New Rookie to Varmit Hunting, I'll take any advise I can get

N

ncognet0

Member
Went out yesterday for the 1st time calling coyotes with my step son. Now I want to get into it. Any advise on a good call for a rookie?

Also any other tips is greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome to Predator Masters! There is much information to be read right here on the forums and Predator Master's tech pages. Ask questions, use the search feature and read, read, read. As far as a good call, if you are referring to mouth calls any closed reed should be effective even for a first timer.
 
Sceery, Loman, Circe, Haydel, Primos plus many many others. Our custom call makers can not only make and tune a call to perfection, most if not all of them will talk you through using it right over the phone. That makes the customs more attractive to me. What big company gives that type of service? Besides, many of the custom calls aren't that much more than production calls and they look better too. Check out the Custom Calls for Sale board and see what you think.
 
There’s always something to learn about this sport. It has the potential of keeping your interest for years to come. As you read posts here pay attention to stand setup. Once you find a stand that looks good don’t be afraid to keep going back. I use some spots a couple of times a year every year. Make your approach to the stand quiet and keep off the skyline. Approach your stand as if you know there are coyotes near by and pay attention to the wind.
 
My #1 call is the howler. My advise is find one that you like and learn the different vocalizations. I like the power howler from ELK INC. There are lots of good ones out there. If I could only take one call into the field it would be a howler. Any old distress call can call in a coyote and contrary to popular beliefe among many, distress calls are very easy to learn and do. My #1 piece of advise overall is to keep calling, don't get discouraged by poor success. It's very easy to lose hope after a long string of no-shows. Just stick with it and someday you'll see him coming your way. My #2 piece of advise is landowner relations. It critical to have a quality place to hunt. This can also be hard at first depending on your situation. It's a lot easier out west to find lots of places to call. Here in MN the landowners blessing is mandatory. For whatever thats worth. Good Luck.
 
Same here.. rookie with no hunting expierience that wants to hunt with the stepson and son-in-law. They do ducks, deer, pheasants, rabbit.. everything but coyote. And there's plenty of them around our western WI property.

Lots of stupid questions...

Bought them tons of guns (Benellis, Remys, Mossys, Ruger, Marlin..) now it's time for my first one. Imagine that. Probably the hardest decision for a newbie. Shotgun or rifle? Gauge? Caliber? Manufacturer?? Yikes.

I've narrowed it to a .223 Howa, Savage or Remington.
Shopping comes up in a couple weeks. Of the three above is there a decided winner or is it preference? Is there one model in 223 from the companies above you really like?

Calls... Did you see the guy on youtube.com call a yote in with what sounded like a dog's squeaky toy? Pretty cool and seems like a cheap and productive idea. Will putting a small boombox with looping calls on a CD work or will I look like an idiot? I'll be hunting mostly private farms lands without long hikes to hunting spots so size/weight won't be an issue to start. Is there a "standard" call every newbie should have?

Thanks for the help

Decoys.. Any of you use homemade decoys of some type?
 
Im wondering if I can put my portable cd player in an ammo box and drill some holes in the side and play a cd of a dying rabbit. for a poor mans call at least until my other calls arrive.
 


Here's that squeaky toy video I mentioned. Local pet store actually sells package of three replacement squeakers sewn in some dog toys for a couple bucks. They obviously get my dog's attention. Have to believe they would be worthy of a rookie/poor man's calls at the start.
 
NcognetO here is some of the best advice you can get. Take up Golf, or horse shoes or reading. LOL Welcome to the crazy world of coyote calling. Any time you fool a coyote you have done something special. Some say the second smartest animal on the planet, and other say the smartest. Most of them after a long day of calling and not one in the bag. : ) As far as putting a cd player in the ammo box I just don't know how much sound would reach the ears of the coyote. I would go with a regular e-caller or a mouth call. I hope this has helped and welcome to the world of coyote calling. Good luck and don't give up. I have killed a few but I think they all road on the little yellow bus if you know what I mean. : )
 
Welcome both of you.

Any of the three rifles you mentioned will work fine wildwing. I have rifles in all three brands and like them all. The Savage probably will have the best accuracy out of the box, but won't be great for resale (a lot of folks think they're ugly).

Don't get to hung up on calls. As you saw, even a "squeaky toy" will work, at least sometimes (it sounds like a mouse). In point of fact, you can call them in by lip squeaking with no caller at all.

Much more important to your success is learning how and where to make your stands. As Weas said, read read read, starting with the links at the top of the page leading to prey, techniques, etc.
 
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