Yote Success

[IceHawk]

Well how is everyone doing chaseing the yotes this winter. The group of guys I hunt with have 26 so far. We are hunting them with hounds. We shot 4 on Wednsday, it helps they are pairing up now. If you jump one alot of times you will end up getting 2. We haven't seen alot of fox but this is usally the case. The yotes have a tendancy to chase all the fox out of a section they are in. Bigger dog always seems to beat the smaller dog. We are going after them again tommorow after resting the dogs with this fresh snowfall it should be good. The pelts we have taken this year haven't been to bad not alot of mange. Well I was just wondering how everyones season was going calling,spotting, or hunting with hounds?

[Rost]

The boys from back home (western MN) now have a total of 91. They have them all skinned and stretched and are planning on taking a picture soon. They just got a bit of snow again, so hopefully they'll hit the 100 mark before the end. They had some real steller weekends! One (3 day) weekend they shot 18.

They have about ten guys that hunt every weekend. Man I miss that!

[Rost]

Oh, yeah...and myself I called in and shot 1 measly coyote I missed quite a few on the run.

I need an AR.

[Valv]

Quote:

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Oh, yeah...

I need an AR.

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Rost, don't say that word......makes me shiver.....I want one soooo bad...

[Cooter]

Going out tomorrow...the boys only have about 20 so far - tough without snow.

What kind of hounds you guys run em with? We usually have most varieties present on any given day. I like blue ticks myself, although our best dog lately is a walker/plott mix.

[grizzald]

Rost, Glad to here your buds from West Central MN are cleaning them up. Where abouts are they hunting them? Reason I'm asking is because I'm from West Central part of the state and I'm hoping there getting a few around my area. I've seen to many yotes chasing deer the last year so they need to get thinned down around here.

[Rost]

North of you several miles.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

we hunted hard last weekend on saturday and sunday from north of artichoke down to the minnesota river, and east to the chippewa...covered nearly every chunk of land we had permission to be on...saw LOTS of tracks but only managed to get two coyotes and one fox. the clontarf predator hunt last saturday was won by a group that shot 7 yotes and 5 fox. 29 kills total for the hunt.

[IceHawk]

We shot two more yotes today a little windy but we found some nice pines where some were bedded down. We saw 4 got 2 . Two of the yotes escaped two big of sections for the crew we had today. As far as dogs we run walkers and a solo blutick. The bluetick is a real good cold nose hound he's a heck of a cold tracker. I prefer blutick's also I love the deep throaty ball they have. The walkers have the speed and track good. The walkers are awesome once the coyote is jumped they catch up real fast. We usally put the older dogs out first to figure out the tack. Then sometimes when one is jumped we throw a couple pups that are in training out to join the pack. They have been comeing along real well.

Hunting with hounds is awesome! Listening to the bawl's and chopps the hounds make when on a hot track is music to my ears.

[poutpro]

What do you do once you let one loose on the trail? Run after them or get in the vehicle and follow until they catch it or what?

[IceHawk]

We sorround the section and set up guys at know crossing areas or areas that have good vantage points and hope for the best. Sometimes it works out othere times it doesn't. We usally have mostly varmint rifles in more open areas and shotgunners with buck-shot in more dense areas. We have been hunting the same area's for years so we have the yotes patterns and crossing area's pretty much down. Every once in awhile they throw us a curve and they win the game until next time.

[poutpro]

Sounds like a blast! How close of shots do you end up getting? I was out just earlier today, and a buddy and I saw a fox go into a little grove, so he decided hed try to push it out. I was all set up and ready for it to come running out the opposite side my buddy went in to. I hear him shoot and put the fire on and get ready and here the fox comes jumping out right where I was sitting and I about soiled myself. I didn't even hit the thing it startled me so much.

[Cooter]

We chased one big yote yesterday from 8:30 until 7:15 - longest chase I've been in on. Only one shot fired at him, I was one of 3 to see him. Guaranteed he went 20+ miles, more amazing is 2 of the dogs were on him all day. Very smart old yote, probably been run before. At times he was a mile or more in front of the dogs, other times he circled like a bunny in heavy cover. Got close to catching those last 2 hounds at dark but they weren't ready to quit yet! As hawk said earlier, just too big of sections, plus is was all forest country. Sure was fun though, that yote deserved to live another day.

[IceHawk]

Our group usally try's to contain shots under 50 yds for the shotgunners. We use 00 and 4 buck in 3 and 3 1/2 inch 12 gauges. If the yotes to far out we will pass hopeing he shows himself to someone else or if were lucky the dogs will circle him back again giveing a closer shot.

As far as the riflemen they will take some shots at some good distances. Most of the guys are shooting 22-250, 220 swifts and 223 rifles with bi-pods. We usally setup on hills or high open spots that allow good shots at distances. We have also killed a few close 30 yds or less with rifles. I'ts definately better to have futher shots as sometimes you tear them up pretty good at close ranges. Alot of yotes will ocassionally stop if you yell or bark at them when running givieng a standing shot. Sometimes they stop and look back for the dogs and this is when you crack them. We have 1 guy that shoots a AR-15 223 boy is this thing lethal in open ground at a running yote.

Yote and fox hunting is fun and once it gets in your blood your hooked!!!

[poutpro]

I can testify that it is an addiction. I had hunted them before, but really got into it this year with another guy that has done it all his life, and it is what I look forward to all week. Some day I'd like to tag along on a hunt led by dogs.

[picksbigwagon]

Valv and Rost, I bought an AR this fall, they aren't as expensive as you would think. I bought mine from a guy in bemidji, an Olympic Arms K-8. I bought the scope from cabelas, all said and told it was less than 1000 for the whole set up. The gun was around $750.....20" bull stainless barrel, definately not a light gun, but I have walked quite a bit with it and use shooting sticks. here is a picture of my set up and a target I shot at from 100 yards. the first picture was getting centered on the black spot, the second is the 5 shot group being covered by the dime in the first picture.

centering

5 shot group at 100 yards, straight in front of Ike's nose

here is my set up:

email me and I will get you the name of the dealer I went through in Bemidji. He did a little trigger work on mine and a buddies, as my buddy complains, he still has to get used to the light take up in the trigger. I don't touch the trigger until I am ready to fire.

[email protected]

[poutpro]

Very nice setup!! What power is that scope? I think if I had that gun, I'd go through 1000 bullets just target shooting going crazy through magazines. I'm jealous.

[Valv]

Picksbigwagon you too are in my Bad Guys list now.....I don't like you anymore..

Just kidding, of course

Wow that is a nice setup. Unfortunately my CFO already said no, and for a while I have to "be good" and not even look at these, I am VERY weak when it gets to it....

Anyway good shooting, now you just have to go and help us getting rid of some varmint.....

...gosh, that is a nice gun.....

[CASTnBLAST]

I bought my Oly arms from Mike also,very knowledgable and good guy.I spent more than Picks but the neat thing about these guns is they are so easily modified and interchangeable. You can get a good shooter for 7-8 hundred bucks.The low recoil makes for great follow up shots on running coyotes.

[Big Julie]

picksbigwagon;

Awesome setup.

Did you hand load or use shells out of a box?

If handloaded, did you 'workup' a load for your gun?

Have you shot any long distance?

Nice.

[picksbigwagon]

Big Julie, $5.49 for a box of 20 american eagle 50 grain HP flat tails.....I have a box if 52 grain Black hills vmax that I haven't sighted in yet. this is a very accurate gun off of sandbags.....shooting sticks is another story I guess....

I have tried a little bit at 200 yards on a target, put ten into an 8" circle, but that was at the end of a long day shooting and helping my buddy get his set up correctly. Basically I put ten rounds into it to see how it would do.

the coyote I missed this fall was on thanksgiving morning with about a 30 mph cross wind which I failed to compensate for. I was close at 400 yards before it turned tail and headed back towards us. I was drilling a frozen pumpkin at 250 yards ( my estimate) with FMJ's..... I was up north this fall taking shots at a bolder at 300 yards. granted this was a big bolder, about 3feet by 4 feet, but I was plugging the same corner every time.... This summer I will head back to the range and spend some time at the 200 and 300 yard targets, just to get used to them.....Like I said, this gun will shoot better than I ever will

[poutpro]

Are coyotes done mating now?

[IceHawk]

They are still paired up. I wish we would get some fresh snow looks like we missed out it was more N. The dogs and the hunters are getting anxious!!

[Cooter]

Diddo, we're gonna go tomorrow no matter what but we were supposed to get snow - hopefully later tonight.

The boys got one last Sat in that garsh aweful cold weather, glad I couldn't go that day. The index finger on my right hand itches something terrible

[Cooter]

Tough hunting, never got that snow - went nort of us. Finally got a good chase going early afternoon and killed a nice male yote. Doesn't sound like the weather is gonna cooperate anytime soon.

[poutpro]

I was out Sunday late morning and thought it was going to be ideal to catch a fox sunning itself, but only saw one that was full of menge. It's tail was like a rat's with a puff ball at the end. I would have tried to put him out of his misery, but he was right behind a guy's house with no hunting signs clearly posted, and the owner was not home to get permission.

[HunterLee]

hey poutpro u hunt in nodak or on our side of the river. saw someone on the way home from work in a field just east of moorhead bout week or so ago. musta been trying call in a fox. if that was you i saw one out in the same field on the way to work this morning. woulda been nice to been able to hunt him.