I setup yesterday afternoon and called with my cottontail distress handcaller for about 20 secs and no sooner than i put it down here came a coyote running full speed from my right side. The wind was at my back and the coyote just ran by downwind looking at me as fast as he could go. I fired a round be he never slacked up. The few i have called in before( I can count them on one hand) have always came in slow like looking for the source of the sound. Anyone else ever had a "fly by"?? That yote was moving!!!!
Running Coyote
- Thread starter JStockton
- Start date
Jimmie in Ky
New member
Fly in , fly by , and fly out /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gifIt do happen on occasion.
My question is why do you choose to hunt with the wind at your back?
And try to describe your setup if you would . I find down wind work to be interesting when I have to use it but prefer to face the wind myself.Jimmie
My question is why do you choose to hunt with the wind at your back?
And try to describe your setup if you would . I find down wind work to be interesting when I have to use it but prefer to face the wind myself.Jimmie
I'm new to this predator hunting so I'm sure I'm doing some things wrong but the few coyotes I have called up have all come downwind of my setup. Everything I have read about calling coyotes says they will come to the downwind side of the distress calling. So to me it just stands to reason that I should be looking in that direction if I want to see a coyote coming to my call. I'm sure some coyotes start upwind from me that I might see but eventually if they don't see the source of the call they will circle downwind. The terrain I hunt consists of small pastures surrounded by briar thickets, pine plantations, clear-cuts, and timber. I usually try to set up with cover on my right,left or both with maybe a fencerow or drainage ditch leading out of the cover into the pastures. The coyotes i have called in usually follow the fence rows or drainage ditches as they leave the thickets coming to my calling. Like i said, I'm very new to this and that's why I'm on this board trying to learn from you guys. Feel free to take me under your wing and teach me all you can. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
NM Leon
New member
JS, Welcome to the board.
It's difficult to be accurate when making generalities, especially when they involve coyote behavior, and there are certainly more experienced guys here than me, but I'll give it a try.
If there is any breeze, coyotes will often (not always) try to get downwind of an interesting sound source. If they "wind" you, they will, more often than not, kick in the afterburners. This can make for some very difficult shooting. For this reason, most guys try to catch them (and stop them) before they have circled downwind, if they can.
I generally assume that any coyotes that were downwind of me when I started calling will never be seen anyway, though I have seen them come in at a run from downwind (rarely).
If I was hunting alone with hand calls, in the terrain you describe, I would try to set up where the likely paths the coyote would take (fence lines, ditches, roads, trails, firebreaks), would be upwind or cross wind from me. The theory is that you should see them before the enter your scent cone, and lip squeak, or bark them to a stop for a shot.
Depending on the terrain, I like to set up crosswind, with the wind coming slightly from my right. I am a right hand shooter, and this allows me to more easily take shots to my left, on dogs that are trying to wind me.
A decoy can also help. If the decoy attracts their attention, that is what they will often focus on and if it is in the open, they may not even try to wind it. I like to set it a few feet off the ground, on a stake or branch, out in the open, a few yards downwind of the cover I think they are likely to be coming out of.
Hunting with a partner can also "up your score". You still won't have 360deg coverage, but it will be much better. Two guys calling at the same time also seems to work well, for some reason.
There is, of course lots more to it, and I'm some other guys will chime in. In the end, however, if whatever you are doing is working, well.....
It's difficult to be accurate when making generalities, especially when they involve coyote behavior, and there are certainly more experienced guys here than me, but I'll give it a try.
If there is any breeze, coyotes will often (not always) try to get downwind of an interesting sound source. If they "wind" you, they will, more often than not, kick in the afterburners. This can make for some very difficult shooting. For this reason, most guys try to catch them (and stop them) before they have circled downwind, if they can.
I generally assume that any coyotes that were downwind of me when I started calling will never be seen anyway, though I have seen them come in at a run from downwind (rarely).
If I was hunting alone with hand calls, in the terrain you describe, I would try to set up where the likely paths the coyote would take (fence lines, ditches, roads, trails, firebreaks), would be upwind or cross wind from me. The theory is that you should see them before the enter your scent cone, and lip squeak, or bark them to a stop for a shot.
Depending on the terrain, I like to set up crosswind, with the wind coming slightly from my right. I am a right hand shooter, and this allows me to more easily take shots to my left, on dogs that are trying to wind me.
A decoy can also help. If the decoy attracts their attention, that is what they will often focus on and if it is in the open, they may not even try to wind it. I like to set it a few feet off the ground, on a stake or branch, out in the open, a few yards downwind of the cover I think they are likely to be coming out of.
Hunting with a partner can also "up your score". You still won't have 360deg coverage, but it will be much better. Two guys calling at the same time also seems to work well, for some reason.
There is, of course lots more to it, and I'm some other guys will chime in. In the end, however, if whatever you are doing is working, well.....