Best time of year for coyote hunting

[Hunter Fishman]

1) When Is the best/ most commonly successful time of year to hunt coyotes?
Its open season all year so I want to go at least once a month until I get the hang of it.
2) Any advice on hunting on a sunny day in the snow?
I'm going this next weekend & its still blanketed with a foot of snow.
3) will they be moving more, less...?
4) Is there a call that might be better for winter/ snow conditions?
A friend & I want to do a rifle shotgun tag team tactic in case we get one in close or from behind.
5) any advice on this tactic?

[Glanceblamm]

1. Fall and Winter, When spring & summer come around you will have crops and tall grasses that will hide the Coyotes. You might find some hayfields or pasture ground where you can find them mousing early in the day.

2. I like to be in the shade with the sun to my back, it is usually overcast here for the larger percentage of the Winter months though.

3. Moving more as they have to hunt harder, they also need to eat more in the cold which is true even for a sparrow.

4. I don't think so. I do think that the sound travels better in the cold air which is to your advantage....Nothing wrong with taking a friend, don't slam the doors once you get there and NO Talking along the way.
   You might get one in close but if one circles your location and gets behind you unseen, it will disappear so fast that you won't even know that it was there.

Its open season all year so I want to go at least once a month until I get the hang of it.

A rough sucess average is one predator for every ten calling sites. You can improve on this with techniques gained through experience but it may take you quite a while. It could also be possible that you would get one the first time out!...Don't delay as most of us are hooked once this happens.

[Hunter Fishman]

Well, I'm going to try my luck this weekend in the snow. Yesterday I hiked 4 miles in 2 ft of snow & saw lots of coyote & bobcat prints & not much else.

[hunt-m-up]

We have the same problem with a crust on the snow that is not hard enough to walk on top of, makes for a very noisy approach. Try early morning, go in before first light, and late in the day.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  You have received sound advice on coyote hunting, but to me the best time to go is when you can get away...for me it means getting in the old Toyota and in 2 minutes I am hunting dogs....While early adn late are excellent times...we have shot dozens of coyotes between 10 and 2 ...Especially in the winter when it is very cold...sometimes we see dogs all day...once a friend and I left at 11 a.m. and quite at 4 and saw 16 coyotes!!!!!! If it is close go when you can...Usually when I am home I hunt from daylight til 10 or so, unless I am seeing lots of coyotes, then I hunt til I have to leave...Also here the hunting is very slow in June, July, and part of Aug. til the pups start moving...Mostlydue to the pups being cared for and the hot days...otherwise, it is hunting time any time we can hit the prairie...

[hunt-m-up]

I gotta agree, the best time to hunt them is when you have the time, hard to shoot them laying around the house.

[Graybeard]

Never mind guys, this member has fallen off the deep end and violated about every rule the site has. He's gone.

[FredWT]

I am a new yote hunter here in Ohio, been listening in here. Good advise given, compliments all else I have read. Thanks.

[Dee]

Last of February into March coyotes will be locating and excavating dens for new litters of pups. They become very territorial, and it is a good time for howling if you know how. They will challenge anything in that regard, and a decoy dog is a real plus.

[highwayman]

i with dee. in the spring the female will either have pups or looking for a denning area and i use lone yote challange and then pup in distress. if they are in the area they will come running!!!! i donot like to hunt them in the winter time. to many deer hunters in the woods with high power rifles.

[Ron 1]

how about hunting in south west michigan. any tips for coyotes?

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  RW, I have never hunted coyotes in SW Mich.., but just read an interesting article in a small mag. about spring hunting for coyotes..while fur is poor this is the time they do the most damage to our big game, and probably small game...the author pointed out the coyote can give deer fits inthe spring when they have just come though the winter, and are trying to gain strength for summer...Here, I drive the two tracks and watch the antelope, deer, or elk herds..I can soon tell by the action of the animals if there is a predator near...they will be watching his  every move...almost like they would like to point with their little hooves saying there he is kill 'em....according to the F-F-G article, howling or other coyote sounds do well in drawing the coyotes into range...I just got my issue, so it should be on the stands...he also talked about hunting in Va. it should be similar to Mich....Good luck...

[nova71]

.Also here the hunting is very slow in June, July, and part of Aug. til the pups start moving...Mostly due to the pups being cared for and the hot days...otherwise, it is hunting time any time we can hit the prairie...

Wyo coyote hunter, I am new to coyote hunting but I thought spring was when the pups start moving? I just got my new Missouri hunting regulation book and in Missouri coyote season is closed from April 1 till May 9. I know part of it because of spring turkey season. but I thought it was because of the pups. do coyote have their pups different times in different areas? I still have a lot to learn..... thanks.... Larry

[Ladobe]

Since pelts are usually not worth much here on the desert, the best time is between Jan 1st and December 31st each year.   IOW, any time of the year can be just as successful as any other if you change your tactics/methods to match the season.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

 ;)71,I would guess it will be pretty close all over when the pups move..Here the pups don't exit the dens until around Aug...then is when we start seeing them moving around..I would also guess the only reason one cannot shoot them in Mo. in turkey season is so a fellow does not have a reason to be afield with a rifle...shotgun only states often have this rule...As Ladobe said, one can kill coyote almost any time of year by adjusting tactics...Somewhere I have a little out line that indicated the best calls at various times of the year.... it was in one of the predator hunting magazines.....

[Ron 1]

i am hopping someone can tell me if they have tryed any kind of scents. walmart has coyote in heat scent and it is mateing season for them in mich. im thinking about tryin ,  not sure how to trick them.do i need a coyote decoy  or just squirt it on trees and brush. i know i need an edge on them it seems they are smarter than me. this works on white tails during the rut and am hopping it will work on them smart coyotes.             
    thanks RW

[Glanceblamm]

i am hopping someone can tell me if they have tryed any kind of scents. walmart has coyote in heat scent and it is mateing season for them in mich. im thinking about tryin ,  not sure how to trick them.do i need a coyote decoy  or just squirt it on trees and brush. i know i need an edge on them it seems they are smarter than me. this works on white tails during the rut and am hopping it will work on them smart coyotes.             
    thanks RW

This usage would serve a trapper better than one who calls but there is a technique called Misting.

What you do is to mix your scent 50/50 with local water such as a creek or pond in the area and use a spray bottle to (Mist) down some trees or other shrubs at your calling location. Some even dispense a few shots of the spray into the air.

You are facing downwind while doing this of course and many will swear that the scent will confuse a Coyotes nose long enough for them to get a shot even though their (the hunters) own scent is blowing downwind.

I have not, and probably will not ever try this having seen the results of the dog picking up my own scent on occasion.

You will have to do better than the Walmart bottles if interested, You can probably purchase a quart or more of the Coyote urine from a trappers supply house.

[Ladobe]

i am hopping someone can tell me if they have tryed any kind of scents. walmart has coyote in heat scent and it is mateing season for them in mich. im thinking about tryin ,  not sure how to trick them.do i need a coyote decoy  or just squirt it on trees and brush. i know i need an edge on them it seems they are smarter than me. this works on white tails during the rut and am hopping it will work on them smart coyotes.             
    thanks RW

IMEO, cover scents are just hype like camo is for coyote calling.  You don't need either of them, nor a $700 e-caller or $200 decoy, or...   I've never used any of them in decades of hunting, and I've never felt handicapped.   What would do you way more good as a newbie is to get ahold of a local experienced predator hunter and learn the basics from him as they pertain to your area.   I know one if you don't eventually find one.   Then get out in the field and get as much experience as you can to find out what does and does not work for you.

[Ron 1]

ladobe   
   
 i have tried most of the tricks i do know repeatedly. i am thinking that i have got the yotes call wise. i hunt them  often almost every day. there has got to be good numbers of yotes behind my house tracks and scat everywhere.some trails packed down in the snow.  i have a hunting house with heat in it i stay there when it is real cold and stay tell i can not see threw my scope any longer. i have contacted everyone i can think of to go out hunting but no takers yet. if you know anyone with experience i sure would like to go with them or show them what i am doing. i am in south west mi.(van buren co.) i am not against drivein to hunt or learn.i am walking 3-4 miles a day in 2+ feet of snow and 12 or so calling sets  for a month or so with no luck. i have found were a yote has walked to my foot prints and then turned around and went back the way it came from. once again any help or anyone wants to go  i would be greatfull.   
                                                                          thanks for advise
                                                                                                  RW