gonna try to do some yote hunting this weekend @croom wma. I got a digital call with remote (it is legal for this wma) and gonna bring my shotgun and sidearm.
Never been varmint hunting before, any tips would be welcome.
what type of shot should I use? I was gonna bring 00 buck (hog and yotes?) and some 6 shot (for squirrel or rabbit). Unless I should bring something else I dont know.
Thanks
G
That 00 will do the trick if you're gun holds a decent pattern. Good luck!
check you regs on that oo buck,
Get the wind rite , its nice to have it hitting you in the face or a good cross wind.
Set the caller out in front of yea 20,30 yards.
If you don't have caller that's remote then set it out as far as you speaker cord will let yea .
Trick is to have them looking at the caller on the way in and not you.
decoy works well even if it just a feather on a string hanging and twirling in the wind . again to keep his eyes of you and sometimes a decoy will pull a coyote the last couple yards so you can bust that primer on him.
If you cant hunt nights, Mid day calling works but early mornings and late afternoons are best if you cant hunt nights.
Calling open areas it the trick , try and call them up out of the brush, this is only because it will give you better opportunities at a good shot. and some time they come in fast so if you set up in the thicket be ready.
there are many chokes out there dedicated for coyotes but I use a super full turkey choke and #4 buck . we cant use 00 here in PA .
noise is what kills a set up get in quite and set up quite, you never know how far off they are when you start your calling so start off low and gradually increase the sound over time.
time on a calling stand for coyotes ? well what ever your comfortable with sitting , me and most guys that target predators dont ever really stay on stand for coyotes for more then 15,20 min.
most of the time they will come direct!!
sounds , stay with you distress sounds for now .
baby rabbit
bird distress
fawn distress
rodent sounds
these sound will be your go to sounds .
tune on your caller and let it run the hole time your on stand
i am guessing you cant use a rifle . if you can lot of use guys carry a rifle and a shot gun on stand .
well, be safe and good luck
Big George
ps sorry about my bad spelling
So, I took my daughter with me out to Croom. Got her license taken care of the night before (it was a surprise when she asked to go hunting with me!). We got up early and headed up I75. New batteries in the call, got some #4buck 3" magnum shells for the Mossy 12 ga. a couple bags of ice in the cooler, snacks and samitches for on the stand. We get off the highway, and a quick nature break when it dawns on me, I didnt check to see if I had my license. I opened my backpack (where my license should be) and crap! its not in my backpack.! A quick search and realized I think I left it on the night stand. So punch up wal-mart on the GPS, and it takes me 20 minutes away from Croom. We truck out to wally-world, get to the sporting goods desk, and ask the clerk if I could get a re-print. He says ok, and $5.00 later I am out the door with my hunting and trapping license re-prints. Had to stop and get gas in the truck or we would be stranded somewhere on croom. We truck back to croom and now its about 9:00 am. Figured what the heck might as well give it the old college try, so i get my daughter loaded up, put the stuff in the bucket and off we go down the trail.
We find a nice clearing with palmetos and light underbrush, we set up in a patch of palmetoes on the upwind side, I set the call out about 30 yards, get back to the blind, and wait 5 min. before turning on the call. Listening to nature and getting an idea of what sounds were going on around us. I flick on the dying rabbit call, and with in 2 minutes a few Blue-jays flew in making a ruckus! Off in the distance I hear a red-tailed hawk coming our way. He lands in the tree directly above the call. A minute later I hear another red-tailed hawk coming in, she lands in the tree next to the other hawk. No other sounds are made, and no other animals come in. After 30 minutes, I turn off the call and we go to find another spot.
We walk down the trail and come to a bigger clearing, and we jump two does. We walk a little further, find a nice clearing, and palmetoes, we set the blind up, set out the call, wait 5 minutes. and flick on the call. 5 minutes go by, NOTHING, another 5 minutes go by NOTHING. its now getting to be about 10:30. We wait another 5 minutes and decided to pack it in. We head back to the truck and head for home. On the way we stop by the gun range and shoot for an hour, just to say we shot something 🙂
Oh well maybe next time!
Thought you were going to say the only thing you called up was bikers and horse people. I have tried Croom 3yrs in a row now with the bird dog and the only thing I ran into was bikers right out in the middle of the blocks and my bird dog (English pointer) has a habit of chasing anything on a bike. Last year took us three hrs to find her but had orders from ma ma don't come home without her baby. Can remember hunting in there in the 70s and never saw anyone else but not now. Awsome taking your daughter in giving her the experience even if you didn't see what you went after. Any day you can see deer is a good day!!
