LORDS OF DOGTOWN: A WESTERN COYOTE HUNTING STORY

Hunter in full camouflage carrying a rifle across his shoulders while scanning an open desert landscape during a western coyote hunt.

When you hunt a coyote, you’re hunting an animal that hunts for a living. You’re matching wits and skill, cunning and stealth against the most successful, widespread predator in North America.

Why We Hunt Coyotes

Smart, adaptable and hardy, the coyote has greatly expanded its range since 1900, the only North American predator to do so. It has a growing presence in every state in the US except Hawaii.

As coyotes spread, so do their devastating effects on both livestock and game animals. A 2019 USDA report estimated $232 million in annual livestock losses due to predators, with coyotes as suspect number one. In some states, coyotes cause around 65% of all whitetail deer fawn deaths every year.

A herd of pronghorn antelope running at high speed across a dusty, wide-open desert plain under a cloudy sky.

Coyotes need to be hunted to help control their ever-expanding numbers and their constantly increasing toll on livestock, household pets, and game animals.

You can’t just take a leisurely stroll in the woods or across the fields and expect to bag a song dog. You have to play the wind just right. You must conceal your movements and camouflage your shape and colors. You have to understand the lay of the land and what routes of approach a coyote will choose to sneak up on your decoy, call or attractant.

Two hunters packing gear into the bed of a pickup truck at night in an open field, illuminated by truck lights.

Motion blur shot of two hunters carrying rifles over their shoulders while walking through a grassy field at dawn.

Your fieldcraft and skills must be good to bag a predator whose eyesight, sense of hearing and smell, and every behavior is keenly designed to make it a perfect hunting machine.  

Silhouette of two hunters carrying rifles over their shoulders while crossing a barbed wire fence into an open field at sunrise during a coyote hunt.

The AR15 Advantage Out West

The AR15 is ideal for going after such a wary, skilled predator. It offers clear advantages over bolt-action rifles when it comes to coyotes.

Side view of a hunter looking through binoculars next to a flat dark earth AR15 rifle mounted on a tripod setup during a coyote hunt.

Rear view of a camo-clad hunter sitting in a field chair looking through binoculars next to a tripod-mounted rifle near a cholla cactus during a western coyote hunt.

If you take a shot at a single coyote loping along at distance, the AR15’s low recoil helps you keep it in view through your optic, and the fast follow-up shot capability helps increase your chance for a second-round hit.

Sometimes, two or three coyotes simultaneously come running to your call setup. In that situation, the AR15’s advantages over a bolt-action become very clear. And the 5.56, the most common chambering for AR15s, is plenty good ‘yote medicine.

A hunter in camouflage and leather gloves lifting a harvested coyote into the open tailgate of a silver pickup truck.

Close-up of a stream of fresh blood trailing across a textured metal surface with harvested animal legs blurry in the background.

A harvested coyote lying flat in the bed of a pickup truck after a predator hunt.

We took along three semi-auto rifles for the hunt. One was an AR15 in 5.56 and the other two were AR-pattern .308s, great for the long shots offered up by the open plains. 

Flat dark earth AR15 rifle packed neatly inside a modular hard rifle case along with loaded magazines, gloves, and predator hunting gear.

A black bolt-action pattern rifle equipped with a large scope and suppressor packed inside a tan modular hard rifle case along with ammunition boxes, a camo pouch, and field gear.

A black AR-pattern semi-auto rifle packed horizontally inside a tan modular hard case alongside binoculars, ammunition boxes, a suppressor, and a tripod on dry grass.

To learn more about the rifles, the Magpul accessories we installed on them, and the gear that set us up for a great coyote hunt, check back soon for the Coyote Loadout feature coming soon at Magpul Comms.