# New to forum and predator hunting, could use some help



## riverbottomhunter (Jan 25, 2011)

I got told about this site by a member of another forum I'm on. They told me this is the place to come for any questions regarding predator hunting.

I got a phantom electronic predator call a few years ago. I tried it out once or twice but all I could call in was chicken hawks. I really had no clue what I was doing so I just turned it on and would wait.

I have been looking for a new hobby lately and decided to really give predator hunting a try. Any tips you all could give me would be great.

I will mostly be hunting in the riverbottoms near home so most of the land will be mixture of timber and crop fields. I also plan on hunting some crp/timber farms. My targets will be yotes and bobcats. Questions I have are, what time of the day is best (Im guessing early morning/late evening). Should I just turn the call on and leave it on till I change locations? How long should I stay at 1 location? Our riverbottoms are pretty big, if i were to move locations, how far should i move down the river before setting up again? I will probably try to call the yotes out into the fields, but spots I got picked out for bobcats are all in the timber. Is there anything different I should do for bobcats over yotes?

I plan on getting some kind of decoy. For the price the quiver critter looks to have some good reviews. Anyone use one of them?


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## coyotejon (Feb 4, 2010)

Lot of questions man but let me say welcome, and you have come to the right place. For cat calling cats vs. coyotes stay longer when calling for cats, I think most guys give it an hour. There are guys on here that kill cats and I'm sure they'll chime in and give you some help. As far as coyotes go I would sit 30-45 min and move on to a location no closer than about a quarter of a mile away from your original spot. Change sounds during your stand, don't be afraid to go from rabbit distress to bird distress on the same stand. Sometimes you just need to hit the right sound for them and something triggers in them and they come. As far as how long to let your call run I would say try different things. Different things work better on different days. Good luck man, shoot straight.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Coyotejon covered it pretty well. My advice is to check the wind and sit still, catching sight of ovement mens life and death to them on several fronts, finding food or being food.


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## showmeyote (Dec 12, 2010)

Welcome river bottom!!!! Some very good stuff here. These guys will shoot ya straight. As for coyotes, most of the time, me presonally. I call with hand call mostly, but some times use the e caller. I set for about 15 or 20 mins, and sometimes more if i feel its right. Clean, stay clean. Coyotes and foxes will bust you faster thin anything. Cats... not so much, but it happens. Like youngdon said, be still very still, move slowly when need be. Keep volume low starting out and the rest should just come to you as you gain time in the field. 
I like looking at it as if the chicken hawks are hunting, so is everything else. I use this while im driving home and thinking about goin out. If the hawks are flying and looking for food, might as well try it. If there roosted, i might go but im not as fired up about it. Good luck, keep reading... lol


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## riverbottomhunter (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I just ordered a couple new playtoys in the form of a savage 204 and 17. They are suppose to be in by friday, hoping to get one sighted in on saturday and give it a try sunday. We have lots of snow in our part of the state so I am hoping the critters are hungry.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

You'll love them both. The .204 is a great predator round when the correct bullets are used. I use either 35gr bergers or 39gr Sierra BK's for coyote sized game. The 32's are awesome on PD's.


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## Helmet_S (Mar 18, 2010)

Welcome Riverbottomhunter, I knew that you would like this site for the wealth of information on predator hunting.

I would like to add to what Youngdon said. I haven't had an issue with the 32 gr bullets at all yet but I am also very careful about bullet placement and haven't taken anything past 300 yards with it yet. I have a good hunting buddy that took a coyote out at 415ish yards with the 32 gr bullet and it was dead right there but again shot placement was everything. I would say that the heavier bullets are definitly better all around but if the 32's are what you have then just make sure you are hitting where you entend on hitting. I am working through my current supply of the 32's and also working on some new loads based on the 35 and 39 gr bullets. if you are going store bought there are far less options in most stores usually I only see 32 or 40 gr options. My rifle will not stabilize the 40 gr bullets well at all. I can't even hit a target at 25 yards with it but it will shoot the 39 gr bullets just fine but I have touble finding them on the store shelves.

Anyways enjoy the site and I hope that you gain and share some knowledge here. Have a great day and welcome.


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