wannahuntit

I guess it would help if I knew what to search for. WHat is the average price for a green pelt for coyote?

I am starting to get a little irritated at my state as far as hunting. The state laws says you can hunt coyote with rifle but I have called the 13 closest public hunting grounds to me and all require you to use shotgun. I dont get the point of beable able to shoot with rifle if no one lets you actually do it. I am now branching out to areas that are almost halfway across the state. Hopefully I will find something. If it goes to far maybe I can find some private land to hunt on. My buddy seems to think some farmers out by him maybe willing to let me hunt on their property. Ill be meeting them this weekend, hopefully it goes well.

Nomercy448

Public land hunting for coyotes is always a chore in any state. Private property is the way to go. Public ground can be good before deer seasons open up, but usually they get hit pretty hard after that. I don't hit public ground unless I absolutely need to.

Green pelt prices have been really volatile over the last few years. Anything from $5 to $15, sometimes a bit higher for nice pale primes. The biggest and best hides usually have a big enough differential that fleshing and stretching becomes worth it, but not all of them are that way.

You won't get rich calling coyotes and selling hides, even if you do all of the legwork to put them up properly. You might help pay for gas and ammo if you do it a lot. It's a fun sport, and a good service to prevent depredation of livestock in your area, not a business.

wannahuntit

Ya I wasn't expected to get rich or anything killing coyote. It was more of a question so when I sell the furs I dont get shorted. I am not really expecting anything out of it really just a starting point so I can progress to bigger better game.

Why is it a chore to hunt in public hunting grounds?

When you hunt coyote do you use calls? If so which ones have you found useful?

Ya I will be looking into Wisconsin and Indiana hunting regulations in the future since i am just hours away from each. Want to practice in a local area and get a feel of the sport before I go out and about. Just trying to get the basics together and buy just the needed items to make sure I will enjoy it before I start investing for some luxury items. Speaking of items do guns and hunting/camping supplies go on sale like everything else for "Black Friday"?

Nomercy448

Because they are public. On private property, you don't have to deal with the question "were there 75 guys out here yesterday deer hunting, blasting away?" or "have there been dozens of idiots that don't know how to hunt out here blowing distress calls, sounding like a duck, educating coyotes?" Public hunting grounds can be really productive during early season before other hunting seasons open up, because not many guys are out there just for coyotes. But furs aren't usually worth a hoot yet at that time of year.

If you want a list of coyote hunting essentials, and then a list of coyote hunting 'luxuries', just ask.

There aren't really that many items a guy REALLY needs for calling coyotes. Calls, ammo, camo, and skill. The rest that I carry is either shooting aids (bipod, rangefinder, wind-meter, etc) or 'after-the-shot' gear, like skinning knives, drags, rubber gloves, etc.

I tell everyone that gets involved with fur handling: have multiple knives, and get d@mn good at sharpening them. Once I find a knife I like, I buy 3 or 4 of them so I have the same feel every time, and get to go through 3 or 4 blades before I have to sharpen the lot.

Yes, most bigger hunting shops do offer Black Friday deals on certain items.

Nomercy448

For an affordable electronic predator call (assuming they are legal for use in Illinois), the FoxPro Wildfire is the best going. It is LITERALLY the only budget friendly ($200 or less) caller on the market that I would recommend. No other $200 or less e-caller is worth owning, in my experience. A lot of new guys go this route to save themselves a learning curve, but honestly, you have to know how to call before you know how to run an Electronic Call properly too.

Hand calling is a more rewarding pursuit, and much less expensive. Grab a $20 4-drop lanyard, a Primos Randy Anderson Double Cottontail distress call, a Primos Lil Dog, a Verminators Syco Tweety, and a Buck Gardner Ultimate Coaxer. These 4 calls will be a killer combo once you get used to playing them. Add in a Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler to play deeper male coyote vocals for locate calling and challenge barking. With those 5 calls, you can make dozens of different call sounds, and in my experience, a hunter with these 5 calls can call any coyote anywhere in the country.

Hand calls are an addiction of mine, I'm creeping up on 200 of them now. There are TONS of them out there, but those 5 will produce a lot of sounds for you, and won't break the bank. Out of the 5 'classes' of calls these represent, these are the cream of the crop that I have found over the last almost 25yrs of calling coyotes.

That said, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you look into custom made coyote calls. They aren't necessarily much more expensive than the store-bought factory calls, but ARE higher quality, easier to blow, produce a better sound, and are more versatile. If you are interested, I can point you in the right direction for some custom makers that produce the finest fur-slaying tools ever.

wannahuntit

If you so happen to have a basics need and a luxury list for coyote hunting that would be great. I would one very much especially from an experienced hunter.

As for the calls electronic calls are legal in Illinois but I would much rather do hand calls as coyote is the only animal in Illinois allowed to use electronic calls. So learning hand calls will only benifit me in the future. I am willing to go the custom route for a couple calls that you would recommend to start out with and ill pick up a couple store boughts to get the feel the difference. Do you know of any websites or any good youtube videos that will demonstration the proper use on the calls?

And for the record I really appreciate all the info.

Nomercy448

I'll break down 3 lists of gear: Essentials, "Nice to have", and Luxuries...

To call coyotes, you really don't need that much, so the essentials list is pretty short and sweet.

The Nice to Have list is pretty much what I carry (not always all of it, mind you), shooting aids, comfort aids, and just handy stuff.

The Luxuries are things you don't really need, but sure are handy if you ever decide to splurge.

ESSENTIALS:

1. Rifle
2. Ammo
3. Calls
4. Accurate/up to date scouting maps
5. Camo - including gloves and facemask
6. Skinning knives

That's literally all you really NEED to call coyotes.

Nice to Have

1. Rangefinder
2. Binos (around your neck)
3. Padded seat/short stool (Cabelas Gobbler Lounger is FANTASTIC)
4. Coyote Drag (Send me a PM if you want one)
5. Shooting Sticks (LOVE Primos Shoot'n Stik Monopod)
6. Rubber gloves for skinning

These are items that really make your hunts or your shooting easier, and I'd recommend you have them, even though you can live without them.

LUXURY ITEMS:

1. Hitch mounted skinning winch and gambrel
2. Wind Meter
3. Ghillie Suit
4. High Seat (Truck or UTV mounted)
5. Electronic Calls

These aren't really necessary, but sure are sweet if you decide to splurge.

If you aren't good at judging wind direction, then pick up a small can of baby powder as part of your ESSENTIALS list.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things, but that's really all I can think of without looking through my pack.

CalHunter

You ought to consider adding this into the reference section--it's that useful.

Cal

Nomercy448

Done... Added the lists in a new thread in the Reference sub-forum!

wannahuntit

Thanks so much for the list. I think from here forward it is just pure research and finding somewhere to hunt. I just spent two days calling every public hunting ground in illinois and door knocking about 45 residential/farmers home with no luck. Even though in IL you can hunt coyote with anything, the public lands only allow shotgun and .22lr rimfire. Dont care for shotgun and I keep hearing stories of .22 not being able to down the dog in one shot. And the locals want nothing to do with any hunters because they want no interferance with the deer hunting on their property. So I think its time to start a new thread for hunting coyote in IL. And start researching hunting in WI.