Wisconsin Coyote Tactics?

K

KingTito

New member
Hi All,

I've gotten back into yote hunting, after a 15 year hiatus, and am now in unfamiliar territory - Wisconsin instead of New Mexico. I'm finding that the hunting style here has to be much different than I'm used to in the southwest. For one, there's a ton of cover, and there are also not a lot of coyotes as compared to NM, NV, AZ, etc.

I've been having some success calling them in, but would like to get some advice from any of you midwestern yote hunters regarding a particular problem I have:

There is a place where I've been hunting that has about three separate, and large, packs of yotes running around. I hear them barking and howling at night, but just can't seem to bring any of them in. I'm wondering if distress calls are a waste in this sort of situation (there's obviously plenty of food) and if I should just concentrate on howling in the hope of starting some territorial disputes...

Also, is there any point to hunting during the day out here? I've switch exclusively to night hunting, since that's when I seem to be getting the best response, but I'm wondering if there's any point at all to hunting during the day (morning/dusk) out here in the midwest or if it makes more sense to just hunt only at night...

Your thoughts?
 
I think you have the rite idea on your coyotes in the area you hunt.... Given the parameters you have set you are probably close to having the answer... coyote vocals may bring em out for a peek.I would not give up on hunting in the day though cause anytime you can hunt is time well spent
I know from personal experience in that general area that there are alot of coyote packs so hang in there and keep after em....
good luck
 
This time of year I don't really hunt them too much, but spend most of my time at the range. There is soooooooo much cover around here that unless your hunting some huge fields, seeing something through the jungle can be frustrating. Hunting the late fall/winter months during the day time is better because of visibility. I'll never tell anyone it's not worth it to hunt this time of year because you never know what can happen and being outdoors beats being at work anyday! I still like being out there. If possible, try hunting with a partner. Getting someone in a better shooting position in relationship to the caller seems to help. You can't beat an extra set of eyes.
I have a pack that frequent the woods accross the road from me. I can hear them during the summer months once in awhile. They become more vocal as the temperature drops. I can't see them but I know they are there. During the winter I'll see them out in a field, usually only two at a time. This past winter due to the record snow we had, they were out during the day looking for food. So I guess based on conditions their habits might change.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that while right now the conditions might not favor daytime calling with all the cover, as fall rolls in and turns to winter it will get better. You want to be out there before every guy with a truck-load of dogs gets out there and runs them all down. The yotes around here get a lot of pressure during the later part of the season from deer hunters too. With the split deer seasons we have now, there are a lot more hunters out in the yotes backyard. The get pretty cautious.
 
Hey Guys,

Thanks for the additional advice. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the winter now, it should be a lot more productive. I seem to be having better luck with birds of prey than with the coyotes - last night I had an owl actually swoop in from behind me and hit my hat. I've never had something like that happen in all of the years I've been hunting. It sure scared the heck out of me. I went back out in the morning and had another bird come in - a hawk came straight across the field at me, about ten feet off the ground. He was a little smarter than the owl though and just circled me once before flying off.

In a way, I'm glad the dogs are so much more cautious out here, it makes it a lot more of a challenge than it was out in the desert, and I'll be that much happier if I manage to bag one this year.

Cheers,

Tito
 
I'm no expert by any means, but I hunt coyotes on my property in far NE WI, and I'm getting one just about every time I go out these days. I had to learn the hard way, though, about the way they scout out a potential food scenario. Here's what I've learned:

1. You'll go blind trying to pick them out of the woods. The formula I've come up with relies mostly on picking them up when they come out of the heavy cover and are in the "edge cover" -- they seem to pop out to get a better look at what's squawking.

2. Use a remote caller -- in woods, it's too easy for them to find you first, if you're doing the calling. It's the only way to use the limited visibility against them as well, just like they're doing to us. At some point, they get excited (brave?) enough to come in close to the caller, and that's when they're vulnerable. I set my Foxpro caller in some brush along the line where the edge cover meets a field. I then situate myself (under a tree or in bushes, if possible) about 80-90 yards cross-wind from it. I then start it calling with some sort of rabbit or fawn distress call for anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute and a half.

3. Forget the "call for 30 seconds, wait for 10 minutes" thing. And also forget the "if they don't show up after 30 minutes, move on" thing as well. I seldom get them to come in until I've been calling for 30 to 90 minutes, sometimes as long as three hours. And that didn't start happening with any regularity until I started calling in longer sequences. The calling sequence can be a mix of critters, too -- I always mix jackrabbit with cottontail with fawn distress, and sometimes even distressed bird calls. As long as the call goes for about a minute or so, or even longer. I don't know why this works, but it consistently brings in coyotes for me. Turn it up pretty loud, too. I keep mine at about 3/4 volume, it seems to draw them from a distance. They don't mind the loud sounds when they get close, apparently. And interestingly, the loudness doesn't seem to deceive their ability to zero in on the source of the call.

4. Take your time, and enjoy nature. They'll get there soon enough! I've figured out that woods coyotes won't come to my calls unless everything in the woods around me is dead normal -- birds chirping, squirrels rummaging through leaves, etc. When deer come around, they usually hear the call and freeze. They don't run, but they don't leave, either, or come any closer. If the woods seem normal, the coyotes don't mind coming in. I try to sit for 30 minutes to an hour, all settled in, before I start calling.

I've had the best luck in the mornings, by far, but the afternoons (dusk) work fine too. At some point I want to try the night hunting. I have permanent blinds I can hunt from and stay all night, if I wanted to, but I haven't tried it so far. Hope this helps -- good luck!

Specialized
 
King,

I would hunt whenever I had a chance to. These packs/groups, I suspect sometimes, they travel on other coyotes territory. If they do, & are alone @ the time. I doubt they will/would respond to a distress sound. They might check out the noise from a distance. But to bring them in close, I doubt it. Like a domestic dog, I believe coyotes know, when they are not on their property, ie; tresspassing. Thus act accordingly. Of course this will depend on that perticular coyote IMO.

Personally, I would wait for a good blanket of quiet snow cover. As it will be easier for you to see them "1st" from a distance, rather than them see you 1st. I would then silently as possible get a little ways into their area to start calling.

Coyotes in central Iowa, sometimes will group up late @ night[yapping/howling] not far from their old den area.
 


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