Coyotes Around The Clock

For the next three months, GON is offering chances for readers to win some really cool prizes in our annual Coyote Cull contest. Flip back to page 16 to check out the details on how all that works.

Let’s do a reality check on this. May, June and July aren’t the more relaxing months to roll up a Georgia songdog. It’s hot, thick and the skeeters are thumping. However, your average Georgia hunter with a will and desire won’t let added annoyances stand in the way of victory. If you’re reading this, you can hunt a coyote and get entered in GON’s Coyote Cull. You just need to decide if you’re going to hunt them during the daytime or try after dark. I spoke with two hunters, and they shared with me how they go after coyotes when the temperature runs hot in early summer.

Nighttime Coyotes: This method has really taken off in recent years and has proven to be very effective. In fact, it’s not too uncommon these days for GON to get photos sent to [email protected] or through Instagram with hunters smiling with a tailgate full of two, three or four coyotes from an evening of hunting.

Dylan Nelson, of Homer, is one such hunter and runs the North East Georgia Predator And Nuisance Control Facebook page, and a quick social scan shows he’s successful after dark on the yotes. In fact, Dylan is helping host a fundraising coyote hunt on May 17 called “Critter Bash For Brentley.” More on that below.

“I’ve been hunting them after dark for about three years,” said Dylan. “I hunt mostly in Banks, Hall, Jackson and Franklin counties.”

Dylan said word of mouth, knowing the right folks and his Facebook page have all earned him access to a pile of property in northeast Georgia, some of which he can coyote hunt year-round, even during deer season.

“Some of these landowners have cattle and chicken farms, and they’ll call me when they are having trouble,” said Dylan.

His coyote hunting is purely recreational. He doesn’t charge a dime to the landowners, Dylan says he simply enjoys seeing a bunch of new property and meeting folks.

“My gun is a 6.5 Creedmoor Remington 700 with an A-10 7.62 suppressor made by AB Suppressor,” said Dylan. “I won’t shoot without a suppressor. You get more shots off if you call in a double, triple… if you kill the first one, your chances of calling the others back in are better.”

You can’t just go out and buy a suppressor. While suppressors are legal, they are regulated by federal law and on a state-by-state basis by the National Firearm Act (NFA) branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE). So, there is a process to get one.

According to the AB Suppressor website, in order to purchase one, you must first, “reside in one of the 42 states that currently allow civilian ownership, be a resident of the United States, be legally eligible to purchase a firearm, pass a BATFE Background check, pay a one time $200 Transfer Tax, be at least 21 years of age to purchase from an FFL/SOTdealer.”

More details on getting the suppressor process rolling is at www.absuppressor.com/how-to-buy-1. However, just know that hunting with a suppressor is not exactly cheap. Dylan’s choice for a suppressor runs about $1,000, plus the $200 tax fee.

“Landowners appreciate me using a suppressor,” said Dylan. “If I’m 75 yards from his back porch, he won’t even know I’m there. With the Creedmoor, it just sounds like someone clapping their hands together. Plus, using the suppressor means you don’t startle any horses or cows, not to mention it’s just better on my ears.”

Mounted on top of the Creedmoor is an ATN ThOR 4 thermal scope. These nighttime scopes are super effective, but they, too, come with an impressive price tag. Dylan paid $1,800 for his about a year and a half ago. For him, the money to get into this year-round hunting sport has been well worth it.

“I like it almost as much as deer hunting,” Dylan said. “My favorite time to hunt them is probably January to March, but I really like October-November, too.”

However, Dylan and the three or four guys that he hunts with on a regular basis have a hot-weather pattern that works on a regular basis May-July.

“We’re mostly hunting fields, mainly because when you are set up in woods, it’s harder to spot them and then get on them,” said Dylan. “A lot more can go wrong.”

The biggest magnet May through July that you won’t find during the more traditional coyote hunting months is a freshly cut hayfield.

“You will not go wrong with a fresh cut hayfield,” said Dylan. “I personally have been on a tractor cutting a field and had a coyote come check it out. You’re out there chopping up rats and rabbits.

“Some of my landowners, if they have hayfields, they will call me a day or two ahead of time to let me know they are fixing to cut,” said Dylan. “Or if I’m out riding around and see one that I know is ready to cut, I’ll contact the landowner to let me know when they start.”

Once Dylan has figured out where he’s hunting, he sets up based on where he believes the yotes will be coming from. He’s always playing the wind when he sets up.

“Knowing where they come from is just something you get with history on the property,” said Dylan. “Sometimes I’ll end up hunting a crosswind because coyotes will often try and approach from downwind. They are like a big buck and will often try to circle around your calling.”

Dylan uses a Lucky Duck caller and sets the wireless speaker anywhere from 30 to 100 yards away out in the field. Distance just depends on terrain. He says he has not seen a difference in success when he places the speaker longer distances from him.

“Wind and luck are key to killing them—and knowing what sounds to use and what they mean,” said Dylan. “In May, I like to start off with something low and quiet, like a rabbit. I then might use a lone howl. As July gets here, I will transition into using more pup sounds, like pup fights, but I’ll also use the pup sounds as early as May.

“Coyote calling is hit and miss. It’s like fishing. You might catch them on one lure one day and then the next day they won’t hit that lure.”

With the music playing and his rifle mounted on a tripod, Dylan will scan the field with a small thermal handheld unit. He currently uses the Rix K3 handheld thermal device. He said this just makes it easier and quicker to check the field versus swinging his rifle so much.

“I’ll usually try and keep my calling under 15 minutes before packing up and leaving for the next place,” said Dylan. “Most times it’s going to happen in the first three to seven minutes.”

Whether or not Dylan runs the Lucky Duck call continuously just depends on how the hunt is unfolding.

“If I have a coyote that hangs up, I might cut if off a second and let curiosity bring him in. If he’s coming and won’t stop, a lot of times they will stop if you stop playing it.”

Back to the Critter Bash For Brentley.

“We are doing something new and going to try and help a local family with a 12-year-old son who has been struck with a brain tumor. He has a love for God, archery and the great outdoors. We want to show them some love and support.”

If you’ll look up the North East Georgia Predator And Nuisance Control Facebook page, you’ll see a link to a sign-up form. You can also scan the QR code on this page. Door prizes included a rimfire suppressor, a hand-held thermal, trail cameras, gift cards, a free shoulder mount and deer processing and some other items. For those of you who hunt a long ways from northeast Georgia, you can still compete and check in virtually. Call Dylan at 678.725.7818 for questions and details.

As an added bonus to helping a family in need, you can enter your coyote in GON’s Coyote Cull with the May issue in hand for your entry pic.

Daytime Coyotes: For those hunters not crazy about fooling with hunting challenges after dark, coyotes will absolutely work to calls during the daylight hours. Travis Wade, of Walton County, is certainly proof that the average man can pick off a few coyotes.

Travis is a rabbit/beagle man at heart. However, he knows songdogs have an appetite for cottontail, which is one reason he recently dipped his boots into the world of daytime coyote calling. He went on his first daytime coyote hunt last March after a friend showed him the ropes. Travis’ message is not “I’m an expert, listen to me.” It’s more like, “If I can do this and kill a few coyotes, anyone can.”

“The first thing I did was go out and buy a Mossberg 12-gauge pump, with a turkey choke that shoots 3-inch shells, for $300,” said Travis.

Loaded into the pump are Winchester Predator & Varmint loads with BB shot.

“I got into it to spend time with family, but they are also a real nuisance,” said Travis. “I’ve had them kill a beagle and another pet dog of ours. They get bold. I also run rabbits at my house, so I just need to get rid of them.”

Travis bought an electric ICOtec game call for $400.

“They make more expensive calls, but no more than I do it, this is more than enough for me,” said Travis. “The  model ICOtec I bought has 20 or 30 coyote calls on it.”

On June 29, 2024, Travis was at his house and located some coyotes before daylight using a coyote howl on the ICOtec.

“This time a year they are going to be near those pups, so it really ups the odds if you can locate them versus just setting up blind.”

Travis added that when locating coyotes, you need to do it in a thick location, or at least in a spot where you can disappear quickly.

“We have had them come running in just when locating with the howl,” said Travis. “I’ve also located them at the house, gone off to hunt them, and then someone sees a coyote an hour later standing in the back yard. It’s kind of like turkey hunting. If you locate a gobbler, he might stand his ground, come running or take an hour to get there.”

When Travis heads toward located coyotes, he doesn’t dress in the latest camo—and will even wear a short-sleeve shirt—but simply wears dark clothes, brings a comfortable stool that gets him 1 foot off the ground and plays the wind, either in his face or a crosswind.

“I like to face into the thicket where I think they are,” said Travis, “If I can see 50 yards, I’m good. When you see them, they are going to be killable, but you need to be on your toes.”

Travis adds that he also likes to get as tight as he can to where he believes the coyotes are holding up, which was such the case last June as he positioned the ICOtec’s bluetooth speaker 15 yards in front of him.

“I started off with a soft rabbit squeal in case I was right on top of them,” said Travis. “A fawn distress is good, too, especially on into June.”

Five minutes passed with no luck.

“I switched over to a call that’s called Pup Frenzy,” said Travis. “Those coyote pup sounds work really good this time of year.”

Within minutes, things got interesting.

“Two coyotes came up on my left, and I shot one of them,” said Travis. “The other one ran off down through the woods but stopped about 60 yards. I played the Pup Frenzy again. She circled around in front of me, and I shot her about 30 yards away.”

One male, one female removed from the equation. The above situation is ideal: locate dogs, ease into a thicket and get as close as you can, have the wind right and hit the call. However, Travis will do some blind calling on properties where he knows coyotes frequent.

“I really like to hunt with someone when blind calling,” said Travis. “It just helps cover more ground since you’re not sure exactly where they could be coming from. I also like to set up with some sort of an obstacle at my back—like a body of water or even an open field since they won’t often approach during the day in an opening. We’ll still face those thicker areas where we think they can be denned up.”

Whether he’s hunting a located group of coyotes or blind calling, Travis only hunts about 20 minutes until he heads to another spot or calls it a day—or goes to run rabbit dogs.

“I’m not fixing to sell my dogs and be all into it or anything,” he said. “I do it more for getting rid of the things, but it really is fun hunting. If you like to turkey hunt, you’ll like it. A lot of times, they come running in at you.”

WMA May Coyote Hunts: WRD in recent years has allowed WMA daytime hunting for coyotes and hogs from May 16-31. While you’ll need to check the WMA regs before heading out during this springtime season, you’ll find that many WMAs will offer this opportunity.

For the May 16-31 season, you can blow the dust off the .270 deer rifle if you choose to do so. Or you can use a .22 magnum or a shotgun. There are a few rules to know before you go:

• Coyote season is May 16-31 on all WMAs with any legal weapon, unless otherwise specified in the WMA specific area listings. Buckshot in shotguns is legal for this season, unless otherwise specified in the WMA specific area listings.

• Hunters are required to wear fluorescent orange (500 inches).

• No night hunting or baiting is allowed.

• Electronic calls may be used.

With the WMA option, there are no excuses for not trying to enter the Coyote Cull. Let’s shoot for a record year in entries while saving a few fawns and turkeys.