Looking to hunt soon

J

Jefflesh

New Member
Oct 16, 2013
14
0
0
Hello everyone.

Looking for some help.

I am relatively new to the area and looking to coyote hunt in the near future with my 14 year old son. We are completing our hunting classes next week and have a .223 that we have been practicing with. I have a 300 win mag I will be picking up this week.

We are from Michigan and I have bow hunted in Michigan but that was many years ago. I knew places to go in Michigan and the techniques for deer hunting. We spent a lot of time scouting and shooting.

We plan to start off coyote hunting and hopefully deer hunting next year. Anyways, I am looking for some more info on coyote hunting in southern California. Not sure what areas are better than others, signs to look for, tracking techniques, etc... I would imagine water sources are something to keep an eye out for, but aside from that I am not sure where to go.

Also, are there better times of the year to hunt? Is November too late to hunt?

I live in the southern part of Orange County and am open to driving for a few hours to get to better hunting grounds. We have camping gear too so over night camps are not an issue.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff
 
Good plan dogs are safe until I tag out or eat my tag (I hope I don't eat this tag.)
 
Thanks for the reply.

Any advice on some area to go hunting? Also, is November to late in the year to be going hunting? Sorry for the basic questions but I am new to hunting coyotes and new to hunting in California.

Also, are there shotgun only locations in Cali?

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff
 
get the BLM & Cleveland National Forest Maps everything on CNF that is green is huntable. BLM is normally huntable.
stay away from any buildings, parking lots, picnic areas, roads at a minimum of 150 yards. Read all the reg's on the fish & wildlife web site. as much as you can stand.
get the Hunter Safety course, practice at the range with a qualified instructors. on gun handling & safety. get some camo for the both of you. watch lots of videos.
keep it talking with the locals & post lots of pictures. Good Luck Man.

LBH2
 
Jefflesh said:
Thanks for the reply.

Any advice on some area to go hunting? Also, is November to late in the year to be going hunting? Sorry for the basic questions but I am new to hunting coyotes and new to hunting in California.

Also, are there shotgun only locations in Cali?

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff
Click to expand...

Yes there are shot gun only ares. Grab up some maps and start nerding out. We still got a lot of hunting left don't worry about it being November the license is good to July
 
Jeff,

I would recommend using a quality hollow point bullet that shoots well out of your particular .223. The only way to do this is to try bullets in different weights and by different manufacturers. Stay away from full metal jacket or any ballistic tip that fragments on impact. As long as you don't plan on keeping the fur it is fine to shoot coyotes with the .300 Win Mag. If you have a 12 Ga shotgun it is a plus when hunting tight cover or when hunting with a partner. One person carries the rifle and the other carries the shotgun for any coyotes that come in close and fast. If you do have a shotgun I can point you in the right direction as far as load and choke combinations go. There are shotgun only areas in California and they tend be places that are closer to residential areas or somewhere that gets heavy foot traffic etc...

As far as locating places to hunt coyotes and the coyotes themselves the following should help. If you have a smart phone buy the Trimble GPS Hunt Pro application and then buy the public land subscription. This will provide a color coded map for the entire western United States and you will be able to see public land, national forest, private land etc... this will help you choose places to scout. As far as locating coyote goes you just have to hit the back roads and look for sign such as scat and foot prints. A good method would be to drive the areas you intend to hunt before sunrise and howl to see if you get a response back. If you do get a response then call the area at sunrise. Water sources are a good thing to keep an eye out for but I have called many coyotes in areas where I have not located the water source. When I'm scouting an area to hunt I look for places that I can get into without disturbing the area too much prior to calling. I also like to sit down in an area that has some elevation and good visibility so that I can see any approaching coyotes. Wind direction is critical with coyotes because of how well they smell so make sure to keep the wind in your face when you are calling or set up in a crosswind and pay careful attention to the downwind side. Most but not all coyotes will try to get the wind as they approach your setup so that they can smell what they are coming in to. Keep in mind that just because an area is not productive one day doesn't mean that it won't produce the next day. As far as time of the year goes October through February seems to be the best because the weather is colder and they respond well to distress calls. Spring and summer can be good as well but I tend to change up my tactics and use coyote vocalizations during those times.

I'm not sure what you have in the way of predator calls but hand calls and electronic callers are both effective. I personally use my electronic caller most of the time and I feel that if you are planning on spending a lot of time calling coyotes that an e-caller is a good investment. Feel free to ask if there are any other questions you have.

-Josh Pearson
 
Josh Pearson said:
Jeff,

I would recommend using a quality hollow point bullet that shoots well out of your particular .223. The only way to do this is to try bullets in different weights and by different manufacturers. Stay away from full metal jacket or any ballistic tip that fragments on impact. As long as you don't plan on keeping the fur it is fine to shoot coyotes with the .300 Win Mag. If you have a 12 Ga shotgun it is a plus when hunting tight cover or when hunting with a partner. One person carries the rifle and the other carries the shotgun for any coyotes that come in close and fast. If you do have a shotgun I can point you in the right direction as far as load and choke combinations go. There are shotgun only areas in California and they tend be places that are closer to residential areas or somewhere that gets heavy foot traffic etc...

As far as locating places to hunt coyotes and the coyotes themselves the following should help. If you have a smart phone buy the Trimble GPS Hunt Pro application and then buy the public land subscription. This will provide a color coded map for the entire western United States and you will be able to see public land, national forest, private land etc... this will help you choose places to scout. As far as locating coyote goes you just have to hit the back roads and look for sign such as scat and foot prints. A good method would be to drive the areas you intend to hunt before sunrise and howl to see if you get a response back. If you do get a response then call the area at sunrise. Water sources are a good thing to keep an eye out for but I have called many coyotes in areas where I have not located the water source. When I'm scouting an area to hunt I look for places that I can get into without disturbing the area too much prior to calling. I also like to sit down in an area that has some elevation and good visibility so that I can see any approaching coyotes. Wind direction is critical with coyotes because of how well they smell so make sure to keep the wind in your face when you are calling or set up in a crosswind and pay careful attention to the downwind side. Most but not all coyotes will try to get the wind as they approach your setup so that they can smell what they are coming in to. Keep in mind that just because an area is not productive one day doesn't mean that it won't produce the next day. As far as time of the year goes October through February seems to be the best because the weather is colder and they respond well to distress calls. Spring and summer can be good as well but I tend to change up my tactics and use coyote vocalizations during those times.

I'm not sure what you have in the way of predator calls but hand calls and electronic callers are both effective. I personally use my electronic caller most of the time and I feel that if you are planning on spending a lot of time calling coyotes that an e-caller is a good investment. Feel free to ask if there are any other questions you have.

-Josh Pearson
Click to expand...

Josh

good post man, how long you have been using Trimble GPS Hunt Pro. Is it very accurate.
always good to learn new tactics. Problem is I don't use a smart phone. it does not get reception where I go.
 
I have been using it for a little over a year and a half and it has been very accurate and helpful for determining land boundaries. I do have issues with the smartphone not getting cell service when I get too far off the main road and when that happens I can't view the map. There is an elite membership that you can buy from Trimble and that will allow you to save the map of the area you will be hunting ahead of time so that when you lose cell service you will still be able to view the saved map on your phone. I think I'm going to purchase this feature until I can afford to buy a handheld GPS and then buy maps for the handheld from someone like Kirsches Trax Maps or Hunting GPS Maps.
 
Josh

Thats cool, thanks for the update.

have you tried the cheap calling methods with MP3 distress calls. I downloaded a few but for deer hunting.
 
Josh,

Wow, thanks for all the great info. I downloaded Trimble pro and purchased the elite membership to be covered when off the trail too much. We go wheeling in Jeeps a lot and cell service always drops out so I want to be able to have maps on me when that happens.

In regards to the electronic caller, what one do you use? I'm interested in getting one but I want to make sure that I get a good one. I do have a hand caller now, I have to practice on it a little as it doesn't sound to natural.

Longbow, have you had any luck with the MP3 calling method? I downloaded a calling app for my iPhone called iHunt. I'll have to start playing with it a little and see how it does.

Thanks again for your replies!

Sincerely,

Jeff
 
longbowhunter2 said:
Josh

Thats cool, thanks for the update.

have you tried the cheap calling methods with MP3 distress calls. I downloaded a few but for deer hunting.
Click to expand...


I have not tried the MP3 method but as long as you can play the sound loud enough it should work just fine.


Jefflesh said:
Josh,

Wow, thanks for all the great info. I downloaded Trimble pro and purchased the elite membership to be covered when off the trail too much. We go wheeling in Jeeps a lot and cell service always drops out so I want to be able to have maps on me when that happens.

In regards to the electronic caller, what one do you use? I'm interested in getting one but I want to make sure that I get a good one. I do have a hand caller now, I have to practice on it a little as it doesn't sound to natural.

Longbow, have you had any luck with the MP3 calling method? I downloaded a calling app for my iPhone called iHunt. I'll have to start playing with it a little and see how it does.

Thanks again for your replies!

Sincerely,

Jeff
Click to expand...

I use the FOXPRO Fury with the Foxjack decoy and I'm very happy with that setup. I also have the entry level model called the Spitfire and have called many predators with it. The Spitfire is no longer in production and has been replaced by the Wildfire. I don't mean to sound like a FOXPRO fanboy but they are constantly pushing the envelope of innovation in the predator hunting industry and their customer service is top notch. There are lots of options and good choices by different manufactures when it comes to e-callers but I would take a look at all of FOXPRO's different models and pick the one that best suits your needs.
 
Jefflesh said:
Josh,

Wow, thanks for all the great info. I downloaded Trimble pro and purchased the elite membership to be covered when off the trail too much. We go wheeling in Jeeps a lot and cell service always drops out so I want to be able to have maps on me when that happens.

In regards to the electronic caller, what one do you use? I'm interested in getting one but I want to make sure that I get a good one. I do have a hand caller now, I have to practice on it a little as it doesn't sound to natural.

Longbow, have you had any luck with the MP3 calling method? I downloaded a calling app for my iPhone called iHunt. I'll have to start playing with it a little and see how it does.

Thanks again for your replies!

Sincerely,

Jeff
Click to expand...


Jeff, how did the ihunt app work out for you? I came across it yesterday and download it but wondering if it's any good.
 
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