Western PA Coyote Hunters Any Luck During the Day?

Flesh Eater

Flesh Eater

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The past few times I've gone out, the minute I step out of my truck, the coyotes are howling and barking, which is right about 9:00 pm. A couple times I can get a response after setting up, but it seems that after that first response they go quiet and I never see them or hear them again.

In the beginning of March I had a female answer me and come running in at 5:30 am. My cousin took a big male that same day around 8 am. He keeps trying to convince me to go out during the day, but I just don't know how well it'll work. The local archery hunters have reported seeing them early morning (8am-11am), but I'm still hesitant.

Anyone have luck or swear by only day hunting? I know a lot of people say just before dark is prime time, and just before first light.
 
in 2016 i killed 6 during the day, lost another one, and missed 4. i would say my call in's were split about 75/25, most within an hour of dawn/dusk, and the others randomly during mid-day. out of about 25-30 sets at night (all year), i called in one, but didn't get a shot. it's hard enough to hunt the woods and small openings around here during the daylight, and i feel like it gets 200% harder at night, so i personally prefer the morning, although statistically most of my success has been later in the day. i put in more time hunting last year than ever before, and attribute my "success" to the amount of time spent calling. I continually feel like i'm clueless and the coyotes are outwitting me (maybe they are), but persistence is very important. i live in the allegheny national forest, and the amount of land and cover is sometimes intimidating. deer season seemingly brings every hunter within 250 miles into the woods around my home and the game changes dramatically for the rest of the winter. most of the time i cold-call without locating, so it's no surprise that i sometimes go a fair spell without any luck. i have had decent success calling located coyotes, but i feel that's a fine line, and trying too hard to get them to howl will put them off. sometimes they will howl, many times they don't want to, but that doesn't mean they're not around. i've had to force myself to abandon the idea that i can sit in a field and watch a coyote run out of the woods and bee-line to my calls at 10:00 A.M. , because that just isn't the case. getting into the thicker cover is the ticket to making them feel comfortable enough to come in close enough for a shot, but there is no "i will watch this coyote's body language and allow him to come in for a better shot". in the thick stuff it's "see coyote, shoot coyote immediately" and i feel that it's important to take whatever decent shot you can take as quickly as you possibly can. there may only be a window of 5 seconds from the time you see one until it's on the way out again. so i certainly don't swear by daylight hunting, but i definitely prefer it, although i will not give up on calling at night, because they're out there 24/7, and even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.
 
Originally Posted By: ANF Hunterin 2016 i killed 6 during the day, lost another one, and missed 4. i would say my call in's were split about 75/25, most within an hour of dawn/dusk, and the others randomly during mid-day. out of about 25-30 sets at night (all year), i called in one, but didn't get a shot. it's hard enough to hunt the woods and small openings around here during the daylight, and i feel like it gets 200% harder at night, so i personally prefer the morning, although statistically most of my success has been later in the day. i put in more time hunting last year than ever before, and attribute my "success" to the amount of time spent calling. I continually feel like i'm clueless and the coyotes are outwitting me (maybe they are), but persistence is very important. i live in the allegheny national forest, and the amount of land and cover is sometimes intimidating. deer season seemingly brings every hunter within 250 miles into the woods around my home and the game changes dramatically for the rest of the winter. most of the time i cold-call without locating, so it's no surprise that i sometimes go a fair spell without any luck. i have had decent success calling located coyotes, but i feel that's a fine line, and trying too hard to get them to howl will put them off. sometimes they will howl, many times they don't want to, but that doesn't mean they're not around. i've had to force myself to abandon the idea that i can sit in a field and watch a coyote run out of the woods and bee-line to my calls at 10:00 A.M. , because that just isn't the case. getting into the thicker cover is the ticket to making them feel comfortable enough to come in close enough for a shot, but there is no "i will watch this coyote's body language and allow him to come in for a better shot". in the thick stuff it's "see coyote, shoot coyote immediately" and i feel that it's important to take whatever decent shot you can take as quickly as you possibly can. there may only be a window of 5 seconds from the time you see one until it's on the way out again. so i certainly don't swear by daylight hunting, but i definitely prefer it, although i will not give up on calling at night, because they're out there 24/7, and even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.

Thank you for that information! When you called them in during the day, what calls did you use? Electronic or mouth call? I assume they came in to prey distress?

What you said is the harsh reality I'm trying to cope with. The fact that I have to get into the brush and hope to see them first. My eyes won't let me hunt the thick stuff at night. I cannot see a dang thing. I've tried. Had one come in ten yards away, and couldn't make a 100% identification before shooting.

I'm considering giving the pack around my house one more try tonight before the rain moves in. It'll be late afternoon, and I'll be able to build up some cover before calling. Every time I go out, it's the same ole', "I got a good feeling about this!"

You're not far from me. I'm in northern Butler county. Finding phone contacts for property owners has me hunting limited space. The local game lands around here are very confusing, because they're mostly surrounded by privately owned lands. As of right now, I have permission to hunt roughly 2,500 acres, which seems like a lot, until you realize it's only a few different packs!
 
I have a foxpro wildfire II, and all of the ones i saw last year came into it. typically some kind of distress.... rabbit, kitten, fawn, kid goat. i beat the vocals to death this winter and had very little success. my buddy shot one last month that we called in at night, but it took some serious effort. what really gets me is that a lot of people say that late winter (jan/feb) is the best time to call coyotes, particularly with vocals, but i have not found that to be the case. i'm honestly looking forward to late summer, because from what i've experienced, howling with a diaphragm call in late summer when the pups are starting to get out on their own has proven to be the most entertaining for me. there's a bit more agricultural land in butler county area, which i would call a good thing..... in my opinion, fields and large openings in this area are really only good for one thing, and that is telling you immediately where the coyotes are not located. on a 200 acre piece of land covered by 90% field and 10% brush, those fields let you focus your efforts on the 10% remaining cover. i don't hunt any private land here, and fortunately have the half million acres of public forest at my disposal, but in that forest it is much more difficult to identify areas where the coyotes are not located. i see my biggest weak spot as being unable to effectively hunt the forest at night. i've been considering an attempt to make some kind of half hoola-hoop with red lights duct taped onto it to make 180 degrees of stationary red light in the woods at night. by pointing the lights to either illuminate as much of my field of view as possible, or focus the lights on the available shooting lanes, it would eliminate the moving shadows and possiblly allow me to see one coming into the setup. there's just nothing easy about it in this terrain, and forming expectations about coyote hunting from watching the western videos is a great way to become sorely disappointed. the ball game is the same as out west, and the players are the same, but here in the east you're lucky to be able to see past first base and a great batting average starts with .1
 
Originally Posted By: ANF Hunter I have a foxpro wildfire II, and all of the ones i saw last year came into it. typically some kind of distress.... rabbit, kitten, fawn, kid goat. i beat the vocals to death this winter and had very little success. my buddy shot one last month that we called in at night, but it took some serious effort. what really gets me is that a lot of people say that late winter (jan/feb) is the best time to call coyotes, particularly with vocals, but i have not found that to be the case. i'm honestly looking forward to late summer, because from what i've experienced, howling with a diaphragm call in late summer when the pups are starting to get out on their own has proven to be the most entertaining for me. there's a bit more agricultural land in butler county area, which i would call a good thing..... in my opinion, fields and large openings in this area are really only good for one thing, and that is telling you immediately where the coyotes are not located. on a 200 acre piece of land covered by 90% field and 10% brush, those fields let you focus your efforts on the 10% remaining cover. i don't hunt any private land here, and fortunately have the half million acres of public forest at my disposal, but in that forest it is much more difficult to identify areas where the coyotes are not located. i see my biggest weak spot as being unable to effectively hunt the forest at night. i've been considering an attempt to make some kind of half hoola-hoop with red lights duct taped onto it to make 180 degrees of stationary red light in the woods at night. by pointing the lights to either illuminate as much of my field of view as possible, or focus the lights on the available shooting lanes, it would eliminate the moving shadows and possiblly allow me to see one coming into the setup. there's just nothing easy about it in this terrain, and forming expectations about coyote hunting from watching the western videos is a great way to become sorely disappointed. the ball game is the same as out west, and the players are the same, but here in the east you're lucky to be able to see past first base and a great batting average starts with .1

I have to admit, I've found this month quite productive with howls. However, I think I've made the mistake of being to aggressive with my howls. I've noticed the lone howl can almost always get a response. However, once I switch it up and start adding barks to my howls, I no longer hear and definitely do not see anything. This article just came across my screen and is a very good read: http://azpredatorcallers.com/education/p...tion-to-calling

I'd be interested in hearing how your late summer hunting turns out. Personally, I hate the heat, the bugs, and especially ticks (we have an abundance of them), so summer is not my hunting list. Ha-ha!

What I've found difficult at night, in the thick woods, is picking out anything except overly illuminated branches, brush, rocks, etcetera that are close to me. During the day I can see roughly 85 yards into my woods in the winter. When I put the red light on my head, I struggle to make out anything past the closest row of trees! Obviously eyes shine right through the glare of branches, but it doesn't make identifying bodies any easier. Perhaps a green light would produce a better effect?

When I see the camera pan on a coyote video and notice it's out west, I immediately turn it off. It frustrates me to know end that they can see for what seems miles, while we're lucky to see 30 yards. The [beeep] videos (I know those guys have a reputation), are some of my favorites, because they get right in the thick stuff. How they're successful is beyond me. Perhaps they just have more coyotes than we do. I don't know...but I've never heard a howl when the sun is still up!
 
i believe that i too have frequently been too aggressive with howling, and that may be why i seem to suck at calling in coyotes with vocals during the winter, and i agree that adding in a few barks has not produced for me. i think they clam up a bit after deer season floods the woods with hunters, and remain super paranoid for the rest of the winter, but have heard them an hour or 2 after sunrise during spring gobbler and on into the late summer. using lights in the woods just isn't easy either, and i'm thinking that very dim light and very little movement is key. just enough light to see eyeballs. at that point it's aim, illuminate with bigger light, identify, and fire.... all in the span of about 2-3 seconds before they bolt. coyote hunting in the east just seems to be one activity where you will constantly be at a significant disadvantage compared to the coyote, and there's very little you can do to tip the odds in your favor. it just makes the occasional successful setup that much sweeter. excellent article by the way. i do have a green LED for my scan/shooting lights, but i've never used it. personally i'm still on the fence about red ones.... they do work, and it's better than not being able to see anything at night, but i think it depends on the individual coyote as to whether or not they run, hang up, or approach a few more yards in the light. i'm sure i need to work on my scanning/illuminating technique, but they do seem to see the light, especially when it's in the woods where it doesn't belong. a thermal scanner would be the hot ticket at night, but the rest of the country will probably have laser gun hunting seasons before PA allows any kind of modern electronics to be used for night hunting
 
Originally Posted By: ANF Hunteri believe that i too have frequently been too aggressive with howling, and that may be why i seem to suck at calling in coyotes with vocals during the winter, and i agree that adding in a few barks has not produced for me. i think they clam up a bit after deer season floods the woods with hunters, and remain super paranoid for the rest of the winter, but have heard them an hour or 2 after sunrise during spring gobbler and on into the late summer. using lights in the woods just isn't easy either, and i'm thinking that very dim light and very little movement is key. just enough light to see eyeballs. at that point it's aim, illuminate with bigger light, identify, and fire.... all in the span of about 2-3 seconds before they bolt. coyote hunting in the east just seems to be one activity where you will constantly be at a significant disadvantage compared to the coyote, and there's very little you can do to tip the odds in your favor. it just makes the occasional successful setup that much sweeter. excellent article by the way. i do have a green LED for my scan/shooting lights, but i've never used it. personally i'm still on the fence about red ones.... they do work, and it's better than not being able to see anything at night, but i think it depends on the individual coyote as to whether or not they run, hang up, or approach a few more yards in the light. i'm sure i need to work on my scanning/illuminating technique, but they do seem to see the light, especially when it's in the woods where it doesn't belong. a thermal scanner would be the hot ticket at night, but the rest of the country will probably have laser gun hunting seasons before PA allows any kind of modern electronics to be used for night hunting

Last night I ruined a spot, by either getting busted, or simply alerting the local pack to something "off." My howls produced nothing but a few barks through the woods, upwind of me. I gave it an hour, saw nothing, and have vowed not to hit the spot until fall.

I think whether or not they clam up depends on location. What's odd is that at my house (I own 20 acres), I can't hear a single coyote. However, when I go up to the farmer's property above me (roughly 1,000 yards through the woods), it's like out west. Howls, yips, barks, all night long! The landowner said it's year round. Of course, getting them to come in is another story, but hearing them is just as much fun as shooting them, in my opinion. Not seeing or hearing anything kind of sucks.

My first and only coyote I shot, was taken at 150 yards with my ScanPro IC on full blast, focused in. She never saw the light. She was scanning for another coyote. I don't do well with the dim red light. Again, it's another reason the coyotes will probably always have one up on me. Like you said, too, scanning is rough. I find when I sit down there's terrain that makes it impossible to see any further than right in front of you. Usually I try to stand, with something to my back, and try to keep scanning 360 degrees to a minimum, although sometimes you never know where they're going to come from.

Pennsylvania's laws are ridiculous. You can't hunt with night vision or thermal, but you can leave dead animals everywhere, and sick a pack of hounds on them. I don't know why, but I have a distaste for running these animals down with dogs. I can see how people would enjoy the fellowship, but when they boast like they're the top coyote killer in the area it's aggravating. Go sit in the cold, call them in, scout for them, take them down, then you can hail as the new king. Until then, your dogs are doing the dirty work for you. But...that's just my opinion. I know it isn't shared among many coyote hunters in this state. They all think the more you kill the less likely they'll be to kill off the entire deer population in one fell swoop (sarcasm implied).
 
I feel your pain. I hunt upper Michigan, public land, and most of it is wooded. It seems like every place is what I call open woods. The trees aren't huge but big enough so not much grows in their shade. Therefore, there isn't much undergrowth but enough trees that shooting any distance is hard to impossible. It seems like a rifle is too long range for the conditions but there not enough ground cover to encourage coyotes to come into shotgun range.
If you get off the hills, the low ground is usually cattail or cedar swamp. Both areas are wet and I must admit I haven't called in these areas yet. Maybe I am missing something by keeping my feet dry.
The open areas in the woods never seem to have tracks in the snow. Even in the open woods the coyotes seem to travel in low areas or behind fallen tree tops. These Eastern coyotes just don't want to be targets.
Ive been in the woods alot the last few months. The howls I ve heard were mostly just before dark. Once, I was able to get coyotes howling mid day, and those didn't come in.
Coyote hunting here in the east is really tough, I think thats why I enjoy doing it so much.
 
Originally Posted By: Stub2I feel your pain. I hunt upper Michigan, public land, and most of it is wooded. It seems like every place is what I call open woods. The trees aren't huge but big enough so not much grows in their shade. Therefore, there isn't much undergrowth but enough trees that shooting any distance is hard to impossible. It seems like a rifle is too long range for the conditions but there not enough ground cover to encourage coyotes to come into shotgun range.
If you get off the hills, the low ground is usually cattail or cedar swamp. Both areas are wet and I must admit I haven't called in these areas yet. Maybe I am missing something by keeping my feet dry.
The open areas in the woods never seem to have tracks in the snow. Even in the open woods the coyotes seem to travel in low areas or behind fallen tree tops. These Eastern coyotes just don't want to be targets.
Ive been in the woods alot the last few months. The howls I ve heard were mostly just before dark. Once, I was able to get coyotes howling mid day, and those didn't come in.
Coyote hunting here in the east is really tough, I think thats why I enjoy doing it so much.
The area I live in is hills and hollers. I think I could hunt around my house for a year straight and never call in a coyote. Fox is more productive. If I drive 10-12 miles from my house the game is completely different. Open country, with hay fields and pasture. Kill a coyote or call in some critter every time I go. One place is bobcat infested, no season in Indiana yet for cat. When and if they do, I know where I'm going.
 
FLESH Eater- just a thought for you on the subject of hound hunters.--when some of the local hound hunters found out I calling coyotes they invited me to hunt with them. Ive been out three times and the hunters, all combined,shot one coyote. The groups have generally had 7-8 hunters on each hunt. The last I heard, the group had taken 10 coyotes for the winter season.
Iam not great at math, but it looks to me like the group was only getting about 1 or 2 coyotes per hunter per season.
You are right about it being fun to be part of the group. When asked how we did, I said we got one. Actually I missed my shot, too far for my shotgun and it would have been running to fast for my rifle.
But being part of the group that got one did give me some feeling of success.
Iam sure hound hunters pay their dues the same as the rest of us. They all have purchased hunting lisenses, guns and ammo and some very expensive electrical equipment to keep track of the dogs with.
I don't know how much they have invested in their dogs, but my aging bird dog has run up almost $3000 in vet bills since November. (I wish I could claim him as a dependent on my income tax)
The hound hunters had also gotten permission to hunt most of the private land in the area. They knocked on doors for permission just like the rest of us.
Anyway, to the point, as hunters we have plenty of people trying to take our hunting rights away, it is probably best if we don't do that to each other.
 
Originally Posted By: Stub2FLESH Eater- just a thought for you on the subject of hound hunters.--when some of the local hound hunters found out I calling coyotes they invited me to hunt with them. Ive been out three times and the hunters, all combined,shot one coyote. The groups have generally had 7-8 hunters on each hunt. The last I heard, the group had taken 10 coyotes for the winter season.
Iam not great at math, but it looks to me like the group was only getting about 1 or 2 coyotes per hunter per season.
You are right about it being fun to be part of the group. When asked how we did, I said we got one. Actually I missed my shot, too far for my shotgun and it would have been running to fast for my rifle.
But being part of the group that got one did give me some feeling of success.
Iam sure hound hunters pay their dues the same as the rest of us. They all have purchased hunting lisenses, guns and ammo and some very expensive electrical equipment to keep track of the dogs with.
I don't know how much they have invested in their dogs, but my aging bird dog has run up almost $3000 in vet bills since November. (I wish I could claim him as a dependent on my income tax)
The hound hunters had also gotten permission to hunt most of the private land in the area. They knocked on doors for permission just like the rest of us.
Anyway, to the point, as hunters we have plenty of people trying to take our hunting rights away, it is probably best if we don't do that to each other.

I must admit, I have a bad taste in my mouth because of one group around here. There are A LOT of them, and they kill 1-4 coyotes every time they run their dogs, which I believe is weekly.

I came home from work one day and my neighbor informed me there were 8-10 trucks parked along my property, and a bunch of guys lingering around holding guns. Then she said a few went onto my property, and she didn't know where they were headed. My wife was home all day. No one knocked, no one asked permission. They feel entitled because they're killing coyotes, as if everyone appreciates what they do. I was ticked, because I had been hunting a pack behind my house, and their dog ran right through where all the deer bed down, hunters in tow, and right into the pack's territory. I'm not the only one who disdains their ethics, as I've come to find out.

Honestly, since hunting coyotes, and researching coyotes, I have a completely different view of them and hold a great deal of respect for them (I'm not even mad about them coming into my yard after my dogs. because I had a deer hanging in the garage for a few days). I feel their hunting abilities should be admired, and not chastised. They don't cause major livestock damage here, and we have so many deer it isn't funny. I have no idea why the hatred for them. Since asking for permission to hunt, it seems no one has a concrete reason to hate them, they just say, "Kill them all," as if they'll ever be eradicated. I say, "Thanks," and do my best...even though I don't want to kill them all, because then what would we hunt?!

So, I must apologize to all the ethical hound hunters. I don't think I would have such a negative opinion if our hound hunters asked permission, and didn't travel in such ridiculously sized groups.
 
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I understand where you are coming from. I just gave my daughter and her husband 5 acres in Michigans UP. I bought the property because it had been in my wifes family for years. I only went up there a couple of times in the 20 years I had owned the property. Since I hadn't used the property I thought I would give it to a family member who would.
After my daughter and her husband returned from checking the property they reported to me that there was several trailers on the property. There were also barrels and other homemade dog houses located there.
The nearest neighbors told them that bear hunters stayed there every fall and were a pain to them.
So, don't think for a minute that I don't understand where you are coming from. There is a small percentage of bad people in about every group of people.
I am old, so the rules may have changed over the years but I generally feel if you look for the good in someone, you will find it. Ive been thankful that others have looked at me in a positive way especially during times I wasn't so sure about myself. Out of respect for those that treated me right, I try to do the same for others. Yep, not everyone lives that way. When people like the hound hunters in your area treat you wrong it is hard to keep a positive attitude. I do understand, have a great night!
 
A buddy and I have been going mostly at night. Since the end of fox season we have called in 7 and shot 3. My buddy went out the other day before the snow storm around 330 and shot one. First time trying it in the day.
 
Originally Posted By: ayunk04A buddy and I have been going mostly at night. Since the end of fox season we have called in 7 and shot 3. My buddy went out the other day before the snow storm around 330 and shot one. First time trying it in the day.

Were you hunting fields or timber at night?

My SI joint is sprained right now, so I'm down for awhile. It seems every time I go out, it just gets worse. Need to let it rest, which sucks. Friday night the coyotes were so close to my house I could hear them over the television! They're taunting me.
 
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