Anyone hunt Coyotes with their muzzleloader?

[Armando]

Was wondering about taking my Hawken's Woodsman 50cal out for coyotes sometime but wasn't sure if anyone had ever used it for predator control before.

Any tips or advise?

 

[Grimord]

I hunt on state land here in CT and they don't allow rifles larger than a 22 mag, but with a muzzleloader I can use a .36 with round ball only. I have taken several called in coyotes with the .36. It drops them like a rock. My longest shot so far has been 40 yards. The only down side to using a muzzleloader is you only get one shot, and if more than one coyote comes it to the call, you wind up educating the ones that get away. Still a lot of fun, and a good way to spend the off season.

 

[Ames]

I do it after deer season. Don't want to scare the deer off the best hunting areas taking out a predator.
Unleash with a 54.

 

[CTShooter]

I am looking for a .36 cal for just that reason, I live between 2 state forests and have a target rich environment

 

[BrownBear]

Never popped a cap at one with a muzzleloader, but in the past we did a bunch of it using shotguns and calls in close country. Our round of choice was #4 buck, which would put them down or at worst stop them with as little as a single pellet. A hit to the vitals was consistently fatal, so your choice of a 36 should be more than ample.

My best advice is more about strategy than ballistics. They have an uncanny ability to come in from directions you don't expect when hunting close country. We had the best luck with two shooters sitting back to back to cover 360 degrees.

 

[Rodd Boyer]

This male was taken with a TC Renegade in .50 percussion during muzzleloader season. He was a "target of opportunity". He was several hundred yards off and I lip squeaked him into 25 yards. He dropped where he stood.

 

[Patocazador]

I have killed a coyote with a muzzleloader but it was a victim of opportunity for me. I was hunting deer at the time and he just showed up.

 

[Rat]

A .50 would be excellent for coyote. Certainly a more fun and higher quality hunt than a modern rifle. I don't hunt them anymore, we have a "truce", (I have killed too many coyotes, lost my taste for it) but I used to hunt them a lot back in the day. I used to call them. Anytime you call them, you educate them. Just 'cause you don't see the others, does not mean they are not there. They usually are. Indeed, they do come in from the side, behind you, etc. Very exciting. Often you don't see them come in in front of you, they just kind of materialize, like on Star Trek when they used the transporter. Seriously.

Calling Cougar is my game now, and the days of calling coyote sure taught me a lot. Never shot a coyote with a muzzle loader, back then my passion was an unmentionable (see rule #10) military rifle that rhymes with "Tree-oh-Tree".

 

[renegadehunter]

The last one I shot with my .54 was a couple of years ago. It was up in the morning when deer hunting and the coyote was a chance encounter. He was about 150 yards and I lip squeaked him to about 90 out in the wide open before he got suspicious enough that I thought I'd better try a shot. A .54 RB drops them with authority.
As far as calling them in, with hand calls it is best to have a partner. Put the shooter about 50-100 yards downwind of the caller. When by myself I take the electronic caller and put it upwind of me 75 or so yards. I hunt them mostly in timber so I'll find a good sized clearing, put the call at the upwind most edge of it, and I sit at the very downwind edge of it. They will circle down wind of the call and usually come in from the side between me and the caller. I usually use whatever sounds that are natural to the area I'm hunting, i.e. cottontail if they are in the area, snowshoe if higher up, and turkey distress works pretty good too. I also like to use howls at the very start of a "set". I've had them show up anywhere between 5 mins and 40 mins. Never had one come in after 40 mins.

 

[Rat]

Indeed, the magic 40 minutes. The 40 minute rule is good. But I always wait five minutes, or a bit more after I'm done calling, before I move a muscle, twitch a finger, or start breathing again. I called in two wolves recently. !!!

 

[renegadehunter]

That must've been exciting! Something I still haven't seen even though we have plenty of them here in Idaho. Heard them howling a few times though.
I've been trying to call in a bobcat for the last couple years, but haven't been successful yet. When calling for them I sit a minimum of an hour, folks that have done it say they will sit at the edge of cover a lot and tend to come in pretty slow sometimes. They also say that a bobcat will lose interest if the sound isn't kept up continuously. Is it just me or is non-stop woodpecker distress one of the most annoying sounds on the planet?

 

[longcruise]

I have taken two with a 50. One at 30 yards and one at 147 yards. Both presented themselves while hunting other game and both were alert to my presence.

The 50 was way more fur friendly than my 223!

 

[Rat]

That must've been exciting! Something I still haven't seen even though we have plenty of them here in Idaho. Heard them howling a few times though.
I've been trying to call in a bobcat for the last couple years, but haven't been successful yet. When calling for them I sit a minimum of an hour, folks that have done it say they will sit at the edge of cover a lot and tend to come in pretty slow sometimes. They also say that a bobcat will lose interest if the sound isn't kept up continuously. Is it just me or is non-stop woodpecker distress one of the most annoying sounds on the planet?

Ha, I kind of like the Woodpecker distress. !!! Maybe not for an hour. Mixing up the calls has worked for me. Maybe a wabbit for a while, raccoon, etc. Those wolves came in to a fawn in distress. One ran off, the other circled around behind me to get a whiff of my fine aroma. ! I haven't tried for bob-cat, that's probably a tough one as there probably are not a lot of them in any given area. Where I hunt the wolves are getting really really thick. I even saw two this last season only about 200 yards from my camp.

 

[Grimord]

Last year I called in 3 bobcats over the course of the winter. Unfortunately, they are protected herein CT.
still, it was quite thrilling to have a bobcat come to within 30 feet of me. I think my heart pounding in my chest is what caused it to run off.

 

[hanshi]

I've only shot one coyote and that was with a suppository rifle. I did kill a couple of bobcats with a muzzleloader, though. All these were while I was deer hunting.

 

[Nodrama43]

I shoot every coyote every opportunity I get with whatever weapon I have in my hands.

 

[Silky921]

I've only shot one coyote and that was with a suppository rifle. I did kill a couple of bobcats with a muzzleloader, though. All these were while I was deer hunting.

You shoot them bobcats over in Indiana?

 

[Rat]

I shoot every coyote every opportunity I get with whatever weapon I have in my hands.

I used to resemble that remark, and did the same, but got to wondering if I'd ever be able to wash that much blood off my hands.

 

[Stony Broke]

I manage some game properties for an old fella...just for me to have my retirement fun. He does not like anyone harming the coyotes or bobcats on the properties....and I'm not big on that myself. I was deer hunting a couple years ago though and had a couple of pit bulls running the deer all over one property. They came through behind some deer one time and and stopped to sniff at the corn feeder about 60 yds in front of me. I dropped one instantly with my .62 prb, after which the other one ran away and then came back looking for it's friend. I had reloaded by then and got off a snap shot at the second one and only wounded it.
The whole situation ruined a day of deer hunting for me, but solved a problem. I hate having to do something like this, but really felt I need to suck it up and take care of the problem.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I have killed a coyote with a muzzleloader but it was a victim of opportunity for me. I was hunting deer at the time and he just showed up.

^^ That. We raise chickens (formerly sheep and turkey) and I hold no love for coyotes, or raccoons. But it is a circumstance rather than a plan if I meet up with one when hunting with a muzzleloader.