Tracking Coyotes in fresh snow

M

mikegranger

Active member
Was wondering if anyone tracks down coyotes in fresh snow. I'm talking cutting a track or maybe calling one in part way and then taking off on foot to track them. I had the opportunity today and could have tracked 4 different singels or pairs. I'm wondering if it is possible to track down a coyote on foot or will you just be walking yourself to death?

Would like to know some real experiences as I have never used this tactic.
 
Mike,

I've done it a few times but the tracks must be smokin' fresh and the terrain, wind, and snow conditions in your favor to have any type of success. It also helps to be very familiar with the terrain where the tracks are heading. So you know whats coming up ahead of you.

On one of my most memorable outings last year I cut some very fresh tracks heading for a small but steep canyon. I knew the country where they were headed very well and I thought I might have a chance catching the pair in the canyon or going up the otherside of the canyon. When I peeked over the canyon edge I spied one coyote curled up on a snow covered rock. I couldn't see the other but knew it must be close by. I shot the coyote on the rock and just that quick its partner ran out of the brush but was confused as to where the shot came from and stopped to look for danger. That gave me a chance to kill it also. It was just as satisfying as calling them in.

Binoculars are a big help to spot curled up coyotes or look ahead and see which direction the tracks may have gone. You have to be ready to shoot quick when you ease up over a rise and can see some new country. Because the coyote will probably spot you as soon as you peek over. I have the best luck when they are actively mousing and aren't covering as much ground and don't pay quite as close attention to their surroundings. At best though its a low percentage game but worth trying when conditions are right and you have the time.
 
Thanks Lonny,

Yesterday was a great day. Fresh snow and called in 7 coyotes. All but one hung up way out there and eventually turned around and left. Ended up with no coyotes for the day (nicked the one and he went into the next county). As I always do, I thought about what I could have done different to increase my successes. You know how it is, the hindsight thing.

I have a hard time taking out across the hills when I know I can call them to me, but on days they just don't want to come in all the way It's like I know there is a coyote somewhere over that hill, do I go chase him and how many miles will I be from the truck when it's done?

I don't know and haven't really talked to anyone who has used this technique much on coyotes. Maybe when I get another fresh snow day, I'll just take off after them. I know one thing for sure, it's not for the weak of heart. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I think it would depend on the type of terrain you are hunting. Here in pa where I hunt it would be very difficult due to the fact I hunt in heavy cover most of the time. Sneaking up on a critter would be almost impossible. I did attempt to follow a set of tracks once but ended up walking way too many miles. I was hoping to find a denning site but was unsuccessful. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Considering how many miles a coyote travels in an average night. I'm not generally up for the hike, just for the hike.
But taking the hike can sometimes teach you alot more about thier habits and preferences in 1 afternoon than you can get in months of calling.
Spot and stalk hunting for coyotes can be as tough, or tougher, than any big game animal out there!! But it doesn't give me the pounding heart in the throat I get when two or more dog are charging in without stopping. This sure doesn't mean I don't enjoy rolling a coyote out of its bed at 300 yards!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Mike Granger--there was an old timer up in Burke County in NW North Dakota that used to walk down coyotes. I never saw him do it, but my neighbor said he saw him when he took off on a hot coyote track in the snow. My neighbor said he came back with the coyote in hand. He would get on a hot track and just keep after the coyote for as long as it took to get a close shot. His reknown as a trapper and hunter was widely known in that area. I had him come onto my farm and trap out beavers that were killing all my trees. He got rid of all the beavers in the area!!
 
Mike, I have been hunting coyotes for 25 years, and although I still call them, my main methodology is spotting and stalking. In the Jan/02 issue of Varmint Hunter magazine, I had an article entitled, "Spotting and Stalking" coyotes. It was a 6 pager that detailed the techniques I was using back then on coyotes. I think it was one of the best technical pieces I ever wrote (and I know John Anderson liked it since he paid me pretty well for it). I'm utilizing howling quite a bit these days for locating/calling coyotes, and it's working terrifically for me. But you have to be careful using this technique as it oftentimes becomes a stand, and if you howl, then get up and move moments later, you could be alerting coyotes that are approaching you. Oftentimes a typical days hunt involves calling in the early morning, then when things start to warm up and dogs are bedding down for the afternoon, it's spotting/stalking/howling, then calling again in late afternoon. Spotting and stalking is actually quite easy for most coyotes if u use the detailed techniques I described in the article. I usually get high on bluffs/buttes glass the terrain several times before I howl. On warmer days dogs will often just sit up and look at you for a while then lay back down again presenting you with the opportunity you need. I've oftentimes approached them in the wide open (no cover) using the methods I detailed in the article. These days I'm using the larger caliber/reference reticle, with laser rangefinder system to take coyotes WAY out there.
 
Something I've always wanted to do but have never taken the time to do is after calling and killing a coyote back track it to see where it came from and how far. I think it could be kind of interesting. Anybody ever done this?

sscoyote, Thanks for letting us know about your article last year in VH. I wasn't getting the magazine at that time but I'm going to see if VH still has some back issues left with that article.
 
the group of guys i hunt with only track.we count tracks goin into a section and tracks leaving if the math says there should be a yote or two we start on the track.it is a group effort.some what like driving deer.the trackers get as much shooting as the standers.so far this season we are up to 17 coyotes and eight red fox.the trackers take turns tracking and sitting.the furthest we ran one was about eight miles and then he turned around and headed back where we started him from.the yotes usually win most of the time but as they say even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while!
 
Terrain and the number of people have a lot to do with how much time and your success in tracking a coyote in the snow.

You might have to track 10 miles, but it is possible. You can cut down on the tracking time by "catching" up to the coyote. We hunt in groups that check the roads for tracks coming in and out of a sections. Once it's determined that you have a track going in a section and not out....then you've caught up to the coyote, but the fun has only begun.

Coyotes that have been tracked before are by far the most difficult. It seems like coyotes always bed where they can see their back tracks. I could go on and on with stories of tracking coyotes. I've physically stepped on coyotes hiding in underbrush to get them to run for example....so yes, you can track coyotes. It can just be made easier by "catching up" to the coyote first.
 
Lonny, I for one often back tracks coyotes that I have called in. It's interesting to see if you called them out of bed, off an old dead critter, etc. I also find it interesting to see how they used, or didn't use, the terrian to thier advantage while coming in. If they were laying down, where they were laying. Lots of different things a guy can learn by back tracking the ones that you've called in.
 
Thanks songdog. Thats what I've always thought that back tracking could teach a guy alot about how coyotes approach the caller and what they were doing at the time they heard the call. I'm gonna have to take the time to do it. Could be interesting
 
Mike, I have backup discs with all my articles on them. I've sent them as an attachment on emails, but have never done it on a forum like this. I'm not very computer literate, so if you have any idea how to do this let me know.
 
I have tracked fox in a fresh snow but never coyotes. I agree that you can walk down a fox I've done it. The more they run the more heat they generate that heat melts the snow when they stop. As they rest their body cool and so does the snow, the snow starts sticking to them and their tail if you keep them moving the snow keeps building up on them. Kind of like walking with a pack someone keeps adding weight too. I gotten a few this way tails and hind quarters loaded with snow. I don't know if it would happen with coyotes, my guess would be yes.
 
Hey Beagler,
Have you ever hunted in the Tunkhannock area and have you had much success over there? I'm from them parts and my in-laws still live there. I go back to visit now and then and was wonderin if I should take my rifle with me next time.
 
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