Rabbit as bait for Coyote

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slab11

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I am a beginning coyote hunter. i have a call but wanted to know if anyone has/does use live rabbits, etc. I have a pet rabbit which stays inside. i have an extra cage and thought of letting her (Charlotte) go hunting with me:)
Obviously, i would not let her get hurt in any way, but since i read so much about scent being important, seems like nothing better than real rabbit scent?? I thought of using the rabbit in distress call, placing it and the rabbit (in a cage of course) about 50yrds away, and see what happens. I wanted to get experienced coyote hunters' opinions on this one.
 
It is my understanding that one of the reasons that coyotes yip and yodel when hunting is to make a rabbit move. Rabbits are difficult to see when they are motionless. Further, I have read that rabbits provide little scent for predators to smell.

As far as coyote bait, coyotes will eat about anything except peelings from fruits and vegetables. Meat, beans, potatoes, English peas, you name it. Ancient spaghetti sauce is good. The spaghetti, too, for that matter.
 
If you want a decoy, you'd be better off buying some kind of motion decoy.

Honestly, I've shot so many hundreds of coyotes that I couldn't tell you within 500 of how many I've shot. I really have no idea, but it's a bunch.

and I've never used anything resembling live bait, unless you count a couple of 40-50 lb airedales that love to chew on coyotes.

The sound of a call is sufficient. Some kind of motion decoy can help with wary coyotes that don't want to expose themselves, and if you REALLY want to do it right, save the urine from your rabbit, and get a battery operated "mister" to spread the scent.

But all you really need is a call if you learn how to hunt them right.

Daryl
 
The sound of a call is sufficient. Some kind of motion decoy can help with wary coyotes that don't want to expose themselves, and if you REALLY want to do it right
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daryl is 100% right!!! i ve killed alot of yotes, more this year than any. and all i use is a call. once you master your calling, and your set up. you will be seeing alot more live targets!!! with out having a family pet come up missing :eek:
 
I'm a dedicated hog hunter. My friends and I find a lot of young wild pigs that mom has run off and left. I keep them in a shed and give them away when they reach about 25 pounds. For calling in coyotes I use a small wild pig. When you put that pig down in front of you it immediately starts squealing. If there is a coyote in the area it will run right into a load of #4 buckshot.
 
I've never tried a rabbit, but I know a duck works. I was losing ducks and geese every night, so I knew a duck would be natural bait for my particular coyotes.

A Pekin duck is particularly good. They're white - they stand out like nothing else. And they can't stand to be alone, so they start quacking and keep quacking. And when you're done, you just untether them and start walking; they will follow you back to the pond - no hard feelings about shooting over them, etc. And for your next outing, they’re such gluttons, they’ll still be the easiest to catch with a handful of corn, no matter how many times they’ve been along for a coyote hunt.

One thing to keep in mind is that even with a good visual lure, coyotes will still try to circle and come in from down wind. Try to position yourself far enough back and away from your lure so that you stay as much out of the lure's down wind path as is practical.
 
Thanks for the great advice. Rabbits really do not smell themselves, but the urine is has a very strong odor we have found keeping one inside. Must clean the tray every other day or so. I think i will keep the rabbit at home for now and practice calling first.
 
Up close, sure, any dog can smell a rabbit. But we're not talking about up close when attracting a coyote in from a distance.

Once the rabbit is moving and has been seen by beagles, sure, there's enough scent in the trail for the dog to use. But the chase begins from up close.
 
My wife has rabbits and I'v found if you use a little bit of thier sent in an area and come back an call there in three days it seem to work. Don't over do it! Try to make a narural sent spot.
 
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