Seventeenth century English philosopher Francis Bacon once proclaimed that “knowledge is power.” Odds are he wasn’t a hunter, but even coyote hunters can learn a thing or two from this statesman of the past. Understanding certain aspects about yourself, your quarry and the theater of the hunt adds up to power, and the more you know the higher your odds are for success.
A previous hunt on a public block of land provided an education for my second foray into the coyote fray there. From the first trip in, I discovered that most of the coyotes preferred to live on the private side of the fence. They ventured onto the public lands, but since it served as both a hunting and recreational parcel (hikers/bikers), the coyotes navigated back toward the safety of private property at daylight. I also discovered a hilltop overlooking a ravine leading to the private land that served as a natural conduit for the coyotes, as well as a sniper position where I could intercept them.
One cool morning, I hiked into position under the cover of darkness and waited for shooting light. When dawn broke, I shattered the stillness with a series of lone howls using my Rocky Mountain Hunting Calls Stealth Yote Howler. The response — a real coyote — was immediate, albeit a bit farther off than I would have liked. Still, I felt confident and repositioned my rifle toward the private property and the source of the sound.
Fifteen minutes later, a blur of brown passed through some brush to my left, and then a moment later it reappeared. The coyote trotted up the ravine, well within the public land boundary, and I shifted my reticle to intercept it. The suppressed crack from my CVA Cascade barely stirred the morning stillness as the coyote lay crumpled below. Knowledge from a previous setup and knowledge of everything coyote hunting pertaining to my particular skills had produced another win.
Know Your Quarry
To be a knowledgeable coyote hunter you need to know your quarry — power that’s easily attained. But you have to set aside the knowledge you have on calling because that oftentimes fluctuates depending on the hunting pressure a coyote community receives. Instead, understand their basic biology. Study up with a refresher course of Coyote 101.
Begin with lifestyle. Coyotes change personalities throughout the seasons. During the fall, youngsters act like out-of-control teenagers, simply because the population bubbles with adolescents. Pups of the year leave the nest, so to speak, and venture out on their own, often traveling in sibling groups or teaming up with other youngsters as they explore new territory. Eight months old is the average age when a coyote truly becomes self-governing.
During winter, basic survival tops the list of daily chores, and depending on the region of the country can be quite trying. Hunting and scavenging fill coyote grocery carts as Northern coyotes fight winter and Southern coyotes battle bare cupboards. A bright spot in February occurs with the coyote breeding season. Not only do coyotes frolic in proliferation fun, but it also signals spring is on the horizon.
Spring and summer equals pup bustle. Vocal coyotes tone it down during denning months only to reignite yipping conversations once pups begin venturing from the den. Pups learn to hunt and defend themselves over the course of summer leading to fall.
Returning to a fall focus, the independent spirit of a young coyote yields excellent calling opportunities. These eager beavers do not have Mom or Dad looking over their shoulder, and many have not mastered hunting skills to perfection. They trip over themselves to land an easy meal advertised by your calls. Some also have fallen out of sibling acceptance and rush to a welcoming howl for the chance to be part of a pack lifestyle. Again, easy calling opportunities.
The next lesson in the Coyote 101 classroom is coyote size. Know the size of your quarry to hit the target. First, if you strip a coyote of its fur, you do not have much to look at. Coyotes tend to be skinny, lanky and long. They typically measure 4 to 5 feet in length (tail included), and most adult coyotes weigh approximately 30 pounds. Pups of the year weigh slightly less, and a few coyotes exceed 40 pounds. The largest specimens tend to be coyotes with mixed DNA, including wolf and domestic dog.
Your focus is on the kill zone. Coyotes stand approximately 16 to 22 inches at the shoulder, but remember, they are leggy and have lots of fur. The actual kill zone of a coyote averages from 4 to 5 inches in height (heart to top of lungs). That’s considerably less than the paper plate size of a whitetail deer or even the garbage lid size of an elk. Do not get fooled by all that hair and raise up enough on the shoulder to ensure the perfect smackdown. Over the years, I have given many coyotes V-Max brandings with shots that were too high or too low. Dead center is best in the vital zone and when I get a frontal shot, aiming a bit high guarantees a neck down knockout.
Know Your Shooting Skills
We all like bragging rights when it comes to shooting skills. As much as I like to boast about the occasional long shot, I know my true limits on coyotes and with a firm understanding of their size in my neck of the woods, I pass whenever I feel I’m stretching my shooting limits. Sure, it’s just a coyote, but every coyote I miss is one well-educated graduate that will be even more difficult to call in a second time. If I pass, at least I could dupe it again at another location with another series of sounds.
You, your rifle, the climatic conditions and your state of mind (can you say coyote fever?) all determine the distance at which you can cleanly take a coyote. Determining your accurate or ethical shooting distance starts at the range. Confidently zero your rifle at 100 or 200 yards, then calibrate trajectories based on your caliber. Once you have your trajectory information installed on your riflescope, smartphone app or an old-fashioned DOPE (data on previous engagement) card, move to a long-range shooting course.
For me, it’s my horse pasture. For you, it could be paying an entrance fee to a course with targets to 1,000 yards or beyond. Remember your past shooting experiences and then add a coyote-sized target into the mix. Start at the extreme and zero-in on where you can consistently hit the vital zone of a coyote. For some, it could be beyond 600 yards. My sweet spot stays around 400 yards, and I always endeavor to bring coyotes into a 200-yard trap or less. As for running shots, I rarely practice them but work on my dog barking skills to make a coyote skid to a stop.
A good way to test yourself and your gear in a real-world setting, along with year-round coyote hunting, is a varmint hunt. It might focus on the popular prairie dog, with colonies found across the Great Plains and throughout Western basins. These communal critters thrive on many public lands, including National Grasslands and Bureau of Land Management tracts.
In the East, you can pursue Punxsutawney Phil’s cousins in farm fields everywhere. Farmers appreciate the removal of these wannabe excavators. Varmint hunters in the Northern tier of America seek out the Richardson’s ground squirrel. Midwestern varmint hunters visit pastures to place crosshairs on the small 13-lined ground squirrel. Even Californians have a varmint problem, with their abundant California ground squirrel. All are small and test your shooting skills when winds whip and rifle rests are not as sturdy as a bench.
Obviously, your precision will vary depending on your equipment expenditure, personalization to that gear and your “Cool Hand Luke” composure when a coyote comes bounding into range. Never underestimate the “buck fever” a coyote can cause. They may not sport antlers, but the expectation and appearance of a coyote creates a surge of anxiety. I’m almost four decades into coyote hunting and my heart still races at the sight of one loping in to my calls.
