Headed to Oklahoma in February

C

ChrisLD

Active member
My partner and I are going to Oklahoma to call for a week in February. I am excited to head out there and see if what I’m doing in PA translates to success out there. We have a half dozen or so private places lined up to call, and are going to try some daytime public land calling as well. Any and all insight or discussion about calling this state is welcome! I have only killed a couple daytime dogs in my life here in SWPA. Daytime here is not worth the effort, when my odds are much better with thermal at night.


What sort of advice can some of you all give me, tips, pointers, etc.
 
It will be pretty much the same, a little more open than most of PA depending on where your going.

We stopped and camped near Woodward OK called in a coyote at the camp grounds. Always have a call in the camper.

We took a trip around the Midwest, WA to WI all on state highways, fished in WI, then down to IL to buy a few guns in Galesburg, on down to Arkansas to look for diamonds(much more elusive and the don't come to a call). Then headed west and angled up to Woodward. North to Kansas, I'd never been to Kansas, west to Pueblo Co, camped at John Martin res, I need to go back and duck hunt there. Over the Rockies across UT and NV on 50 then up to Battle Mountain heading north a few days soak in the hot springs at Denio. On up through central OR back to WA all on state highways with only a couple short stretches of interstate that we couldn't avoid. For me one long scouting trip. My wife the rock hound place she only read about. We found some really nice rocks, she found a great opal in NV. Great trip ina 20' motor home, me my wife her Chihuahua and Greyhound and my GWHP. We stayed on BLM land, county fairgrounds, National Forest campgrounds and a couple state parks.
 
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Tactics and things might change a little depending on where you're going. In Eastern Oklahoma there are a ton more trees than out in the Panhandle. Well there's gonna be more trees anywhere in Oklahoma than there is in the Panhandle. I don't know about everywhere else but the weeds are super tall here so you about need a bucket or chair to sit on just to see over it. If you'll be calling where it's pretty hilly you won't have that problem as much. You could just sit out on a hillside and see for a pretty good ways. On the flat lands (prairies) or farm ground you're going to want something to get up off the ground so you can see.
 
Awesome advice so far guys!!!!

Yeah, jm I need to ask him for a general location of where he is and stay about 200 miles away to be safe
 
Camo! There is your big difference. I was born and raised in PA and now I live in north east Montana. You are going to be hunting the plains. You are going to have many places you want to make a set but no cover. A really good winter camo or if there is no snow a good grass camo. I do a lot of prone hunting not because I think it is better than sitting. Because a lot of times I don’t have a choice. Snow is your friend. Dig in and be ultra still. Otherwise, your methods will work just fine. Sound will carry a little further. Most importantly , have fun. In February they should come running
 
Megalon said:
You are going to be hunting the plains. You are going to have many places you want to make a set but no cover. A really good winter camo or if there is no snow a good grass camo. I do a lot of prone hunting not because I think it is better than sitting.
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I don't hunt the wide open plains, but if I did, I'd sure have me one of derbyacresbob's plywood ramps. <<<<Click link and go down about three posts:
When I got older I made a adjustable plywood ramp the pillow ties to it so I didn't have to lay flat on the ground and that made it easier for me to sit up and shoot. When the top of your head is only 1 foot to 18" off the ground coyotes in wide open country will run right up on you.
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You will be in a portion of the state known as Green Country. I went to college in Okmulgee, about a half hour west of Oktaha. If you are calling public land, I would suggest skipping the centers and spots that look good, instead hunt the borders of public land trying to call them off the private land. I would count on most of the coyotes on public land to be pretty call shy, by February. There is a good population of coyotes, but in my opinion the biggest factor is finding ground in an area that has not been overly pressured.

How the land is surveyed between the 2 states is one thing I would consider. Oklahoma has what is known as Public Land Survey System, meaning rectangular survey system that covers the entire state into a grid of 1 square mile blocks. Except areas of extreme terrain, like rivers, creeks, mesas or steep canyons there will be a county road every mile running north to south and east to west. If you study satellite imagery you will see the grid. From what I have seen almost all coyotes use those roads a territorial boundaries. I feel like every time I am crossing a county road I am getting into another family group of coyotes defended territory.

Depending upon how much cover the section has, the smaller their territorial boundaries will be. In a square mile section with good cover and water I would suspect there to be 3 maybe 4 different family groups with defended territory with overlapping ranges. Generally, if I move a half mile I feel I am calling in a different family group’s territory.

If the land you are calling is cleared, open cultivated land I would still count on it having coyotes, just not as many. A lot of callers look at those open sections that you can see across the cars driving on the county roads a mile away and think there are no coyotes in that section, they are wrong, they are in there bedded along weeds in fence lines, small drainage ditches, patches of grass and other times in the wide open where they can see danger approaching from a distance. These are the kind of sections the guys that run them with greyhounds hunt, and they know they are in there.

If I was giving myself advice to come hunt here for the first time, well that is what I would tell myself. Oh yeah, you did say February so breading season sounds.
 
Nothing legendary about me. I love February though! If I could only hunt one month out of the year that would be it.
It is breeding season as stated and I change calling tactics considerably. Vocals , breeding sounds and I never end a stand without an aggressive fight sound whether I've already called some or not.
There is not much a February coyote hasn't seen or heard. I call less and watch more. Daytime coyotes and most nighttime coyotes respond hard to the downwind that time of year so have open country for your downwind. If you and your hunting partner have a lot of experience together, and high trust for each other, to know the others location and not make a bad heat of the moment decision, set one 100 to 150 yards downwind of the caller, (daytime only). They will kill as many or more as the caller.
One of the reasons I love Feb. is the increased number of multiples called.
Best of Luck!
 
flintrock said:
If you and your hunting partner have a lot of experience together, and high trust for each other, to know the others location and not make a bad heat of the moment decision, set one 100 to 150 yards downwind of the caller, (daytime only). They will kill as many or more as the caller.
One of the reasons I love Feb. is the increased number of multiples called.
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SOP & my partner did exactly that for years. RIP, Don.
 
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