Not to hijack Lazer32's 2-23 Female thread... Calling coyotes can take some time!

hunt0168

hunt0168

Well-known member
@Lazer32 You mentioned this season being the best season in your 5 years of trying... It's like that for a lot of people. Myself included. I shot a ton of fox back when I started, It would have been the mid to late 90's that fox were dropping like flies! Then in the early 2000's I got the itch to get serious about getting a coyote. It was tough not shooting fox when they showed up while I was trying to get a coyote. I went 3 or 4 years before getting the first one to come to a call. At the time I wasn't familiar with running vocals and had nobody to clue me in on how to use them. Well after a bunch of rabbit distress that didn't do it, I tried Johnny Stewart Red fox Gray Fox Fight for the hell of it. A female coyote came screaming in down a powerline cut and I dumped her. It was like some sort of ice breaker because I killed another a couple weeks later. Then another a few weeks later! I just started throwing all kinds of stuff besides rabbit and it started working.

My favorite of that season was when I walked in to a spot that the river had previously flooded it's banks then froze. Well, when the water receded the ice remained elevated in spots beneath the snow. As I walked in and broke through the ice it made a ton of noise. Seeing how I had walked in a ways before the noise started with echoing ice crashing, I decided to make a cal1 anyways. I remember it like it was yesterday... I started with fawn distress (because that would be large enough to break the ice) and then went into foxpro yodel howls and more fawn distress. Then more yodel howls. Well as the yodel howls were ripping I started hearing more howls other than the caller! I looked left and 3 coyotes had slipped in from the left and were doing some yapping of their own 30 yards to my left. I only shot one of them but man was that exciting and really awesome! I've had successful seasons every year since!

My point is that if you're stubborn enough to stick it out and keep grinding, sooner or later it will click. You'll start to put the pieces together of what works and why. You start paying attention to the little stuff that is ultimately the BIG stuff when it comes to coyotes. Things start clicking.

I love to hear that success comes to the guys that struggle a bit. It just shows that they have taken their lumps and ground it out. So many people try it thinking it's easy and bail quickly. Truth is that it takes time. It takes getting frustrated. It takes not letting failure stop you. It takes a lot! And it doesn't hurt to be a little crazy!
 
Its awesome to hear the beginnings of all coyote hunters. I went three years before i killed my first one. I've been hooked ever since. I am a pretty nerdy guy so I started reading a ton about what sounds to use and when but it still took a long time before I called my first. It was a west wind and I started making stand west to east, wind in my face, on public land. On the second stand I set the caller down a rolling hill and I positioned myself about 40 yards from it. There was a trail and that's where I was expecting them to come. I called distress and then I moved to coyote vocals. It was like she read the script and came down the trial. Shot her with a 55 grain V-max right in the chest. I kept the hide and skull of that one. It will always be the beginning of an obsession for me.
 
Yes. It sure took me a while. Then the pieces started coming together.

Allow me to post this..

background:
I have a friend with quite a lot of places. And at one time, I had a a good dozen or so, some sprinkled with Yote and Bobcat Magic dust! :)
for some years we called every contest we could.
Some zero results, for the whole contest time..
Some times we took home sizable wins. ($900 !)
He is a great caller, hunter, spotter and exceptional shot placer.
We both had Electronics and of course by gum, my calls used. or else!! lol!

Ok here is the point:
He obtained some very good night vision. ( he is always working extra hard +hours, gotta respect that!)
His report ? :

A LOT of coyotes came in. 10 is a number he counted at one stand.
And hung well back. enough to not catch good eyes, hiding in the trees and brush. that type of thing.
I have every reason to believe him. He has been at it for a very long time.

the usual, usefull type of info:
so, just some food for thought. It does still mean grinding it out. And I believe it means.. extremely careful in getting to and settling in to well placed stands. No noise. walk the extra distance in. climb if possible versus a noisy Gate.
Could easily mean setting up a good hour early, before some kind of prime time!
On the no hunt days, look for and groom some good setup places with natural offerings.

look for poop ! haha, but true!! Ravines,that stay dry, changes in slope and trees, brush. You might just find some Dens.
Once found a large den area that way. Tons of Poop!
Sadly in every way, did not have the place long. Lost access due to the owner passing. Saw BIG yotes there. Smart ones it seems. Smart enough to know I forgot to chamber the round.
Big CLICK! RUN Yote, RUN! Dang crittter was about 40 yards away.

And of course, for the most THRILL FACTOR...... use hand calls! not that I have a vested interest... haha

I am reminded as I type.... areas with tall Johnson grass make for Yote Camo... quite a few times, I realized a Coyote was watching me.. (daytime)
esp if the Grass is at the exit/entrance to a ravine/creek bed thing.

good luck out there. stay hydrated!
 
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My first was a twofer. Like 0168, many fox had died but that was back in the 60-70 era. No predator hunting again till the late 2000's after coyotes showed up in SW PA.
Brought the old "Olt's and Weem's All Calls out with no success except some passed on fox opportunities (our fox pop. had decreased immensely in the last few decades because of land use/farming practices I guess). Bought a Fox Pro (of course) fx3 and after casually hunting a couple more years finally got to see a coyote.
Me and a friend had hunted since daylight in early Jan. 2012 and at 2:30 pm a coyote came busting into the meadow about 60yds away to "lightning jack". HOLY CHIT MIKE, THERE IS ONE. I reposition the shooting sticks and center up the 223-BANG. It spins and runs back in the woods. #*^&#!!! I hit 'coy pup screams' I think it was called, anyhow some kind of kiyi. It comes back out-BANG. Same result. #%^&#!! Cliff, who is 100yds away watching a hollow on the other side of the fence thinks I am "jackin with him". I stand up to get his attention and he comes over. We go look to find not 1 but 2 blood and "gut" (told ya I "centered up":mad:) trails.
Well, I thought I had finally figured this out with whatever sequence I used that time. Didn't work out that way.
I stay at day hunting for a couple years + and got much more involved. Picking up the occasional shot (some killed and some missed) hunting mostly in the woods carrying both rifle and shotgun then 2 different 'combo' guns before I had an epiphany-"these things are nocturnal, you need to be hunting in the dark". First EWT, then Sniper Hog, then (IMO the best) Night Eyes lights. Things improved a lot but the 'thermal' 'money pit' as most on here know was the game changer. I do not live in a high coyote population area, but I keep a 'loose' record of all my hunting since I was in 7th grade (another story). I did quit counting one winter at 184 sets w/o seeing a set of eyes so all I can say to newbies is to stay at it or change hobbies.
Thanks for taking the time to read my memory and enjoy the younger pic of me who Alf says "has a face made for radio":ROFLMAO:
 

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Well, sorta embarrassing but I lucked up into coyote calling. I’d borrowed a FoxPro call my son had at his workplace because it had some hog sounds on it and I’d just got into the thermal game…no more red/green lights for me sneaking up on a sounder.

The drain South of our dove field held pigs and I figured I could call them! What’s crazy is I drove across the pond dam which parallels the dove field and parked at the spillway which is right where the dove fields start. You’ll see why that crazy…

I got out, grabbed the caller and my trigger stick and went to walking the road. We had Pearl Millet planted North and South through the field as cover for the hunts and along the road edge. I thought it strange I saw no deer in the first “field”. I get to the middle field and stopped to scan with the rifle and I see about 4-5 coyotes digging at the far end. I mean you can see dirt flying up in the thermal. There was a lone coyote laying up against the millet dividing the second and third field which I now think was the momma of the group. I was so excited I used the tripod as a monopod and fired a shot into the group. I hit one and the rest ran off. Now mind you the caller is still on my shoulder.

I always like to use cover so I walked the road to the next line of millet and started walking down to retrieve my prize! About halfway down I stopped and scanned with the rifle to make sure I was heading to the downed coyote and what do you know, another coyote came out to look for their missing sibling and I shot it. Now I was really on cloud 9!!

The rest of that day at work I was looking on the WWW about calling coyotes. I got home and went through the sounds and found “cagie cottontail” and a pup distress. Everything I read said play those 2 sounds. Well when the alarm went off at 0430 the next morning I went straight back to that spot and set the caller in the second field as I stood on the line of millet dividing the second and third field.

I went straight to pup distress at max volume and coyotes answered! The heart started pounding as I started scanning that way. It wasn’t 30 seconds and her come 3-4 coyotes. I’m watching them coming and all of a sudden one bolts in front of me from West to East. What’s funny is in the video you can her run by and look dead at me and then look back at the caller while still making a beeline for it. I made a running shot and she folded. That turned out the momma of the bunch!

Over the next week I hit that drain from every angle based on the wind and ended up killing the entire pack with either cagie cottontail, fly squirrel, or pup distress. Heck those were the only sounds I played on that caller.

That first time was all it took and I went headfirst down that rabbit hole. Caller, suppressors, new rifles, another caller, etc. I killed 13 coyotes on that place and trapped another dozen during September/October time frame. I was hooked ever since that time.
 
Spurchaser said:
Well, sorta embarrassing but I lucked up into coyote calling. I’d borrowed a FoxPro call my son had at his workplace because it had some hog sounds on it and I’d just got into the thermal game…no more red/green lights for me sneaking up on a sounder.

The drain South of our dove field held pigs and I figured I could call them! What’s crazy is I drove across the pond dam which parallels the dove field and parked at the spillway which is right where the dove fields start. You’ll see why that crazy…

I got out, grabbed the caller and my trigger stick and went to walking the road. We had Pearl Millet planted North and South through the field as cover for the hunts and along the road edge. I thought it strange I saw no deer in the first “field”. I get to the middle field and stopped to scan with the rifle and I see about 4-5 coyotes digging at the far end. I mean you can see dirt flying up in the thermal. There was a lone coyote laying up against the millet dividing the second and third field which I now think was the momma of the group. I was so excited I used the tripod as a monopod and fired a shot into the group. I hit one and the rest ran off. Now mind you the caller is still on my shoulder.

I always like to use cover so I walked the road to the next line of millet and started walking down to retrieve my prize! About halfway down I stopped and scanned with the rifle to make sure I was heading to the downed coyote and what do you know, another coyote came out to look for their missing sibling and I shot it. Now I was really on cloud 9!!

The rest of that day at work I was looking on the WWW about calling coyotes. I got home and went through the sounds and found “cagie cottontail” and a pup distress. Everything I read said play those 2 sounds. Well when the alarm went off at 0430 the next morning I went straight back to that spot and set the caller in the second field as I stood on the line of millet dividing the second and third field.

I went straight to pup distress at max volume and coyotes answered! The heart started pounding as I started scanning that way. It wasn’t 30 seconds and her come 3-4 coyotes. I’m watching them coming and all of a sudden one bolts in front of me from West to East. What’s funny is in the video you can her run by and look dead at me and then look back at the caller while still making a beeline for it. I made a running shot and she folded. That turned out the momma of the bunch!

Over the next week I hit that drain from every angle based on the wind and ended up killing the entire pack with either cagie cottontail, fly squirrel, or pup distress. Heck those were the only sounds I played on that caller.

That first time was all it took and I went headfirst down that rabbit hole. Caller, suppressors, new rifles, another caller, etc. I killed 13 coyotes on that place and trapped another dozen during September/October time frame. I was hooked ever since that time.
Click to expand...
Well that doesn’t count Mark. You can’t start with a thermal or have that kind of success on your first couple few hunts. It’s just not how it works. You simply have to struggle and suffer for a good while to be a real predator hunter. Pretty sure it’s written in the handbook. Sounds like you suffer pretty regularly these days. I think you just got the process backwards.
 
Yep!! I joked with the manager the other day about the “good ole days” when you’d hear 3-4 groups sound off at sunset. I blame him for all the habitat management he’s done that drove the coyotes off!!! Unfortunately my landowners don’t want any “left for seed” so when they see any on camera or find tracks it’s been pretty good to go in a call’em up. Of course you have to pull the trigger if you want them dead!!
 
hunt0168 said:
@Lazer32 You mentioned this season being the best season in your 5 years of trying... It's like that for a lot of people. Myself included. I shot a ton of fox back when I started, It would have been the mid to late 90's that fox were dropping like flies! Then in the early 2000's I got the itch to get serious about getting a coyote. It was tough not shooting fox when they showed up while I was trying to get a coyote. I went 3 or 4 years before getting the first one to come to a call. At the time I wasn't familiar with running vocals and had nobody to clue me in on how to use them. Well after a bunch of rabbit distress that didn't do it, I tried Johnny Stewart Red fox Gray Fox Fight for the hell of it. A female coyote came screaming in down a powerline cut and I dumped her. It was like some sort of ice breaker because I killed another a couple weeks later. Then another a few weeks later! I just started throwing all kinds of stuff besides rabbit and it started working.

My favorite of that season was when I walked in to a spot that the river had previously flooded it's banks then froze. Well, when the water receded the ice remained elevated in spots beneath the snow. As I walked in and broke through the ice it made a ton of noise. Seeing how I had walked in a ways before the noise started with echoing ice crashing, I decided to make a cal1 anyways. I remember it like it was yesterday... I started with fawn distress (because that would be large enough to break the ice) and then went into foxpro yodel howls and more fawn distress. Then more yodel howls. Well as the yodel howls were ripping I started hearing more howls other than the caller! I looked left and 3 coyotes had slipped in from the left and were doing some yapping of their own 30 yards to my left. I only shot one of them but man was that exciting and really awesome! I've had successful seasons every year since!

My point is that if you're stubborn enough to stick it out and keep grinding, sooner or later it will click. You'll start to put the pieces together of what works and why. You start paying attention to the little stuff that is ultimately the BIG stuff when it comes to coyotes. Things start clicking.

I love to hear that success comes to the guys that struggle a bit. It just shows that they have taken their lumps and ground it out. So many people try it thinking it's easy and bail quickly. Truth is that it takes time. It takes getting frustrated. It takes not letting failure stop you. It takes a lot! And it doesn't hurt to be a little crazy!
Click to expand...
Well written @hunt0168 and very similar to myself! I started in the early 90's with hand calls and only ever called out fox! Shot a bunch too. It wasn't until about 2000 or so that I saw my first coyote, in fact two came in. I was so surprised, I had to study them before I took the shot to confirm what they were. You just didn't ever see or hear coyotes in our area. Managed to shoot one and since it was my first I had it caped and it hangs on the wall in my hunting room.

I remember after that I became obsessed with trying to call more in but to no avail. No one around here were calling coyotes and there weren't that many to be found. I tried speaking to Ed Sceery about calling them and he sent me a few of his howlers but I never got a response so I ended up leaving the calls at home. E-callers weren't a thing yet, or a least not one that was conducive to being taken afield and used in the cold temps we have. Fast forward another 10 years and all I ever called out were coyotes, hardly ever saw a fox anymore. After reading how coyotes will kill foxes and eat them I understood why I wasn't seeing them anymore. It was at that time I decide to stop shooting fox and only take coyotes.

Fast forward again another 5-7 years and I started to loose interest in the level of pursuit I was putting into predator hunting and I hung up my rifle in favour of spending the winter months in my machine shop designing and building fishing reels for my spring passion of steelheading, I even let me membership go at the local gun club. I really got into fishing the reel business was taking off so I focused on that.

Anyway, last year I got the bug again and bought a fancy new e-caller and dusted off the gun and got back at it. It seems easier now with all the information available and the new technologies available. I even renewed my membership at the gun club. This year I upgraded my caller thinking louder was better, turns out that's not the case, for me anyway but I do like the new one better. I'm glad I am back at it, even outfitted my son so he could join me, doesn't get any better than that. So I'd say I put my time in and took my lumps and now reap the benefits.
 
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