Hunting coyotes is extremely difficult and it’s great practice for any type of hunter. However, hunting coyotes with a bow is often considered one of the toughest challenges there is.
But is hunting coyotes with a bow possible? That’s one of the most frequently asked questions and you’re in the right place if you’re looking to find an answer.
Down below, you won’t only find out the answer, but also tips that will help try to improve your hunting efforts and skills, so keep on reading!
Is Hunting Coyotes With a Bow Possible?
Hunting coyotes with a bow is definitely possible but it’s definitely a challenging task. But it’s not impossible and even though it’s going to be a very challenging task, it’s definitely the one that will be very well worth the hassle as the reward will feel amazing!
Not only will you need to improve your bow hunting skills which could require a lot of practice at first, but you’ll also definitely enjoy your hunts where you’re doing your best to improve your skills hunting for coyotes no matter the outcome of your hunt.
Of course, you shouldn’t expect the success in every hunt and you shouldn’t underestimate coyotes. However, improving your aiming and hunting skills and beating coyotes at their own game and territory will be a huge reward.
Tips on Hunting Coyotes with a Bow
Now, even before you get started, you should know that it’s not going to be an easy ride, but with proper training, preparation, practice, and hunting skills, you can definitely do it and these tips will help you prepare yourself for a hunt on coyotes!
1. Learn Yardages and Practice
Needless to say, you’ll need a very accurate aim. Of course, this is one thing that money can’t buy and yet you’ll have to spend hours and hours at the shooting range practicing shooting with your bow.
You should practice your aim from different ranges and not only should your aim be on point, but you should also practice your speed. Coyotes are quick and you will often have to draw quickly and shoot quickly and that’s something you should prepare for.
Also, practice shooting from your knees. Oftentimes, you won’t have a chance to stand up and take a proper shot after placing a call or a decoy as coyotes are very quick. Therefore, practice some of the shots from your knees instead. Even if it’s only at the shooting range, you’ll try to recreate the situations as closely as possible.
2. Do Your Best to Find a Successful Location
If you’re hunting locally, you should do your best to research the common hunting locations where you will have success preying on predators such as coyotes.
Finding a proper hunting location has a lot to do with your hunt’s success so you better find a spot that will go in your favor.
From there, you can find spots where you would ideally position yourself, spots where you’d place decoys and calls, and then try your best to stay prepared, ideally doing a test run to see how much time it will take you to prepare yourself once you reach the spot.
3. Use Calls and Decoys
Calls and decoys will make a huge difference when hunting for predators such as coyotes. However, even though they can help you a lot, you should be aware that calls can quickly draw coyotes, much sooner than hunters think.
That’s why we’ve recommended practicing shooting from your knees because that’s how fast coyotes can rush to the calls and decoys that you place.
Calls such as distressed rabbit calls attract coyotes the best and that’s just one of the sounds you can use to attract them for a start.
We also wrote a whole article that can help you hunt for coyotes so give that a read!
4. Be Prepared for Coyotes’ Speed
We can’t stress enough how important it is not to underestimate coyotes’ speed. They’re predators and they’re very quick so not only do your bow handling skills and aim have to be on point, but so does your overall speed has to be quick.
You won’t ever have a moment to be unprepared and find yourself in a bad situation or even worse yet, miss out on the opportunity you’ve worked for so hard.
Coyotes can achieve speeds between 34 to 42 miles per hour with the ability to jump a distance of 13⅛ feet.
It’s also worth mentioning that coyotes can weigh anywhere from 15 to 46 lbs. These are all the information useful to keep in mind when you’re finding your spot and planning your strategy and movement during the hunt.
5. Camouflage is Your Best Friend
Camouflage is super important when you’re hunting for coyotes. Coyotes can spot movement even from up close even if you’re wearing camo, so without the camo, you won’t stand a chance no matter how good your calls and decoys are.
What’s important to know is that coyotes are colorblind but they can see well in the dark since their eyes have more rod receptors than human eyes. It’s like they have night vision so you should camouflage yourself and be very careful about your movement, especially after placing your calls.
Since they can rush to calls so quickly, you won’t have a lot of time to set yourself in a good position and that’s, why it’s once again essential to learn to shoot from your knees since that might be the only way not to miss an opportunity.
Conclusion
Hunting coyotes with a bow is definitely possible but it takes a lot of practice, dedication, effort, and even knowledge.
Of course, these tips will be a good starting point and even if you’re a beginner, you’ll have to learn as much as possible about coyotes, learn how to handle your bow the best you can, practice aim and shooting, learn yardage, and then come up with best spots and strategies to make your coyote hunt a successful one.
Do you like the challenge of hunting coyotes? Did you ever hunt for predators?
