Those pesky varmints!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dogfish]

Anyone out there like to hunt coyotes or other vermin? What type of set up do you use, calls, decoys, etc?

I hunt coyotes with a number of rifles, depending on the situation. I have used both mouth blown and electronic calls with good results, and have used a number of different types of decoys as well.

Andy

[birdhunter]

Oh man! Predator Calling. Don't even get me started. I love that stuff. I live for it in December and January. I mostly call in coyotes, but I've also taken plenty of badger, bobcat, and raccoon. I love calling at night for 'coons in some of the river bottoms. Set up an electronic caller w/ a flicker in distress and sit back w/ a flood light. I like the red lights okay, but I've found that amber works pretty well too. And yes I am licensed to hunt/trap furbearers, so I am legal.

For calls I like the electronic Johnny Stewart caller and tapes. I also have some hand blown Sceery calls too. I've got so many stories of other stuff coming in too. Hawks and owls diving for my head and deer and elk coming in to kick my a**!

For a rifle, I usually stick w/ something really simple and small. Ruger 10/22. Only close range head shots as I sell most of my pelts. Can't afford to rip holes in them from 400 yrds. All my western calling means if I can see the animal they are already well within 100 yrds. If it is just nuisance work during the summer I like a 12 ga w/ buckshot or BBB's for close in. A .270 works for anything outside of 40 yrds.

Can't wait for the seasons to open up and hides to get prime. Just one more distraction to the rest of my hunting and fishing exploits.

[birdhunter]

Look what you started! Gotta brag now.

Biggest critters so far - Got one raccoon two years ago that went 32 lbs. We grow them big in Oregon. Most of mine average over 20 lbs.

Bobcats are great in this state 'cause the come in all kinds of colors. I've killed reddish, tan, grey and chocolate brown cats. There seem to be different varites in all parts of the state. Anyways, I got one last winter that went 25 lbs. That is a huge bobcat for western Oregon. He'd been coming in and killing domestic geese at this ranch for a week before I finally called him in. That was one fat cat.

Coyotes aren't too much to brag about for size, but the numbers are okay. One weekend in Beattes Butte last fall we killed 27 of the fawn-killing suckers.

Oh man, I got to get back into this. What stories ya'll got?

[Tilla]

I never done it, but your enthusiasm has got me intrigued. If they only would add 2 or 3 more months into a year... [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Zen Leecher aka Bill W]

I use a mouth call for my coyote hunting. I like the old Weems calls as that's the one I first had success with.

I would like to get a CD caller as I think they'd have less background noise than a tape player call... but guess I need to be satisfied with my mouth call.

I've used guns from a .22 RF with Stingers up to a slightly loaded down .22-250. Shot coyotes while big game hunting with my 7mm Mauser and it sure puts them down.

What I'm currently using is a .222 Remington that's been loaded down. I've even got a lead slug load for that gun that hits to the same point of impact as the jacketed ammo.

In theory (mine) the lead slugs should do better than FMJs as it has a flat tip for transmitting more shock. The 55 grain lead slugs skip out at about 2300 fps... a slightly faster version of the .22 RF Magnum.

I'd like to call bears and cougars and may get a chance to do cougars later this year in eastern WA. I'd use a .243 for them.

[Dogfish]

My favorite hunting site was behind my neighbors house. I was in the city and his house was in the county, just across the road. His dog had been mauled by "something" and he lost a cat. He was really upset about the dog. I told him that I hunt coyotes, so he gave me permission.

I set up a speaker hooked to a tape recorder, and hid behind the woodpile. In three consecutive nights I got three coyotes at a range of about 7 yards, all headshots, with that Aguila subsonic sniper .22LR ammo. 60 grain bullets!

I most use mouth blown calls, either Lohman or the Sceery calls, but I will always pick up a new call that I don't have. It is nice to switch calls each time you go into an area so you don't educate the coyotes.

I will use my SKS on the bigger animals, like coyotes, but I have taken quite a few with my .22 mag. My little .44 mag with FMJ flatpoints (rainier bullets 240 grain) just pokes a small hole through them, and doesn't cause a lot of pelt damage.

We can hunt coyotes in most of the state year round up here, so if I get bored, I just grab the camo and head out.

One of my favorites is barn pigeons, aka rock doves. I have used this service to dairy farmers as a way to get permission to hunt ducks and other animals on their property. I usually use my Webley Patriot .22 cal pellet rifle with a 4x Beeman scope. This isn't one of those sissy daisy BB guns. It will shoot a 12 grain pellet out at about 950 FPS, and I can cleanly take birds in excess of 40 yards. (Bill W will attest to that) My hunting partner and I have even mounted TAC lights with pressure switches on them so we can go into the barns before we go duck hunting and clear out the pigeons on the roost. My best is 24 in a morning. Body shots are the rule, but when needed, I can take head shots routinely out as far as 35 yards, sometimes further.

Andy