Coyote hunting equipment reviews
Coyote hunting is a great excuse to buy toys. You will buy coyote hunting toys, so you might as well make a plan.
Rifle
There is no right or wrong rifle, so don’t get caught up in the hype. I use two rifles. My favorite rifle is a Remington 742 in 30-06. It can handle thick terrain shooting. The open terrain rifle I chose was the Remington 700 in Ruger .204 caliber. The ballistics for the .204 are unbelievable. Hornady makes a vicious ballistic tip.
Scope
Once again, personal preference is the key. The 742 has a Tasco 3x9x40 that was put onto the rifle by my father. For the 700 I chose the Nikon Monarch 2.5x10x50, with BDC.Both of the rifles are zeroed at 200 yards.
Shooting Bench
Long range shooting requires accuracy. Setting a scope is much easier if you use a shooting bench. The Caldwell Lead Slead FCX makes this task easy. Rough adjustments are made with a knob, but the precision adjustments are made with the FCX lever.
Electronic Game Caller
Coyotes are smart, but they will respond to an easy meal. The learning curve using a hand call is steep, so the most efficient way to hunt is using an electronic call. FoxPRO is my choice. I wanted a caller that could be changed, so I went with the FireStorm. FoxPRO has free software that you can use to customize the caller. FoxPRO uses proprietary sound files, but the caller will accept MP3 files. There are a lot of sounds on the internet. You can purchase and instantly download files from FoxPro, or you can surf the internet and find free sounds. IF you choose to use MP3 files, rename them with a number, one space, and then the file name (ie: 200 Fawn Dist.mp3 ). If you load an mp3 file named another way it will truncate the file name.
Buy some rechargeable batteries too. Your caller will make strange noises with some batteries. A good charge will last several hunts.
Shooting Sticks
Even if you have a bipod on your rifle, you will want to invest in some kind of good shooting sticks. I chose the Primos Trigger Stick. The handle makes leveling the tripod fast.
Cover Scent
If a coyote gets down wind of you, they will run. Cover scents will give you a little extra time. The only thing that is common to all hunting situations is dirt. That’s right... DIRT. We chose Hunter Specialties Fresh Earth wafers.
Lighting
You can never have enough light. With that said, there are some items you will want to pick up asap.
KILL LIGHT XLR250
The KILL LIGHT XLR250 is awesome. It comes with two mounts, two batteries, a battery charger, two switches, and it is surprisingly very bright. Elusive Wildlife Technologies put together an awesome hunting package.
BRINKMANN Q-BEAM
The Brinkmann Q-Beam has 3 million candle power, snap on lenses, a home charger, an auto charger, and it is cordless. It is heavy, but bright light is important.
Decoys
Coyotes eat deer, hogs, birds, rabbits, and cows. The decoys we use are a deer, rabbit, and pileated woodpecker.
DEER DECOY
The Edge Fawn Decoy is a bit bulky, but it does work. All you do is push the stake into the ground and rip out some fawn in distress calls with the FoxPRO.
MOJO CRITTER
The mojo critter is battery powered, but the batteries last a long time. It has a steel spike, and waterproof on/off switch. It is light and setup is quick. You will want one of these.
OUTFOXED WHIRLING WOODPECKER
This decoy looks like a Pileated Woodpecker. It is battery operated and durable. This is another decoy you will want to try.
Camouflage Clothing
Concealment is crucial. If weather permits, I just use my deer hunting clothing. But when it is hot, you need a lightweight Ghilli Suit. I picked up a 5 piece suit. It is lightweight, but there is a MAJOR downside. The strings will tangle up with pine straw, briars, sticks, roots, bark, and grass. You need to use this in a very clean area or stay still.
All of my hunting friends agree that every piece of this will be purchased by a coyote hunter. Soon after it is purchased, hand held calls will be purchased. Get ready, it is expensive.
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