Wind Direction
- Thread starter electro
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Dead Down Wind
Well-known member
Face or crosswind unless you plan on napping!!
Plumj is that you??
Plumj is that you??
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Dead Down Wind
Well-known member
You heard wrong Electro!
....exactly what I was thinking.
hunt0168
Well-known member
Lots more to it than the wind, electro. The wind is a huge component, and the general rule, and preferred by most callers, is to hunt a crosswind. Terrain and where you think they'll come from has to be considered. As mentioned, you never want the wind blowing from you, to where you think they will come from. They don't ALWAYS approach from downwind, but a lot of the time they will TRY to GET to the downwind side of the sounds they are hearing. This is where setup comes into play. Ideally you want to see as much as you can between where you think they are, and where they will probably try to get to smell what they are hearing. The idea being you see them during their attempt to get downwind, and you kill them before they get there.
They'll try to get the wind in their favor often, then they'll blaze in with total disregard to the wind sometimes. They'll make you feel like a pro on one stand, and a fool on the next. They're amazing animals for sure.
Good luck!
They'll try to get the wind in their favor often, then they'll blaze in with total disregard to the wind sometimes. They'll make you feel like a pro on one stand, and a fool on the next. They're amazing animals for sure.
Good luck!
Spurchaser
Well-known member
Yeah, just wait until they howl straight downwind behind you and come straight to the call out in front of you, lol. My son said it felt more like a self defense shot when he shot it on the run at about 5yds. I almost wish he would’ve let them run between us just to see their reaction as they scared us!!
Adjectives used to describe coyote behavior:
Sometimes .......check
Usually...............check
Always...............Never
Never.................Sometimes
IndexFinger
Custom Accessory Maker
When I walk in and set-up I really never think of the wind direction on 'scent' .
I play it pretty loose most times, and try to stay flexible because majority of the time I Never Know What is Going to Happen. ( my attitude ) Coyotes can come into me from anywhere. I do make a game plan when going into, and on the setup, but Wind direction 99% is not in my plans.
Plus Wind is a multi-talented fickle bitch most times anyway, as it can change directions, it can cover over a lot of sounds of walking-in and gears setups, But then again Wind also carries sound just like it can carry scent.
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I play it pretty loose most times, and try to stay flexible because majority of the time I Never Know What is Going to Happen. ( my attitude ) Coyotes can come into me from anywhere. I do make a game plan when going into, and on the setup, but Wind direction 99% is not in my plans.
Plus Wind is a multi-talented fickle bitch most times anyway, as it can change directions, it can cover over a lot of sounds of walking-in and gears setups, But then again Wind also carries sound just like it can carry scent.
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I've spot stalked fox/coyotes since 1964. Both canines spend the vast majority of their time. On the down wind sides/slopes of hillsides & ridgelines. Whether they are milling around, in transit or otherwise bedded down. This is one behavior both canines share 99.9% of the time. They only use the up wind(windward) sides of hills occasionally. While in transit. Now...knowing that behavior. A hunter walking into an area to call. Should avoid the (wind in his face) tactic. Getting to an area to call.
Coyotes & Red Fox while traveling, milling around or bedded down. Being on the down wind slopes of a hill. Will often pan around to their cross & down wind areas. An ideal angle walking to an area to make a call stand. Is from a cross wind angle. Of the area in front of you, you plan to call.
One more tidbit. Say there is a bedded coyote on a down wind slope of a hill. While it is bedded down. The higher the wind speed(say, 15-20+mph). The more "in line" that coyotes face/muzzle. Be aimed to (it's) down wind. Knowing those behaviors. Adjust accordingly
Go on over to the Predator Hunting 101 forum and look for posts by SnowmanMo in which he shows great examples of setups relative to terrain, vegetation, and wind. Others have posted there too, with graphics, and are great resources.
derbyacresbob
Well-known member
Where I hunt coyotes at, most of the time the coyotes run straight to my e-caller from where ever they are. So the coyotes that will run right up to my caller will be on the upwind side. The coyotes that are on the down wind side will turn and run the other way as soon as they smell me or my e-caller.
We kill lots or coyotes with shotguns. You won't kill very many coyotes with a shotgun if you are looking to the down wind side of where you are sitting or down wind of your e-caller.
We kill lots or coyotes with shotguns. You won't kill very many coyotes with a shotgun if you are looking to the down wind side of where you are sitting or down wind of your e-caller.
AWS
Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
I'll weigh in on this a little. Scent follows wind direction. Scent is not linear it spreads as it get farther from the stand. I'm not a graphic artist so take that into consideration.
In open country where you can see a coyote down wind calling can work if you can get a shot before the coyote enters the scent cone.
It can work in close cover where you can see the coyote before it enters the scent cone by using natural blocking creeks and pond work well as they usually have higher banks that you can sit on and have a good field of view, it also gives you a very small chance of getting back doored as there is no scent going into your blind side. We've had coyotes walk right past a hunter set up like this.
As you spend more time on stands and get busted you will learn coyote behavior, and like others have said there is nothing set in stone when it comes to hunting coyotes.
One thing after awhile you will get a feel for where a coyote will come from and even learn to direct them to where you can get a shot.
I've found that a lot of coyotes I call come into the call from the way the call is facing, the jury is still out on whether they are coming into the sound or I'm setting up my call to call into an area I think a coyote is going to come from.
When calling with the wind in my face I either set up with blocking behind me preventing getting back doored. It can be an open field, creek, pond or cliff but I've had coyote show up on the top of the cliff looking down on me. If I have a partner we sit back to back and have had coyotes circle 200 yards out and circle as close as jumping over my partners legs. A common scenario is to face the wind and have the caller set out 50-100 yards and hope the coyote will circle between the caller and the hunter. Dont set the caller too far out as one coming down wind into the caller will be too far out to shoot.
For most of my hunting I like to hunt a cross wind as it gives me a lot of options. Most of my calling is cold calling new areas.
Good luck, on your new adventure.
In open country where you can see a coyote down wind calling can work if you can get a shot before the coyote enters the scent cone.
It can work in close cover where you can see the coyote before it enters the scent cone by using natural blocking creeks and pond work well as they usually have higher banks that you can sit on and have a good field of view, it also gives you a very small chance of getting back doored as there is no scent going into your blind side. We've had coyotes walk right past a hunter set up like this.
As you spend more time on stands and get busted you will learn coyote behavior, and like others have said there is nothing set in stone when it comes to hunting coyotes.
One thing after awhile you will get a feel for where a coyote will come from and even learn to direct them to where you can get a shot.
I've found that a lot of coyotes I call come into the call from the way the call is facing, the jury is still out on whether they are coming into the sound or I'm setting up my call to call into an area I think a coyote is going to come from.
When calling with the wind in my face I either set up with blocking behind me preventing getting back doored. It can be an open field, creek, pond or cliff but I've had coyote show up on the top of the cliff looking down on me. If I have a partner we sit back to back and have had coyotes circle 200 yards out and circle as close as jumping over my partners legs. A common scenario is to face the wind and have the caller set out 50-100 yards and hope the coyote will circle between the caller and the hunter. Dont set the caller too far out as one coming down wind into the caller will be too far out to shoot.
For most of my hunting I like to hunt a cross wind as it gives me a lot of options. Most of my calling is cold calling new areas.
Good luck, on your new adventure.
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hunt0168
Well-known member
I completely see where some of you folks pay less attention to wind direction. Plunked down in large tracts of land where coyotes can come from anywhere dictates less concern I suppose. But I personally would still want to be able to see the downwind.
Here in the Northeast, with smaller properties and woodlots, we oftentimes can narrow down where they might be. You for sure don’t want your stink blowing at them! But as they are still coyotes, they find ways to back door you when you wouldn’t think they could!
Here in the Northeast, with smaller properties and woodlots, we oftentimes can narrow down where they might be. You for sure don’t want your stink blowing at them! But as they are still coyotes, they find ways to back door you when you wouldn’t think they could!
IndexFinger
Custom Accessory Maker
Also you need to consider how much of human scent the Coyotes in the area you hunt that area are already acclimated to in the area's they Live, Run in their daily/nightly routes. Your local AO has a lot to do with Scent and flight or fight instinct.
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