Originally Posted By: Chris623Okay, so just how many and what type calls does the average yote hunter end up with? I know there are calls that mimic the yotes themselves and then there are hurt rabbit calls and raven calls. Oh and then the distressed fawn calls. So what would the average hunter consider a "proper" brace of calls?
Chris, on a normal hunting day I usually carried 4 calls.
...A true variable-pitch open reed, so I had the ability (with practice) to make several types of distress sounds from a single call.
...A closed reed call, with a pitch that allowed me to make "non-ordinary" sounds, such as kid goat distress & lamb distress.
...A "coaxer", that I actually used for varied bird distress (as a main calling sound on light wind days), instead of as an actual coaxing sound.
...And a howler...90% of the time a horn howler.
The howlers that I have always preferred are ones that do nice "pup"/"YOY" pitched vocals.
I found that by using those higher pitches, I was less likely to discourage young or timid sub-dominate coyotes from coming to my howls...at any point during the year.
I would usually save the more "adult" sounding howls for mating season.
...For coaxing in coyotes (once they were within 300-400 yds), I have always simply used lip squeaks.
IMHO, a lot of hunters don't believe that lip squeaks volume carries out as far as it does.
Granted, the higher the wind, the less it carries...that's a given.
But remember, a coyote's hearing is so much better than a human's.
And there's no better way to coax hands free, than by using lip squeaks. Just my opinion.
From time to time, I would carry 2 additional calls...what I always thought of as "confidence" calls.
...A crow call.
...And a closed reed that was pitched "jack". However, I wouldn't do jack distess with it.
Instead, I would use it to make rooster pheasant "flushing cackles"; or domestic chicken distress sounds.
I have never owned an e-call.
So, I wanted to be able to make as many different sounds as I could learn to do on hand calls.
I used to drive for a living.
And I would constantly practice (everything EXCEPT HOWLING!!!), as I drove around my routes.
That meant that I would practice for hours, nearly every day.
Unfortunately, a lot of guys only put mouth to call when they are actually hunting.
The fewer amount of time spent actually blowing a call, the less a person might learn to do with that call...IMHO.
The suggestions other guys made, for call makers, IMHO are spot on.