Making an all Alberta coyote call

Yotarunner

Yotarunner

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Eastern Alberta
As many of you know I make custom coyote calls and after someone else asked about my process a while back I realized folks here would probably be interested. Being this is the Alberta outdoorsman forum it's only fair I show how I process and use local woods.
The woods I'm using are box elder (Manitoba maple) burl and believe it or not caragana.
Caragana is the tall weedlike shrub that is used for shelter belt around so many old farm sites. The box elder burls I find largely at old farm sites, I look around for the gnarled burl portions of the tree. Fair warning this thread will be picture heavy

Messenger_creation_B2D1E1FD-BF4A-48FC-B3DD-0D0FEA276EA1 by brad harder, on Flickr

From here il cut out the portions I want with a chainsaw and then stick them in the shed for a year or until they show dry with a moisture meter.
The caragana is cut in long sticks and dried the same.
When dry I use the bandsaw to cut into call size blocks. The caragana gets the bark turned off on the lathe. They look like this
PXL_20260221_235602011.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

From here they are dried for 2 hours at 200 degrees in the toaster oven then into the vacuum chamber for stabilizing.
The stabilizing process is submerging the dried wood in ultra thin dyed resin then putting it under vacuum for 2 days. After 2 days vacuum is released and the wood sits for 4 days to allow the resin to impregnate the wood.
It comes out like this

PXL_20260221_235445885.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

From here the wood is set in the toaster oven again to be cured. 210 degrees all the way through is the goal. Too much heat and the resin leaches out, too low it doesn't set.

PXL_20260221_235834901.MP by brad harder, on Flickr
Blanks are then drilled on the lathe.

PXL_20260226_032051929.MP by brad harder, on Flickr


The caragana has no cracks so from here it's just shaping on the lathe.

PXL_20260226_033718491.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

The call is finished and sanded from 400-1000 grit and friction polish finish is applied. Ready for toneboard

PXL_20260226_034221387.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

Caragana is awesome as the dark heartwood doesn't take colour while the bright yellow outer wood takes it amazing which creates a super cool contrast.

PXL_20260226_034221387.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

This box elder piece had lots of knots so water thin CA glue is applied and set to fill in and solidify the tiny imperfections and prevent tearout when turning.
The call body is shaped and one more round of knot filling is done to make sure no water will ever find its way into the call.

PXL_20260226_035900838.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL by brad harder, on Flickr

From here I prefer a CA glue finish as it really aids in sealing any of the imperfections and knots that this wood has and it really showcases the beauty of the intricate grains and pattern. The finish involves running the lathe at slow speeds and applying 10+ coats of ultra thin glue
PXL_20260226_040025937.MP by brad harder, on Flickr
 
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Now onto wet sanding. I sand from 1500 to 12000 grit. And then move on to toneboards.

PXL_20260227_023300736.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

PXL_20260227_023440895.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL by brad harder, on Flickr


These toneboards I cast myself as one solid piece. Each board is drilled out to finish the tone channel. A slit is cut to accept the reed then the reed is cut by hand from a large sheet

PXL_20260227_023746545.PORTRAIT by brad harder, on Flickr

Boards are cast a hair oversize so they can be sanded down to fit perfect. Final step is to blow em and make sure the reeds and tone channel produce the right sounds. Finally ready to go out and kill coyotes!

PXL_20260227_025131928.PORTRAIT by brad harder, on Flickr
 
You wont be dissappointed!! His calls are not only unique and beautifully crafted but sound amazing. I bought a few(6) and gave some for Christmas gifts for hunting buddies and theyve proven very effective. Very reasonably priced for such a time consuming piece. The stabalized antler is super cool and fits the hand AWESOME. IMG_E3353[1].JPG
 
Definitely worth the $. I bought a few and have had success with them. I like to support made in Canada or better yet made in Western Canada products.
 
Yotarunner said:
Now onto wet sanding. I sand from 1500 to 12000 grit. And then move on to toneboards.

PXL_20260227_023300736.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

PXL_20260227_023440895.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL by brad harder, on Flickr


These toneboards I cast myself as one solid piece. Each board is drilled out to finish the tone channel. A slit is cut to accept the reed then the reed is cut by hand from a large sheet

PXL_20260227_023746545.PORTRAIT by brad harder, on Flickr

Boards are cast a hair oversize so they can be sanded down to fit perfect. Final step is to blow em and make sure the reeds and tone channel produce the right sounds. Finally ready to go out and kill coyotes!

PXL_20260227_025131928.PORTRAIT by brad harder, on Flickr
Click to expand...
You used Bidizer bands to hold the reeds in place...didn't you?
 
I know nothing about coyote hunting/calling educate me. What are the difference between the different models?
What would you buy if you’d buy only one?
 
DGY said:
I know nothing about coyote hunting/calling educate me. What are the difference between the different models?
What would you buy if you’d buy only one?
Click to expand...

Different calls will have different tones and raspiness to imitate a wide range of prey species in distress along with varying volume.

You can use quiet mouse squeaks for close range callings, cottontail for medium range calling or bump it up to a loud and raspy jackrabbit for big volume. Using a loud call when coyotes are close will often spook them.


They’re too much fun to have just one :ROFLMAO:
 
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tokguy said:
You used Bidizer bands to hold the reeds in place...didn't you?
Click to expand...
Yep. Calf castration bands have long been a staple in custom coyote calls. Just about every custom guy I know uses em. They hold on tight last a long time and don't crack as bad as regular o rings. The smaller stuff I use o rings out of necessity and so far they have held up but for ease of use I prefer castration bands whenever possible.
 
DGY said:
I know nothing about coyote hunting/calling educate me. What are the difference between the different models?
What would you buy if you’d buy only one?
Click to expand...
Like Canadianhunter said various models will have different tones and sounds based on the angle of the toneboard and size of air channel. In general starting with the highest pitch it goes birds, baby bunnies, cottontail, jackrabbit, pup/ female howler, adult howler. Some calls can crossover like howlers can be used for howls, pup distress and jackrabbit distress.
It's so hard to choose just one! Probably a medium voiced howler as they can do both coyote sounds along with jackrabbit sounds. Personally I'd choose 2 calls one being a cottontail and the other being a howler.
My own lanyard of calls has roughly half a dozen various calls on it at any given time.
 
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