. Would that bee the case in January or February?
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