These are questions I'm still trying to find the answer to and I've been calling in over 100 coyotes a year. I find it interesting to listen to what others have to say.
How long until you setup and your first call?
I will usually start calling as soon as I am set up. Occasionally when it is dead silent or if I feel like I need to let things calm down I'll wait to start calling. If I park my vehicle close to my stand I might wait 5-10 minutes to start calling.
How long do you play each sound for?
Sometimes I will play a sound on E caller for 5 or 10 minutes straight and other times only a minute or two. Other times I may do a simple howl and then no calling for a 2-5 minutes. With hand calls I'll often call 30 seconds to 3 minutes with distress sounds and then go silent for 3-5 minutes before calling again.
How long between your calls?
Rarely will I wait more than 5 minutes between calling but silence and soft sounds can be an effective tool to lure a coyote.
How long do you stay at a stand?
Normally a minimum of 20 minutes from September to December and a minimum of 30 minutes in the later season from January to April. I've killed many coyotes after being on a stand more than 30 minutes. Instead of staying on a stand more than 45 minutes I think it is generally better to reposition my location if coyotes are howling at me or just move on to the next stand. The length of time I spend on a stand all depends on how I feel about a particular stand and what type of calls I'm using. If I'm mixing howls and coyote vocals, I find they can come a little slower and it is better to give a stand more time. If I'm using and aggressive rabbit distress (Lighting Jack on fox pro or aggressive hand calls) for 10 minutes straight then it is probably not very productive to stay on a stand more than 12-15 minutes. I've killed dozens of coyotes after being on a stand more than 30 minutes and the quickest I've killed one was less than 15 seconds after calling. That 15 second coyote must have been curled up and sleeping in some low lying grass 150 yards from my when I set up for my stand and he sat up and looked at me after a single howl. At 150 yards I thought there was no point at trying to call him closer and gave him a dirt nap.
How long do you wait until your last call and you get up to leave?
Normally I try to give it at least a minute or two after I stop calling before getting up. I probably average closer to 4 or 5 minutes. I've had multiple coyotes show up 5-10 minutes after I stopped calling. One old female that had multiple missing teeth came in more than 5 minutes after I stopped calling. I packed up all my stuff and picked up my E caller and took a few steps back toward my vehicle when I spotted her coming in about 400 yards out. Lucky for me, she didn't spot me so I just laid prone with my rifle rested across my pack. She continued to slowly work her way in and I shot her at about 100 yards at least 10 minutes after I had stopped calling.
In general I think it is better to be more aggressive and play sounds constantly for 10 minutes straight and not stay on stands too long for coyotes that haven't been as educated by callers. You are more likely to call in more coyotes if you make 6 stands in a morning than 3 stands.
It is better to play softer sounds, have more periods of silence than calling and stay on stands longer when the coyotes have been educated by callers.
