What To Do After Deer Season Ends: Coyote Hunting

Avid hunters understand the importance of maintaining proficiency, working just as hard in the offseason to keep their skills sharp, engaging in new pursuits, and exploring new locations. One of the best ways to keep those skills sharp and maintain a point of contact with the hunting world after the deer season ends is with coyote hunting.

Not only will you be hunting an adaptive and challenging predator and playing a crucial role in population control, but you'll also help maintain the ecological balance by removing some destructive creatures. So, today, we look at the benefits of coyote hunting in the offseason and some expert strategies to help you enjoy a successful coyote hunt. 

Why Hunt Coyotes After Deer Season? 

Coyote hunting is not just great for the hunter but also for the natural environment and the deer population. Left unchecked, predators can upset the ecological balance and herd numbers of certain species, including deer. 

Population Control 

Coyotes prey on deer, particularly vulnerable deer such as fawns, in the early stages, essential to their development and longevity. This can significantly impact the overall numbers, as a decline in fawn numbers impacts generations of deer, contributing to a massive mortality rate of the species. 

If coyotes overrun the game population, far less hunting will be available when the seasons open. This will not only impact the enjoyment of the sport but also have economic consequences, as local communities and wildlife departments will see a decline in their revenue from hunting tags and related costs. 

Conservation and Disease Management

Coyotes not only hunt game species, but they also carry a range of diseases, including canine hepatitis, canine distemper, rabies, tuberculosis, and tularemia, which can be transferred to canine species and humans.

They also carry parasitic fleas and, in a higher concentration of numbers, can spread these unwanted diseases and bugs rapidly. 

Predator Management 

Coyotes are adaptable and have a highly developed sense of hearing and vision. Unless you purposefully hunt or come across them by accident (especially those comfortable around human population centers), they are an extremely challenging hunt. Their adaptability and lack of natural predators are all the more reasons why hunters must step in to ensure their numbers are manageable and balanced. 

Female coyotes can reproduce at twenty months of age, and a litter can typically range from 4 to 12 pups. They can give birth to up to 120 pups in their lifespan. If left unchecked, there is the possibility of an almost exponential growth in coyote numbers. 

Protect Agriculture and Private Land 

Problem coyotes view the calving season as an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Speak to any cattle farmer, and they'll undoubtedly have a story about the destruction and nuisance that coyotes pose to their livelihood. 

Coyotes also target smaller species, such as chickens or pigs. Offering to remove some of these nuisance coyotes can be an excellent strategy for building an ongoing relationship with landowners, opening opportunities for hunting during game seasons. 

Stay "Hunting Fit" During the Off-Season

Coyote hunting is a great way to stay involved in hunting all year round and maintain a point of contact with many of the skills required for a successful hunt. This includes studying and mastering wind direction, stalking, practicing shooting techniques, and using specialist equipment such as calls.

At the same time, you're further developing soft skills such as patience and perseverance and developing your understanding of animal species and how they relate to the natural environment. 

How to Find and Hunt Coyotes

The first step to finding coyotes is to switch your species preference on the HuntWise app to "coyote" to access coyote-specific insights with a particular focus on coyote animal movement and weather forecasting. 

As you can imagine, state environmental departments and similar organizations, such as agricultural departments, monitor coyote movement and population with great interest and specificity, making them a great source of knowledge, too.

Check the Rules

Before heading out for a hunt, it's crucial to check the local regulations regarding coyotes, as some states allocate coyotes as unregulated predators, meaning they can be hunted or trapped by approved methods at any time.

Be sure of the rules in your area and follow them as you would with any species you hunt.

Start With Landowners

Regarding hunting areas, a good place to start is with landowners, especially those who raise cattle or smaller species such as chickens. You can use the HuntWise app to access landowner contact details and go from there with an introductory letter or email.

Reaching out to landowners can be an excellent strategy for accessing insider knowledge about coyote movement patterns. From there, you can set up decoys or your hiding spot — if possible, close to poultry farms. Be bold and frequently use more than one stand or move, as coyotes are cunning and can quickly determine your strategies or become call-shy. 

Use coyote calls strategically, and be open to various distress calls beyond the simple rabbit distress noises. Successful calling is more about frequency and sound, including whines, sharp yelps, and silence in between.

If you plan on hunting public land, you must focus on food sources. This could be an area close to an agricultural field or a zone with clear markings of prey, such as tracks or a known deer birthing area. 

Mind the Temperature

Temperature control is a massive consideration, especially on a long coyote hunt, so focus on moisture-wicking base layers and more insulating outer layers.

A cold-weather face mask and high-performance hiking socks made of merino or similarly insulating materials can make a massive difference. Regarding firearm choice, keep it simple with a .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, or .243 Winchester for more extended range capacity and enough velocity to ensure a clean kill. 

HuntWise and Coyote Hunting Keep You in the Field

The hunting season doesn't have to end with the closing day of deer or waterfowl season. Coyote hunting is one of the best ways to keep your skills sharp and contribute to the ecological balance that supports our great sport. 

Whether you're new to the world of coyote hunting or have been out on those long, cold mornings for a few seasons now, the mapping insights, weather forecasting, and contact details for landowners are just a few of the many ways the HuntWise app will put you onto some big coyotes. 

Using HuntWise keeps you in the field throughout the year — which means it's always a good time of year to give it a try. Download it for free today, then explore it — free — for your first week.