NYS Coyote Hunters

Gang,

It's getting time to dust off this thread again I guess.

After the other day, while Dennis, I and the father-in-law were out chuck hunting, Dennis spots this "very large" male coyote walking the far edge of the field he was in.
He mentioned that it followed the far edge of the field he was in at about 150yds from his spot. He said that he was quite big, and that he had a nice "reddish" coat for this time of year. Not having their winter fur yet, he said that he could only imagine what he'd look like when fall gets here. He wasn't spooked and kept looking into the woodline along the edge he was walking. Dennis got the feeling that there was another inside the woodline paralleling him.
This was the same area where I got my spring bird earlier.

I worked up loads in that .22 Super Jet for thick woods coyotes this fall, and man does this thing shoot.
Right now it's running 3400fps for a 40gr. VMax on 14.2grs of Hodgdon Li'l Gun. Five shots are running inside a dime at 100yds, and I've poked several chucks with it so far. They get torn up pretty bad if I hit on a thin area, but full body shots drop them on the spot with no exits. With a 20" barrel, she swings excellent, which is what I want for the woods.
Ballistically, I never expected this old wildcat to better .221 Fireball loads as the case capacity is about 8% less, but my loads (compared to 24" .221 Fireball book data) are faster (safely so), on much less powder....go figure.
I was able (initially) to reach velocities up around 3560-3600fps before getting signs of high pressure, i.e.; sticky extraction, case web expansion and primer pocket enlargement.
Oh well...it's ALL good....fun to play.


Hope the summer's going well...
Bob
 
Hey Bob,

Not much going on in this neck of the woods. Only shot ONE chuck this year. PITIFUL!!!!!!! Going to try and get out behind the hay mowers this week. Out to be a chuck here and there. Haven't seen or heard a coyote in a long time. Wonder where they went??

Good shooting.

Perri
 
Perri,

Shame on you.....you should be taking out your frustrations on those ground poodles.....LOL.
I use it to keep my eye sharp, mainly. After a long sabbatical from behind the gun, a few days of bench work tuned me up nicely. Smacking chucks in the field mainly helps with the range estimating, and so on.

Besides.....it's fun.

We located another very good hunting area for coyotes, and recently they've been running all over the place in that location. It's at the very north end of our county, but from the way my relatives tell me, they see them out everyday while working in the fields.

Reportedly, a couple of chuck hunters nailed two of them casing a sheep farm up there. (Out of season of course).

Like I mentioned, I'm deep into my .22 Super Jet project, and I want it all ready when season hits. Right now, it's a perfect round for coyotes & fox. Hard hitting and no pass throughs.

Take care,
Bob
 
Hello folks.I can't believe yote season is just around the corner already.I'm wondering if any New Yorkers have attended a PM Hunt in the past and if anyone is planning to go this year?I'm thinking about going but would like to hook-up with some homeboys,not much fun going alone.Maybe we can show those fellas from the southwest how it's done. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 
Hey Knock'em I am referring to the annual PM hunt in January 2007.I believe it is being planned for the Four Corners area in Arizona.I know that most folks on the forum can't packup and head to Arizona but I thought there might be a few.Are you up for it?I had a chance to hunt in New Mexico with another forum member this past March.Hunting those wide open expanses is a totally different experience from our hunting here.Lots of fun.
I'm also up for any hunts closer to home.NYS now owns about 51% of the 6 million acres in the ADK Park so we have more like 3 million acres available to hunt.But,whats a million acres give or take. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
ADK,
Ya man, plenty of roon up there in the 'dacks!
January may be doable for me to make a trip out west. I'd love to sample some of that open terrain huntin'.
We should definitely get together for a hunt here in NY early in the season & take it from there. I don't mind driving up.
 
Something like a CNY hunt somewhere around the outskirts of Syracuse might work.....the location would mainly depend on population, naturally.

I'm from that area originally, and based on my old stomping grounds...some state lands up that way would probably be nice.
Happy Valley up near Parish comes to mind.
The problem is I haven't been around that area to hunt in some time, so knowing where the dog population is best suited would be a guess for me. I remember seeing, and hearing constant conversation in the past about how common it was seeing coyotes running around anywhere from Central Square, all the way up through to Watertown.
I live over on the west side of the state now, and we have a steady overall population of them which is somewhat thinner, but certain area's locally have "pockets" of them, increasing the sightings and appearance of being more.


We'd probably need a local member to act as a guide as far as hunting locations.
I watch my coyote hunting video's to death, and in several of them, they're claiming that 50lb. coyotes are large, which I don't doubt for the location that they're shot (out west).
That being said, (not bragging either) the one's I've seen shot around here (and I'm sure, up north) have been running 45+ lbs. on the low end for males, and 35-40lbs. on the low end for females. Most of the bigger males taken around here are running in the 60's. Big females seem to reach high 40's, to low 50's.
I've mentioned before that a taxidermist hunting partner of mine had taken a 62lb. male with a bow, and a 67lb. male, the same season, with a shotgun. I was there when he got the bowkill, and saw the scales (surprised) as well as a photo of it.

During hunting BS sessions, last year I heard that a 70lb. coyote was taken near Lakeville, NY. The report was from a reliable source who frequents DEC circles, so we took it as gospel.
Well anyhoo, populations might not be like out west, but surely, we've got the cream of the crop when it comes to size.....


Anyone near CNY, "chime in".....we'll all come over and thin those dogs out for you.....LOL...leaving nothing for seed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


Take care,
Bob
 
Knock em'....

Tell me about it..........

Nothing against them, or their method of hunting, but the dog hunters run the hell outta the coyotes and if they've been apparent in an area, once they run the dogs through, you won't see a one for quite awhile.

Although it raises hell with the guys that call, and it seems to pi** several off, if I hear them running the dogs nearby, I'll sit tight and wait to see if they kick one loose. We've nailed a couple that way on standard setups. You know, coyotes that were way out front and stopped within sight of us to listen for the dogs chasing them.
The only problem was that you have to grab the carcass and run, because if the chase dogs reach you, they'll tear the pelt to pieces.
Talk about frustration, you ought to see the look on their (dog hunter's) faces when you stroll out to your truck with the coyote & toss it in the box, being not from their group.
Now you know that they feel that you took that coyote over their dogs and they resent it.

Aside from that, how can you compete with them ? You can't, and were the one's that get booted out everytime, having to find other areas. With three or four large dog packs locally, it gets REAL frustrating.
Like I said, I support legal hunting, and I don't hate the guys for it, but you know it's gotta get frustrating as hell when you get a nice setup going and then hear the dogs coming through. Kinda like oil & water as far as hunting methods, and the "setup hunter's" always have to take the back seat.
Coyotes just don't recover from that for a several days. Those dogs run them for miles....literally.

Oh well, makes for some creative hunting choices I guess.

Take care,
Bob
 
Fred,

Yeah, until you've had them bust up your favorite sets a few times, it get real irritating. What makes it tolerable is that you understand and respect different forms of hunting.
Last year we had the same pack of dogs/hunters break up three of our favorite sets. They put fresh dogs out at short intervals, so they ran all day.
The only reason we stayed in that general area was because we knew there was a den nearby, and knew for sure that coyotes had been seen and heard a lot.

We were in well before daybreak, and heard several small barks and yips a few hundred yards off. After a few short, light calls, we had them coming to us, and being in an open field to begin with, they wouldn't have to get to us for a shot to be available.
We saw movement along a hedge about 400yds off, and as I was trying to get eyes on it, I heard the hounds coming in. Keeping my eye fixed on that spot, within a few seconds, a flash of fur was all that I saw.
Although not as promising as the first one, the two other setups we made that morning ended up the same way. And that was moving a couple miles from one spot to the other.

Finally, we left that area entirely.....

Oh well...

Take care,
Bob
 
ADK
How many coyotes do you see in an average year up in the Adirondaks?? I have heard that their is a good number of them up there. If I see 10 coyotes in a year around here I am doing good.
 
Outdoorsjoe,like all hunting in ADK or anywhere for that matter,"ya gotta do your scouting".Where I hunt the yote numbers have been down for the past 3-4 years.Like everything else in nature yotes are subject to the up and down cycles dictated by disease and food supply (sounds like an excuse does'nt it).With that said I'm sure there are hotspots with respectable yote populations up here,just got to find them.
Knock"em,I'm up for a hunt in the 'dacks if it's before the deer hunting gets good and before the snow gets deep.If you really want to come up let me know and I'll do some serious scouting.Heck,I've even got a spare room with a bed;not everyone up here can say that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Hi Guys,

All this talk has got me thinking. Anyone hunt this park of the state?
Catskill Park
I'm not too far from parts of it. While I don't see many coyotes while hunting .. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif .... I do see them in my travels. The hills aren't quite a rugged as the Adirondaks, nor is there as much property, but it is a sizable chunk of real estate.

Just thought I'd put it out there.

Hey Fred, will be on a inshore charter out of RI next week. Can't wait. Will take a few pics. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Perri
 
Freebm,I grew up on the eastern edge of the Catskills in Ulster county.I still come down every now and then for deer hunting.I did alot of whitewater canoeing on the Delaware River "back in the day".I remember one day when two 16 year old girls (I was 18)helped me drag my canoe and gear to shore after I capsized at Skinners Falls.Yup,that was a blow to my ego. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I can't speak about the yote hunting down your way as I havn't done any yote calling in the Catskills since the 1980's.You are right though about there being lots of open land to hunt in the Catskill Park.Maybe not on the grand scale of the Adirondack Park but enough room to stretch your legs.
Knock'em,what kind of big game fishing do you do?
 
Damn Fred, you're one lucky devil! I'd love to be able to do something like that just once. Everytime I go out my jaw drops at the sheer beauty of some of those boats. You're right, it's all hunting of one sort or the other. Good luck in Cape May and stay safe. And take lots of pics!

Perri
 
WOW Knock'em!! Oh,did I say WOW?!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Back
Top