Black powder coyote?

Does anyone out there ever do any black powder hunting for coyotes? I have been trying to call in some dogs but have yet to see any? I dread the thought of having to wearing camo.

they arent as dumb as deer, so camo is kinda mute point in my experiences! the quality of the call, timingbetween call and most importantly, the visual and odor presentation you bring into their territory!
if it looks or smells odd, it usually is! they sense when things dont seem right, just like we do!
down wind, blended in and smelling like we belong there!
Calls... had a federal trapper show me lots of tricks! the best one was a squeaky dog toy from the grocery store! worked like a charm.
I feel black powder would work well for song dogs!

I have shot several coyotes but never one with Flintlock. I got one with inline but thats it. I shot one on 1-31-08 at my farm here in Pulaski,Tn. at 356yds with my rifle. We have alot of yotes around here. I would love to take one with my Flintlock but im still learning all the ends and outs of these great rifles.We do alt of long range shooting here but I think Flintlocks are going to take over as my favorite thing to shoot. Good luck with getting those yotes they are trully smart.

I shot this one with a bow some years ago.



I had him made into a full mount.

Man thatis so cool. I would love to have one mounted but do they smell when they get back? I heard some do some dont. Looks like you got a great place to hunt in the snow. We dont get much snow here in Pulaski. congrats on a kill that would make anybody proud.

What a good photo, did you end for end that yote?
Please tell me more. Did you retreive your shaft? How close? Your bow looks quite short for a flat bow or areyou very tall?
Thanks Nath.

We used to hunt them in brushy country, calling and using shotguns with #4 buck. We were limited by the terrain and the loads to shots no longer than 50 yards. In the same kind of country, a ML would be dandy. Depending on you and the gun, you could probably double the range. In more open country it can be really tough to get them to come so close tho, especially if they've been hunted much. Call it PhD coyote hunting.

One thing about it when you're hunting tighter country and you can't see them coming for hundreds of yards: They're likely to circle on you and try to wind you. We usually hunted in pairs and sat back to back so we could watch all directions without moving. Sure as lies in politics, the one watching the back trail got lots more shooting than the one hooting on the call.

I know in Britain we don't have yotes (more the pity)but I do call fox's and have had a couple with M/L shotguns but it has to be a cold windless day. I don't call to often so they cannot get a good fix on me and it takes alot of patience. Where I do it there is alot of pheasants and they like to tell me if one is about which helps, blackbirds (a thrush) do the same or a jay.

Oh yeah sorry, I wait till they are broadside before I shoot with a M/L shotgun :thumbsup:

Mighty Oak -

I've been an incurable predator hunter since the mid 50's. After decades of calling and hunting predators with modern laser guided missile launchers (and for some of those years wearing camo), I went back to doing so with my sidelock's and freetrappers clothes about 5-6 years ago (as I did in the early 70's when I first started shooting black). So far have only taken badger, fox and coyotes since I went back to the sidelocks, but they would work equally well on cats and lions if I bothered to get tags for them. Prefer my two 36's but have used some of the 45's as well. I carry a 45 sidelock pistol for chances at doubles. There is no need for anything bigger, and bigger holes just means more sewing. The 32's are better saved for small game or no more than the smallest predators up close. I've always only used mouth calls I made myself. Within range the sidelocks and maiden gear can work just as well as any of the modern firearms and modern doodads. I have missed some longer running shots, so still not as good with the sidelocks as with the modern rigs on the runners. But if you can call them within range for and shoot reasonably well with your MLer, you will eventually score.

IMO camo is just foofarraw for any kind of hunting, and not necessary. Breaking up your outline can easily be done with the cover at hand while still or spot and stock hunting. Western fox are pretty dumb and will even remain around after seeing/winding you if you stay on your call or lip squeak them, sometimes even after a missed shot. Dumb! It's believed that the canine predators can't see colors beyond shades of gray, pale yellows and pale blues. So more stands are busted by them because of movement on your part or them getting your wind, and not whether you are wearing camo/cover scents or not. Never saw a need for cover scents myself - more foofarraw. Setup is the key to success in predator calling, and that includes knowing the travel lanes, having the wind and sun in your favor, then being able to stay motionless.

BTW, a neat trick to stay away from using anything modern when you want a decoy is a simple feather or fluff on a string tied to a handy branch upwind of you. That's enough when they get closer to take their attention off the source of the sound (you) and direct it someplace else. Up wind because most coyotes circle downwind to some degree when coming to a call, and that puts them right in front of you. Big help if you have to move to bring a firearm into battery and you can't catch them "looking the other way", and to hopefully have them come in without getting your wind. And another BTW, coyotes almost always stop to a look back with a loud bark or two if not spooked too much. If still within range when they stop, that may still give you a high percentage shot at them.

As those that have been successful hunting other kinds of game with their sidelocks will attest, not much is more satisfying and all are a trophy. But if you want an even bigger challenge and gratification calling predators, leave the sidelocks at home and go after them with a long bow and cedar arrows. Either way, pitting your skills one on one against a coyote with any primitive weapon will net you a trophy you will be hard pressed to surpass.

Good luck, stay at it and you'll eventually make fur.

I've been predator hunting for years, Mighty Oak, including some up in your area. Only the last few years Ive been trying to get a yote with a PRB.
I am after one in particular. A large male I'd estimate at over 50#.He has an all black tail too. I had him come in on New Years day only to hang up about 150 yds out.(did wish I had my .260 that day)
I do use camo woolies and a 6ft long folding blind. I also use a modern Mojo decoy and have regularly have hawks and owls swooping at it. I added turkey feathers to the decoy's whip.
I also use both open and closed reed mouth calls as well as a pet toy squeaker when they get close.
Hopefully we will get some snow and I can meet up with "black-tail" soon.

When I did hunt Vt., I had more fishers come in to my calls than yotes. Patience and using the wind are important. You'll connect. Good Hunting!

I had a friend that used to bring them in by staking a live chicken out in the middle of a small field. He'd tie a string to the chicken and give a yank every once in a while to get the chicken squawking. The dogs would come in full blast once they saw the chicken!!!!

I guess it would turn into defensive shooting if it was a favorite chicken!!! :hatsoff:

BTW- Can you stop a charging coyote with anything less than 72 caliber?


There's a lot to what you say, tho. A friend up here is without a doubt the most productive fox caller around. He's made his own call and figured how to make it sound like a seagull getting its neck wrung. Makes you wonder how he learned to make that particular sound, doesn't it?

hey Brew, just come turkey hunting with me this spring, you'll get a nice close shot! every year the tricksters sneak in on me when I'm calling, it seems that around here turkeys are their favorite dish..even had one run off with a hen decoy of mine 2 years ago!
bagged a nice 40 lb dog at a farm in westmoreland a few winters back, with my .35 rem. missed one this deer season with my t/c new englander.

mighty oak here in the east the coyotes are the hardest things to call in. my dads friend called one in by luck 2 weeks ago to 25 yards. it was luck i think, we all think that. i guess if the stars align it can happen but it is a hard thing to do. as much as i dont like camo either i would maybe wear some. i wear old school camo when i hunt so i try to be "traditional" if at all possible.

Britsmoothy said:

Your bow looks quite short for a flat bow or areyou very tall?
Thanks Nath.

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That there's the master of the short bow! You can see a great picture of Mr. LaClair and a bow killed turkey on page 81 of this months Traditional Bowhunter magazine in an article featuring short bows.

:grin: :grin: Thanks.

longfowler said:

hey Brew, just come turkey hunting with me this spring, you'll get a nice close shot! every year the tricksters sneak in on me when I'm calling, it seems that around here turkeys are their favorite dish..even had one run off with a hen decoy of mine 2 years ago!
bagged a nice 40 lb dog at a farm in westmoreland a few winters back, with my .35 rem. missed one this deer season with my t/c new englander.

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Thanks for all the great advice. I was considering trying a turkey call thinking that the yotes would get fired up over a big juicy bird. I did shoot a coyote last year with my 50 cal Hawken however it was while I was deer hunting when I saw two dogs chasing 4 deer. I was in the right spot at the right time as the dog came charging directly at me. I hit him straight on, right in the chest at about 40 yards. Two days later I missed another one that came bounding by me within range. My 50 caliber ball gave him a shave. Once again right place right time. Since then I have been calling but to no avail.
I guess I need to keep at it. Maybe I will be lucky enough to post a picture of my first called in coyote before spring. I will keep you posted.

What a good photo, did you end for end that yote?
Please tell me more. Did you retreive your shaft? How close? Your bow looks quite short for a flat bow or areyou very tall?
Thanks Nath.

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Nath, I was pretty lucky to get that coyote. I was deer hunting from a tree near the edge of a meadow when I spotted him hunting mice in the field. He was about 80yds away when I made a squeaking sound by kissing the back of my hand. When he heard it he made a bee line for me. He passed my tree at a trot and at about 15 yd's I shot an arrow from my 70# flatbow. I didn't give him enough lead and It took him through both hind legs, breaking the big bone in one leg. From the high angle the arrow hit the ground preventing a complete pass through. He spun around breaking the cedar shaft and took off.

He left a blood trail that I followed for about 100yd's. He laid down and I jumped him and decided to leave him and come back in the morning.

I came back at daylight with two buddys and we started on what turned out to be one of the longest toughest trailing jobs I have ever been on. That Dog took us through some of the thickest manure in the area, through an area of blowdowns, across creeks and a frozen beaver pond that had pretty thin ice. I crawled across the pond on my belly with the ice cracking under me. My buddies wern't as crazy as me and made a detour around.

After many hours of trailing in over much of the same ground as the Dog circled, my buddies gave up and headed back to the truck. I told them that as long as I could see a track I wasn't going to quit. Finely I caught up to him, I was crawling over a blowdown about 7 feet above the ground while watching the tracks below me and saw fur under some brush below me. I managed to get into a position to send an arrow into the ball of fur. As the Coyote rolled, growled and fought the arrow I put another into him and he finely gave up the ghost. He was the most tenacious and tough critter I've ever taken so I decided to have him immortalized in a full body mount.

I would mix it up as far as calls go. I've had best luck with a Sceery raspy bunny call. I try to imitate a snowshoe I wounded once. Yotes seem to get educated pretty good if you don't mix up your calls.I usually carry several calls and squeakers in my pouch. I had yotes as well as bobcats come in on turkey calls during spring turkey season too. Watch yer backside too, as predators sometimes try to blindside ya while trying to get downwind of you. Whether I use a modern rifle or BP gun, I usually have my Ruger .22 on my lap, just in case.
I only hunt small (under 200 acre parcels here in CT., so I only have room for a couple of set-ups.
When I hunted Vt., with a lot of area to hunt, I constantly kept moving. I would set-up in one spot , call for a while, maybe an hour tops ,then move . I would make a large loop, maybe a mile, and change spots as I went, calling maybe 300 yards from my last set-up..