Coyote Hunting Advice?

[Slooshark1]

I took my 10 year old son out yesterday morning and we set up in a few different locations and I called with a predator call. We stayed about 20 minutes per spot and I called every 5 minutes or so. We didn't see anything. Am I doing something wrong?

We had a fun morning as the weather was nice. We stopped and had some peanut butter and jam sandwiches on the tailgate of the truck. Better luck next time, I guess.

 

[sunray]

20 minutes is likely not long enough. You may want to cammo the rifle. Wiley can spot the smallest stuff. A bit of cheap white cotton cloth wrapped and taped on(white hockey tape) will do.
Doesn't look like the K.I.D. cared too much about not seeing anything though.

 

[Ardent]

Good job getting your son out, big thing I'd recommend is staying put much, much longer. I generally pick one spot that the wind's in my favour, make a makeshift blind with brush, and call for up to a couple hours. Up here it doesn't take that long, but staying put pays, patience is huge and also a good lesson for the young fella!

 

[waltman]

One thing I try and do is sneak in and out so they don't know your there, they seldom stick around once they smell or see you. Never let them know they are being hunted I guess you might say, they learn quick.

 

[7mmlefty]

Its great to get out. Looks like youve got some good country where youre hunting.

Give it time and youll do well im sure. There are a few things to keep in mind though.

Movement or human sound of any kind must be stopped while calling, and dont forget to slowly turn youre head, and look behind youre set up every few minutes.

That includes no clanging of snow shoes or whispering when going in. You should have a plan, without much talk before you set up.

You should always think theres a coyote just 200 yards inside the bush you plan to call from and be very respectfull of their KEEN senses.

A coyote knows youre coming before you think they should, unfortunately.

 

[sksavenger]

Great to see you are getting the young one out hunting. One thing i notice in your pics is that you are in some fairly thick wooded area. Coyotes usually circle around to catch a scent before they move in and sometimes at a fair distance. It is possible you had some come in and circle in the bush or timber and they sniffed you out and left undetected. I am not sure where you hunt or what options you have for terrain. I try to have a lot of open area all around me. They are a crafty critter and its a good feeling to outsmart them.

 

[triggerpress]

Twenty minutes per stand is all I normally stay. Sometimes I stretch it to 30 minutes but that's it. However, I'd suggest calling more than once every five minutes. Try a series about every minute. But the most important thing is looking after your scent. Try and set up so the breeze blows it out into an open field. Then watch in that direction as coyotes will circle downwind to find out what's making the noise.

Also check out www.coyoteschool.########.com


triggerpress

 

[Slooshark1]

We set up on the upwind side of some frozen ponds and watched downwind, like you suggested. I would call for about 30-45 seconds at a time and then we sat still for about 5 minutes. I had the rifle on my lap with my thumb on the safety waiting for my opportunity that never materialized.

 

[DVXDUDE]

stay for 30min atleast, call every minute or two for 30-45 seconds. Don't let your wind hit the bush you are calling towards. Don't move at all, coyotes will stand just on the inside edge of the bush and look towards the sound, looking for movement.


a decoy really helps me, keeps the coyotes eyes locked on it, not looking for the source of the sound.

Good luck

 

[Dench]

you could try a decoy so it catches their eye and draws attention off of you.

 

[CROWCA]

If they are not there the best caller in the world will get skunked ,hunt were the game is,This is my motto!

 

[rral22]

Set up is everything. No sound, no sky lining, no scent getting ahead of you, use hollows and low lying areas (or better yet, from behind a ridge) to aproach, good field of fire downwind, break up your outline with bush behind and a little in front (camo rifles are NOT necessary), no movement once calling starts. Even turning your head should be done slowly. We stay no longer than 30 min. - most times 20 min. will tell you what you need to know.

When you get up to leave, be very careful and slow. Look carefully for the one that stopped a couple of hundred yards out there due to caution.

The other part of set up is: there has to be coyotes around to hear you call. If we don't see sign, we go somewhere that we do see it.

Calling educated coyotes is very tough. Are you the only ones using this area?

 

[Pathfinder]

If they are not there the best caller in the world will get skunked ,hunt were the game is,This is my motto!

I think this is key, if they are in an area they are going to leave tracks, get on those snowshoes and scout, then you better plan where to hunt. Also I would try a locator call the night before a stand...say around 10 pm.

 

[7mmlefty]

Coyote calling can be a funny thing, and makes me wonder if calling actually worked in some cases... or was it really the natural lay of the land that eventually would have them come by anyways?... If you sit long enough in a good draw, you never know what walks by..