East Coast Woods; best choice?

[mannyrock]

 
Dear Guys,
 
   I have been hunting deer and small game for over 40 years, and I have now decided to try to take up varmint hunting.  I live in central Virginia, and most of the land available to me is thick woods.  These woods are surrounded by large and small farms, with mixed fields, but at present I don't have permission to watch and shoot those fields.
 
   I believe that there are alot of varmints in the area (fox and coyote), because I see them along the roads and never see anybody hunting them.   I have killed a few varmints from my deer stand in the past, but these were always just the luck of having one cruise by.
 
   I need some advice please. 
 
    First, I was thinking about getting a .22 Hornet.  I have shot these rifles at the ranges, and really like them.  Many folks say these are great for medium to short range varmint hunting.  On the other hand, though, I see alot of articles that say that in mixed woods, the very best gun would be a 12 gauge, with copper plated BBs or no. 4s.  Which would be better for me?    Most of my shots would be from deer stands.  (Or is that a mistake?  Should I really be calling from the ground?)  I am going to start out with early morning hunting, and dusk hunting.  Not night hunting.
 
  Second, I will be using a rabbit in distress mouth call.   Again, I am getting some seemingly opposite advice.  Some articles say that once you are set up, you should make your first set of calls really loud, to grab the attention of varmints that are far away, and then make each successive set of calls softer and softer, to draw them in.
 
   Other articles say to make your first set of calls fairly soft, to immediately bring in anything close, and then gradually make them louder and louder to reach further out. 
 
   Which should I do?
 
    Thanks for all advice.
 
Mannyrock
 

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

   Manny, I have never shot a coyote in the hard woods of the east, but friends have shot them with rifles while hunting deer...I had a pal who used to call grey fox at nite...he used a 12 bore with 2's...I have often thought, calling from an elevated deer stand would be a great plan for eastern varmits as coyotes, here often try and circle to get the wind in their favor...As for the hornet, I love mine and have killed a couple coyotes with it, but have never taken it coyote hunting..saw them when I was doing something else...When I look at the brush of the east, I think a coyote or fox hunter might be best armed with a good 12 bore shotgun, but I would use either BB's or 2's especially if fox are also on the menu...as for a rifle, you deer rifle would work on coyote, but might be a bit strenuous on fox...While I always pick a .22-250 for my western coyote rifle, there with fox also on the list, a good .223 might be perfect..for coyotes I feel a hornet might be just a bit light...friends have killed them close with a .22 mag...but not on a regular basis...if you were shooting over a bait and could pick your shot, the hornet might be the ticket, but I would opt for the .223......

[bigbore442001]

In the Northeast the use of a bait pile is becoming the most popular and most successful method of hunting coyotes. It seems that they don't respond to calls like animals from the west or southwest. There is one fellow in Massachusetts that wrote some articles on baitpiles and I want to say he has shot over 100 coyotes over them.
Most coyote hunting here is done in the winter months. People will make a meat cicle and place a trail camera. In some states like Maine and NH that allow the use of lights at night some hunters will rig up a sensor to a solar light to illuminate the bait site. Again this is legal where we are but you must check your laws.

[Qaz]

 Manny- here is the deal in VA. We can not bait anything, we can hunt at night and it works very well with a light. Depending on where you hunt we have some fox or some more fox, but the coyotes have seen to it that we don't have alot of fox. Coyotes are not evenly distributed throught out VA either, but overall we do have alot of them. Hunting fox and coyotes requires two different tactics, at least it has for me. Fox will cover open ground most of the time and seem to be at ease doing it. Therefore you can watch them come in and take your time with the shot. Coyotes will not come into the open unless it is absolutely nessesary, they are good at circleing the call weather it is up wind, down wind or sideways. You might get a pup to come in hard, but after they get any age on them, they will not show themselve until they are right on top of you. Coyotes are like crows, when they know you can't shoot them, they are easy to find, but when you have a gun, you rarely see one.
 Because shooting distances are usually not long here in VA, a 22 Hornet would be just fine, but a 221 FB would have a little more oomph. I use a 223 and a 17FB and both put them down for the count. If I am hunting heavy woods, then I will carry a 12ga with #4 buck.
 I have hunted out of tree stands in the past on occasion, but they have not produced for me because the coyote usually comes in behind me and catches me. Don't ever think that they don't know where every treestand in thier territory is, they do. It is best to hunt from the ground and easier to pinpoint where the footsteps come from. He will be hard enough to spot as it is, you will probably hear him before you see him, at least I do.
 Calls: there is no hard fast rule, but as sure as I am writing this, if the only call you are using is a rabbit in distress, that is the one that doesn't work! I use rabbit, jack rabbit, kittens, fawns, ducks, and stuff I makeup. You just need to find the key for that day. I start off soft and get louder, it makes more sense to me. On my very first stand ever, I settled in, had my rifle in my lap, put the call to my lips and let loose, at the first sound a coyote came out of the woods 50yds away at full stride, he was literally in my lap before I could move, He veered to my right at the last moment. I don't know who it scared more, but I do know it seemed like about 5 minutes before my heart started beating again, needless to say I WAS HOOKED!!!
 You are just going to have to find what works for you.
 
Good luck

[mannyrock]

 
  Wow Qaz,
 
     Thanks for all of that information.  It was exactly what I needed to know.
 
     I had my doubts about hunting coyotes from a tree stand, only because they are smarter than h*ll and know that wounded rabbit sounds shouldn't be coming from up in a tree.
 
    My nephew is a super bow hunter, and has thousands of dollars of every conceivable type of gear.  He got one of those portable nylon ground stands a few years ago (they are light, made of camo cloth,  and open up into a little square tent), so I was thinking about trying to use one of those.
 
    I will make sure I get a variety of calls, to go with the rabbit call.
 
    After 40 years of deer hunting, I have found that I have finally reached the saturation point.  I just can't stand to sit up in a tree stand for 8 hours a day, just to shoot another one.
 
    I will be hunting in Shenandoah and Rockingham Counties, which are large bear harvest counties. So, I guess I had better be a little careful about a black bear coming in to the call.  (Maybe I will borrow a big bore handgun, just to be safe.)
 
Regards, Mannyrock
 
 

[Qaz]

 Manny- good luck with the ground blind and let us know how that works for you. I tried it twice and had to move too much to see the coyote coming in. They may move around alot on TV hunting them out west, but you move much at all here in the east and they will see you and move out fast! You will probably find out quickly that less is more when preditor hunting. I keep the bare minimum that I need in a back pack and leave the rest at home.
 I had a black bear come in once at night, when I hit him with the light and recognized what it was, I dump everything in my back pack and left at a brisk pace, checking every so often to see if he was following me. I don't think a big bore pistol would have been any use, too hard to see. It only happened once and I don't care if it never happens again!

[Bigeasy]

Manny
 
Lots of good suggestions posted.  I do a lot of coyote hunting here in pa.  One trick that has about doubled my take is using a decoy.  In my case, its a small, fur covered elec. motor, with a little fur covered tail that intermittently spins and wiggles.  "Fuzzy Critter", or something like that.  I place it about 50 yards from my blind, along with a power dog elec. caller, with the speaker hidden near the decoy.  Works great, as it seems to capture the yotes attention, and draw them right in.  I like the .204 Ruger, as it usually blows up inside, and does not leave an exit hole.  I usually hunt in the winter, when the hides are prime, often at night.  Yea, I have had a bear or two come in during the early season, no problems, but I usually carry a 4 inch S&W 44 mag just in case.
 
Larry

[mannyrock]

 
Larry,
 
   Thanks for the equipment advice.  I am going to see what those two items cost.
 
    As far as a bear, here in Virginia in the counties where I hunt, you do not need to draw a special permit or special tag to shoot a bear.  As long as you buy the proper licenses, you can shoot one.
 
   So, if a bear should come in on my call, and it is legal season and shooting time, I would not hesitate to bag it.
 
Best, Mannyrock