Any type of hunting that is open all year (with a few exceptions) and has no bag limit provides hours of enjoyment. Not to mention a chance to put some rounds downrange and brush up your shooting skills. Coyote hunting can provide this, and the end of winter is often most productive. While wily coyotes will travel to great lengths and go after easy and promising prey during this time, their uncanny senses can make them hard quarry. Any mistakes and they will pick up on your presence and skedaddle. 

Coyote hunting can be a wildly expensive sport to enter if you let it. Start with the basics and build from there. The same straight-shooting rifle used for deer hunting often works okay for coyote hunting when just starting out. I will not get into calibers in this article, but encourage you to dive deep into information when looking for a rifle that’s best for your area of hunting. 

Mount a good-quality scope on your rifle if hunting areas where long distant shots will be taken. A good tripod or bipod substantially increase success rate and accuracy on coyotes. A mouth call is cheap, but a good electronic call is great to have as well. Either will work depending on your budget. Don’t allow finances as a barrier for entry. Borrow or buy what you can and work up from there as your interest in coyote hunting grows.

You might find that permission to hunt coyotes may be much easier than deer or turkey hunting, especially if you wait until deer season is closed. Ranchers and farmers sometimes allow coyote hunters on if they have small livestock. Overabundant coyotes can wreak havoc on livestock as well as the deer population through predation of fawns, or any other animal they can successfully take down. Even small game hunters will not interfere with a predator hunter if primarily hunting during hours of darkness. 

If able, look and scout for places with large open fields. These fields give you a large area to cover and are also home to many mice and other small creature that coyote prey on. Coyotes often range through forested parcels and are more eager to come out into open areas looking for small rodents and rabbits during overnight hours. 

Most of the coyote’s prey consists of mice, rabbits, rats, and other small rodents. Coyotes will not shy away from roadkill or unattended garbage. They are opportunistic feeders and include birds, armadillos, raccoons, turkeys and deer in their diet. Anything a coyote can find or catch, is going to be on the menu. 

The most efficient way to get coyotes moving is with a predator call of some type. The classic rabbit squall works incredibly well. Ensure that you are properly set up before you start calling, though. Coyotes are very good at identifying when something doesn’t seem right. If you don’t see anything, analyze everything that you’re doing, because it may because they caught on before they were even in your sight. 

Ensure that you are hidden well, and that scent is not wafting into the area you expect coyotes to come from. Also ensure that your calls sound realistic. Don’t be afraid to try different things if at first you don’t succeed, as there is a definite learning curve. 

Coyote fur is an undervalued resource. It can be sold to tanners and at fur auction, but the prices have been down for many years. I have found enjoyment scraping and tanning my own hides. My sewing skills are limited, but I am eager to make myself a solid-looking Jeremiah Johnson coyote hat. Hardly anything I can think of is warmer than fur. Anything that can keep a coyote warm in subzero temperatures is going to keep us warm as well. 

Coyote hunting is extremely addictive and can be an excellent way to stay razor sharp even after deer season has come to an end. Take this as just a short introductory article, and start deep diving on your own for your area. Just like any form of hunting, it takes time and effort to learn. 

Good luck, hunt safe, and follow all rules and regulations.