Setting Up Stands

yotebooter

yotebooter

New member
Howdy - I'd like to get some feedback and best practices on setting up a stand. My biggest questions are about:
- Distance from your vehicle (how far do I need get away from it?)
- Distance between stands (how far do I have to move away from my last stand and how long do I wait to start calling again?)
- My exposure in getting to the stand ( do I crawl to it? Can I walk up uninhibited? How long before I start calling?)
- Time at a stand (How long do I try calling without result? Can I successflly call after a kill?)

You probably noticed I don't have much experience. I am learning by trial and error. Mostly error and it is getting frustrating. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Hey Yotebooter: Your questions are pretty typical for a beginner, but good ones. As far as where to park your vehicle, the main thing is for it to not be seen by approaching coyotes. That varies a lot from state to state. There is a big difference in hunting coyotes in an area like I live, where the land is so broken up into small farms and fences and country roads, and country like Arizona where you might drive for miles without seeing a house. A late trapper friend of mine told me if you want to be successful hunting coyotes, you need to learn to think like a coyote. To date, that is the best advice I ever got. A coyote is sneaky so you need to be sneaky. One good stand, set up properly, is better than a dozen done wrong. When you get permission to hunt a farm, make yourself a rough map of the area, indicating landmarks and the directions. That way you can tell by your weather report if it is a good day to hunt that particular farm considering wind direction. When approaching your selected stand area, that should be something you are already familiar with from past scouting trips. Make sure there are coyotes in the area, because the best set up with the best caller won't produce coyotes if there are none there. Finally, read some good books on the subject like those by Ed Sceery and Gerry Blair, and look at some good dvd's. You don't have to copy cat those people, but you learn from all of them. When you do call one in and shoot him, immediately go into a pup distress or adult distress sound, and keep your eyes open for other "Customers". Always give at least 5 minutes of total silence after you are through calling to watch for the "Sneakers", as some of my biggest coyotes have been killed when a lot of hunters would be on their way back to the truck. How long to stay on a stand depends on how much confidence you have in that area, and how far the coyotes could be responding from. A lot of hunters believe in making as many stands in a morning as they can, limiting their stands to 15 minutes or so. I don't believe in that at all if I know I am in a good area. Good luck and good hunting to you.
 
i second staying on stand longer.i have killed alot of yotes at the 45-60 minute mark.bobcats take longer to come in than yotes.so i stay the extra time in case they might show up.i also hunt the thick stuff.so it may be diff in your area.
 
Welcome to the board yotebooter.

Read through some of the past posts here and you will pick up a world of information.

The questions you ask are the same ones that anyone starting out and many who have been doing it for a long while have, and the "right" answers are often contradictory.

In general, you don't want incoming coyotes to be able to see your truck. On the other hand, some guys call from the truck. It may be just a matter of what the coyotes are used to.

Some guys travel miles between stands and call very loudly. One of our most successful guys here only walks a couple of hundred yards max between stands, and calls very softly.

You don't have to crawl to your stand, but you do want to try to get in unnoticed. Use the terrain and wind to your advantage.

Sometimes coyotes will come in quickly, and sometimes only after a long time (45min or more). The guys who consistently win contests say it's a game of numbers. If they haven't gotten a response in 10 or 15 minutes they move on to another stand. They also say that's not how they normally hunt except for contests, 15-20 stands a day makes for a very long day.

Most guys probably try to bring coyotes in from upwind or crosswind. Others are successful keeping the wind at their back and catching the coyotes before they enter their scent cone.

One of the few things there is almost universal agreement on is that after killing a coyote, you should immediately start in with some kiyis. You will often pull in another one.

Learn as much as you can here, and most of all keep trying. You'll start bringing them in sooner or later, and as you learn, you'll develop your own individual style and techniques depending on what works for you.

Leon
 
Only thing I can add is....Pull the trigger!!! I had a yote coming in, and in my scope for 80yrds, but waited for that perfect broadside shot...Well when he did turn broadside, there was a 12" tree between him and myself. When I tried to lean out for a shot, He said....SEE YA
 
The best thing I ever did was to hunt with somebody that had some experience. Find somebody on here in your area and set up a time to hunt together.
 
Thank you all for the great feedback and advice. Alot of it affirmed I was already doing things right, but a few details help to polish your skills. The biggest and hardest to swallow is patience. After you've drilled your first two, on the first outing, in ten minutes and a double no less, patience doesn't isn't on the menu. But I see it is probably the most valuable tool. If anyone has a desire to go calling on a Friday or Saturday anywhere within an hour of Phoenix, let's hook up. I've got a buddy that will join us. Six eyes are better than four. Happy howling boys!
 
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