Problems In Virginia! Need Help

FCB1616

FCB1616

New member
Im hunting on a few farms with cattle and sheep and I know where the dogs are but am not having in luck seeing them. I am hunting at night and using coyote vocalizations and playing the wind the best we can but they are just not coming in. What to do? any help is appreciated! Thanks
 
First, don't give up. Calling/killing coyotes in Va. is absolutely not as easy as they make it seem on the predator hunting shows.
I use coyote vocals mainly to locate, I usually use prey distress sounds to call them in, the exception being coyote pup distress if no response with prey sounds.
You say that you're hunting at night, are you using lights, or NV?
If you're using lights you're probably spooking them. They see you before you ever see them.
 
Well you probably don't want to hear this, but, in my experience after years of coyote hunting, my advice is to bite the bullet and invest in thermal for scanning and NV for ID/killing.
You can go hunting with lights, or you can go killing with thermal/NV.
 
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Set traps or snares. Stay away from the sheep and cow you don't want to catch them. Hunt early morning or late evening use food sound they need to feed their young.
 
I agree with 1trkyhntr i have a few buddies that have NV, And they do really well. I tried with lights and i could hear them barking and running in the woods. They never came out into the open you end up educating way more then you kill. As far as hunting them in the morning or the afternoon I think you need to be in the woods. But i have never been successful calling them in the daylight except when i was turkey hunting and he got away.
 
Been hunting with FCB 1616 and At this point I can't afford the thermal or NV..we're gonna have to make due with the Wicked lights for a while... any other techniques to get them to the edge for a bang/flop? At this point we have not tried early dawn or daytime... only night sets.

Tips welcome, Sam
 
From now through August, try more fawn distress sounds, and pup distress sounds. Fawns are probably the #1 preferred item on a coyote's menu this time of year!
NV and/or thermal is the most effective ticket to success after dark!
F1
 
+1 for what 1turky an coyotestalker said. I hunted for 2 years with lights and only killed one. All you are doing is educating those yotes every time they come in and see the light shining. I switched to thermal and it is a whole new ballgame. If you value the time you spend (waste) hunting them with lights, the price of thermal or NV is a no brainer.
 
Originally Posted By: 1trkyhntrWell you probably don't want to hear this, but, in my experience after years of coyote hunting, my advice is to bite the bullet and invest in thermal for scanning and NV for ID/killing.
You can go hunting with lights, or you can go killing with thermal/NV.

Excellent advice.
ask me how I know.
 
I had fairly decent success with lights, but they don't comnpare to Thermal and NV. I think a large part of the problem with lights is that too many hunters think they need to use lights on full power. Scanning lights don't need to do anything more than just pick up eyes. Once you see the eyes then a variable intensity light that can be zoomed from flood to spot is the ticket. The Coyote Light is tough to beat in that respect. I have one and thought it was the best light I've seen, but I'll never go back to lights as long as I have NV and thermal. They are becoming more affordable all the time.
 
Definitely get some night vision. You might want to try a gray fox puppy distress. It sounds scratchy and tinny but it works, especially if there are a few grays around. Quaker Boy calls makes a gray fox barker that works petty good but the best gray fox hand call is the Griz-N-Gray. You should have one of them in your pocket anyway.
Everyone says that reds, grays and coyotes wont live together. They say if you have one the others aren't around because neither of the three will tolerate each other or get along. I used to believe that, until I bought land in Botetourt and Rockbridge counties. I get pictures of all three on the same night with trail cameras.
 
What they said above about night vision. I have called for almost 30 years and had very, very poor success with coyote and lights. Switched to night vision and it is a different world. I would almost forget about calling yotes in the east with lights. Yes it is possible, so is winning the lottery.
 
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