How far from vehicle?

W

WeaselCircus

Member
When hunting coyotes how far from your vehicle (truck, ATV) do you generally hike in to your stands? I don't mind a walk, just wondering what's a good rule of thumb for how far away I need to get to minimize chances of them spooking.
 
Kind of depends on the lay of the land. If it's hidden from any direction they are approaching from and you are quite a couple hundred yards is usually a min for me. I always try to use buildings trees or hills to hide my truck. Lots of times I walk in a 1/4 mile or better. The further you get from the road the better luck you might have that's been with me anyways.
 
Far enough that they don't see it.

Some places that is far, some places that is just over the rise i park behind.

Sometimes i sit up against the tires in the shade, when out in the open, with a camo cover over my truck, and just prepare to shoot them at 200 to 300.(when they get weary)


I will also say that getting farther from the roads will get you different results. IMO i feel that coyotes next to the roads, act differently than those that don't see traffic on a regular basis.

Good luck.
 
I park as close as I can that they can't see it.

I have parked walked twenty feet sat down and called one in within thirty seconds.

I walk only as far as I have to.
 
I'm with all the above. I've had success parking near and far. Another thing I always try and think about which is fairly obvious is not parking where a coyote coming from a distance might bump my truck enroute to me.
 
Pretty much what Tbone and Trap said. I walk as far as I have to, but only as far as I feel like I HAVE to.

That said... For the the country I generally hunt, I feel it's counter productive to walk more than about 400 yards max. Big majority of my stands, it's less than 200 yards. But when the setup starts demanding a walk of a quarter mile, the odds are usually in favor of simply not making that stand, moving on to the next one that won't chew up as much clock.

Knowing, full well, that every situation is unique and you just have to play the cards you have in front of you, my area of operations, generally speaking, the numbers game favors quantity of stands. That is to say, I'll probably kill more coyotes by making an extra stand or two for the day, vs. putting in a lot of time (walking) to make one particular stand work.

But... All that said... I'm not really into numbers anymore. Don't give a crap, really. But my inner intellectual still balks at wasting much time on any given stand, when there is another one just up the road that won't take near the time or effort and is just as, if not more like to pay off.

- DAA
 
An addendum... I honestly believe that in many situations, the longer you are out there walking around making noise and spreading smell, the lower your chances get.

Again, I know that local conditions are everything and sometimes a long walk is the only way to make it work. But, the majority of terrain and situations I find myself in, the longer you are out there stumbling around before you get your sound in the air, the more you are hurting your chances for success. Get in, get down, get calling, just as quickly as you possibly can, is the rule of thumb I use.

Every time I read on the internet about sitting quiet and still for a period of time before beginning to call, I just can't help but wonder. That's a recipe for lowered success, in my world. The more time you spend before calling is the more opportunity to get busted just sitting there and ruin the stand, in my typical calling scenario. With the added insult to injury of time wasted that can't be spent making another stand in the same day. Double whammy negative. But, my world isn't everyone's world, and I do get that.

- DAA
 
I feel on calm days i have higher success rate the farther i walk into a stand rather than drive but on days with higher winds or during a contest i only walk till my pickup is out of sight which can be 20 yards over a rise or 400 yards across a hill range just depends on the terrain
 
Wow, great info guys! Kind of surprising actually - I would have thought the general recommendation (after watching some youtube videos about predator hunting in the West) would be to walk in a minimum of 1/2 mile to a mile or more. So when you guys say you sometimes just barely get out of sight of the truck, does that mean you are driving the back dirt roads and then just hopping out and setting up close? I guess that could make sense if the coyotes there are used to seeing cars go by now and then so that wouldn't be unusual if they heard your car. I'm also thinking of trying some areas that are much easier and faster to get to on an ATV (old jeep tracks in the desert essentially) and I wonder if that might be different since it would be more unusual to hear a motor. But maybe not so different though and I can just ease in to a spot where the ATV isn't obvious and walk over a few hundred yards and give it a try.
 
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Originally Posted By: DAAAn addendum...

Again, I know that local conditions are everything and sometimes a long walk is the only way to make it work. But, the majority of terrain and situations I find myself in, the longer you are out there stumbling around before you get your sound in the air, the more you are hurting your chances for success. Get in, get down, get calling, just as quickly as you possibly can, is the rule of thumb I use.

Every time I read on the internet about sitting quiet and still for a period of time before beginning to call, I just can't help but wonder. That's a recipe for lowered success, in my world. But, my world isn't everyone's world, and I do get that.

- DAA

^^^^^^^^^^Works in my part of the world, as well. I, too, drive in, park, set up as quickly as possible and start calling right away.
smile.gif


When I first started predator hunting seriously, the three ranches I hunted saw fairly light pressure. The predators were used to quite a lot of vehicular traffic on the many miles of two tracks and oilfield caliche roads that threaded through the rather thick mesquite brush. They were seldom shot at from vehicles, however and their biggest threat came during deer season.

The first year I had better luck than one would expect by pulling the jeep up in the thick brush and sitting in the chair on back. That all changed pretty quickly as the pressure increased. I no longer hunt from the chair during the day, but am usually able to conceal the jeep in brush within a couple hundred yards of my stand and often much closer than that.



This picture was taken within 60' of the jeep. It was parked in a notch in the brush behind the dead limbs visible across the sendero to the right. As has been said, it all depends on the terrain.

Regards,
hm
 
Get far enough away that approaching coyotes can't see your rig and get to calling. I'd rather make them come to me than vice versa. They can hear farther than I want to walk to kill them.
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Originally Posted By: WeaselCircusOriginally Posted By: tripod3I do alot of calling successfully right from the drivers seat.

For real?

Yep, works real well at night,where legal.
 
Originally Posted By: WeaselCircusOriginally Posted By: tripod3I do alot of calling successfully right from the drivers seat.

For real?

Yes, I love it when they give the truck a second look just before the lead flies. Sometimes from a 4wheeler and other times from a trackchair.
 
Originally Posted By: WeaselCircusWow, great info guys! Kind of surprising actually - I would have thought the general recommendation (after watching some youtube videos about predator hunting in the West) would be to walk in a minimum of 1/2 mile to a mile or more. So when you guys say you sometimes just barely get out of sight of the truck, does that mean you are driving the back dirt roads and then just hopping out and setting up close? I guess that could make sense if the coyotes there are used to seeing cars go by now and then so that wouldn't be unusual if they heard your car. I'm also thinking of trying some areas that are much easier and faster to get to on an ATV (old jeep tracks in the desert essentially) and I wonder if that might be different since it would be more unusual to hear a motor. But maybe not so different though and I can just ease in to a spot where the ATV isn't obvious and walk over a few hundred yards and give it a try.

Don't over think it, but your getting the idea.
 
ATV's are loud.. Really loud, so try an muffle that a bit. The coyotes i have seen don't like them and hide from them. (others have ruined it)


Sometimes i just sit next to this. Why wonder off somewhere when it's flat land? It's not like they are going to not see it. I am just spreading scent, and by the time the "wait that doesn't look right" kicks in they are close enough to shoot. I look at it like this.. If the coyote is close enough and assuming your are not in another coyotes range, they are coming to you when you call. If you wonder out there it should be for a good reason. Usually to get away from the road, or for a slight advantage (meaning using the terrain to give you a better view or hide you) It takes me a lot longer to cover the ground than a coyote. I prefer to get settled in, and let them die tired personally. Right before the season starts i take a metal gong out and practice shooting at distance at the gong from my hunting set up. Being confident in your shooting is important. don't sit in spots where you have blind spots (if you can help it) I also try and make it so that if they want to come in from the down wind they are going to have to expose themselves to do so.


There have been many times they ran past the truck to get to the call.
Coyotes don't always come from where you think they will. Walking uses time in a day, and that means less stands in a day, and that equals less chances to get fur in the truck.
 
For me, I don't give much consideration to distance. I try to choose the stand that I believe offers the greatest opportunity to call a coyote. If that's a 100 yds. from the truck, great. If it's 1000 yards, still great.I will say that no matter the distance, the truck needs to be out of sight, the approach needs to be concealed and the wind needs to be favorable.
Just about every farmer, rancher, country boy around here carries a truck gun. Season is open year round, it's legal to shoot them from the road if you have landowner permission. Coyotes are truck shy here.
 


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