Hunting & Fishing problems with the coyotes

[plunker20]

i setup this morning and just before sunrise i turned the call on and let out a coyote locator sound and there were at least 4 of them with inmy section i was hunting. the sun rose and do you think any of them would come in to the decoy or even show there face. anyone have any suggestions on what i should try tonight?

any help would be greatly appreciated im kinda new to this!

 

[godofthunder]

i setup this morning and just before sunrise i turned the call on and let out a coyote locator sound and there were at least 4 of them with inmy section i was hunting. the sun rose and do you think any of them would come in to the decoy or even show there face. anyone have any suggestions on what i should try tonight?

any help would be greatly appreciated im kinda new to this!

Did you do anything other than the coyote locator? Did you leave the call on, or let it play for a minute or two then stop for a while and then repeat? The only decoy I have coyote hunted with was a wounded jackrabbit type thing. So I can't comment about the decoy part. I can tell you what I do, and that is: set up and start the call, let it play for no more than two minutes, and shut it off for five or more. If all you played was the coyote locator then no, they may not come in. Even if you played something else they may not come in. I typically only use the coyote locator towards then end of a set if I haven't heard or seen anything, sort of as a double check.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Welcome to coyote hunting, what you describe is quite common. For sucker's like myself, it happens everytime.

 

[plunker20]

Did you do anything other than the coyote locator? Did you leave the call on, or let it play for a minute or two then stop for a while and then repeat? The only decoy I have coyote hunted with was a wounded jackrabbit type thing. So I can't comment about the decoy part. I can tell you what I do, and that is: set up and start the call, let it play for no more than two minutes, and shut it off for five or more. If all you played was the coyote locator then no, they may not come in. Even if you played something else they may not come in. I typically only use the coyote locator towards then end of a set if I haven't heard or seen anything, sort of as a double check.

i used the locator for about 2 min then shut it off after i heard them then waited 8-10 min and started the jack in distress call and the sun was just bright enough for me to see through my leupold and there was nothing so i played the jack on and off for a half hour and nothing

 

[long range newbie]

hey a bad day hunting is better than a good day at work.

 

[George Az]

Try and mix in a handcall of another yote - just a couple yips and maybe a howl. They want to see who the new guy is.....

 

[coldboremiracle]

so i played jack on and off for a half hour and nothing

Fixed it for ya

Better luck next time I guess.

 

[RobertB]

THings will be different in SD but round my place I would say:

If new to calling dogs then I would study up on any yote vocals until you know what they mean. I think your much safer with the distress sounds. I use a decoy 50/50 and I use a MOJO critter most of the time but I use my MOJO woodpecker and FOXPRO Jack in the Box too. I didn't get a chance to try out my frantic fawn this year. I like the decoy to add motion and make the hunt a little more forgiving for you. It will give them something to focus on so you can make your shot.

I sometimes start my set with a howl but I usually stick with rabbits and birds and such for the most part, that is also because the bobcats will come in as well. I don't think they come to the howls so much LOL.

I think that in the south where its thick 30 min is about all I would call at a set unless I'm really going after a cat then longer might be a little better.
In SD your sets might no need to be as long, but others think differently. Never tried up there myself but I have hunted in OK,KS,NM, and TX.

Just always watch you wind and try to set a "scene" and don't be afraid to work outside of the typical hunt.
Some dogs are very well educated from other hunters so changing it up might bring in one that otherwise wouldn't even think about it.
If my conditions are not right I don't hunt my spots, (in La spots are probably much harder to come by as from SD) so I don't educate the yotes.

I hope you have better luck in the future, it's a blast.

 

[BuzzBoss915]

First of all, I would not use the "locator" sound. If you have a lone howl, lost pup, or some other non-threatening sound, that's fine, but then, prey sounds are probably more useful this time of year. Second, were your responses from downwind? If so, it's doubtful they would actually come in.

Third, you should have a realistic attitude. With all the pressure on coyotes, and the sad fact that everybody has a Foxpro, they have heard it all, so don't expect to have a coyote in your lap on every stand. We only kill the dumb ones. Some very good seasoned hunters in prime areas might only see a coyote on 3 or 4 stands, out of fifteen. It's not scientific and involves a certain amount of luck. Just keep plugging away, believe me, the satisfaction is worth it. BB

 

[plunker20]

thanks for the help im gonna try a different set tonight a 1/2 mile farther down the draw

 

[plunker20]

First of all, I would not use the "locator" sound. If you have a lone howl, lost pup, or some other non-threatening sound, that's fine, but then, prey sounds are probably more useful this time of year. Second, were your responses from downwind? If so, it's doubtful they would actually come in.

Third, you should have a realistic attitude. With all the pressure on coyotes, and the sad fact that everybody has a Foxpro, they have heard it all, so don't expect to have a coyote in your lap on every stand. We only kill the dumb ones. Some very good seasoned hunters in prime areas might only see a coyote on 3 or 4 stands, out of fifteen. It's not scientific and involves a certain amount of luck. Just keep plugging away, believe me, the satisfaction is worth it. BB

ya three of them sounded like they were down wind but i had another howl off the the east and one to the west. nobody else hnts coyotes within 5 miles anyway you go from my spot i was at. so they dont get pressured and i called twice last winter and had one come in and my buddy botched the shot. and no other yotes the other time.

 

[BuzzBoss915]

Get ahold of my buddy Scott Huber in Kadoka. He is a fund of knowledge. BB

 

[godofthunder]

I sometimes start my set with a howl but I usually stick with rabbits and birds and such for the most part, that is also because the bobcats will come in as well. I don't think they come to the howls so much LOL.

I think that in the south where its thick 30 min is about all I would call at a set unless I'm really going after a cat then longer might be a little better.

As surprising as this is, every bobcat I've called in has still decided to come in to my set even after howls. I've never called in a cat where I didn't at least howl a couple times.

 

[Rediculous]

You have to be careful with the howls sometimes. In my limited experience, howls can be misconstrued. You may think your "locating", but the yote may think it's a challenge. I normally start off with a rabbit distress or bird distress before any howling. Also, here in the south east it seems the yotes really fancy a fawn distress call and that set-up with a small deer decoy seem to get them really fired up, so much so, that I've had two streak in without even a look around.

 

[308Gunner]

+1 on the Woodpecker call and also the mouth calls, I have an electronic call but I always use a mouth call. Don't worry about setting up and nothing coming in on a good day I may get a dog to come in 3 out of 5 times. Talk with someone that has been hunting and have fun.

 

[skinney_7]

Get ahold of my buddy Scott Huber in Kadoka. He is a fund of knowledge. BB

Sold him his first can a few years ago, he liked the ones we run.

 

[qkieler]

I've never had lot of luck using a decoy. I've seen them come in see the decoy sit down and stay most of the time out of range or in such thick brush that taking a shot would just be educating them keep trying different sets with and without the decoy.

 

[Rediculous]

I've never had lot of luck using a decoy. I've seen them come in see the decoy sit down and stay most of the time out of range or in such thick brush that taking a shot would just be educating them keep trying different sets with and without the decoy.

The decoy I have used is the tink's miss November and leave it laying over or kneeling in a vulnerable position. This strategy came from "Scoop" and I believe he has a post showing his set-up of the decoy and a couple of downed doggies.

 

[my human host]

Plunker,

You're in a tough area for calling. I've done a bunch of calling about an hour southeast of Wahootown.

The best advice I can give you is to start with a low volume distress. I've tried damn near every distress sound out there, but haven't found anything that really outperforms cottontail or baby cottontail. You can throw a lone howl out once in awhile, but go easy on it.

I don't bother trying to coax spooky coyotes to within spitting distance. If I think it's solo and it's standing still within my comfortable rifle range, I throw some damn lead at it.

 

[plunker20]

thanks ill try that this weekend when i go out. its just frustrating when you can hear them and then dont see any come to the set.

 

[qkieler]

Get used to that some years they get hunted so hard that after Xmas you can only get them to come in at night

 

[azsugarbear]

It's difficult to try and understand what brings a coyote in. What works one time - fails the next time. I hunt over a Wildlife Technologies e-caller. It works well, but coyotes can be quick learners. I have found one thing they just can't ignore. If I can hear them, I can get them to come in 70%-80% of the time with decoy dogs. They go out and engage the yote in a little face slapping then beat a hasty retreat. This triggers a territorial response in the yotes and a strong need to drive this competition out of their area. The dogs let the yotes chase them right back to the barrel of my gun. Have a look here:

Tony Tebbe?s Predator University

I bought both my pups from him, plus some addl. training.

 

[godofthunder]

It's difficult to try and understand what brings a coyote in. What works one time - fails the next time. I hunt over a Wildlife Technologies e-caller. It works well, but coyotes can be quick learners. I have found one thing they just can't ignore. If I can hear them, I can get them to come in 70%-80% of the time with decoy dogs. They go out and engage the yote in a little face slapping then beat a hasty retreat. This triggers a territorial response in the yotes and a strong need to drive this competition out of their area. The dogs let the yotes chase them right back to the barrel of my gun. Have a look here:

Tony Tebbe?s Predator University

I bought both my pups from him, plus some addl. training.

Awesome link, I've heard of that but never seen it done. You have me thinking now

 

[psinclair]

Don't expect great results using dogs in the winter time....2/3rds of all the coyotes running around out there right now are 3/4 grown sub adults are are scared shitless of dogs.

Save the decoy dogs for summer damage control hunting. It works with dominent pairs raising pups, or newly established coyote pairs in early spring just before they den.

FWIW, I've hunted with decoy dogs for 25+ years as a Federal Trapper.

 

[evilcoon]

Last week I was up north and I had my caller with me. Later that evening I let out a few howls and sure enough it was surround sound with packs of yotes in all directions. I didn't have my night vision setup so that morning at 7am I setup in a blind and called for 25m, nothing. As I was getting out I saw a white tail leaping away. I'll be heading back in a few weeks, hopefully I get lucky this time.

 

[Khavic]

I've had many times when the distress prey call did not work. Maybe there's not enough rabbits up here for it to be believable, not sure. The sound that brings in more than any other is the pup distress or the kiyi. I put that call out for the last 2-3 minutes of every set and right after a shot. It brings in 3X the coyotes of any other sound I've used.

Practice, patience, determination and you'll find the mix that works for your area.

Good luck