advice please

[cowman]

Howdy fellas, im new to this site and am a novice at internet communication in general. I raise cattle for a living and mention this fact because its my primary reason for this post. Each year we lose a significant number of newborn calves to yotes.

My entire life I have shot at every coyote that offered me an opportunity but I have never truly hunted for them. This year, here in Eastern Mt. we have an excessive number of coyotes and calving is about 2 1\2 months away so I decided to aggressively hunt these critters to minimize income loss.

What i could use some advice on is what type of call do you expert yote hunters recommend, and are there any specific tactics I should employ when using a call as I have never used one before? Thanks in advance fellas, any input is appreciated.

 

[JCS]

There are lots and lots of books, videos and articles written about this subject.

The BEST way to learn is to find someone and have them show you the basics.

Good luck. Once you start getting a few, you will never quit.

Maybe if i'm ever in your area I can show you a few examples.

 

[captaincoot]

I haven.t lost any to yotes yet but I'm in IA. They seem to be killing all the baby deer right now. Bald eagles been killing some new calves here I'd give some advice but it might not be the greatest. Go and have fun all I got for advice.

 

[DirtyDan]

The number one call every yote Hunter blows is a rabbit distress. That's why I usually start with bird in distress. Dogs aren't dumb and it only takes one time getting shot at before they learn. Another good one is pup ki yi.(whimpering puppies) Brings mom and dads running in. Being that your on a cattle farm, why not sit over a fresh after birth? Don't forget to make sure it's legal in your state. Good luck.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Have you thought about snaring or trapping? That's probably one of the best ways to put a dent in numbers.

 

[Rugged Dude]

I used to work on a ranch here in Wyoming where all the calving duties were on my shoulders. I loved the work, and loved seeing all those healthy calves running around and playing while I fed out hay in the morning. Saying that, nothing made me more sick to my stomach and angry than to find a half-eaten newborn. I carried my rifle everywhere, all night on calving checks, all morning out feeding hay. But those suckers are clever. I agree with the fella above, a rabbit squeal through the winter is great. Might wanna pick up a good howler and get practiced up with that too, because late winter, those yotes will be looking for love, and the right howl at the right time can be better than any predator call.
Good luck, I know what you're up against.

 

[cowman]

Thanks for the info guys. Guess one thing i dont know much about is which brand of call to buy. Ive never used a mouth call so i was thinking one of the electronic callers but dont have a clue which one would be most effective. Rugged dude, i know its a dumb question but what is a howler. Sorry about my ignorance buts its all new to me.

 

[Rugged Dude]

Cowman,
A howler is just a mouth call like all the rest, only it makes the howls, yips and barks of a coyote. Takes a little practice, but it's not too tough. Most of them will come with some basic instructions too. That's how I got started, but then bumped into some folks who were good at it, and I soaked all that in too. Bought a few of the DVD on the subject as well. The ranch I used to work on bordered some state land where they used to release pheasants on certain days of the month for hunters. As a result, a pheasant call from the electronic call the boss lent me was golden. Sort of like "matching the hatch" to a fly fisherman ya know?

 

[JCS]

The brand isn't as important as the where and when and how you set up.

Just a reminder. It is illegal to shoot coyotes on CMR

 

[cowman]

Dirty Dan, ive shot alot of yotes on afterbirth but im looking to cut down their numbers prior to calving season. Ive never trapped or snared before and thats another avenue im considering learning about. In the past 5 days ive shot 4 but those are just the ones ive seen while out doing chores. Just stepped outside now and can hear 3 separate groups of the critters yippin and all within 1\2 mile of the house. If anyone here wants to come hunt yotes in Eastern Mt youll be more than welcome.

 

[JCS]

cowman, send me a pm on where you are located and I will be there soon.

 

[cowman]

Lol, yeah we border the CMR. Im aware we cant shoot em there but really dont need to, weve got plenty of em right around the place here.

 

[cowman]

JCS be happy to pm you but honestly dont know how

 

[JCS]

Click on JCS. Pick "send a private message" fill in the blanks and hit send.

 

[cowman]

Will do

 

[WT_in_MT]

Just a reminder. It is illegal to shoot coyotes on CMR

Nope. From the CMR website:

Can I shoot coyotes on the Refuge?

Coyote hunting is allowed from the first day of the antelope rifle season through March 1. Coyotes may be hunted only from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset (no permit required). Coyotes cannot be hunted with the aid of electronic calls, aircraft, or mechanized vehicles.

 

[JCS]

Nope. From the CMR website:

Can I shoot coyotes on the Refuge?

Coyote hunting is allowed from the first day of the antelope rifle season through March 1. Coyotes may be hunted only from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset (no permit required). Coyotes cannot be hunted with the aid of electronic calls, aircraft, or mechanized vehicles.

I stand corrected. Guess I havent read the regs in a while.

 

[cowman]

WT, Does that encompass the entire CMR? Our ranch borders the CMR and I spoke to the CMR boys( U.S. Fish and Wildlife) about 3 weeks ago asking about coyote hunting and they told me I could only shoot them until the close of the general rifle season. If the info you provided does cover the entirety of the CMR ill have to inform them they need to check their own website. Didnt really plan on hunting there much anyhow we dont calve adjacent to them but I do see coyotes there quite regularly.Anyhow thanks for the info.

 

[Sawtooth]

Lots of Youtube shows on yote hunting. Watch a few of those videos to see and hear what to do and you should be good to go. If the yotes in your area have not been educated to a call then you should be able to get quite a few before they catch on to what you are doing. Then change the calling technique from rabbit to injured bird or use a howler. An electric call will allow you to use different recordings to change the approach. I had a friend who was losing alot of calves to yotes and asked me to help him out. The first setup had us completely surrounded by a pack of hungry yotes. By the time the shooting was done we had 5 down and by the end of the first day we added 4 others. Try to set up on a good vantage point and bring lots of ammo. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[earlybird]

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