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1st trip Coyote Hunting
On January 24, 2010 in Hunting, Predator by Clint Patterson Clint Patterson

This past weekend some of the WeHuntSC.com team members went coyote hunting with Terry Williams.  Last deer hunting season we got a lot of coyotes on our game cameras and frequently see dead coyotes in the road on the way to and from a certain track of land.  So, this year we decided to try to hunt some of these ?Wylie Coyotes?.

 
We met up with Terry Williams early Sunday morning to try our luck.  Terry and his friend Chip frequently post images of coyotes on the web site so, after talking with both Chip and Terry, we finally lined a weekend up when Terry was able to come and educate us on coyote hunting.  Terry and Chip both are active coyote hunters and have a knack for the sport.
 
None of the WeHuntSC.com crew had ever been coyote hunting before.  We?ve seen coyotes trotting through the woods when deer hunting, got them on the game-cams, and I even had one walk up in my back yard once, but we?ve never specifically gone hunting for coyotes.  Along with having a new experience, we looked to learn and see the proper way to hunt coyotes.  
 
Needless to say, we learned a lot from Terry and we were appreciative that he came and guided/hunted with us.  Terry filled us in on some details of coyote hunting.  He said that coyotes? senses are keener than a deer?s senses.  I?ve never really thought about it because I?ve never taken an interest in coyotes, but?coyotes are at the top of the food chain.  They are predators and eat what we are hunting.  In order to stay at the top of the food chain, they must rely on their senses and instincts.  Thus, they can hear, see, and smell very well.  
 
Because coyotes have sharp senses and instincts, it is important to know the track of land that you are on so that you don?t spread your scent everywhere on your way in.  Of course Terry wasn?t familiar with the land and we weren?t exactly sure on what the best set up would be, so we were not the most efficient hunters on this given morning.  
 
We arrived at the land early and got a semi-game plan together.  We split up into two groups of two.  Adam and I went and sat in some planted pines that is right beside of a grown up cutover.  Will and Terry went and set up by the gas line and pond which overlooked the gas line, a small pond, and a different set of pine trees.   Essentially, we were both hunting the same game call, but from different areas of the land.  We made sure we weren?t going to be in danger of shooting in the direction of each other and we all sat at the base of some pine trees.  In our group, Adam carried his gun and I had the video camera in hopes of getting a coyote shot on video.  Terry did the calling and Will had the rifle in the other group.
 
   WeHuntSC.com - Coyote decoy
 

Terry's coyote decoy

 
Since we had never coyote hunted before we were unsure of how it would all go down, so I will try to fill you in on the details (of how we went about it) in case you?ve never done much coyote hunting either.  We got there before daylight and got into position and waited for the sun to rise.  As you would imagine, Terry said it?s important to enter quietly so as to not spook any coyotes in the area.  After we got in position and the sun came up to where visibility was good? Terry started his call.  He had two pieces of equipment to call in coyotes.  He had a decoy which simulated movement of any kind of dying animal.  It basically looks like a tail that flaps around.  He also had an electronic, remote control game call.  This game call makes all kind of different sounds and is very loud.  When he turned that thing on you could hear it for a good distance.  The sounds it makes are loud, screeching, piercing sounds.  Terry let the game call run for around 15 minutes and then we sat a little bit more.  At one point he turned on the crow call and I mean within minutes there were at least 30 crows flying around making all kind of noise.  So it definitely calls attention to the area! Off in the distance we also heard some gobblers cackling around.
 
Terry said that if a mature coyote hears the sounds from the game call, he will get downwind of the sound and try to get a sniff of whatever he hears in distress (i.e. the game call).  Then he will work his way up to the sound.  Terry and Will set the game call up at a good distance away from them so they wouldn?t draw attention to their area and spook any coyotes.  
 
  WeHuntSC.com - Custom Coyote Call Made From Cow Horns
 

 Terry's custom coyote "Howl Call"

 
We hunted that section of land for 30 ? 45 minutes and then when nothing came around we moved to a different section of the land.  This specific track of land is very hilly and Terry said that the sound wouldn?t carry of the bottom that we were initially in.  Coyote hunting is different than deer hunting where when deer hunting you wouldn?t move around too much, but with coyotes Terry says you can move around to different areas to try to pull the coyotes out from different cutovers, thickets, or bedding areas.  We moved up to the top of the hill and set up shop.  This time Adam and I climbed up in a box stand overlooking a long cut food plot and Will and Terry were around the corner facing the cutover.  We did the same drill of letting the game do its work and then waited, but here again nothing came up.
 
After the hunt was over, I had Terry set up the game call so I could get video of the sound.  Terry also has a neat coyote call that a guy made from cow horns.  The below video is a video montage of the different sounds + Terry blowing this coyote howl call. (At the end of the video be ready cause the last call is very loud?so turn your volume down so you won?t get blown away)
 
 
On the way out we talked about the lay of the land we realized that if we were to go coyote hunting again, we would have hunted the land differently than we did this day.  Though, we knew going in that this would be a learning experience for everyone.  Terry gave us some insight and now we are a little better prepared with regards to coyote hunting when and if we get to make it back out there.  Also on the way out we saw some nice sized turkey tracks!  And speaking of turkeys? turkey hunting season is just right around the corner!
 
Hopefully we?ll get back after these coyotes again at some point and be able to get some good photo/video footage for you!
 
Also, if you would like to in touch with Chip or Terry to come get coyotes off of your land, just Contact Us and we can put you in contact with them!
 
Regards,
 
 
Clint

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