So it's been a long road for me. Practicing target archery and participating in 3d Shoots. I just got my license for my first hunting season. Since I don't know any local hunters, and the tips of hanging out at the ranges, pro shops and shoots didn't pan out to well I have yet to find anyone to team up with. I only got a turkey and pig and just found out pig in my area is a longshot and I may be in for a road trip to get to any place I can even spot a pig. ANYWAYS. What's next? I'm thinking of trying for a Coyote or Racoon, in this are they are both a nuisance and open. Am i crazy for thinking a coyote is a feasible first hunt? Is there any tips you can provide me? Ca does not allow the use of electric sound equipment for coyote. I have been successful in calling them close using turkey calls.
Coyote is doable, but hunting solo with a bow and without an electronic call is going to make it much tougher. Grab a drink and pull up a chair, this will be a bit long. I used to hunt coyotes quite a bit and will try to share what I think will help shorten your learning curve. I had the most success calling them in with either rabbit distress, coyote howls, or turkey distress, in that order. If there are rabbits in the area you plan to hunt, that would be my #1 choice for a prey type call. Make sure to get one that sounds like the species of rabbit the area holds. It is best to have a jack rabbit type call if that's the type of rabbit in the area, vs. using a cottontail call where there are only jack rabbits. Coyotes will come to most any distress type sound, but matching the area's prey they are used to hearing definitely helps. There is a specific cadence to using a rabbit distress call. You don't just blow through one, you change the air pressure you use while using your hand to choke off the end of the call and then open your hand again. Watch some videos and learn to mimic the way the distress calling sounds. I found two different coyote hunting videos that helped me a lot: The Primos Randy Anderson videos for learning how the calling should sound, and then videos from a guy named Tony Tebbie (last name may be spelled wrong). The Randy Anderson videos talk a lot about the type of sounds and how they should be used (very good for teaching coyote sounds and what they mean too), and some of the Tony videos get into specifics of how to set up for them. The setup is very important, I will go into that in a minute. I started off just using rabbit distress sounds, but I soon incorporated coyote howls in with my distress calling. I had good luck doing as Randy Anderson does, starting off with coyote howls and then progressing into distress calls. It is best to do "sets" when trying to call in coyotes. A normal set is only for about 20-30 minutes. A normal set for me would be: Begin with "interrogation" howls. These are very non aggressive calls, they are just basically saying "I'm a coyote over here, are there any other coyotes out there?". I've gotten response interrogation howls back many times. Give three with maybe 15-20 seconds between them. Then wait for 3 minutes making no sounds. Now give out two more interrogation howls and wait another 3 minutes. If nothing shows up in that time, then I'll go into rabbit distress. I do two to three sequences of distress. Each sequence I call continuously for about 1 minute and then pause for 2 minutes between each sequence. In late summer through Fall and into early Winter I'll add coyote pup distress to the very end of a set, the younger coyotes have left the den and are doing their first hunting. I've had this last pup distress sound suddenly yield a coyote showing up several times. Coyotes a high majority of the time show up within 5-20 minutes. You're best to do about a 25-30 minute set and then move far enough that your next set is calling to an area where your first set couldn't be heard. The above set has kind of told a story. The first howling just lets other coyotes know that there is another one in the area. Sometimes they'll be curious and come to investigate this new coyote. Sometimes they'll be mad that another coyote is in their territory and start giving aggressive "challenge" howls (mimic those back at them if you know how, but this will likely be further into your learning if you stay with it). If that don't bring them in, then next they hear that other coyote catch a rabbit. This may make them come in for a couple reasons: mad that the other coyote caught a rabbit in their territory so they need to run it off, and/or to steal the rabbit from the other coyote. After that they hear the pup distress, which makes them think that yet another coyote has come in to a pup that has caught a rabbit and is now beating up the pup so it can take the rabbit. If you don't use howls, then just spread out some distress calling for your sets like I talked about above. Call for 1 minute straight, wait 3-4 minutes and call for another minute straight, wait 3-4 minutes, call one last time for 1 minute straight and then wait until you've been in that spot for around 20-25 minutes. Then move and start over. The set up is very important. A high majority of the time coyotes will circle downwind of the calling, especially when it is a prey distress type sound. This makes solo calling without an electronic call tricky. You want to set up in an opening and position yourself at the middle upwind edge of the opening. Try to do this setup so that your scent stream is going right down the middle of the opening you're set up in. Sounds a bit wonky right? Let me explain. Responding coyotes are going to circle downwind about 90% of the time. Normally when solo you set an electronic call in the above upwind position of an opening and then you sit at the very downwind edge of the opening. The coyotes come in downwind of the call, but never scent you because you're even further downwind and they come in between you and the call. Hunting solo with hand calls you have to set up in the middle of the upwind opening and you're hoping that you'll see them enter the opening from one of the sides. You need to stop them and then shoot them before they get to the middle of the opening where your scent stream is. Getting drawn is going to be tricky, using some camo netting to stake across in front of you may be a big help. They can be stopped by puckering your lips together and making "kissy" sounds, this mimics mouse squeaks. Use this sound very very softly when they are in bow range. Last bit of advice. Don't over hunt a spot. Coyotes "educate" very fast. It is best to have several spots to hunt and rotate through them. I would call a spot and then give it 3-4 weeks before calling it again.
First of all, THANK YOU! The like button is not good enough to express my appreciate for this information. Second, WOW! The story telling set up is amazing. It makes perfect sense. I wish I had given hunting coyote as much consideration as I have for turkey. The area I would be hunting the distress calls will more likely be turkey and rabbit. I have had good success calling in the coyotes with turkey sounds but that was only to see if it could be done. They were just some where near the range I was practicing at. I could only get them in to about 90 yards so I still have some work to do. What is your thoughts on decoys? I look forward to coming back with some results in July.
I didn't bother with decoys, but I was using a 22-250 lol. I was also hunting in a forest way more than open types of areas, so I set up in openings that were only about 50 yards across. When they appeared out of the trees they were already close. I've read that even just a feather tied to some fishing line on a stick will grab and hold their attention. If you're turkey hunting you likely have some decoys, those should work fine too, but I've heard/read that something with a bit of movement is best. They can pinpoint where the calling is coming from very well, so giving them something to "see" once they get close is probably going to be a very good idea with a bow. A turkey decoy and a feather tied to a stick next to it would probably work very well.
HAH! I had to convince my wife that a BOW would be a worthwhile investment into a potentially long term hobby. Bow fishing is a whole other road to take down the line. I'm sure I will eventually, all I've ever done to this point is fish, deep sea, kayak, lake, pier, shore, all of it. Fishing is in my blood.
Coyote can be tricky with archery equipment! I’d say your best practice is 3D and get out there to experience and learn the deer! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Can you bait coyote? That would be my recommended approach if you can. My guess is it is known to cause cancer somehow and not allowed. If that is fact, either give up California or give up hunting, the two rarely intertwine in the southern parts of the state.
I compete in local 3d shoots for a lot of practice. I actually pace top 3 in all the tournaments I've entered. I posted a bit about my first hunt in the "what was your first kill" thread I created a few weeks back. I had a less than 50 yard encounter but by the time I could take the shot it had moved to a trail that banked out of site. It wasn't a safe shot. The only deer I have seen in ALL of San Diego County are on wildlife protected areas or reserves. As for baiting coyote, it seems to be frowned upon but not illegal. As far as I know, in CA baiting, and planting on public land are prohibited for deer and bear. Baiting is strictly prohibited when using dogs. I agree, giving up CA is probably the best bet. I was reviewing the harvest reports from the last few years. 1000 tags with a 1% recorded success rate in San Diego County. Its a big area but not a lot of public land. Any of the state ran areas are AO and the BLM are all desert. (no deer there). Since this is my first year and I still have not found hunting partners I opted against deer and focusing on small game and upland game birds. Turkey is next on the horizon for me. Coyote will always be on the list. For the state run public lands the deer and turkey numbers are SOOOOO low most people head north. SoCal sucks honestly. I would leave if I could afford to.
Honestly you couldn't afford not to. The cost of living in practically any other state is far better than there, and even if your wages were to diminish a little bit, you will still be ahead. The part you would have to get over in unplugging and getting out are the "excuses" and the loved ones. Once you get over the excuses, the next part is figuring out how to convince the loved ones to come with you, and opportunity, numbers and interests bode well in helping that conversation along.
I'm just waiting for my Mother in law to die. Wife won't leave until then and honestly she probably wont leave even after because, thE OnLy FamILy ShE HaS LeFt Is HeR SiSteR" bleh. Thus the cost being divorce.
Is her sister in SoCal too? And when mom-in-law gets to that nursing home state, that is when you cash in. You get wifey convinced to relocate mom to a much more affordable much better care giving nursing home...ORRRR you have to have her move in with you guys so you would need a bigger place, and the only way that would happen is to find another place where a bigger place is more affordable, like Texas HAHA. And while working that angle, you convince sister in law of the same, show her all she is missing out on (wherever you are looking at trying to relocate too) and convince her to go too.
