Going coyote hunting for the first time!

I would advise using a 22 caliber centerfire like the 222, 223 or 22-250. Any centerfire will put them down but the 35-55 grain bullets seem to be best on fur.

One thing that may surprise you, the packs you heard likely had less than 6 coyotes in them each. Packs larger than that are very very rare in Indiana, I cannot think of any documented cases between my calling partners and myself of more than that. This has no implications on your coyote population... just the way a pack structure works.

The way coyotes vocalize on different wavelengths and use whines and screams at a rapid rate will fool you. They make sounds (And hear sounds) that are inaudible to the human ear. If I hear a pack open up and my initial thought is (FIVE COYOTES) then I will chew on it a minute and come to the realistic conclusion that it is two or three. And sure enough, 9 times out of 10 when they come to the call it is only a pair or triple making all that racket.

A "Pre-dispersal" pack of coyotes will contain a mother/father and a litter of pups (4-10). The pups will obviously sound much different and rarely even belt out something that qualifies as a "howl". By the time they are howling on their own the parents have kicked them out into the world on their own... this happens between mid-september and mid-october in our area.

#4 Buck through a scatter gun works well too.... with very little pelt damage.