Beginner here, I'm ready to ask a few questions

T

Twilight_Dave

New member
First of all I love the forum, there's a ton of info and a lot of really helpful people. I thought I could search through past topics and answer all my own questions but everyone's situation is a little different.

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada and I have no hunting experience. I've always been an occasional shooter but really stepped it up this year and bought a handful of guns, went out to the desert to shoot regularly and did a prairie dog trip in SD a couple months ago. Now that the weather is cooling down I'm itching to do a little real hunting. I thought about going on a guided trip or out to Texas for hogs but have decided that rather than spend money on a guide and travel I can stay closer to to home and give myself a little budget if needed to try and get some coyotes.

I have two questions... What should I buy and where should I go?

I have a Springfield Saint Edge AR15 with a red dot which is what I'd like to use, I also have a Ruger Precision in 6.5 but it's heavy and overkill. Is the red dot sufficient or get a scope? I've been looking for an excuse to buy a Trijicon though
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I know I'll need an e-caller, I'll probably get a Foxpro.

Anything else that is a must? GPS? which brings me to the next question...

Where to go? For me this is the hard part... It's easy to buy a bunch of cool gun stuff but to get all loaded up and start driving requires a little more planning. I'll probably bring a friend out the first time but how do I pull the trigger on where to go? 2-3 hours out of town seems to be the answer. I've heard many people talk about scouting out an area but should I really drive 2-3 hours to look around, shouldn't I bring my gun and e-caller while I'm "looking around"? Should I just do some google maps research and settle on a spot and then go find it? I guess the more I type this the more I struggle with the answer which I guess would have to come from somebody familiar with the southern Nevada area. How far off a "main" road should I try to get?

I really look forward to your answers, I'd like to go out for the first time in the next week or two. Thanks!
 
Welcome to PM. You missed a great opportunity last week as the PM Hunt and Convention was in northern NV.

One of the very first things you need to know is where you are at. You can only hunt on public lands unless you have permission from the Land Owner to hunt his/hers private lands. Good public lands maps or GPS chip are invaluable. You can purchase land designation maps of the areas that you want to hunt at your local BLM office. Kirsch Outdoors (PM sponsor and my favorite chip) sell public lands chip for the GPS.

Most of NV holds coyotes, just setting a caller down in the desert and turning it on is not the best way to be consistently successful at predator hunting. I suggest picking up a couple of books on predator hunting and learning how to pick a stand, stand management (controlling scent, movement, stealt in accessing a stand) almost all of these are covered in a book, For DVD's the best I've seen is Tony Tebbe's "So You Want to be a Coyote Hunter" . They say there are some good segments on U-tube but I'm not much of a U-tube watcher, only "Thai Longtail Racing".

Good Luck and enjoy the sport.
 
I agree with AWS and also think some video time could save some gas.
I learned quite a bit watching the early Randy Anderson dvd's, even playing my calls along as the video progressed. Couldn't begin to count the coyotes I called in with his Lil dog and KiYi calls.
You will still make mistakes but will recognize them faster after taking in a few video's.
 
Thanks guys, I obviously would like to set myself up for success as much as possible. I will grab some books and videos and a gps setup for starters as I start planning my first outing. It seems like these will answer most of my questions. I’d still love any advice specific to southern Nevada that anyone is willing to offer that a book or video might not dive into. Do you guys use four wheelers in these parts or can you generally find a dirt acces road that will get you close enough to a good stand location? Thanks again for all the help.
 
You can save money on a GPS for now. I do a lot of satellite scouting. Google earth. Then cross reference that with your phone. Now if you're worried about who owns what land, you can use Onx on your phone.

As far as where to go, there is a lot of public land. BLM, National forest. Don't worry about getting away from other callers. Coyotes move around a lot. I personally don't scout. If I go hunt and I get nothing, well, then taht was a scouting trip. I do a lot of cold calling. Find fields, water, cows within a couple miles of each other and you will have success. No need to drive endlessly.

As for your equipment, I would recommend a scope. You are going to find that a dot is going to be hard to longer shots with. Your REPR will work, but like you said it's going to be heavy.

As for what to watch, AWS and Tripod are right, Randy Anderson videos are good and shows like Furtakers is good. Byron South has some good ones also. They can help with your calling techniques but maybe not so much with stand set ups.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Welcome to the insanity.
 
I've found my van and shanks mare will get you into some pretty good hunting around there.

I like to try and find water within a mile, stock tank/spring etc. Low ground with grass and brush is a + as it is home to bunnies.

Called my nephews first coyote kill just south of LV, cold calling new areas. I don't hunt this area much I was on my way back from the PM Hunt in Tucson and stopped and took him out for a hunt.



 
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Dave, Here's my two cents worth. You say you haven't hunted before so I recommend reading as much as possible. Not only about predator hunting but being an ethical hunter.

"ethical behavior is doing the right thing even though no one is watching-even when doing the wrong thing is legal".

Aldo Leopold

Be a safe, respectful, and responsible hunter first.
 
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