Coyotes that howl like crazy then stop

DeadEyeGuy

New member
I have been trying to find a way to locate coyotes in the rain so I have been howling at night. This is usually how it goes, I howl two or three times then wait for five minutes then howl again and when I am just about ready to give up on the area (10 minutes or more) they start to howl like mad. A few howls with a lot of yips and Ki-yas, they sound [beeep] and crazy. Then they stop and no matter what I do to try to get them to vocalize again they don't. Does this mean they are coming to my calls or I have I been bust and don't realize it. Could it be that I am not using the right calling techniqe and actually driving them away angerly? This has happen to me ten or so times and I would give anything to figure it out. I hunt in heavy timber in Western Washington and coyote hunter needs every edge he can get.
 
DeadEyeGuy - That same thing happens to me all the time. I used to think that they just got sick of it and quit talking back but a couple weeks ago I had two respond back while I was calling on a stand. They did the normal yips, barks, and howls then just stopped. I waited and after a couple minutes they were about 150 yards out.

I think they are probably coming to the howl.
 
That what I thought, hopefully the rain will stop soon here in Washington going 25 days non-stop. I have tried in this heavy rain, but I think I will have to wait until it stops. Thanks for the reply.
 
If you are using an adult alpha challenge, they may be scared away if they are juveniles, but more likely they are on their way to see who's invading their territory. Are you night hunting? If not, what I do is "howl for response", and once they answer, I mark the spot and come back in the day time to hunt them.

I feel for you guys hunting in the rain. As good as a coyote's nose is normally, wet weather holds the pheromones (scent molecules) in suspension even longer and turns Mr Coyote into Super Sniffer Coyote.
 
The problem here on the wetside of Washington is it so thick with vegatation that you can't literally get through the woods. You have to set up your stands in some what of an open area to ambush them. Just finding out where they are howling is not good enough because often times you can't get to them. They have to come to you! Plus there is a lot of people calling and banging around in the woods.
 
Howling at night is a good way to locate, they will often answer you. It's often not a good way to call them to you.

When they do come in to howls it's to protect their family group, territory, or food supply. If their bellies are full, the food supply is plentiful, and they are not in the mating or denning season, they will be much less likely to come in to howls, especially if you sound like a coyote that's bigger than they are.

If they can hear your howls, they can hear prey sounds. Try howling for location and then when they answer, you know you are in a high percentage area. Since night hunting is not allowed here, I come back the next day and try to call them in with prey sounds. If you are night hunting, then stop howling and switch to prey sounds as soon as they respond (or a few minutes later).

Howling can locate a good area, prey sounds will call them to you. It works!

Let us know how it goes.

Leon
 
Nmelon: Thanks for the replies I will put the advice to work in my next stands. I am finding it hard to be a beginner in this sport because we are so heavyly populated now days and we have such thick tree farms to hunt in.
 
DeadEyeGuy have you ever had any experiences That you have tried to call them in but you get them to howl back at you, maybe even answer you again and again but no matter what you try they will not come in by howling to them. I ask because I am having some trouble with coyotes like that. they have heard far to many times the dying rabbit blues.
They almost always howl and answer back but will not show themselves.
 
don't take this wrong guy's please, but boy am i glad to hear that is hapening to you all, as well.
i have had this happen more time's than i realy care to admit and wendsday afternoon i hit a new area and had about 4 to 7 different dog's fire up, but no matter what i tryed they just would not move in to me. i was so mad that i wanted to just throw my gun and call's in the area that they where carrying on and give up, lol.
this is a on going thing for me though, i started hunting them about a year and a half ago. are season opened july 15th, at the end of july i called in one and bang flopped him, but every since then i have gotten them to howl back at me and like some of you said, i have had them howl to just about every howl i sent out, but never budged. the dog's i was into the other night i worked, no joke either, for all most two hour's with howl's, distress, i swear at one time or another i had every call in my mouth that i own. then just when i thought i was done and all most back to the truck now after dark, one howled from what i think the area i was set up in. talk about salt in the wound.
bow
 
Quote:
I have been trying to find a way to locate coyotes in the rain so I have been howling at night. This is usually how it goes, I howl two or three times then wait for five minutes then howl again and when I am just about ready to give up on the area (10 minutes or more) they start to howl like mad. A few howls with a lot of yips and Ki-yas, they sound [beeep] and crazy. Then they stop and no matter what I do to try to get them to vocalize again they don't. Does this mean they are coming to my calls or I have I been bust and don't realize it. Could it be that I am not using the right calling techniqe and actually driving them away angerly? This has happen to me ten or so times and I would give anything to figure it out. I hunt in heavy timber in Western Washington and coyote hunter needs every edge he can get.

I do quite a bit of howling usually in the daytime. If you get them to howl or answer there is a good chance you can get them in. Not all the time ispecially if they answer a long way away. Then you have to move closer to them and maybe try a pup in distress. I have a friend who lives about 25 miles out of town on a river that runs parallel to the road. After we are done hunting in the day and I am going home I usually stop and howl in a few locations. Then I'll go back there the next day. Usually what happens is I'll get a group to howl and then the whole country side will join in. The country I hunt is pretty wide open and I know it pretty well. Once in awhile I'll get the old alpha male to give me a challenge. In that case I just leave. I had a dominant male challenge me all the time in one area and I finally got him in the daytime on a snowy day when he was hunting along the river. It might be a little different in mountainous area where you can't move in closer to them after they howl. It is my experience after you howl and they answer one time they won't howl again. In the day when you howl and one answers with one sharp howl usually it is the dominant male and you don't have to do anything except get ready because he is coming to run your butt out of the country.
 
DeadEyeGuy,

I think you need to change your luck. Come over to the dry side and get out of that wet thick brush. ..... get some percentages under your belt and then ease into that difficult "scape"!!

What with the cover those 'otes have and where you are calling from a small opening .... I know ... no choice ..... the coyotes are not inclined to show themselves at such close range for the sounds you are using.

Since you have had several sets of coyotes hang up and bark like crazy at you I would say that your coyote language needs to be "downsized" as you are protraying too large of an intruder.

I would bag the "bunnies" too because of the likely hood of call shyness ..... even deer in distress .....rule that out.

For prey I would try birds .... no howling for a bit. Puppy distress and a bird in distress ..... something "THEY" can beat up instead of getting beat up by.

PM me if you care to.

Three 44s
 
Take a look at a good howler.
http://www.predatormastersforums.com/tos.shtml
I have a couple of howlers that I use. some call long distance & some sound pretty meak. If you sound like a younger dog, you may have better luck with the dominate males coming in for an easy fight. They are no different than us. Who wants to pick a fight with the big guy.
 
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"Howling at night is a good way to locate"
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Interesting subject. If you are doing summer time control work, this is one way to locate den area's. Then you can sneak in on following morning to call the dominent pair. Howling at night during other time of the year only tells you where the coyotes are at that time. If you are set up for night calling, then all is well. I call my coyotes in daytime, so knowing where they are at midnite won't do me much good. Why? Coyotes are out hunting at night, and will likely be somewhere else in the morning. Then there is the fact that coyotes often approach the sound of a strange coyote in their territory. They may answer vocally but again maybe not. It is not uncommon for coyotes to come to your howls in silence. Howling at night can get you busted if you hang around too long after you howl.
 


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