IF YOU HUNT WINTER COYOTES , YOU KNOW THAT NOT EVERY SET IS PRODUCTIVE . SOME DAYS , LOCATIONS , AND CALLING SESSIONS SIMPLY OUTPERFORM OTHERS . EVEN STILL , TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS WILL ALWAYS SERVE YOU WELL . THESE 10 TIPS ARE SURE TO HELP YOU PUT MORE FUR ON THE GROUND THIS WINTER .
Braced back to back in the snow , my partner and I gave each other the nod and sat motionless . Strategically nestled against a fence post , I activated the e-call . Starting with a series of soft crow and magpie sounds , I eventually increased the volume to emulate scavenging birds vying for their share of an easy meal . Two minutes in , I added a cottontail in distress call . Intermittently switching back and forth between the birds and the rabbit , it didn ’ t take long and I picked up movement bursting from a willow bluff 100 metres away . Bouncing through the tall marsh grass was an eager coyote . As soon as he paused to assess the commotion , my buddy launched one well-placed round from his . 243 Ackley Improved to lay him down . But that ’ s when the fun really started . Immediately switching to a coyote pup in distress sound , less than a minute later another one raced in and stopped at 30 metres . His shot obscured by tall grass , that one slipped away . Then another , and yet another came to investigate the calls . We ended our set with a total of four responses and a three count on the ground .
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CHOOSE A TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENT
Like most hunting , real estate is everything . While populations are burgeoning , especially across western Canada , some areas and habitats hold more wild dogs than others .
Coyotes are widely distributed , but numbers are definitely higher in agricultural areas . Where good food sources are readily available , predators thrive . As one of our most prolific predators , coyotes are highly adaptable and their numbers continue to grow where they are not kept in check . One of my favourite places to focus is near dairy or cattle operations . Calving attracts coyotes and there is ample remnant food available through calf and other mortalities . Target areas with higher numbers , and your odds for success go way up .
Good real estate holding high coyote numbers increases your odds . Check out this packed coyote trail . No deer here – just coyotes .
Wild Guide . Winter 2017 14