Song Dogs???

[Elvis In Bldg]

Any advice on where to go after coyotes? I'm wanting to get into calling and need some direction on where to go, say within 2 hours of Portland. Hoping to find public land even if it means a lot of walking.

Not looking for your prime spots; just some backups would be great.

[MoJet Driver]

Since I whacked one out of three hunting in the White River unit, just outside of Hood River, I would say they are there and judging by all the scat. Personally I'd like to see them gone so I don't have to drive so far to get a turkey (hint hint).

[Dogfish]

Here is what to look for, terrain wise.

Coyotes love river bottom areas with covered travel corridors. Dairy farms, and other livestock raising areas are worth while.

Coyotes also like areas where prairie and timber meet, or areas of different ages of timber.

Your best bet is to get out of the vehicle, and walk the roads. Look for locked gates that are foot access only, and get back a ways off from the traffic. Look for coyote scat, dog poop with lots of hair in it, and then set up. I usually call for 15 minutes and move, but start out quietly and then build to a higher sound level. Don't call constantly, maybe about every 3 minutes or so, for just about 15 seconds. If there isn't anything for 15 minutes, move on.

I also drop 1" hotdog pieces on my way in to see if something came in the way I did. There have been a number of times that the coyotes have followed the trail of treats right to me.

[Zen Leecher aka Bill W]

Andy,

I was gonna get you to read this last post on coyotes and dairy farms, and then I read who wrote it... ooops..

More info for the dead Elvis.

Areas near poultry farms are also good ones because lots of chickens die in the course of business. They just throw the chickens out somewhere around the edge of the property. Those dumping areas are also good spots.

Any area with a concentration of food will hold coyotes. Food could be rodents, birds, bigger animals, animal food, or.... garbage.

Your local pheasant release areas should have coyotes nearby.

I bet you could even hunt... err... find them within the city limits of Portland.

One thing about westside coyotes, especially the ones real close to the coast. Hides usually are real ratty because of all the wet weather.

Smaller caliber rifles would be the best as you want something that doesn't make all that much noise. Use a .222/.223 or smaller.

I've used things like downloaded .22-250's, the .223 and a .22 Hornet. The Hornet just pokes a little round hole. Andy's even used a .22 rimfire.

[Dogfish]

I have taken a few 'yotes with a .22 LR, but at VERY close range. These were ambush hunts where on the edge of the city limits of Shelton. I was hunting in my neighbor's backyard that had a large field of scotchbroom bordering it. The coyotes were shot at about 20 feet with a 60 grain SSS bullet. I wouldn't go after them with a .22LR if you were going to shoot at ranges longer than 25 yards.

Many others have been taken with a .22 Win Mag out to about 75 yards, but I always hit them at least 3 times when using that caliber due to an escapee that had to be tracked down.

I also like a shotgun for tight cover areas, with #4 buckshot. Good for about 50 yards.

Favorite is my .44 mag rifle. It punches a clean hole through both sides, and there had never been any doubt as to if I had a hit or not.

Best time for pelts is usually around late November to early January. After that, they are going through their breeding cycle, and they get pretty beat up. Riverbottom dogs have the worst coats of all. I shot one that had a rat like tail, and was missing hair in big splotches all over its body. Two others taken in the same are were not as bad, but close.

[birdhunter]

Almost anywhere on the East side of Mt. Hood would be a great bet. Close to Portland, mostly public, good hides, and plenty of 'yotes. Look for closed areas or deer wintering grounds.

[Cast'n'Blast]

I Was hunting pheasants and quail 2 weekends ago by Ontario with one other guy and a couple dogs. We had about a 1/3 mile draw that he and the dogs worked towards me as a blocker at the end. Well hens were flying in and they were running out and finally a rooster came out and I knocked him down but he ran back into the thick tulies/cattails. So I just waited and when the dogs got to the end they hunted him out of there. As they were hunting him out I noticed some extra movement in the tulies. Well lo and behold old Mr Yotee comes charging out and he got a load of #6's at about 25 yards. He started doing the "rat hop" like sage rats do sometimes and then I finished him off. It was pretty weird though, kind of unexpected. A good extended weekend with a possession limit of pheasants, some quail, a hun, and a song dog.