I'm sure a bunch of you guys already are aware of the thrill of calling in a coyote and then sending him on his merry way to the Happy Huntin' Grounds with the help of a high-powered rifle, but I just discovered this exciting sport last Saturday. It's a blast! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Wednesday night I got all set up and after calling for less than a minute this nice doggie came running down the hill and stopped about 35 yards away from me while looking around for that wascally wabbit he heard. Scratch one coyote. What a way to pass the time away between the last day of deer season and the first day of the next deer season! You can take a look at the link below if you like. Sorry about the blood, but his face sorta got in the way when I pulled the trigger and the 7mm just about took off his lower jaw and then blew a big hole out of the back of his neck. Does anyone have some good advice for a newbie coyote hunter (other than the fact I should spend the money on a 22-250 or something smaller than my 7mm Mag [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img])?

JC
My first coyote

 

sounds like you got it down to me. if anything i would hunt with someone thats a good caller, you'll learn a lot & be more successful each hunt. a 22-250 is a great (if not the greatest) varmit gun. but its not neccessary. the more you use your deer rifle, the better shooter you will become. if you plan on selling pelts, then a small caliber & bullet selection should come to mind. if not then just blast em'. the bigger the better! if your state allows, try crow hunting with your rifle. its fun to & makes for good cyote bait![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

My advice-come on up to northern lower Mich. and blast away with anything and everything you got!!
I hear packs of 'em every night in the summer and they've just about wiped out the rabbit population [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

I say if you're not gonna eat it don't kill it....unless you are a farmer and it's eating your profit or it's putting you and your family in harms way!
Killing for sport is wrong!

Shane

 

As a matter of fact, Shane, almost all of the land in this area is farmland and the coyotes are taking a very heavy toll on the rabbit, pheasant and quail population. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] Saturday I managed to see 2 rabbits, which brings the total number of rabbits I've seen in the wild this whole hunting season up to about a half dozen. That's saying something because I'm a bow hunter and I've been in the woods a lot this season. Now, I agree with you to an extent about sport hunting, and I hunt deer for the freezer, but there's no way I'm eating coyote meat. If you want it you're welcome to it, but in the mean time as long as they're eating our pheasants, rabbits and quail I'm gonna keep blasting them. Oh, and I forgot to mention all the piglets and calves that they like to munch on...

JC

 

I ate enough dog and cat when I lived in Asia....so no thanks on the meat!
Since you are a hunter you should know everything has it's place in the wild. You kill enough of these Coyotes and your cute wittle wabbits ate gonna start multiplying and spreading disease faster than you can load your gun.
You and I both know you aren't gonna kill enough coyotes to impact the farmers, wabbits or pheasants. So why not let nature take it's course.
I'm not getting down on you or anything like that nor am I a tree hugg'n animal rights activist.....I've killed animals for fun, sport, and what not. So I know the thrill. I'm just stating my opinion.

Shane

 

I agree, by myself I'm not going to seriously affect the coyote population, but there are many other hunters out there who hunt them too, and as a combined effort we can help the population. Such as in the case of deer hunting. It's estimated, however, that each coyote eats an average of 27 pheasants per year (besides who knows how many other species of game birds) and that starts adding up really fast when you do the math, especially when you factor in the reproduction rate of each of the varmints. Believe me, the coyote population in this area is not in any danger whatsoever, and by your own statement about the rabbits multiplying and spreading disease the same thing would happen with the coyotes if nobody shot them. After all, other than man, what is their natural predator in the food chain? We don't have bears in this part of the country so that's ruled out, which leaves us hunters the task of keeping them under control.
Anyway, I didn't start this thread to become a moral, conservationist or political issue, but to receive tips and suggestions. This is not an anti-hunting thread and I prefer to keep it that way.

Thanks,
JC

 

Jerms, smack as many stinking yotes as you can. You're right about the loss of other small game. The farmers around here have lost enough calves, pigs and so on, so that if you ask to hunt on their property most will help you set up in a good spot as long as you promise not to miss. I shoot the darn things from my bedroom window out to about 520 yds with a 22-250. I average 4 or 5 a month without going hunting for them. They've killed a couple dogs and a bunch of cats right in front of the house.

Anyone who feels the need to cry about killing these filthy critters probably needs to get away form the city a little more often and see where their food comes from. Sometimes killing these animals to protect your food source IS the natural way of things. The things you pick up in a grocery store weren't manufactured in a lab somewhere.

 

Well stated. I too have found the farmers in this area pretty receptive to this particular sport. Hey, if anyone out there is a reloader, I would appreciate some load data for concocting some 7mm Rem. Mag rounds using some Hornaday 100gr hollowpoints and/or Hornaday 120gr V-Max. Is the 100gr going to be too light for the 7mm Mag? I have a couple reloading manuals but I'm new to reloading and neither of them (Speer #11 and Lyman's 47th) show load data for the 100gr or the 120gr V-Max. I don't have to have hyper-speed velocities but I would like a pretty flat shooting round with a minimum of recoil if possible.

Thanks in advance,
JC

 

wow Jerms, I've got a CD caller and have gone numberous times with no luck. not even a hair. as for the bunny huggers, Many guys are going to coyote hunting in Michigan because the rabbit population is down so bad you feel bad for killing one. I agree to let nature run it's course, but on the same token lets not cut any more trees and no more urban development, roads, industry, or anything. because we've tinkered with it, it's now our responsibility to manage it. rabbits and grouse don't adapt as well as a coyote. I've been hunting one that keeps killing a farmers ducks and chickens. Every rabbit track you see in the woods is closely followed by a coyote track or fox. and the DNR is no help letting more and more predators go every year, from wolves to falcons to fishers and pine martens. it's rediculous. coyotes are the only ones not protected.