Coyote hunting tips

D

Thanks for sharing your years of experience.
A ton of info .
Do you use a bipod or rifle support ?
Do you use a chair or pad to set on?

Hal
 
I don't use a bipod here there isn't enough places that you can use one , even a long bipod will be a problem . Most of the time I curled up in a good setting position with my back against a rest and use my knee as support , taught by military at one time not sure if they do now . I have a pad that I will use if the ground is frozen , I'm not a fan of hemoroids and setting on frozen things will make that happen , other then that I just watch where I'm going to set for rocks , sticks , snakes , ants ect. . If you are comfortable you can set for longer periods of time with less movement . Practice getting into a good setting position and using your support elbow on your knee then take the bolt out of your rifle and practice using a good setting position with it . Left handed use your right elbow and right knee as your support , right handed use your left elbow and knee , cross your feet at the ankles and bring your feet up close to your butt cheeks . After you get comfortable with this then go to the range and practice shooting from 25 to 100 yards this way till you get good groups , you can push it farther then if you wish to . Even setting without a back support can be done steady with this position as long as you don't have tall things in front of you like brush and grass' .
 
I sat and thought on it Reemty J. my rifle goes ka-pow my bullet goes whop when it hit's I'm pretty sure yours does too . I have a few thousand rounds and don't want to waste them so I'm going to stick with my 223 for now when I get them all used I may think about getting a littler round again like the 204 or another 17 rem . lol . Dead is dead and that's what I'm mostly concerned with and not making a real big mess of it is second in concern after that , besides at this point in time it's just plain hard to get anything firearms related now if you want to let me use your 204 for a few years I'll meet you half way say in Cody so I can pick it and all the ammo up and give it a good try out lol you old pot licker from Montana dam .
 
I normally just use one sound at a set . When I'm using coyote vocalizations and they reply to me I reply back with the same as they used . If I'm out and they start talking first then I also reply with what they said . I don't switch sounds at the stand often just the volume normally . some times I will go with a coaxer call at the same stand .
 
When we listen to an animal making distress sounds they don't make those sounds continually . They start out at a certain volume scream for a minute or so then stop and need to catch their breath for a minute or so then start screaming again . As time goes on they tire and they can't scream very loud or for the same length of time . That is what I try to imitate with my calling . So after 10 minutes or so I stop calling wait a couple of minutes then will start calling with a very high volume moving my call side to side and held up higher at arms length . I keep my call close to me and use it so that it is directional .
 
This is what I do when I am out calling . If I'm going into a new area I look at a satellite view of the area figure out the roads and look at the terrain to kind of get an idea of where I want to make stands . When I get in the field I drive close but not to the site , where I can see a good prospective site stop and get out of my truck closing the door quietly after I've gotten my gear out then walk quietly to the stand site . I find a good place to set myself up . There's a large rock that I want to set in front of with a buck brush beside of it , as an example , The sun will be behind me so there is shade where I will be setting , good it's harder to see me setting in the shade when they are out in the sun . So I look for any thing that might want to bite me in the bush or under the rock that part is good but there is a stick with small limbs sticking out and a couple of rocks where I want to set . I pick then up and move them but will set then down out of my way not throw them , A small rock the size of a walnut under you for 20 minutes or more gets to feeling like a basketball sized rock . I set down get comfortable set up my call if I'm using one and prepare my rifle get it set up ready for me to get behind it so it's in place while I'm starting to call . I normally wouldn't set my call out away from me as I don't want to disturb the area because I don't know how much pressure these animals have had by others or what kind of hunter there may have been in the area . I want my call to be used at a volume that is about what an actual animal would make and the sound to be directed mainly into the area where I think the animals would most likely be . Then I set and let the world calm back down as I watch look and listen to what is around me , I don't know many people that don't disturb some animals as they move into their stands , around 10 minutes . I start my call and run it for a minute or so then shut it off for a minute or so and do this again and again for 10 to fifteen minutes . I'm trying to do the best that I can to be like what an animal in distress would do not what a human would . After this if no body has shown up I will turn the volume up hold the call up rotating it a few degrees left and right , and do the same calling for 3 to 5 minutes then set and wait a few minutes 2 to 3 minutes and then start with the same calling that I did in the first place for about the same amount of time as the first calls . So now I've been at the stand 10 min. just looking and listening , 10 - 15 min. calling , 2-3 min. looking and listening , and then another 10 -15 minutes of calling so I've been at this stand for up to 38 minutes . now I shut my calling down and set look and listen for another 10 - 15 minutes . This is for the ones that are slow to respond to calling and will move in or around after they think it's safe to do so . I leave and go back to my truck the same way I came into my stand slow and quiet . If I shoot a coyote then I will get on my howler and do some wounded coyote sounds squeals and yips ect. and wait for a while before retrieving the shot animal and going back to the truck . Keep in mind I'm out to kill an animal that is a problem most of the time and has probably been called shot at and missed or wounded before I got called . It and it's mates have been trained well and may have been killing stock for some time living in the area and know it better then I do . The same stand might be made differently tomorrow , or if I made it the day before then what I will do with it today as things change . There are so many variables to be looked at when calling or doing anything else . Not one thing about calling can be carved in stone we can just give you examples and suggestions as to what we might do in any given situation . But over the years I've had the best luck trying my best to be like the animal that I'm trying to imitate as closely as I can . Predators just know when something isn't as it should be if they have lived any length of time .
 
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I have seen the same thing with coyote many times . But for me I don't like to call continuously as the animals in distress don't and can't scream for very long before they need to catch their breath the same as we would if using hand calls . That's just me and how I think about life out there .
 
When I've been out and heard an animal in distress it's always only been one animal screaming at that place . Some times you will hear another animal there but it's usually a predator not two animals in distress . I've never heard a rabbit then a deer or other animal at the same site at the same time screaming in pain with in a few minutes of each other so for me it doesn't make sense to do that . I will move to another location to change sounds that may be with in hearing range of the first stand .
 
When I've been out and heard an animal in distress it's always only been one animal screaming at that place . Some times you will hear another animal there but it's usually a predator not two animals in distress . I've never heard a rabbit then a deer or other animal at the same site at the same time screaming in pain with in a few minutes of each other so for me it doesn't make sense to do that . I will move to another location to change sounds that may be with in hearing range of the first stand .
The only time I will use another animal sound at the same set is, during this time of year, and after using the prey distress sound in my usual pattern, I will wait 10 minutes or so, and then use a pup distress call for a minute or so.
That has brought in coyotes that have hung up out of range.

I also use a free app on my phone called "Windy" which, down here on the desert plains, has been very accurate as to wind direction and relative speeds. It's wind forecasts have been useful for me to stay ahead of direction changes so I don't get caught during my calling or entry/exit from the calling area.
Ed
 
You've nailed it Ed . I don't do the pup distress sounds though I will use predator sounds at the same set and at the or near the same time but like you I prefer to give it some wait time when I go to them . I'm liking your post twice !
 
Dave, have you ever played with any of the newer coyote fight sounds that are available on a few of the Ecalls? Or any coyote fight sounds at all?

Don't know how long coyote fight sounds have been available. I've had really good luck using them especially when I have multiples show up together.
 
No not much on any of the e-callers . Things do change and with the right amount of money you can keep up with them better . There were a few of the tapes that Johnny Stewart had that had some of the growls of fox on them and there were some fight sounds on the fox pro that I have mostly just growls and some tug of war sounds of fox not what I would really call coyote fights that I have heard and seen . I have used some of the hurt coyote sounds and make my own on my howlers . I always had a budget that I had to stay with in so when I bought something I needed to make it last and used it for as long as I could before I replaced it with something else . That's one of the reasons that I used my trucks for at least 10 years . So then keeping them maintained and in good working order is a must as is taking care of the rest of the equipment such as E-calls and rifles . So then a lot of my budget went to keeping my truck , tires ect. in good condition thus the use of hand calls was more cost effective then buying a few hundred dollar e-call and learning to use them to their best was to my advantage .
 
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