Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

straight shooter, I like the magnum critter call also, but I can make a decent howl on most calls. I do not think the call is a big deal, I think how you blow it is most important....but there are people on here that forgot more than I know!!
 
Reemty. I have the magnum critter call and the songdog from critter call. Plus, about 10 other howlers. I seem to get worse in my old age trying to run them. Most are too high-pitched. I like a more mellow sound. I wish I could use a diaphragm call, but I am not any good with one. Might be up your way after Christmas.
 
I take the critter call magnum and cut the tube off about half way then grind the mouth piece to make it narrower and put a stiffer reed on it so it's not so high pitched. I also don't bite down on it so hard, I mostly just use my lips to control the pressure on the reed , and blow a little lighter so it's a more relaxed sound . The difference in Bill Austin's male and female calls was only an 1/8th inch in the length of the reed and about the same in the length of the barrel . You can get a hot dog call from premos and use a shorter horn on it like the one for the little dog call they sell , at one time the tubes , or horns , were interchangeable on them when Randy Anderson designed them . I like wooden howlers like Thompson used to make called the red desert howlers but I also like the horn to be shorter then most people make just for my comfort and ease of carrying them around . A lot of the time I just use the mouth piece of the hot dog and use my hands for the horn part . The pitch is controlled by the amount of pressure you put on the reed and how hard you are blowing on it . I find that the more excited a person gets the higher the pitch gets .
 
I use the white one with a stiffer reed in it and it will make some real good injured coyote as well as puppy squeals . The green one makes fine female sounds for me as well as cotton tail sounds . I use the white one for fawn blats , jack rabbit sounds and some adult deer sounds just the mouth piece and my hands for the horn with out gloves unless I want to muffle the sound . Brown jersey or the yellow fussy gloves work well if you want to muffle the sound and deaden the tone or just keeping your hands closed some will do that for you as well . I use my hands to help me get the quivering sounds the coyote make when they are yodeling and making longer howls as well as quivering my mouth and throat . I may have spent too much time by myself listening to the coyote talk .
 
For years we've had people writing and producing videos on how to call coyote that were callers who didn't have to do control work for the most part they were out there for the fun of calling . We did have some who were calling to get the trouble makers , like Craig O'Gorman , Bill Austin and some others . The ones out there for the enjoyment told us that if the coyote didn't show in 15 or 20 minutes to move on to another stand as did the competition callers , but these are the people out there to take what they can in as little time as they can so they are telling us what works for their needs so it is the truth as fits their needs . Now if you take a look at what needs to happen when you are out there to kill the killers it's a little different story . When your doing it to solve a problem you need to slow down and find the problem animal and get them killed as soon as you can . So one of the first things I see that you need to do is be able to read tracks so you can tell where you need to start . Yes I will go in and call first a lot of times but I will stay on one stand for up to an hour and spend more time looking and listening then actually calling . I will most times get in to the pasture that has killing going on before day break and with out my lights on , I run a gas powered truck as they are more quiet then a diesel powered one and don't smell as bad either . I try to keep the stuff in my truck set up so it doesn't roll around making noise . I'll park have my dome light turned off and get out of my truck walk quietly out away from it where I've hidden it in a draw or low spot . I push the door closed quietly and walk quietly to a good spot and set up in the dark . I've heard them talking more times then I can count by setting and just listening in the mornings as the sun was breaking over the sky line before good shooting light . That tells me where my chances will be the best at getting them taken care of that morning . Some times you need to walk in closer to where they are before you call them and at times you don't even have to call because they have let you know where they are and you can slip in on them . When you do make the shot on the first one start in with the hurt coyote call as fast as you can . In the spring most of the time the killers have pups and they are trying to feed them so are taking what is the easiest for them so then you need to do some tracking unless the pups are old enough that they were howling too but then you will normally need to do some tracking to find the exact spot where the den is , after a few dens they start to stand out to you , puppy tracks mashed down grass ect. . You want to take the pups so that they don't get adopted by more coyote that will then start killing to feed them . When your doing control work you don't have to kill all the coyote mostly the ones that are the killers so you should learn how to tell who they are where they are coming from and where it's the easiest to get them . As a matter of fact you may want to leave the ones that aren't causing problems for awhile as the ones that come in to fill the gaps may be worse killers and may have been educated and harder to kill . Then take them in the fall and winter .
 
David your fingers must be hot cool them off under some cold water ;) well done......... only thing you "may" have missed😔 is how important that shot is, all that work up to the shot, the anticipation, the thought you did everything right and now you close the deal...... ka-Pow..... all that build up but yet you remain in calm, control.......right? Thanks for that story, it is revealed in a way that I thought I was there with you 👍🤝☝️ you are on track to be in the league of Peter Hathaway Capstick and that sir is a " no better compliment can be had"
 
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Thank you gentlemen you are too kind to an old coyote hunter . Yes the shot is what seals the deal either you win or the coyote wins . It takes work to learn to stay calm and make the shot count , I wouldn't recommend the school I went to ,to learn that . Meditation is one of the things that helps with that , you can learn to focus with it's practice . I have always been a fan of star wars as I love the special effects , they have come up with some great things for that series . We all love to learn , and I have learned a lot from kids , from each other as we all have differing experiences , similar but different and a whole new set of eyes to see through . I seldom drink any more , because I can see myself liking it way too much , but when I do I enjoy Makers mark with some ice , just enough rye to give it an after bite . My brother used to make some fine shine smooth as silk but about 140 , A few sips will do yah .
 
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