The Midwest has been dealing with problems concerning coyotes for the past several years as their habitat in the northern United States has expanded. While coyotes tend to be timid around humans, increased interaction has made them less afraid as they continue moving towards residential areas. They mainly pose a threat to pets such as cats and small dogs, but they can also be a danger to children.
Coyote hunting has become a major sport in countries where coyotes are present. People hunt coyotes using different techniques and for different reasons, as coyotes usually attack animals like sheep and goats.
Unfortunately, coyote hunting is a challenge that only a few can maneuver through. For this reason, people have turned to bait this animal rather than hunting it. Baiting is easier and more effective compared to traditional hunting.
TIPS FOR TRAPPING COYOTES
1. An Offer They Can’t Refuse
Ensure you are sure about the laws in your country. The good thing is that baiting coyotes are perfectly legal in most parts of the world. Most coyote hunters find it better to do it under a full moon. They wait until snow covers the fields and go through the harsh midnight temperatures. Using pressure baiting, one can shoot 90 percent of the coyotes a few hours before the temperatures worsen. One must make daily visits and use many baits to build the coyotes’ confidence and ensure they come in large numbers.
2. The Bait Setups
In a basic setup, the bait is placed near the coyotes’ sleeping area.
Position yourself on a tall tree around 80 yards away from the bait.
This is good in case a vigilant coyote decides to turn in the direction of the wind before reaching the bait.
The coyotes prefer taking cover instead of using the wind.
Coyotes have not only great hearing but also excellent eyesight. Staying out of sight is crucial, even your hands and face, and any camouflage pattern that matches the surrounding environment of your baiting area will help. They also have a superb sense of smell, so scent wafers can help.
You can build one on the ground; however, these are usually stationed in trees. Not only will you need a comfortable spot out of sight to lie in wait for your prey, but you will also want to position it to make sure that the coyote doesn’t pick up your scent. Once he picks up your scent, all of the camouflage on the planet won’t help one bit!
It’s a brilliant idea to learn how to understand coyote tracks to track them down and scare them towards the baits. Frequently, landowners and farmers are more than happy to share where they’ve seen coyotes starting trouble.
ENSURING COYOTES COME TO THE BAITS
Many people don’t understand that it’s also essential to call the coyotes to encourage them to come in range. These calls should sound like prey animals around the bait site. Many hunters use calls that resemble the voices of gophers or mice.
There are three types of coyote calls:
- The “mouth-blown” calls.
- The “howling” calls.
- The electronic calls.
Electronic coyote calls are quickly becoming preferred in the last few years because of the innovations of electronic sound storage. Despite the best coyote call, attracting a cunning carnivore is challenging, and you may find that it takes more than a few baiting trips to calculate which method works best. Practice makes perfect.
Many hunters always find their game too close for comfort. Coyotes are threatening; to such a degree, their reduced fear of people is obvious and startling. The most effective way to hunt a coyote is by stalking it first. However, this is easier said than done.
BACKING UP YOUR BAIT
Coyotes may be trapped in a way they may escape, and hence you need a gun to shoot them in such a case. When looking for rifles, you’ll discover that many manufacturers carry separate varminter guns. The varminter guns are crafted explicitly for shooting pests such as coyotes, foxes, and gophers. These rifles are outfitted with specialized ammunition, and their lightweight makes them easily maneuverable.
Other than varminters, a large range of rifles and pistols may be used for coyote shooting, and your choice will depend on your end purpose. Accuracy and trajectory are some of the vital factors in a dependable rifle, and using a big game hunting rifle would be overkill.
Pistols with 223 cartridges work well; however, it is harder with a handgun. When it comes to using rifles, an ordinary choice would be the fast loading 0.22 caliber gun. Just remember though that if you are hunting coyotes for their pelts, a 30/06 gun will wreck the hides, making them unusable.
COYOTE TRAPS
A snare trap is one of the cheapest ways to trap a coyote. It’s often thought of as a trap for small animals, but one can scale up snare traps enough to catch an adult coyote. If all goes well, then the trap will choke them. The snare closes even more as the coyote struggles to escape, hence quickening the process. The snare may miss the neck and catch the limb, which requires you to show up and use a weapon to kill it.
Other types of coyote traps include:
- The leghold trap
- Live cage trap
- Conibear trap
CONCLUSION
Coyotes, similar to dogs, have a better sense of smell than human beings. You may set a trap with the most attractive bait for the coyotes, but if you won’t attract any, the scent is blown into a cliff. Consider the direction of the wind. Use this knowledge to place your baits to ensure that the wind helps to carry the scent over a large area, especially if you place the bait in an area often traveled by coyotes. Coyotes are somewhat lazy and take the path of least resistance when roaming.