Bowhunting Coyotes

Has anyone here tried to hunt coyotes with a bow. I’m thinking about trying it now that deer season is over.

Any thoughts would be great.

tree stand over a dead carcass

I’ve never hunted predators before, so some of these questions may be elementary.

Do you need to use a call as an attractant, or will the scent of the carcass do

the job.

my Grandpa used both… and this years ago… he passed in the 60’s…

Do certain times of the day seem to work the best or is the winter weather more of a factor. I remember on my trail cam pics, it seemed that I would pick up coyotes moving the day after a night time snow fall.

I don’t know how you’re going shoot that bow in the dark.
Most people who sit over a carcass pile do it at night.
You might have better luck calling, but getting them to hold still and in range is going to be tough.
I suggest a rifle.

If you’ve never called in a coyote before – I’d suggest a rifle or a shotgun with buckshot . When you’re playing that dying rabbit – they are looking for motion of a critter pulling a rabbit apart. You drawing your bow will be that motion if you’re not careful . Took me probably 20 blank sets to call in my first coyote

We had a kid on a set last night on our property that connected at about 11:30pm. Coming into mating season + nearly a full moon + decent snow cover = success.

He uses a rifle and generally gets most of his kills at about 100 yards when he is here. I don’t let him use bait piles on our property just because there is a dog that does wander some at our neighbor’s about 1/4 mile away that may find it. He’s able to call them in but not to bow range. On his own property I know he keeps deer guts/carcasses frozen in barrels outside and sits on that. He generally still stays a ways away with a rifle, but I’d imagine a guy could get them close enough for a bow with practice. The success rate would be substantially lower though.

If its the challenge your after then I’d say the bow is a great choice, If its success you are after, I’d switch to a rifle or shotgun. Coyote hunting is difficult enough on new hunters. adding in the challenge of the Bow and you are really decreasing the chances of success. Keep us posted on your outings

fishthumper wrote:

Coyote hunting is difficult enough on new hunters. adding in the challenge of the Bow and you are really decreasing the chances of success.

X2.

My experience with coyotes in the eastern half of MN is that they are like a different species compared to the western coyotes. Coyotes east of the Mississippi are VERY, very, very, very wary. They are NOT like the ones you see on the hunting shows that will happily bound across 2 miles of wide open range and then stand and get shot.

The coyotes I’ve called come in sneaky and they are looking everywhere for trouble. It’s like somebody pulled them aside and told them the old “If it sounds too good to be true…” They almost always try to come in downwind and my guess would be the vast majority of coyotes that I’ve called in were never seen because they busted me long before I ever knew they were there.

A bow would be challenging to say the least. I’ve toasted quite a few coyotes at bow range (with a shotgun), but the problem is they tend to just appear and I can’t recall a situation where I would have had the time and opportunity to draw. And then as I said, they don’t just stand there begging to get shot, they figure out pretty quickly they’ve been had and they are usually on the way out of Dodge about the time I realize they are there.

It’s fun but it ain’t easy.

Nothing with a bow come easy the first few times out. If you have the time and the desire, go for it. The more experience you’ve gotten in the field deer hunting with the bow, the better prepared you are to meet the challenge of a coyote with a bow. Time in the woods is a superb teacher so whatever you learn chasing the dogs will still apply next deer season.

They just made it illegal in my town to use a bow on an animal in town otherwise I would say come on over and try it. This time of year they come down the train tracks and right into my neighborhood. People shooting them with a bow is probably why they made the stupid law, either that or because they started a special hunt for deer.