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New guy needs advice

Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 3:32 pm
by leadbiscuit
Hello,
This is my first post,so I suppose a little bit of an intro is called for. I bought my first centerfire rifle about eight years back, and began handloading and calling coyotes more or less at the same. I found no success in calling during the first winter. The second year was a bit better. Took five or six of them, and that's pretty much how it goes to the present day. One thing is for sure, the calling is damn tough here in southwest Minn. We've got a decent population, but the dogs see a tremendous amount of pressure. A few years back a couple parties started hunting behind hounds. I've got nothing against them, but it hasn't helped my calling any.
On my way home from my first jamboree this year, I dreamt up an experiment of sorts. Find out where the poor calling stops and the good calling starts. Hitting the the road for as many weekends as I can this winter. I plan to head into S.D. and give it a whirl. I plan on starting in De Smet area and going where ever from there. Yes, I realize that plenty far east, but its only about three hours drive from where I live.
I'm currently reachambering my 1 in 8 twist 22-250 AI to a 22-243 and hoping for a more productive winter ( I do my own rifle work these days).
Any constructive criticism or other input is welcome. Should I go a direction other than west? I'm hoping to give a 75 grain amax to a few more dogs than usual this winter.

Thanks in advance for any help you guy give.

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 8:55 pm
by Prairie Ghost
Both good calibers i don't think you're are going to see a REAL big benefit by changing but everyone to his own. West is good, scout well and locate as much as you can.

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 2:45 am
by leadbiscuit
Prairie Ghost,

Yes, I agree with you on there not being much difference between the two rounds. The rifle was one of the first I put together. My inexperience combined with the fact that my first lathe was a piece of junk, left me wondering if I left a little accuracy on the table, so to speak. I wanted to go through the action again (a Rem sa). I already had a reamer for the 22-243 and it allowed me to freshen up the throat without having to set the barrel back. It is a slightly longer round. Both cartridges are excellent for coyote.

Thanks for your reply,
John

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 1:55 am
by bucksnbears
yep, calling in minn. sucks... go west young man,

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 3:14 am
by leadbiscuit
bucksnbears,

What bothers me the most is that the coyotes are around, they just don't come to a call. I'm sure no "coyote doctor", but I can't be that lousy at it. I'm aware of the wind direction at all times and I always make sure my truck is out of sight from where I set up. I actually do a little better than most of the guys that call around here. I mostly go callin to forget about all the stuff that ticks me off. It's nice to get one once in a while, though.

thanks
leadbiscuit

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:28 am
by bucksnbears
we have a fair # of coyotes here also but i would say my call ratio is 1 out of 25. plain ass sucks

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:50 am
by Tim Anderson
When I first started calling or hunting coyotes I always found my own areas to hunt so I can't help you there.. You can drive almost any direction and find coyotes just need to do a little scoutting. I have worked in alot of the midwest states and found coyotes on my days off or talked with some of the locals and took it from there.. You want callable coyotes then look for the big sections and areas where they are bunched up.. Good luck.....

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 3:27 pm
by leadbiscuit
bucksnbears

My call ratio is probably identical to yours. I spend a lot of time fiddling with my guns and shooting so I can make the most of it when they do come.If you live within three hundred miles of me, you can most likely hear me cussing when I do miss.

Tim

Sounds like good advice. Thanks

leadbiscuit

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 5:47 pm
by Coyotehunter
coyotes are just a nervous animal by nature. they get shot at a bunch in those rural communities. Have you tried any night calling?

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 6:14 pm
by leadbiscuit
coyotehunter

Yes, I did some night calling off and on for a few years. Worked out to be about the same as calling at sunrise and sunset so I quit. Could never keep a reliable partner and night hunting alone can get a little weird. Howls did seem more effective in the dark. I've never heard a coyote vocalize during the day around here. A co worker of mine says he has during breeding season. I have no reason to doubt him, but I think it's pretty rare. A little off topic but I thought you might find that interesting.

leadbiscuit

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 6:36 pm
by Coyotehunter
I lived in Minnesota for 5 years.............I feel your pain

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:10 pm
by leadbiscuit
coyotehunter

Got another strange fact I forgot to mention. A few weeks ago we lost a cow to lightning. The first night part of her udder was eaten by something. Can't say for sure it was a coyote. There was some pretty serious flooding around here at the time and I could not get to her with my skidloader to dispose of the carcass.
She's still there and nothing has come back to feed on her since. I know for a fact that coyotes run that pasture nearly every night. This cow was not sick when she was struck. I've seen them pass on stillborn calves as well. Probably doesn't mean anything but it seems strange to me. Fascinating animal is mr. wiley.

leadbiscuit

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:34 pm
by Tim Anderson
I can't say for sure but you may have left youre scent around the dead cow when you checked on it or it maybe to close to a road with heavy traffic. Most of the dead cows I've seen eaten on by coyotes were fed on around the neck area and ribs and a few on the ass end first.. Youre's was fed on around the uders so I would guess it was a smaller animal that did the eating since the flesh is softer and easier for the animal to get a bite of.. But who knows for sure without actually seeing it happen...

As far as cattle or calves not being eaten on by coyotes maybe due to the coyotes haveing another food source to rely on first..

A few years back I had Roede along with me in my calling area and showed him where there was a dead cow, he said I should keep a eye on it and if coyotes start to feed on it they willbe bedded close by and would be a good place to call.. I watched that dead cow for some time and there was very little feeding done on it by coyotes. I decided to go in one day and call the pasture anyway.. I set up on a small hillside with a revine in front of me and a bigger drainage on the otherside of the next hill...
I had a coyote come in from the big drainage that stopped on next hill in front of me.. I took the shot and the coyote ran down the hill into the small drainage in front of me where it died.. I got up to go get the coyote and found another dead cow in the bottom of the small drainage that was fed on pretty good. Now I know why they did'nt feed on the cow closer to the road..

Image

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 3:05 am
by DustyC
I would still keep an eye on that cow. Even though they aren't eating on her coyotes will still visit the carcass. We run about 600 head of mother cows and 500 yearlings and I still have yet to see a coyote eat a lightning struck cow.(I guess they don't care for BBQ.)
I don't think that human scent around the cow is that big of a deal especially if the coyote hasn't had a bad experience with people (pinched by a trap, winded and shot at, etc) I have had to pull calves out of cows and do emergency C-Sections in the pasture and had the cow die and the next morning the cow was half gone.

DustyC

Re: New guy needs advice

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:53 am
by leadbiscuit
Tim

That coyote sure does blend in nice with that grass. Good stuff. Thanks for posting it.

Dusty

For a little while after high school I worked for a local guy who ran a 150 cows. He didn't feed out the yearlings. That was a good sized operation around here. I work in a welding shop in town these days and help my stepfather keep his little bunch of 40 mixed breed cows going so the folks have a reasonable income.
I suspect you have nearly as many bulls as we do cows. I don't even want to know how many miles of fence you have to keep up.

leadbiscuit