This is topic Pre-season scouting in forum Predator forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 02, 2009, 01:35 PM:
I took a little trip to Pierre S.D. this week for the V.H. Jambore and visited with some of the local coyote callers and then moved on to my hunting area.. I did abunch of locateing of old hunting areas and checked out some new places to hunt this fall... One of the roads i use to get through the area had part of it washed out by the river so they just moved the road over.. I talked with a few ranchers and they said the calf crop was good and not much problems with the coyotes this year, they had a few good rains and the grass and clover was doing pretty good also..
I went to one ranch to do a little calling and get tuned up for the season plus the rancher has a few too many coyote around and liked it if i would thin a few out..
First stand i called in a single male coyote and could not get him to come past the 300 yd mark so i let him have it with a 25 gr. hornady..
I then moved down the driveway to an area where i located a group of coyotes. They sounded like they where out there aways so i had to hoof it in about a half mile and set up a stand. I called to them for about 4 minutes and had three come running in to the bottom of a drainage and i took the one that presented me with a broadside shot. The remaining two ran back up over the hill so i turned the caller back on and played a few different tunes and finally got a second one to come in which circled down wind of the one i killed earlier and then ran up to it.
I squeezed off a 30 gr. burger and down it went with a little bit of a flag wave.LOL I continued to call but could'nt get the third one to come back in, oh well i'll come back this fall and see if it wants to play then..
I forgot the Camera back at the truck so i walked out to get it and take a few pic's of the double and the country side..
It was getting close to noon so i called it a day and headed for home. It was around 11:00 P.M. when i got close to home so i decided to swing by a spot that i located a coyote in this summer and see if i could get it to howl. As i moved into the area i had abunch of eyes on the road in front of me which turned out to be 4 coyote pups playing grab ass on the road. I tried to get some pic's but it was too dark and the camera would'nt work.. Maybe i'll see them again this fall when they are a little bigger..
Here are a few pic's, Enjoy... http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/TA17Rem/scenicpic1011.jpg[/IMG]]
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/TA17Rem/scenicpic1009.jpg[/IMG]]
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/TA17Rem/scenicpic1007.jpg[/IMG]]
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/TA17Rem/scenicpic1006.jpg[/IMG]]
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/TA17Rem/scenicpic1004.jpg[/IMG]]
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on August 02, 2009, 11:24 PM:
Nice pics. I know right where that is.
Good hunting. LB
edit: Let's have a little input on what preseason scouting is, to you?
[ August 02, 2009, 11:26 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on August 03, 2009, 03:14 AM:
Preseason scouting is the time to find new areas and to fine tune stand locations in known areas. Preseason success is not measured by body count, so what little off season calling I do is to the camera, bow, or .38 revolver.
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 03, 2009, 08:03 PM:
After hunting the same areas and same stands for 30 years now, I've learned that the coyotes will be where they've historically always been come late October/ early November, so for me, right now, preseason work consists of trying to catch landowners between working wheat stubble ground down, cutting beans and milo, and planting wheat down the line to reaffirm past permissions, open up new contacts, identify which properties have changed hands since last year and the like. Any actual field time is spent assessing land use practices for changes from last year. I try to spend some time working old honey holes from different angles to see if I can find a new setup for those places, but this time of the year, it's absolutely miserable out there with skeeters, ticks, and chiggers. But, occasionally you find a spot to call from that's better than the one you've used for years. One particluar patch in particular is always a big producer, but if it's in milo now, it'll be a bitch to get a good shot in later, but about every third year, he puts it into beans which means the entire friggin' place will be one big shooting lane come first frost. Alweays good for a couple coyotes and a 'cat if you're patient.
I'll start doing some howl surveys in the next couple weeks, but more as a matter of determining relative increases and decreases in the numbers responding from years past at this same time rather than being concerned with where they answer me from. Besides, it gives me something to do to scratch the itch.
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 03, 2009, 08:04 PM:
Oh, and Tim, great pics. Great views. I don't have anything that evenb remotely resembles that around here. Everywhere you look, there's a gawddamned tree in the way.
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 03, 2009, 09:15 PM:
LOL Lance. Its nice not to have any tree's or heavey brush in the way..
I thought maybe someone would catch on to the pic's i took where the dead coyotes are laying.
This is the same area i called a large group in at this time last year when i was out scoutting. I also posted some pic's from this winter of the same area i took coyotes out of...Only difference is i moved my stand out a little farther for a better veiw of the area..
You are right most of the coyotes seem to hang to the same areas every year with a few groups moveing a few miles away every year. But come fall maybe these will move back into where i saw them the year before..
Whats good about pre-season scoutting is you can find out if the numbers are up or down or even the same. And when locateing you can get a general idea of the ages of the coyotes and if any other areas have been filled in or maybe there where some coyotes missed from last time..
At the moument the coyotes are looking good and i did'nt see any with mange but that nasty stuff can show up anytime..
Posted by J_hun (Member # 872) on August 05, 2009, 05:42 AM:
Tim, Looks like you were on the Cherry Creek road. If you run accross some shooting sticks , they are mine.
Posted by Randy Roede (Member # 1273) on August 05, 2009, 07:37 PM:
Also your video camera
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 05, 2009, 08:00 PM:
I did see a vidio CAM resting on a pair of shooting sticks, but i thought it was one of those Geico commercials so i just kept walking..
Posted by J_hun (Member # 872) on August 06, 2009, 09:15 PM:
I'm never going to live that down am I?
Posted by Andy L (Member # 642) on August 07, 2009, 12:38 AM:
Lance, dont you live in Kansas? You dont know what a tree is. Come down here and hunt and I will show you some. LMAO
I heard they used to have a National Forrest in Kansas but some SOB cut down the tree....
Seriously, there is some damn good lookin country around you. That river bottom that runs along the interstate, I think that was near Abiline, with alot of big timber, looks like great deer habitat. Actually, we saw some good ones on the way to CO elk huntin a couple years ago in that area.
Tim, I always wanted to hunt stuff like that. Dont reckon you would want to take me would ya?
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 07, 2009, 02:25 AM:
Anytime Andy...
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on August 07, 2009, 10:11 AM:
Andy, only if you volunteer to be the one standing with the speaker over your head, slowly turning so you project the sound in every direction. Sounds a little luni, but Tim swears by it.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by Joel Hughes (Member # 384) on August 07, 2009, 11:54 AM:
And Andy, only if you volunteer to knock some damn sense into his "Obama not all bad" attitude.
Posted by Paul Melching (Member # 885) on August 07, 2009, 02:58 PM:
Joel
Obamas not all bad for a jug eared pig eyed piece of shit socialist!
edit) not because I cant spell but I dont type well.
[ August 07, 2009, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: Paul Melching ]
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 07, 2009, 09:18 PM:
Andy,
Sounds like you drove through my backyard. We do have some good looking country, and that fact's not lost on a lot of different coyote hunting types. I work around that and do okay. And you're right, if you saw river bottoms, there are three different rivers that criscross the Interstate right in my area, so you were here. And yes, they have some deer, but the better deer are well south of me and well north about the same distance.
Next time you're passing by, you need to let me know. There's plenty of room out front of the house to park your truck for a spell.
Posted by Randy Roede (Member # 1273) on August 08, 2009, 06:05 AM:
Then after you have held the speaker up over your head on that WT after each stand the two most common words in your vocabulary will be, WHAT!!!! and HUHHHH!!!!
Jerry, you need to leave a few things to replace all that you have found on the prairie, a 100 years from now those will be artifacts.
Posted by furhvstr (Member # 1389) on August 18, 2009, 09:45 PM:
Haven't posted in awhile.
Been out scouting a little. This desert I live in lives and dies with rainfall. First step for me is to pay attention to precipitation in different areas begining with the late winter rains and through the spring. Spend time out in the field and get a feel for it's level of "healthiness". Critters need feed so I pay attention to rodent and rabbit activity/abundance. Drive roads and walk washes looking for varmint tracks. I hunt and trap bobcats primarily but end up getting a feel for the coyote population as well.
My favorite thing to do is to set up trail cams and get videos like these. I hope you enjoy them.



[ August 18, 2009, 09:48 PM: Message edited by: furhvstr ]
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 23, 2009, 12:00 AM:
I did a little more locateing last nite in a different area and found a few. I had one in the crp about 50 yds from the truck when it howled back. That one was so close it scared the heck out of me..LOL I also went back to one of the other areas i located in earlier this summer and the coyote was still in the same general area..
Some say they spend the summer and fall in the corn but so far i have found thats not the case in my area. I guess they could be spending the days layed up in the corn but at nite i'm still finding them in the CRP.
I have had one pair that has not been answering back when locateing at nite, not sure if i over howled the area or maybe they got spooked from me being in the area trying to call them and they moved out of the section or maybe just not answering or the kids that are out in the same area drinking and ditch jumping may have also got them spooked.. I will go back there later at a different time and see what happens..
Posted by Andy L (Member # 642) on August 23, 2009, 08:07 AM:
Lance, thanks for the invite. I intend to do that. Actually, the last time I passed through there I was on my way to St Francis. I stopped in Abiline for fuel. I thought about trying to look you up, but I was runnin late. I was supposed to meet Danny for the meeting. As it would have it, I beat him there by a couple hours so I should have looked you up.
I will try and plan to do it next time.
Posted by Randy Roede (Member # 1273) on August 23, 2009, 10:59 AM:
Oh Furh. that looks like cat set!! Interesting how tight he works thru those rocks etc. Especially the second pic and how trap placement would be used. A walk thru set if i have ever seen one.
Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 23, 2009, 03:24 PM:
For future reference, Andy, I'm about three minutes from the stop sign at the bottom of the off ramp. Easy to find. In fact, I don't know where you got gas, but I can likely see their sign from my backyard.
Posted by Greenside (Member # 10) on August 23, 2009, 06:16 PM:
"I guess they could be spending the days layed up in the corn but at nite i'm still finding them in the CRP."
You're getting close to being on the right track.
Edit: Tim, Yes it's daytime cover, but initially it's 24 hour cover for the litter when the adults move them there. Sometime when you locate vocal pups in corn, take a daytime walk out there and if you look in the back corners or low area's where the corn drowned you'll probably find their playgrounds. Just because the litter is in the corn it doesn't mean the adults won't leave it at night for hunting etc. They might return several times during the coarse of the night or for sure after daylight to watch the pups. Later in the summer the pups will be more mobile and might also leave the corn with the adults for hunting but ultimatelyl return to spend their day in the corn. If you keep track of them during the summer you'll find they might be in one location(core area)for a week or so and then the next week they might move on to be adjacent to fresh mowed hay or something else. Keep that in mind if you want to shoot summer coyote.
Dennis
[ August 24, 2009, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: Greenside ]
Posted by furhvstr (Member # 1389) on August 24, 2009, 06:59 PM:
Absolutly Randy!
A traditional set would never have gotten him.
Too bad I can't use leg holds anymore.
Posted by Kelly Jackson (Member # 977) on August 24, 2009, 07:12 PM:
thanks for the cat pics.
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on August 24, 2009, 07:33 PM:
Thanks for the tips Dennis. I don't plan on going after any till a week or two before bird season or if the beans are taken out early then i might.. Want to get after them before all the farmer and hunter traffic starts to see if it makes any difference..
Posted by Greenside (Member # 10) on August 25, 2009, 07:31 AM:
Tim
Here's a tip about locating that you might already know? There's talk about how long you should wait for vocal responses when trying to locate. No doubt that it can take quite awhile in some cases, but the flip side is that when using some of the serenade, chorus, sirens or group yip howl type sounds that by the time you’re done playing them the coyotes have already vocalized and you’ll think you’re not getting any responses. Think about coyote howling back to some of those small town curfew sirens. Do they wait 15 minutes to respond or are they hitting back to it right now?
One solution for this has been that we’ll drop a partner off a half mile or more down the road or at least walk a ways down the road to listen while the other tries to do the locating. That way the responses aren’t drowned out by the locator. That comes in handy especially when you absolutely have to locate possible problem coyote. Another way is to start with a locator sound that is not continuous. Maybe something like an AFC, or some type of lone howl that would have a least a short pauses in them that you could hear a possible response between the series. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you’re alone start out with something short even if it’s just a siren and then after a couple of minutes give them a full blown locator sound. IMHO
Dennis
[ August 25, 2009, 07:36 AM: Message edited by: Greenside ]
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