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Need advice please
#9141140
11/19/24 03:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465
Stealthjr
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465 |
I live in the country surrounded by cattle ranches. Nobody hunts coyotes and im finding myself hearing them within a couple hundred yards of my house ALL THE TIME. I have 2 big dogs (Cane Corso 110lbs and Pitbull mix 90lbs) that lose their mind mad when they howl. Im not so much worried about my dogs as i am my barn cats. (Who are awesome at rodent/snake control)
I have a friend coming out in a few days to see if we can pop a few and teach them this isnt a place they want to mess with. Advice: Best way to give us the best chance? Here is what I have handy if any of it will help:
Camo tent, game call, decoy, bluetooth speaker, old chicken thighs, meat to hang from a tree?
P.S. I have thermal scopes, so hunting at night is not a problem.
Thoughts on setup? On what calls work best?
Thanks!
There's nothing better than killin it and grillin it!
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9141229
11/19/24 05:50 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 720
JTS
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 720 |
If the coyotes aren't bothering your cats now you may want to leave them be. If you shoot a few coyotes then more will move in to take their place. The new ones may like cats more than the old ones.
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9141247
11/19/24 06:34 PM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483
ntxtrapper
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483 |
Here is what I have learned after 40+ years of calling/trapping coyotes.
They are the smartest wild animal in Texas so remember that when you are hunting them.
Lights work but are also one of the fastest ways of blowing a setup unless you know exactly how to use them and are using the proper lights.
Thermal is the best option with a thermal scope on the kill gun a thermal scanner to spot them.
They use the wind to their advantage better than any other wild animal in Texas. You have to use it too. Make your setup to be where you are calling into the wind. They may try to circle around downwind of you to identify what's going on before coming in.
When using thermal, they can see you too. Camo head to toe and if there's a moon, stand/sit in the shadow of something. Keep movement minimal as much as you can.
Have a good rest. A good tripod is the best.
Use a remote caller and put the speaker at least 50 yards away but I prefer about 75 yards. You want their attention focused on a location other than yours. Use a decoy if you have one and have it next to the speaker. Cottontail rabbit in distress is my default call selection and I prefer the higher pitched sounds rather than the lower variety. Play it on about 3/4 volume unless the wind is blowing bad.
Have the kill gun up and ready to go the entire time. The movement of shouldering a rifle may blow your setup.
They live there and know the area like the back of their paw. I wouldn't try to use a popup blind. It will look like a big new blob to them and they likely will turn tail at the first sight of it. I wouldn't put out bait (the chicken meat). It's not needed and you will get the odor of it on you and just complicate things.
Be ready for foxes and deer and who knows what else to come in, so make sure to get target ID before pulling the trigger.
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9141270
11/19/24 07:43 PM
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Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 844
duffas
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 844 |
Popup needs to be there a while for them to get used to it. Best to have it back up to the trees. They might get attracted to whatever else comes to bait. And keep any bait away from your cats. Maybe just shoot from the barn?
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: JTS]
#9141310
11/19/24 09:41 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465
Stealthjr
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465 |
If the coyotes aren't bothering your cats now you may want to leave them be. If you shoot a few coyotes then more will move in to take their place. The new ones may like cats more than the old ones. Thanks for the input. That does make sense a bit. However, a little more detail from me. We have only lived here just over year,,,barn cats about 6 months. We rarely heard coyotes the first several months. Fast forward to last 2 months and I swear they get closer to the house and howl each week. In the last month, i have seen maybe 7 piles of coyote poop in different spots on my gravel road as close as 50 yards from my back door! So, i believe they are following the scent of the barn cats, their poop or their kills. There are obviously multiple packs since when a group howls out of the North…another will answer from the south, etc. So, i feel like doing nothing…makes it only a matter of time before I walk out the front door in my undies one morning and watch one of them walking down my driveway with a barn cat in its mouth. lol
There's nothing better than killin it and grillin it!
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: ntxtrapper]
#9141311
11/19/24 09:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465
Stealthjr
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465 |
Here is what I have learned after 40+ years of calling/trapping coyotes.
They are the smartest wild animal in Texas so remember that when you are hunting them.
Lights work but are also one of the fastest ways of blowing a setup unless you know exactly how to use them and are using the proper lights.
Thermal is the best option with a thermal scope on the kill gun a thermal scanner to spot them.
They use the wind to their advantage better than any other wild animal in Texas. You have to use it too. Make your setup to be where you are calling into the wind. They may try to circle around downwind of you to identify what's going on before coming in.
When using thermal, they can see you too. Camo head to toe and if there's a moon, stand/sit in the shadow of something. Keep movement minimal as much as you can.
Have a good rest. A good tripod is the best.
Use a remote caller and put the speaker at least 50 yards away but I prefer about 75 yards. You want their attention focused on a location other than yours. Use a decoy if you have one and have it next to the speaker. Cottontail rabbit in distress is my default call selection and I prefer the higher pitched sounds rather than the lower variety. Play it on about 3/4 volume unless the wind is blowing bad.
Have the kill gun up and ready to go the entire time. The movement of shouldering a rifle may blow your setup.
They live there and know the area like the back of their paw. I wouldn't try to use a popup blind. It will look like a big new blob to them and they likely will turn tail at the first sight of it. I wouldn't put out bait (the chicken meat). It's not needed and you will get the odor of it on you and just complicate things.
Be ready for foxes and deer and who knows what else to come in, so make sure to get target ID before pulling the trigger.
That was very helpful and makes perfect sense! Thanks!!!!
There's nothing better than killin it and grillin it!
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: duffas]
#9141312
11/19/24 09:45 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465
Stealthjr
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465 |
Popup needs to be there a while for them to get used to it. Best to have it back up to the trees. They might get attracted to whatever else comes to bait. And keep any bait away from your cats. Maybe just shoot from the barn? Got it, thank you Sir!
There's nothing better than killin it and grillin it!
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9141318
11/19/24 10:03 PM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483
ntxtrapper
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483 |
The best way to have your gun on a predator hunt.
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9141331
11/19/24 10:33 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465
Stealthjr
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465 |
I have that exact gripper, thanks!
Its going to be challenging for me to setup and sit still for hours. I will try to find an oak tree up on a hill and try to use that for cover.
Cheers!
There's nothing better than killin it and grillin it!
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9141356
11/19/24 11:08 PM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483
ntxtrapper
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483 |
You don’t have to be still for hours. You turn on the caller and it’s either you get one, you get made or there aren’t any ears to hear it in about 15 minutes. Bobcats take 30-45 minutes sometimes but not coyotes. If nothing happens in 15 minutes, move several hundred yards away and repeat.
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9145232
11/27/24 11:44 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465
Stealthjr
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 465 |
**Update**
Went out last night and setup at sunset. Had my decoy and my speaker setup, ready to go by the time light was almoat gone. Turned on my cottontail baby noise and within 30 SECONDS i had yotes in the distance howling away!! Coincidence? Maybe.
I really dont want to type the entire story so let me say I played the decoy for 15 minutes…only saw deer. Instead of moving, i went silent for 15 minutes and then played it again. Went silent one more time and during this time…2 yotes showed up. 2 yotes down! The grass is really tall out here so i only found the 1st yote i hit with 1st shot. Took me 3 more shots to hit the second yote on the run but he tumbled on 3rd shot.
I tried to upload the pic but its too big and i dont know how to shrink it.
Thanks to everyone that offered their advice…it made these kills possible!
Cheers!
PS Do the yotes ever get smart enough to know my call is BS and they ignore it? Or can i just keep rotating on my property in different spots and slaying yotes until there are no more to be concerned about?
There's nothing better than killin it and grillin it!
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Re: Need advice please
[Re: Stealthjr]
#9145235
11/27/24 11:58 PM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483
ntxtrapper
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 14,483 |
Good to hear. If you have a Facebook profile you can load pics on it and have the audience only be you, open it on your phone and save it, then post it here. It will be small enough and the correct format to fit on here now.
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