Trying to Figure out the Coyote?

Troutslayer

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May 12, 2005
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278
Location
Missoula, MT USA
I went on my first coyote specific mission today. Didn't see any, though I usually see many in this particular area. We called with a rabbit squeal and waited over some vast terrain. Moved spots four times.

Couple of questions.

How close it too close to be to the truck? We tried to get a couple hundred yards away.

How long do you usually let the area settle, after walking in and before calling?

Do they den up during the day or will they respond to the call all day long?

If you call one in and shoot it, do you stay put or have you ruined the area by shooting?

Any other tips? I believe I am in a target rich environment because I always hear them out there and am surrounded by big private ranches that I know don't get hunted. There are lots of them around and in a lot of spots you can see rolling hills and timber valleys that are hundreds or thousands of yards away. We dumped some deer carcasses and they have been all over them but they are only going to them in the middle of the night as far as we can tell.

Any advice is appreciated, the ranchers want them gone and I want to help.
 
I went on my first coyote specific mission today. Didn't see any, though I usually see many in this particular area. We called with a rabbit squeal and waited over some vast terrain. Moved spots four times.

Couple of questions.

How close it too close to be to the truck? We tried to get a couple hundred yards away.

We try to keep it out of view and the wind right.

How long do you usually let the area settle, after walking in and before calling?

As long as it take for me to settle down and study the lanes.

Do they den up during the day or will they respond to the call all day long?

Mid day can be the best, 11:00Am or later.

If you call one in and shoot it, do you stay put or have you ruined the area by shooting?

Around here pick it up and move, fox will keep rolling in.

Any other tips? I believe I am in a target rich environment because I always hear them out there and am surrounded by big private ranches that I know don't get hunted. There are lots of them around and in a lot of spots you can see rolling hills and timber valleys that are hundreds or thousands of yards away. We dumped some deer carcasses and they have been all over them but they are only going to them in the middle of the night as far as we can tell.

Any advice is appreciated, the ranchers want them gone and I want to help.

Good luck!
 
They say park and walk in the last half mile or so, but I have stopped in as little as 100 yards and done fine before. Keep trying, the yotes usualy stay somewhat active in the day, but I find I have the worse luck around a full moon which is just a few days away. Sometime I won't see any in many stands and other times I will see them in 1 out of 3??? I think mating season is about here and they should become more active and less cautious too.
 
My experiences have mostly been in pretty open country. Mostly treeless and rolling hills/small ravines, with alot of sagebrush. This advice is based on those experiences.

I went on my first coyote specific mission today. Didn't see any, though I usually see many in this particular area. We called with a rabbit squeal and waited over some vast terrain. Moved spots four times.

Couple of questions.

How close it too close to be to the truck? We tried to get a couple hundred yards away.

I will try not to expose the vehicle to any of the area I plan to call prior to calling it, unless it's on a major and well traveled road. If that means I can park next to the road and go through a saddle and be looking at an area that was not visible from the road at all........a couple hundred yards is fine. Some times I've got to walk a 1/2 mile to get into a spot where the vehicle hasn't been seen yet and is totally out of sight to the area being called.

How long do you usually let the area settle, after walking in and before calling?

Kinda depends on how far I walked from the vehicle. If I only went in a couple hundred yards, I'll let it settle for at least 5 minutes after I get set up. If I spooked out some deer or antelope or livestock when walking in, I'll let it settle quite a while too, sometimes maybe 10 minutes or so. If I feel like I got into the spot undetected by anything, I'll only let it settle long enough to range some markers and glass the surrounding area for anything out in the open....maybe a minute or two.

Do they den up during the day or will they respond to the call all day long?

All day can be good, especially if it's been really cold.

If you call one in and shoot it, do you stay put or have you ruined the area by shooting?

Both.............if I call one in pretty quickly and down it with one shot, I'll continue to call and alot of times get another yote or two to come in. If I had to shoot 2 or 3 times........not much chance of seeing another one. If I call in mutiples and get 2 or 3, the odds of getting more on that stand are greatly reduced. If it took 30 minutes for 1 to show up, I am not as likely to see another one in that spot. Alot of times, one shot doesn't bother coyotes that are still a fair distance away.

Any other tips? I believe I am in a target rich environment because I always hear them out there and am surrounded by big private ranches that I know don't get hunted. There are lots of them around and in a lot of spots you can see rolling hills and timber valleys that are hundreds or thousands of yards away. We dumped some deer carcasses and they have been all over them but they are only going to them in the middle of the night as far as we can tell.

If there's any meat left on the carcasses, they probably won't be too far away from them.

Any advice is appreciated, the ranchers want them gone and I want to help.


I've posted some other threads on this site that have some other basic tips. You also might try doing a search of "coyote hunting tips", ect.

Good luck hunting, and make your shots count!!:)
 
+1, agree with previous posts.
We are in full moon and they have been probably very active this nights that they can see better. Just be patient, and keep on trying. You have had some good tips explained in this thread, pay close attention to them when you are out there. Good luck.
 
I had a very similar experience. The first and only time I went out, all I saw were deer. I was out for probably about 6hrs and didnt even get a response. I didn notice that it was the day after the last full moon. hopefully when I get out this week my luck will be better. Good luck mate, its good to here that I'm not the only one having troubles.
JM
 
If you are on a ranch try some ranch animal sounds. Chickens,calf distress or house cat,etc. Rabitt distress does not always work. if you have access to an e- caller you can go to a web site and download free sounds to your caller. Also now they are pairing up so some coyote vocals could be in order. Buy a howler and give it a try. Sometimes they just do not want to come to the call for whatever reason they have. Plus you said they have been on some kill lately. They are probably not hungry if they can get a free meal and they know where it is at. :rolleyes:
 
If your seeing good track(s) and scat in your AO their there. If there's none... tracks/scat.... well'..., you can blow until your lungs fall on the ground and you won't see one song dog.
Don't just burn up your area with one or two calls; have a good cross section of call? I'm going to assume your scent and camo is working.
Try to hunt with a buddy, one on high watch the other low and calling
Calling in my area is 15 to 30 minutes, but it's not unusual to post for 45 + before a smart yote pop's up.
If your doing everything right and your seeing animals like deer, hawks and magpies, especially magpies; {if you have them in your area}and coming to your call, its working.
This ain't rocket science, if you've got good track and scat, and not seeing yote's there's a very good chance there picking you up first.... it takes awhile learning to pick up a set of ears just above the sage at 100 to 200 yards out; they don't call them prairie ghost for nothing, and they are smarter than a fifth grader.
Good luck
436
 
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