Bait pile help needed

M

mrbrandonb

New member
I'm new to the forum, but have been reading posts for about a year. I'm also new to coyote hunting; any advice is appreciated.

Here's the "short version." I recently moved to a home on the Logan/Union county border in Ohio. My neighbor, an older, retired chap, informed me that coyote pass through the area NIGHTLY. I got my hunting license last year for the specific purpose of hunting coyote at my dad's property (he hears them often, has dogs, etc). I was elated. It turns out my new house is triangulated between a hog farm, a cattle farm, and a chicken/egg farm (mixed feelings).

I set up a trail cam and, sho 'nuff, yotes on cam almost nightly. I started baiting them with freezer burnt meat to get a head count- 1 big guy and one "teen." I own 10 acres and the fence of my pasture (cam location) faces my field (rented to a farmer, currently housing beans). Afraid of ricochet and etc, I built a 4'x6'x1' backstop filled with sand.

That was two weeks ago. I have a good shooting spot 100 yards down the fence row and have my TC Venture (.223) sighted in. I adjusted my security lighting to cast a SLIGHT light onto the white backstop. Ever since the backstop was built... no yotes (except for one morning around 05:00. Previously, they were on cam between 21:00 and 00:00). I have baited with chicken, hot dogs, turkey, beef...no yotes.

Any advice is appreciated. I'm REALLY looking forward to dropping my first "dirty dawg."

Thanks!

TC Venture .223
Nikon scope (3-9 x 40mm)
Wildfire 2 sound box
Hornady V-Max ammo
Rookie enthusiasm
 
Most critters will take a long time to adjust to new manmade structures. The combination of the wall and your scent all around it will deter coyotes for quite a while as they are not accustomed to either.
 
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I would say instead of baiting them(which requires a lot of bait to be sucessfull) i would spend the rest of the summer with your trail cam finding travel routes to and from the hog cow and chicken farm. If you want an idea how well that method works hop over to the great white north section and look up the stories posted by the user snowshoes.
 

Mrbrandomb,

The Baiting forum has a wealth of information that should be of great help to you. It will take quite a bit of time to read through it, but it should answer all your questions. You will be glad you took the time to read it.

I will add some quick notes to get you started.

First, many, many times I have baited my bait site with fresh meat scraps and then had coyotes visit that very night. No doubt they can smell where I walked, but in general they aren't very spooked by it that I can tell. They are more spooked by the trail cameras than anything. It does take a bit of warming up for them, but not very long. Usually within a couple of visits they get a little more comfortable.

Secondly, trail cameras keep you informed of "when" they are visiting. You can spend hours upon end, waiting and hoping for nothing. If you can determine a pattern, then that's when you should hunt.

Next, to be the most successful, you need a place to shoot from, such as a small building, perhaps camper trailer etc that will conceal you as well as cut down on your scent, and it will also give you a place to lay your head and get some rest in the long waits that are sure to come. Baiting is not a peace of cake like so many think. It requires a lot of patience and persistence.

You need some method of alerting you to when a coyote is on the bait. DoubleUp and I, as well as a few others, use the Driveway Patrol system that has a transmitter and receiver. When the coyote passes in front of the transmitter, you will be alerted back at your position. I use mine at 60 yards and have no problems, but if you try to stretch distance, the signal will not carry.

You will most likely have to consider an all-nighter when hunting coyotes over bait. An occasional coyote will visit during the daytime, but probably 95% of them come at night. You can never tell when they may show up, and that's why having a bunk to get some rest and a warm place to lay your head, is almost a necessity. Believe me, I tried the blind deal and quickly learned that is not the way to go.

Use rubber gloves when distributing bait. As well, you don't have to put out large chunks or carcasses to keep coyotes coming to the bait. A deer carcass won't last long at all and then you will be right back to searching for bait. It's far better to cut off the meat of a road kill, cut it up into small 2" pieces or less, and scatter then about the bait site. The meat will last a lot longer kept in freezer bags and thawed as you need it. Also, if you scatter a few pieces here and there, the coyote will keep his nose in the grass, searching for each piece of bait. That will keep him at the site and more concerned on finding the bait.

One hundred yards is a good distance to set up and maybe ideal. Just remember to keep your position downwind of the coyotes, so plan out your shooting lane with consideration to the prevailing wind. It isn't fool proof since wind can become squirrely sometimes. My site is 60 yards. DoubleUp has two sites, one at 90 and one at 140. He has dropped a bunch of coyotes at his place.

Again, go to the Baiting forum. Jump in and read a little each day. You will see a progression of how people use bait sites to their advantage. I have a lot of posts there, and they show how I have progressed from one thing to another over a period of time. I have my setup down pat now and it's pretty easy to take a coyote when one gets in a pattern of visiting my site.

One last thing. Some type of night vision scope will allow you to be much more effective than trying to light a coyote up with a red light.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Here are a few photos of some of my successes at the bait site.






















 
You can auger or dig a 3-6 inch diameter hole 16 inches deep and put a pound or 2 of small chunk bait in. I would rate bait deer,beaver,beef liver. The hole will keep birds for stealing bait and you will be able to tell when coyotes start working it. Fresh blood on the ground and down the hole(some on scrap clothe up off the ground close by) will lure them in.
 
Thanks for the advice. I have not heard if the bait "pit," but am willing to give it a shot.

My intention of the camera/bait was to establish a pattern of movement. I had them coming in VERY consistently between 21:00 and 00:00...then I built the backstop. I'm afraid I've spooked them for good, especially now that they have hit the bait once in two weeks. I have tried dragging the bait along their trails with a long length of paracord to "draw them in" as well. I will keep adding small bait while wearing gloves.

My shooting location is backed up against some pines and is in a good location to play the wind. The pictures are encouraging considering my lack of beginner's luck.
 
I think you would do well to remove the backstop. Shooting a V-max bullet in a 223 makes the bullet very frangible and highly unlikely to ricochet. As 6mm06 has said, unless you have some way to alert you when a coyote arrives, you may be in for some long waits especially when it turns cold.
 
I wasn't worried about ricochet rounds until I started reading forum posts. I suppose I was sucked into the "WebMD" vortex, like when you type your head cold symptoms and it suggests you may have a brain tumor. Hopefully they grow accustom to it being there sooner than later.

I've read about the driveway alarm a lot; seems like a solid idea. I'm also excited to try the frozen 5 gallon "yote pops" I've read about.

Thanks again for all the help everybody!
 
All so around your bait site mrbrandonb go through FnT post get you a lure called (LCD ) L long D distance C coyote lure ....... Gives the coyote file sense that other coyote has been their ... I used it and worked AWSOME with the site
 
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