Coyote Calling in the Wind - food for thought

The Baron

The Baron

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We've had a lot of windy days recently, and the math geek in me got thinking about how far sound carries in the wind and how that might affect my coyote calling success.

We all know that scouting and knowing where/when coyotes may be around is a critical factor, and we can improve success on windy days by heading into areas of thick cover/lee side of hills etc. These areas are not only sheltered from some of the wind, so the call sound might travel a little further, but are also more likely to be holding the coyotes who are dozing out of the wind.

Getting back to my math musings, it seems pretty basic that if no coyote can hear my call I'm not going to call any in. Sound will travel differently downwind vs. upwind and in hilly vs. level terrain, open country vs. woods, etc. but (because I'm really not that smart) I assumed all other variables are equal and the sound radiates out from the caller in a perfect circle. If on a calm day the sound of the call might be heard by coyotes up to 750m away (which I think is a reasonable estimate) and I use that as the radius of the area I could draw coyotes in from, that means I'm reaching approximately 1.77 sq. km. As the wind picks up the distance the call may be heard would begin to diminish - if a moderate wind reduced the radius my call is reaching to 500m, the area of effect drops to 0.79 sq. km so that 1/3 decrease in sound travel distance means the area I'm hunting is essentially cut to less than half. If a stronger wind reduced the effective calling range to 250m, the area is further reduced to 0.20 sq. km - just 12% of the area being covered on a calm day! Even if my distance estimates are a little off, it's still easy to see the odds get stacked against us very quickly as the wind increases.

Just some food for thought that will have me banking some time in my home office, watching for those calm days in the forecast.
 
You need a hobby....Lmao. good food for thought. Just like calling geese, you howl your guts out thinking the sound will reach forever in the wind yet someone walks 100 yards away and can't hear a thing.
 
You took a shot at my advice back a week ago over scopes which I shook my head. I've killed a lot of coyotes in the wind but as you think calm days are far better. Get your Calculator and figure it out lol
 
That sound carries a lot farther than 750m even on windy days. We called one in last Friday here that we watched run as hard as it could for almost 2 miles. We were set on the edge of the river valley facing into a south wind of about 15kmhr. Coulee runs off the main river valley to the east. We were set up right where the coulee meets the main river valley. Foxpro shockwave on pup distress 3 at volume 30 with the call pointed east up the draw. Well about 3 mins in we see this dog tearing across the stubble from the west. Dumped him at 60 yards when he stopped. Clocked with the truck to the hill we first seen him coming over and it was just shy of 2 miles. Not sure how far he came from. I have watched lots come from well over a mile.
 
Adrian J Hare said:
You took a shot at my advice back a week ago over scopes which I shook my head. I've killed a lot of coyotes in the wind but as you think calm days are far better. Get your Calculator and figure it out lol
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Huh? I "took a shot" at your scope advice? Please elaborate because I don't recall ever "taking a shot" at anybody or their advice on here. I'll save any further comment until we figure out if you have me confused with someone else.
 
Vortex Crossfire 4x16x50 on my rig. I do like the large objective because on my 7 power on sets, I have had lots and lots of times that coyotes - Come In- or - Take away- and it is a little bit easier to find them in panic or follow them.


After my comment : I'd actually lean toward the 2.5-10x as that's all the power you'll ever need for calling coyotes in this area and it would serve very well on a deer rifle or muzzle loader too if you wanted to transfer it for those few weeks and save buying multiple optics. Don't bother searching or paying extra for a 50mm objective, 40mm is plenty.

maybe I'm seeing it wrong, but as it was laid out it sure looked like it .


The Baron said:
Huh? I "took a shot" at your scope advice? Please elaborate because I don't recall ever "taking a shot" at anybody or their advice on here. I'll save any further comment until we figure out if you have me confused with someone else.
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You cut half my reply, the half that also recommended a 4-16x. And the OP on that thread is a very good friend who also deer hunts and is on a budget, hence the idea that a quality 2.5-10x would serve double-duty on a deer rifle or ML.

But, it seems in your world, you think someone offering advise that is not merely a quote of your own post is equivalent to "taking a shot" at you? I guess the mods should have locked the thread after you shared your perfect advice. LOL!!

You see, "taking a shot" at your advice would be more like me pointing out your lack of knowledge in implying that a 50mm objective helps you find moving coyotes better... because on scopes of equal magnification the difference in FIELD OF VIEW for a 40mm vs. 50mm objective is ZERO.

And we all know you can call and kill coyotes on windy days. The point of this thread was to spark a discussion about wind and how it affects our calling efforts. You see, some folks come in here to discuss things like that with fellow hunters in a constructive and cooperative manner. I guess you just come here to puff your chest and have everyone else clap, but to me you're just like the kid who throws a temper tantrum at the birthday party - you're kind of ruining the fun, bud. :ang LOL!
 
tbdtp said:
That sound carries a lot farther than 750m even on windy days. We called one in last Friday here that we watched run as hard as it could for almost 2 miles.
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Holy crap - 2 miles? I have no idea how far away I've called coyotes from before, but there's nowhere I hunt where I can see 2 miles - heck I don't think there's many places I can even see 1/2 mile to know if they've come that far. LOL

I really wouldn't have thought my calls reach more than maybe 1km in perfect conditions. I'm not sure how loud level 30 on a Shockwave is, but do you have an idea how it compares to level 10 (max) on the smaller Firestorm etc. FoxPro? I use a Firestorm and may occasionally run up to level 10 with prey distress sounds but usually stop at 9 because I find the sound a bit distorted at times on the real screamy stuff at level 10. I do my coyote vocalizations with a hand call for that same reason.
 
The shockwave is pretty loud when you crank it up. Goes to 40 on the volume scale and I only ever get that high when the wind gets up over 20 to 30 km. I don't mind the kinda windy days to call. I make lots of short sets calling close to cover. Don't sit on those sets more than 15 mins. Days with light winds I call pastures and large bottoms of cover and will sit up to a half hour. But when the wind blows I head for the draws at one of the lakes or the heavy cover in the river bottoms. It's been too cold and the last few days but tomorrow looks like should be decent.
 
And the 2nd shot - your an ass



The Baron said:
You cut half my reply, the half that also recommended a 4-16x. And the OP on that thread is a very good friend who also deer hunts and is on a budget, hence the idea that a quality 2.5-10x would serve double-duty on a deer rifle or ML.

But, it seems in your world, you think someone offering advise that is not merely a quote of your own post is equivalent to "taking a shot" at you? I guess the mods should have locked the thread after you shared your perfect advice. LOL!!

You see, "taking a shot" at your advice would be more like me pointing out your lack of knowledge in implying that a 50mm objective helps you find moving coyotes better... because on scopes of equal magnification the difference in FIELD OF VIEW for a 40mm vs. 50mm objective is ZERO.

And we all know you can call and kill coyotes on windy days. The point of this thread was to spark a discussion about wind and how it affects our calling efforts. You see, some folks come in here to discuss things like that with fellow hunters in a constructive and cooperative manner. I guess you just come here to puff your chest and have everyone else clap, but to me you're just like the kid who throws a temper tantrum at the birthday party - you're kind of ruining the fun, bud. :ang LOL!
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tbdtp said:
The shockwave is pretty loud when you crank it up. Goes to 40 on the volume scale and I only ever get that high when the wind gets up over 20 to 30 km. I don't mind the kinda windy days to call. I make lots of short sets calling close to cover. Don't sit on those sets more than 15 mins. Days with light winds I call pastures and large bottoms of cover and will sit up to a half hour. But when the wind blows I head for the draws at one of the lakes or the heavy cover in the river bottoms. It's been too cold and the last few days but tomorrow looks like should be decent.
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Good advice. I do the same - on windy days I target thick cover and sheltered spots, making more sets closer together and don't stay as long on each stand as I might on calmer days. On calm days I'll call a little further from cover because not only will the call travel further but so will any noise I make getting to my setup so calm days can work against us when the walking is loud. We seem to always get a freezing rain or three over winter here and crunching through a snow crust to every stand can make calling very tough.
 
Adrian J Hare said:
And the 2nd shot - your an ass
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haha. There wasn't ever a first shot but you stewing over nothing for a week and then peeing in my thread inspired me to speak my mind.

And it should be "you're an ass"... the grammatical error really detracts from the effectiveness of your insult.
 
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Before anyone gets their hackles up The Baron is a good friend...kinda like a big brother. Wasn't insulting, just bustin his berries a little.
Adrian
Sorry to see you thought he was taking shots at you but I'm sure most on here would see it different. He was sharing his opinion same as everyone else (which is what I asked for in that thread) if he had have been firing shots at you he would have directly referanced your post. No need to get worked up over nothing

Now...back to throwing mud at Poindexter and his calculator Lmao
 
Its nice hunting on calm days but in my experience you can get busted easier as well. Coyotes are reported to hear 3-4x better then humans and can hear trucks coming in, doors close, noisy hunting partners and the sound of noisy barb wire fences being crossed. If there is a hard crust of snow and you go breaking through it, they can hear that and not come in. Wind does have its advantages to a degree.

Cheers!!
 
The Baron said:
If on a calm day the sound of the call might be heard by coyotes up to 750m away (which I think is a reasonable estimate) ...
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Definitely carries a lot further than that. But you're right, windy days can play havoc with your calling. Not to mention that coyotes will tend up to hole up more on a very windy day. Which means you can improve your chances of success by hunting in areas that are naturally sheltered from the wind, and call into the wind to improve the distance that the sound will carry.

Great post from The Baron, a good guy from the days of the Predator Hunt Canada forums. :d
 
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