I do love to listen to coyotes yip and howl at night. I never want to live somewhere that I can’t hear that sound. There have been plenty of rabbits out on the prairie, and I think that’s allowed the coyote population to climb.
I’m not a hard-core coyote hunter. I know quite a few guys who go out every chance they can to hunt coyotes, and they’ll come back from a hunt with several pelts. First of all, I’m not good enough with a call to fool that many ‘yotes. I can call in the odd stupid coyote once in a while – the ones that aren’t smart enough to know the difference between an actual dying rabbit and my poor imitation of one.
I also haven’t put the work in to find places to hunt coyotes those other guys have. Most of the serious coyote hunters I know have lists of ranchers who have given them permission to hunt, and they rotate through those lists scientifically to maximize their chances of calling in as many critters as possible each time they go out. I usually just head to a chunk of public land somewhere, try to conceal myself as well as I can, and start calling.
But lately, I’ve been getting an itch to do it a little more strategically. There’s a large chunk of private land south of my house where I’ve heard coyotes calling each night. Last time I talked to the owner, he said he’d be open to me hunting out there. And the most recent dusting of snow revealed a roadmap of coyote prints going in and out of those sections of land. I think it’s time I officially ask permission to hunt there.
I’m assembling my white gear and snow camo, and I’ve been practicing with my call and reading up on coyote setups. I only need a couple of ‘yotes to scratch this itch. I’m not greedy. Besides, I still want to hear some of them howling at night.
