Whats typical cold weather coyote patterns

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Saskcoyote78

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What do you guys look for in hunting spots from sun up to sundown during the winter? I know the very best callers know coyote behavior during all parts of the day and they adjust stands accordingly. Im learning but am far from really figuring it out. Some pointers would be great.

Cheers!!
 
Guess I should add that Im interested in western hunting tactics...wide open calling in cold temps.
Lets break it down into morning, afternoon and evening sets on a typical day with winds around 10-15 mph

Cheers!!
 
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"calling in the wide open"???
Ha! I cant help you there, that's what I try to avoid.
During day light hours I always try to get them to approach me by using a treeline or fencerow, or even an over grown pasture, something that will give them a false sense of security.
 
Originally Posted By: warge"calling in the wide open"???
Ha! I cant help you there, that's what I try to avoid.
During day light hours I always try to get them to approach me by using a treeline or fencerow, or even an over grown pasture, something that will give them a false sense of security.

Im not meaning wide open in the sense of sticking out..its more a reference to the prairie landscape. I always find cover. Im not looking to really find ways that they approach you but more so what areas do guys call during certain times of the day? Do you call large sloughs and open ice in morning...do you call thick bucK brush and valleys mid day?? What is good to call in the evening? I have my own way of doing things and average about 3-5 dogs an outing but want to get better.

Probably asking a bit much from most guys on here..Ive been listening to a bunch of old podcasts and hear from the like of Byron South and others and they get into this and I find it awesome!!

Cheers!!
 
What Ive noticed for me so far, is yotes hang around cover for me till about 9:30ish, then head out to the fields to mouse around Till about 3:30ish.

Thats what I noticed last year anyways. Only really been out once this year, so only time will tell.
 
Humm.
You know what I've noticed over the last 40 years of shooting coyotes in the winter?
There the most active when the moon is out...
If its out all night the day hunting will be slower, much slower. if the moon is up during the day get out and call there waiting to get shot. Really. I hit it HARD all day when the moon is up. I hate hunting at night, cold and dark so when it's down I hunt closer to where I think there snoozing.
 
Originally Posted By: jetman most active when the moon is out...

This.......^

I don't even go out anymore unless the moon is out during the day. It took me a lot of dry days to figure this out but there is something to it...

But back to the original question; I know nothing about cold weather.....we are still seeing 80's around here.
 
Originally Posted By: Saskcoyote78What do you guys look for in hunting spots from sun up to sundown during the winter?

A simple rule of thumb when coyote hunting after the seasonal change and short days, once the fur is prime. Sun's out guns out. Except for those who night hunt.
 
The only real changes I see in the country I typically hunt, is related to resource availability. Which, depending on how severe the winter is and what resources there are to begin with, often doesn't really change at all with the temperature.

The coyote are usually in pretty much the exact same places as they were when the days were warmer. With maybe some difference in layup locations - like sunning themselves rather than laying in the shade, but, the difference is only 50 yards in position. I'm only interested in which ridge or draw they are using, whether they are a couple hundred yards one way or the other rarely makes me any difference.

Most of the time. Most of the places I hunt. Which is high desert, no agriculture - no fields or irrigation or crop or any of that. Maybe a pasture bottom or alfalfa field here and there, in some places, but that's about as close to "farm land" as I ever get.

Some years, some places, deep snow or really unusually cold temps can rearrange resources - things like winter killed cattle, road killed deer, yarded up jack rabbits etc., will have obvious effect on the habits of the coyote in the immediate vicinity - and sometimes the "immediate vicinity" can be pretty large. This kind of situation is as plain as the nose on ones face though, doesn't need explaining.

For the most part though, all the cold weather really means where I hunt, is that it is getting later in the season and all the easy/dumb ones are already dead or wised up, coyotes are starting to pair up and think about mating, and calling just generally gets pretty slow, compared to the warmer days of fall.

- DAA
 
When it is really cold and grey skies, I like the middle hours of the day best of all. They have been bedded down a couple of hours, and you wake them up. Just like most dogs, they stay hungry especially when it is cold. Takes more coal in the furnace to keep them going. If you know their bedding areas, it helps you make a smart decision about where to set up.
 
I haven't been at it long enough to firmly associate different types of weather other than wind with different habitats and/or success or failure. But, I've always thought a dreary overcast day would be good. Maybe I just hate the sun though.
 
I hunt when i can get out. i don't care what the moon is doing, i don't have the time to hunt that often.
Last weekend the moon phases were good.. They said hunting in the middle of the day would be great.. But there was a full moon and it was lit up like day all night.

Despite that, I called in and shot 4 coyotes..

In wind that is 10-15 in open type terrain, look for valley's that have some cover in them in the cold weather, some bushes and tree's. That is where they will be.. Don't go in there, just set up overlooking and within 800yrds. Start with a long howl, wait a minute and start the rabbit.
Even if they are sleeping during the day the howl gets them on their feet, and the rabbit talks to their stomach.

Good luck. You should park in the low spots where the truck is masked and sit in a spot that doesn't leave you with masked or blind spots.

You can call coyotes over a mile, so pick a spot that will give you the shooting advantage.. And always keep an eye on the downwind approach. (i almost always sit with a gun pointing downwind while waiting.)
 
Originally Posted By: Arizona BushmanOriginally Posted By: jetman most active when the moon is out...

This.......^

I don't even go out anymore unless the moon is out during the day. It took me a lot of dry days to figure this out but there is something to it...


We've had a couple of days recently with the
moon very visible. I almost hate to admit I know very little about it. Is there a way to determine before hand when the moon will be visible during the day or is it a crap shoot?
 
Originally Posted By: nyttrain5150or is it a crap shoot?

calling coyotes according to what the moon, sun or stars is doing is a crap shoot. there was no moon to be seen yesterday morning but coyotes came to calling very well. glad I didn't go hunting because I didn't see the moon.
rolleyes.gif
 
If you buy into the moon having an impact.. The Casio Pathfinder "hunting timer" will tell you what the phases of the moon are and what times of day the animals will be out moving.

I didn't believe it the first year.. But over the past few years, most of the time, I see something or shoot something, it's within the windows of when the watch told me.
I believe it now, but will still hunt all day no matter what the watch says.
 
I try to focus near open water when it gets super cold. Seems like food sources fallow the water. And so do the dogs.
 
Originally Posted By: Saskcoyote78Guess I should add that Im interested in western hunting tactics...wide open calling in cold temps.
Lets break it down into morning, afternoon and evening sets on a typical day with winds around 10-15 mph

Cheers!!

I can't help but comment on you guys who can see far enough to watch a coyote coming to a call from "a mile away." Here in Michigan our land is chopped up into 1 mile sections, and the roads on all sides are peppered with houses, subdivisions, businesses, etc. Roads, lanes, driveways, 2 tracks, etc. penetrate most of them from one side to the other. Calling often gets dogs barking. Sometimes all you call is a housecat. Use a mini siren to locate coyotes in the pre-dawn hours and you had better be able to distinguish coyotes from a chorus of junk yard dogs.(LOL).
Snowmobiling is BIG business here and when snow in on the ground (about 5 months of the winter) most of our public lands are over run with snowmobilers. That shoots(pun intended) coyote calling during the day. Actually what I am trying to convey is that calling in the east is a world of difference from calling out west or on the prairies of Canada. Coyotes are here but they spend their days in the heaviest undisturbed cover available, those being large forests or swamps. Calling one out of those safe havens during the day is like trying to catch a fish on a bare hook. I hope you guys who hunt in wide open habitats appreciate what you have.
 
Originally Posted By: mifox I hope you guys who hunt in wide open habitats appreciate what you have.

It's not unusual for me to drive 50 miles of dirt road in a day, calling wherever looks good to me, without seeing another vehicle, or scarcely even a man made object. Without having to ask permission from anyone. Sometimes I even kill a coyote
smile.gif
. I do, very much appreciate it. I don't think I'd hunt at all, if I had to ask permission for access or deal with that much encroachment from civilization.

- DAA
 


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