Oklahoma Coyote hunting tips

[marcos0901]

Couldn't agree more. Years ago, before the crowds were into it, I was calling with mouth calls to coyotes who had very little to no pressure, and there were days you simply could not get one to come. Days they would hang up in sight, but hundreds and hundreds of yards away, and then there were those magical days when as many as four or five would come into one sit. Back then when I called one in and shot it, I just kept calling. I can't even tell you how many times I called in coyotes after I had killed one or even two. I called in two pairs once and I was using an Encore in 22-250. First pair I killed them both, second pair I only killed one. I called in two coyotes as singles one day, killed them both, kept calling and shot a cat half an hour later. Like I said earlier I spend my days outdoors fishing nowadays after deer season. All my buddies have the best electronic calls, thermals, and access to vast acres of land. They are so much more successful at night they are simply unwilling to spend those days out there when no one can call a coyote. They recently went on a trip to western Kansas where there is no pressure, and killed several, I can't remember the total, but every single one was at night. They called late evening and early morning every day, but I believe he said they did not call a single coyote in daylight hours. My guess is at least part of the time coyotes aren't moving much in the daylight because they have a belly full of mice, or rabbits, or whatever else they could catch at night.

That definitely makes sense. I have been stumped this year. This is the second time in a row we have went since the beginning of the year and called in nothing. Last year by this time we already had 10 coyotes just making 2-3 sits in an afternoon every other weekend. We did a coyote tournament in the middle of December and killed 3 out of 6 dogs on one set. It was one place I really didn't expect to even kill a dog.

 

[SKanez]

It's easy to blame lack of action on calling pressure, but that's not the only reason lack of action happens. Sometimes the coyote's just aren't motivated to move.
If a guy goes calling enough, he'll have those days when he can't buy a coyote, even though he's calling in a coyote rich and low calling pressured area. There are days when a coyote will simply lay there and listen, even though he may only be a couple hundred yards from the call to start with. Have seen it several times. I have even had it happen where a coyote might sit up out of bed and then lay back down. Have done it and have witnessed it where a guy ends up shooting the coyote in its bed because it wouldn't come to the call, but it was already close enough to shoot.
It's in our nature to try to figure out the "why" the coyotes do or don't come to the call on any given day but it's obvious to me that we may never figure 'em out. They'll leave even the most seasoned caller scratching his head from time to time. The best we can do is keep trying and maybe someday someone will figure out the magic code that will make 'em come to the call every time they hear the call.

All truth!

 

[marcos0901]

It's easy to blame lack of action on calling pressure, but that's not the only reason lack of action happens. Sometimes the coyote's just aren't motivated to move.
If a guy goes calling enough, he'll have those days when he can't buy a coyote, even though he's calling in a coyote rich and low calling pressured area. There are days when a coyote will simply lay there and listen, even though he may only be a couple hundred yards from the call to start with. Have seen it several times. I have even had it happen where a coyote might sit up out of bed and then lay back down. Have done it and have witnessed it where a guy ends up shooting the coyote in its bed because it wouldn't come to the call, but it was already close enough to shoot.
It's in our nature to try to figure out the "why" the coyotes do or don't come to the call on any given day but it's obvious to me that we may never figure 'em out. They'll leave even the most seasoned caller scratching his head from time to time. The best we can do is keep trying and maybe someday someone will figure out the magic code that will make 'em come to the call every time they hear the call.

At first I definitely thought I was doing something wrong. I felt a little better when a friend hunting a tournament only saw one dog all day. It definitely surprised me as the morning before was about 10 degrees warmer and I saw about 4-5 dogs throughout the day. I gifted one with a Berger above the eye while grabbing some hay haha

 

[Beluebow]

Four sets is good on the good days...most days it takes a lot more sets than that to be successful. Try to plan 20-25 sets for a full day of hunting. I hunt Eastern Oklahoma it's tough most days. Lots of good hunters and the yote are educated.

 

[marcos0901]

Four sets is good on the good days...most days it takes a lot more sets than that to be successful. Try to plan 20-25 sets for a full day of hunting. I hunt Eastern Oklahoma it's tough most days. Lots of good hunters and the yote are educated.

I definitely would like to do a lot more than 4 in a day. I work 7 days a week and have a newborn at home so I just try to get what hunt time I can in. Plus Saturday we ended up getting wind gusts 25 plus out here in central. These open sand pastures are rough on the eyes on days like that haha

 

[Laser Man]

Has anyone tried to use fox or coyote urine at a calling set. Spray it on your downwind side just in case they get behind you. I've only tried it a few times, and have mixed results. Twice the coyotes hung up and barked/howled at me. That's how I new they were there. As it turns out, I shot both of those coyotes. I carried the spray bottle in a pocket, being cautious not to break or spill the contents. A few times the spray bottle froze up. Hunting on days well below zero will cause that. None-the-less, just wondering if anyone else has tried this method as a cover scent.

 

[DSheetz]

It is true that some days coyotes will not be interested in anything that you have to offer and come in, on a lot of those times I have noticed they will raise their heads or maybe stand and look your way for a while, they might even set and watch your way for several minutes I have watched them for up to an hour, and I know that they hadn't been called by others because of the area they were in. At or near dens I have had coyotes bark, do short howls and get out in the open a few hundred yards and make a vocal and visual display the way birds do when they try to draw you away from their home area. This is the season when they are starting to set up their territories and breeding, so they react differently now then most times, those that are paired up react differently than those that aren't. I don't use a wide variety of sounds at the same stand location as a rule, if I start with a rabbit destress, I might wait up to 20 or even 30 minutes before using a different sound just watching, then go to a sound that would be associated with the original sound, so I started with fawn distress, I don't go to a rabbit distress or a sound of that type but I might go with some coyote vocalizations such as growls and some type of coyotes displaying dominance by fighting or such because that would be natural to be heard in the same location or within a few yards of the original sounds that I used. I do my best to use sounds that would be natural for the predators to hear in conjunction with each other at the same location and to spend a lot of time observing what is going on in that area, and not just switching sounds quickly from one to the other but having a break of several minutes between sounds for the most part. there are exceptions to all things depending on the situation, such as I'm doing a coyote locator call series and within several seconds a pair answer on the run, I shoot one then I get right on the injured coyote squalls to stop the other coyote rather than taking a running shot. Or I might have been using antelope fawn sounds had a coyote holdup and stop at 400 yards so then I might hit some injured or some fight sounds then coyote yelps with in just a few seconds. It's all decided by the situation that presents it's self at the time and all learned with time and experiences.

 

[DSheetz]

Alot of people will use cover scents, but think about the drug dogs or the bomb sniffing dogs they can smell what they have been trained to pick out, out of all of the other smells at the same location it's up to the individual as to how they feel about the use of cover scents if you think it works for you go for it if you think it doesn't work for you then don't use it

 

[marcos0901]

It is true that some days coyotes will not be interested in anything that you have to offer and come in, on a lot of those times I have noticed they will raise their heads or maybe stand and look your way for a while, they might even set and watch your way for several minutes I have watched them for up to an hour, and I know that they hadn't been called by others because of the area they were in. At or near dens I have had coyotes bark, do short howls and get out in the open a few hundred yards and make a vocal and visual display the way birds do when they try to draw you away from their home area. This is the season when they are starting to set up their territories and breeding, so they react differently now then most times, those that are paired up react differently than those that aren't. I don't use a wide variety of sounds at the same stand location as a rule, if I start with a rabbit destress, I might wait up to 20 or even 30 minutes before using a different sound just watching, then go to a sound that would be associated with the original sound, so I started with fawn distress, I don't go to a rabbit distress or a sound of that type but I might go with some coyote vocalizations such as growls and some type of coyotes displaying dominance by fighting or such because that would be natural to be heard in the same location or within a few yards of the original sounds that I used. I do my best to use sounds that would be natural for the predators to hear in conjunction with each other at the same location and to spend a lot of time observing what is going on in that area, and not just switching sounds quickly from one to the other but having a break of several minutes between sounds for the most part. there are exceptions to all things depending on the situation, such as I'm doing a coyote locator call series and within several seconds a pair answer on the run, I shoot one then I get right on the injured coyote squalls to stop the other coyote rather than taking a running shot. Or I might have been using antelope fawn sounds had a coyote holdup and stop at 400 yards so then I might hit some injured or some fight sounds then coyote yelps with in just a few seconds. It's all decided by the situation that presents it's self at the time and all learned with time and experiences.

Thank you! I will definitely use some of your tactics