King of Iowa Winters part 2
By Rich Byerly

Calling is one exciting way to see the wily predator actually come to the hunter, and this method of the sport has the most rapidly growing number of hunters in Iowa. 
Since the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) does not classify the coyote as a game animal, one bonus is that coyote calling can be done year-round. Calling works best in the early morning and late evening hours. Any hunter who can blow the basic rabbit distress call can fool a coyote. Beginners can purchase a good video at any sporting goods store and quickly learn how to call. River drainages and timber patches are prime areas to call, but hunters should leave their vehicle as far from the calling site as possible. Gunners should walk quietly and directly to their chosen calling site.

It is best to wear camouflage clothing and always have brush, small trees, or some other object to break the caller’s outline. The best calling site is just below the break of a hill. It’s also good to leave some open area of vision for the animal to approach. Days with little or only a light wind (under 15 mph) are best for calling and, when possible, callers should call into the wind to areas they think coyotes may be hiding. Coyotes have one of the most sensitive noses in all of the animal kingdom, and will spook if they get even a small whiff of a human.  When calling, I prefer to use a flat shooting, low recoil rifle like a .223 with a variable 3x by 9x scope. 

After the first series of calls, hunters should remain motionless for about 30 minutes before moving to another site. On quite, windless days, coyotes can come from as far as three-quarters of a mile away, so callers should be patient. Many hunts are unsuccessful because the hunter leaves a calling site too soon.

One hunt several years ago illustrates this point. Hunting west of Maxwell, Iowa, I spotted a pair of coyotes over a half-mile away, sunning on a southern-exposed hillside. Hiding my vehicle, I hiked several hundred yards along a small stream and backed in against the low branches of a red cedar tree. 

Through binoculars I watched the pair as I began calling. Running together, both headed for my position at a dead run. They entered a small one-acre patch of timber along a small stream and suddenly disappeared. I called intermittently for another twenty minutes before they both finally appeared again from a small hidden depression some 100 yards away and well over a hundred yards from the timber where I thought they were. I dropped the male with my varmint rifle and continued calling. Convinced I had spooked the second one, I waited for another ten minutes before I stood up to retrieve the downed coyote. To my surprise, the tracks in the snow showed where the second one had wheeled and run, not twenty feet below me. While the area had little cover, I had never seen the other coyote come in.

Since coyotes are now widespread throughout the state, calling offers opportunities on almost all of the state’s public hunting areas. You can even call coyotes within minutes of many cities and suburban areas of Iowa. Callers like Jerry and Dave Bishop of Bondurant call coyotes near urban settings where other methods of hunting just wouldn’t be possible. However, the rural areas have also seen an increase in coyote calling. Marc Roberg, the State Conservation Officer for Ringgold and Union Counties in southern Iowa, says that over the last ten years he has seen a steady increase in the number of coyote callers. “Calling allows hunters to hunt coyotes even when snow cover is lacking, “ Roberg said.  

Another popular method of taking Iowa coyotes in the more rural areas is running coyotes with trail hounds. Because the coyote is such a great long-distance runner and because the little wolf seldom holds up, coyotes make an ideal quarry for trail hound enthusiasts. Walker hounds are the most popular hound breeds, but the slower Blue ticks and Redbones will also work. 

Hunters either cast their hounds into prime coyotes sections or spot a fresh track and put the hounds on the trail. There are literally hundreds of groups of Iowan across the state who hunt coyotes this way. Some groups of hunters, like Jim Hartsook’s group from Nevinville, Iowa, put hounds on a fresh track and then attempt to post hunters on the coyote’s known escape routes.

Some of these coyote chases can be unbelievably long and hounds may run one coyote for hours.

One such legendary chase began one morning in western Audubon County, continued through Shelby County, and ended at dusk in Harrison County, 36 miles away. (The coyote, incidentally, got away).

While some coyotes will lead hounds on long chases, the majority involve a circular chase in a two to three mile area. Some coyotes will circle in front of hounds all day in thick heavy cover and never leave their “home” area.

Even though Iowa law allows dogs in “hot pursuit” of game to cross land as long as the hounds don’t bother livestock, it is always best to gain permission to run hounds on private property. If hounds do enter closed areas, hunters can enter the property to retrieve their hound(s), but must do so without carrying firearms. 

While there are some hound hunting groups across the Hawkeye state, the majority of these groups are located in the rural areas of the southern, southeastern, and western sections of the state. Most of these groups welcome courteous, careful hunters and each snowfall welcomes an exodus of hunters from the state’s cities to join their rural friends.

The survival of the Iowa coyote is truly one of nature’s amazing success stories. Despite all man’s efforts to get rid of them, coyotes just keep expanding their range and numbers. When large numbers of coyotes are taken from an area, the remaining females usually respond by having large litters of pups the next year. A coyote can give birth to anywhere from three to 12 puppies.  

Iowa coyotes are living proof that good habitat makes for healthy animals. In Iowa’s fertile agricultural mix, coyotes grow quite large.  While the average Hawkeye coyote weighs about 30 pounds, some Iowa specimens can grow to over 40 pounds. 
Coyotes are opportunistic predators; they will eat anything from insects, rabbits, mice, carrion, birds, and even fawns. Coyotes sometimes take newborn calves, too, so farmers usually welcome coyote hunters.

The coyote’s increase population has led to an increase in hunting activity.  It is estimated that Iowa hunters and trappers take 9,000-10,000 coyotes each year. 
“ Considering all methods of hunting and trapping,” Ron Andrews of the IDNR surmised, “ the number of coyotes taken each year probably exceeds 10,000.”
Too long in reaching the esteem that is due him, the coyote has continually climbed to greater popularity among Iowa’s winter hunters. The coyote’s speed, intelligence and ability to live close to man give the prairie wolf a fantastic set of hunting credentials. Now, every winter, Iowans will have a better chance than ever before to add this bonus big game animal to their list of trophies. Iowa’s hunters who hunt coyote will, indeed, conclude that the coyote is truly “King of the Winter”.

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