Help me! 20 year chase with no coyotes

S

SpeedyG

New member
Hi all, I am truly desperate. I have been after coyotes for 20 years on and off. I’ve called in two in that time frame but never got a shot at them. I exclusively daytime hunted Until now. I recently got all set up with thermals. I have an AGM rattler v2 scope and an AGM taipan to glass with. I have a foxpro hellcat pro but recently bought a lucky duck super revolt 2.0 for the great sound quality and recommendation from a friend who’s had a lot of luck. I know one of my issues is lack of properties to hunt and I am working on that. I normally start off with a howl, wait a few minutes then go into some sort of distress on and off for about 10 minutes then do pup distress. Not working. I know I have coyotes around because I have them on my trail cameras through the night. Tried trapping last year and would get videos of them walking by my traps. I’ve never had any problem with Fox though. Any and all advice would be appreciated. I live and hunt in northern SC and southern NC.
 
Wow! Well congrats on at least sticking with it. Have you had success with calling fox, or just trapping fox? A little hard to discern from the way it's written. Just wondering how you have never lucked into at least a visual on a coyote in 20 years, but it happens I guess.

You said your friend that recommended the LD has had lots of luck. Perhaps hook up with them if they are local or reasonably close to compare notes on what they do compared to you.

Do you get, or have you ever gotten a vocal response to your calls? In the simplest terms, if you have coyotes, play the wind correctly and can sneak into a good area undetected and remain hidden during a set, you should at least see or hear something. They're challenging, but they aren't impossible to outsmart.

Good luck!
 
Man that's dedication.

Hide the truck, sneak in, & play the wind are the fundamentals.

I'd recommend spending more time on stand. I tend to howl 3-4 times, wait a few, howl again, and wait some more before going into distress sounds that I play continually w/o stopping. I might pause a little between sounds, but generally play one sound for 6-8 minutes, then switch. I don't have that many properties so I tend to spend more time on stand for each. I have had them come in beyond the 30 minute mark.

I will generally finish with pup distress sounds, but do play them midstream some times. It doesn't hurt to sit quietly at the end for a while, you just never know.
 
hunt0168 said:
Wow! Well congrats on at least sticking with it. Have you had success with calling fox, or just trapping fox? A little hard to discern from the way it's written. Just wondering how you have never lucked into at least a visual on a coyote in 20 years, but it happens I guess.

You said your friend that recommended the LD has had lots of luck. Perhaps hook up with them if they are local or reasonably close to compare notes on what they do compared to you.

Do you get, or have you ever gotten a vocal response to your calls? In the simplest terms, if you have coyotes, play the wind correctly and can sneak into a good area undetected and remain hidden during a set, you should at least see or hear something. They're challenging, but they aren't impossible to outsmart.

Good luck!
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Yeah I’ve both shot and trapped fox. Mostly greys. I am actually linking up with him this weekend for a tournament. So hopefully that works out. I’ve been hunting wind that’s been blowing in my face or mostly behind me so I am definitely staying downwind from the direction I am calling. Should I aim for more of a crosswind? I should also note I don’t have many truly open areas to hunt. I have plenty of access to timber spots though. I just try to hunt the most open areas I can within that timber. I even paid for a guide this year and we do five stands and didn’t see a damn thing lol.
 
alf said:
Man that's dedication.

Hide the truck, sneak in, & play the wind are the fundamentals.

I'd recommend spending more time on stand. I tend to howl 3-4 times, wait a few, howl again, and wait some more before going into distress sounds that I play continually w/o stopping. I might pause a little between sounds, but generally play one sound for 6-8 minutes, then switch. I don't have that many properties so I tend to spend more time on stand for each. I have had them come in beyond the 30 minute mark.

I will generally finish with pup distress sounds, but do play them midstream some times. It doesn't hurt to sit quietly at the end for a while, you just never know.
Click to expand...
More time on stand is definitely a good point. I feel like after the 15 minute mark I assume that nothings coming. Last year I had a coyote coming consistently at 10am to one of my cameras. I hunted it for 30 mins, walked away and he was on my camera about 10 mins later…. I’m also not new to the hunting world. I’ve killed plenty of beautiful bucks, Elk on public and everything in between. I see coyotes like crazy when I am hunting in CO but I let them walk when I am hunting elk. They just don’t seem as brave and plentiful on the east coast.
 
alf said:
Coyotes will general try to approach from the down wind side.

So you need to play their game, but swing the outcome in your favor, meaning a cross or quartering wind that you can shoot to before they catch your scent.
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How far away from the call will they go to circle downwind? If I’m set up and can’t see them go downwind then the hunts busted right?
 
SpeedyG said:
Should I aim for more of a crosswind?
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Generally, Yes. Even in tighter situations I would suggest a crosswind over directly in your face. Set caller upwind of your position as much as is feasible. A coyote will want to get downwind of the caller, so you would have a better chance of that being in front of you rather than behind you.

I agree with alf on stand time as well. I am also not opposed to longer gaps of silence on stand. I'm in the northeast with fairly heavy pressure from other callers. Trying to be a bit different in technique and patience is sometimes what it takes to be successful.
 
How large is the property?
Have you heard coyotes close by or are these just passing through from time to time?

For me, calling is the same as trapping…patience and confidence will kill coyotes.
I’ve put a trap in on one set of tracks and left it. 4 weeks and 2 days later it connected. I never added lure or urine after the initial set and it still produced when that coyote or another roamed back through.

I’m down in SWGA and I don’t have a lot of coyotes on the properties I have access to either. It’s my own fault though. The only time I’m really successful is when transients move through or a pair decides they want to call the property home. I actually found an adult and two younger coyotes tracks today. I’ll be calling tomorrow night after this weather passes through tonight.

I start off with prey sounds on low to mid volume just incase anything is close and to possibly call in a cat first. I’ll increase the volume after a few minutes and if nothing shows, I’ll stop it altogether. I’ll give it 3-5min and then hit a howl or two. After that it’s nothing but coyote vocals until one shows or I’m ready to call it. I’ll break between those vocals sometimes and sometimes I’ll hit them back to back. I generally stick with whatever worked the last time I killed and change it up after several blank stands. And for what it’s worth, I haven’t heard a coyote in probably 6 months!!!! To me, it’s a lot more fun when they let you know they’re around or coming in!!
 
Lots to read and watch on here to help with your queries. Try the search but following Alf's suggestions is a good start. Here in PA I have as much, if not more silence, in my sets than 'noise' as a rule and ALMOST always end a set with a fight followed by a kiyi/pup distress then 10-15 min of silence. A lot are killed in the final silence!
 
spotstalkshoot said:
Satellite looks like numerous clear cuts are you setting up so coyote need to leave trees to get downwind(call) ?
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Honestly I’m not sure. How much room between the call and the tree line should I be leaving? Will they try to take a peak as they are working downwind or will they stay far out of sight, get downwind and come in? These have been questions I’ve wondered for a while
 
Spurchaser said:
How large is the property?
Have you heard coyotes close by or are these just passing through from time to time?

For me, calling is the same as trapping…patience and confidence will kill coyotes.
I’ve put a trap in on one set of tracks and left it. 4 weeks and 2 days later it connected. I never added lure or urine after the initial set and it still produced when that coyote or another roamed back through.

I’m down in SWGA and I don’t have a lot of coyotes on the properties I have access to either. It’s my own fault though. The only time I’m really successful is when transients move through or a pair decides they want to call the property home. I actually found an adult and two younger coyotes tracks today. I’ll be calling tomorrow night after this weather passes through tonight.

I start off with prey sounds on low to mid volume just incase anything is close and to possibly call in a cat first. I’ll increase the volume after a few minutes and if nothing shows, I’ll stop it altogether. I’ll give it 3-5min and then hit a howl or two. After that it’s nothing but coyote vocals until one shows or I’m ready to call it. I’ll break between those vocals sometimes and sometimes I’ll hit them back to back. I generally stick with whatever worked the last time I killed and change it up after several blank stands. And for what it’s worth, I haven’t heard a coyote in probably 6 months!!!! To me, it’s a lot more fun when they let you know they’re around or coming in!!
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One is 75 and the other is 65. I get weeks where I’ll get pictures of coyotes all over the property from different cameras. This year after cleaning my buck I put a camera on it and that night I had coyotes coming to the carcass all night. Very next night I went to hunt it at sunset and nothing showed up.

Last night I hunted the property that I see tracks and have heard them howling and nothing showed. I purposely waited to call that one until I was set up with thermals and had a good wind. Might not have stayed out long enough and maybe the wind was more in my face then a crosswind I’m not sure. But right before sunrise I had a coyote on camera about 100 yards from where I was calling the previous night. Frustrating
 
Day/night setups will be different. And how much range your remote has. When coyote are hitting carcasses, dead piles or bait, they tend to be pretty regular (time) wise. If they are(can) layup nearby, you need to be careful to not spook them when approaching. A gut pile, is temporary food, if they can stay close they will.
 
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Before I left that region there was NO.. NONE... NADA... absolute ZIP reporting of Yotes in the state (N.C). IIRC it wasn't until about almost 1990 before any reported sightings. Even then very, very few.
So, the issue many very well be the population.
They are not native to that region although I have heard of some folks importing them, which explains the presence today , and the migration.
 
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