New to coyote hunting in Southwestern PA

[clubmkred]

I am a newcomer to both this site and coyote hunting. My wife and I live on a piece if property that is owned by her parents that basically overlooks the city of Pittsburgh. It is roughly 75 acres with some small strips of open fields, but is mostly heavily wooded. We have had coyotes on the property for quite some time. Seeing them frequently and at various times of the day. I have not hunted anything in the last ten years, so I am a little rusty to begin with.

After doing some research on the net. I tried my hand at coyote hunting. Most of my info came from Varmint Al's website. I made the homemade e-caller from an mp3 and Radio Shack parts. Downloaded various calls onto the mp3 and went hunting last Friday with my Winchester 1300 loaded with Dead Coyote Hevi-shot. I put a ladder stand up on the down wind side of the open field and started to call late into the evening. With no luck after an hour into the calling, I came down out of the stand and moved to a corner edge of a small opening that overlooks a steep hillside. I figured the e-caller could broadcast across the valleys it overlooked. I backed myself into the shadows and started the e-caller sequence. Into the fourth or fifth distress call came a coyote darting up over the edge of the hillside. He took two long leaps, ran over my e-caller, and bolted back for the hillside. Needless to say, he caught me completely off guard. I had just enough time to get the gun to my shoulder and fire. I have no idea if I hit him, grazed him or completely missed. I was not prepared for how fast this exchange was going to take place. I read somewhere that when you started calling that you needed to be "prepared to shoot", but I did not realize the full meaning of it. Not only did I teach the coyote something that day, but he taught me quite a few things as well.

Now, after finding the Eastern Coyote site and this forum, I can probably name and list all of the things that I did wrong that day. They are probably too numerous to list. I have been looking around on the site, learning, and have some questions for the experts:

#1 When you say that you are on “stand”, does that mean you are on the ground, in a blind, in a tree stand? What does that term exactly mean?
#2 What are the different seasons in relations to coyotes?  I have heard mention of denning season, mating season, etc. And when are those time in relation to our seasons or months?
#3 In Pennsylvania, it is open coyote season 24/7/365. August is very hot, to say the least. We have been seeing yotes at all times of the day. If I were to continue to hunt them, what are the best calling sounds to use this time of year?

I apologize for such a long post. I will continue to search the forums. Thanks for any help that you can offer.

Ed

[Carolina Coyote]

Welcome to the site Ed, Congratulations on calling up a Coyote on your first outing, It sounds like you learned a lot on the first outing and you are right when you start calling always be prepared to shoot as it can be fast and furious. The stand means when you are "Setup " on the  ground in a tree or where ever. You can find lot of info on this site and lots of help from the guys who hang out here, There are members on this site from Pennsylvania and I sure you will be hearing from them if you hang around, Most of the question you asked are straight forward, Mating season,usually February  & March, denning season follows mating season while raising the young. Lots of guys on here with a lot more knowledge than myself so hang around . cc

[clubmkred]

Thanks for the info. I have been reading a ton of info. Now I have to sort it out as to my situation and terrain.

I am guessing that right now would be denning season. I spoke with a neighbor this morning who reports that he had 6-7 yotes in his back yard before dawn. His dog inside the house was going crazy. When he shined the spotlight out the window, he saw what he thought was a mom with her young. About a week ago, the fire siren blew (around 10 AM) and the yipping that followed was incredible. Sounded like a dozen or more yotes. At least we have some visual confirmation on some numbers.

Going to make sure I am well educated before I attempt another hunt. Going to go and do some scouting today.

[pitw]

Sounds to me like you got the big part of coyote hunting licked .  I sure as [L] ain't going to tell you how to hunt the varmints in your part of the world cause they are a totally different game where you are compared to my spots.  The be ready at the sound of a call is exactly the same though . Missed my share because I wasn't ready also .  Glad to have you around to BS with and hope you enjoy your stay in the asylum .

[slagmaker]

Nope the dens are empty this time of year. The pups are out learning about life right now and they cant do that in a whole in the ground.

Welcome to the sight! I belive you can find a lot of info, data, tricks, tips and some BS in here as well.

[clubmkred]

I would still like to hunt them right now. With the pups out of the dens and learning, would a pup in distress be a good call to use? If I remember correctly, that first coyote came running in on a high pitched squeal. But to be honest, I don't really remember as my adrenaline was so high, a lot of those little details that I could use now are a blank...

[slagmaker]

pup distress is always a good one to use but right now is a great time as the other in the pack want to protect the young and will come a running to see who is putting a whoop up on who

[HuntnCarve]

Hi Ed,

I'm over in the Southeastern corner of the state between Reading and Lebanon.  I grew up 20 miles North of Pittsburgh on the Allegheny river.  All my family is still out there.  Knowing the terrain you are dealing with, I would try and get up in a portable tree stand (or fixed) if there is one availible?  I would use rabbit or fawn distress sounds to start out with.  The tree stand will give you a better vantage point, and allow you to see the coyote possibly before he see's you.  The woods are awful thick this time of year out there.  Watch the wind, and the thermals if you are hunting on the edge of a hill.  Chances are the coyotes are going to try and get down wind of you.  Most guys don't even know they've been busted, and wonder why they don't get any response. So keep the wind in your face.  If they don't come in with the rabbit/fawn distress, that's when I'll give a howl.  Then alittle more rabbit/ or fawn distress.  I'll cut my volume down too.  Hope this helps.  After you get settled in I'll send you a hand call or two to add to your arsenal.   There are folks here with a ton of knowledge that will gladly help you.   Good luck!

HuntnCarve
Dave

[JohnP]

Welcome aboard Ed.  Like was said there are pleanty of guys here with a  lot of knowledge, stick around and add to the conversations.  Puppy in distress is good 12 months out of the year....

[clubmkred]

Thanks to everyone for the greetings. If anyone has any extra tips or tricks for western PA, please feel free to share them. The one thing that I learned the most so far is that experience rules. Went scouting a little today, but the brush is so thick that I really didn't gain any ground. Trails are so overgrown that the only way I could make it through some of it was on my hands and knees. Not very much fun in this hot weather. I didn't go very far.

[coyotehunter_1]

Ed, welcome to FnF.  These fellers will share with you all they know about coyotes and then some. 

Here's a little advice I always like to give to those starting out...
Sometimes all the stars align and the coyotes come easy, other times it seems every critter in the county has gone deaf. Embrace the good times,  don't give up during the hard times. Do your scouting... it pays, learn from mistakes made (both yours and the coyotes) and most importantly enjoy your time in the outdoors. 


Good luck!!!

Chet   

[clubmkred]

Chet, great advice. Believe me, in no way, shape, or form do I feel that skill was involved in the calling of a coyote on my very first hunt. I got lucky, only my luck ran out when I couldn't connect. I have to say that the whole experience was awesome, even though I didn't bag him. My wife was correct when she looked at my face and said, "Oh sh*t, you're hooked..." At least she was smiling when she said it.

Since that day. I had already purchased two hand calls. I bought a Primos Still Cottentail and a Primos Lil Dog. The electronic caller that I built is ok, but I would like to learn more about hand calling. I really like the control that I have seen on some of the demos on the Eastern Coyotes' site. Can you recommend a good "how to" video (or something) to help me learn the skills?

[coyotehunter_1]

How about it guys? 

Can you recommend a good "how to" video (or something) to help me learn the skills?

[Bills Custom Calls]

Welcome to the site
I had asked the question about a video and here is the response I got
I hope you find so good use here

http://forum.finsandfur.net/index.php?topic=12463.0

[HuntnCarve]

Here's a good place to start.  http://www.easterncoyotes.com/

[KySongDog]

And here is the specific video you need to see   

http://www.easterncoyotes.com/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_new.tpl&product_id=21&category_id=6

It is a very good place to start. 


BTW, welcome to FnF.   

[slagmaker]

A bowl of lucky charms cant hurt either....

[FinsnFur]

I just wanna butt in quick and say, welcome to the site Ed. Make yourself at home, literally.
These guys will be like brothers to ya in less then a weeks time

[5 SHOTS]

Welcome to FinsandFur. I can't help you with calling in the east, because out here in eastern Montana it is hard to find a tree.   Some of the people on this site have killed literally hundreds of coyotes and I'm sure they will agree, the adrenalin rush never goes away.   I don't know about over there but where I hunt, you don't need to be real good with a call to get coyotes to respond. Almost anything resembling an animal distress will work here. Even here (where you can see for miles) coyotes seem to just materialize in front of you and catch you off guard.  

[Jimmie in Ky]

You've already done the right thing by checking out Rich's site. As long as you sound similar to what you hear there you will be doing fine even with a Primo's call  Luck is one of those trhings you have to work hard for and it sounds to me like you started out alright. You looked for info before you  really got in deep.

Working the pastures this time of year I like mouse squeaks and baby cottontail. Canine sounds work all year around but will sometimes booger the pups and keep them from coming in. I don't hunt this time of year because of all the heavy cover everywhere. Weed growth can be a hindrance to you and a life saver to them, so watch your setups closely.

Pups will be working those pastures and crp ground for grasshoppers at this time of year. Best and highest protien source they can get right now. Hunting hoppers also teaches them how to hunt. Scats should be black and slick looking. The more scats you find the more they use an area.

Good luck and enjoy your new bad habit  Jimmie