Do we call into the wind, and set our stand up down wind ?
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Do we call into
- Thread starter Iron Worker
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blksno
Well-Known Member
Judging by the question, I'll assume you're a novice, so I would HIGHLY suggest you set up on the down wind side of the area you're "hopeing" to call coyotes from, so the wind will be in your face.
It's honestly a crap shoot on where they will come from...your approach is probably more important than anything.
You want to also approach from as much of the downwind side as possible, so that you reduce the chance of calling one in from behind you on accident.
It's a good idea to scout areas in the off season or slow times and either document them or have a **** good memory....on which locations will be best suited for a wind out of a specific direction.
We have a huge hunting map with hundreds of push pins stuck in it.
Blue is a good spot for a north wind
Red is a good spot for a south wind
Green is a good spot for a west wind
Yellow is a good spot for an east wind.
We put a sticky note next to areas we had success, how many of what gender we killed and the date we were there.
We put stick notes in areas we see coyotes and how many.
After you get more effective, you can make sets with less emphasis on wind direction.
We have one spot in particular that we go to with a wind that would be completely wrong for most hunters....but it's an area we specifically call in order to take long shots.
Monday I set up and called into the wind ( 5 mph breeze ) I was facing north. Saw some cattle come into the picture and then saw a yote run in front of the cattle from right to left. NW of me was a hill ( Mound ) I thought he'd run over the hill to take another look ? So I adjusted my stand and called and waited and waited. No show so i turned and walked to the north to pick up my call and behind me ( NS ) 200+ yds the coyote was laughing at me as he ran off into the sage. So what should'ev I done ?
alf
Well-Known Member
Sit still.......
blksno
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you were probably calling too much, or didn't have full view of your flank.
Coyotes will trust their nose before they trust their eyes. They won't stop and look for very long if they can't see something to eat. They will continue to circle and try to get downwind of whatever it is they are hearing. That's the beauty of an electronic call.
I can put that 50 yards in front of me, so by the time it makes a circle to get down wind of the sound....it's actually coming almost right into my lap,
as soon as you first see the coyote, your call sequence should probably either completely stop, or turn into less frequent, very soft lip squeeks. If you are calling too frequent...he will key on the location and try getting downwind.
If he's not sure exactly where it came from yet...he will continue directly on path without circling.
If he got behind you down wind....you could have sat there all day and 95% of the time, you'd never see him again. Your set up should be a spot that lets you protect your flank, to prevent giving them the ability to circle.
Coyotes will trust their nose before they trust their eyes. They won't stop and look for very long if they can't see something to eat. They will continue to circle and try to get downwind of whatever it is they are hearing. That's the beauty of an electronic call.
I can put that 50 yards in front of me, so by the time it makes a circle to get down wind of the sound....it's actually coming almost right into my lap,
as soon as you first see the coyote, your call sequence should probably either completely stop, or turn into less frequent, very soft lip squeeks. If you are calling too frequent...he will key on the location and try getting downwind.
If he's not sure exactly where it came from yet...he will continue directly on path without circling.
If he got behind you down wind....you could have sat there all day and 95% of the time, you'd never see him again. Your set up should be a spot that lets you protect your flank, to prevent giving them the ability to circle.
cornstalker
Well-Known Member
This is very good advice.
At times, though, you just have to read the coyotes. I have had instances where the coyote would literally switch from nose to ears based on calling. When the sound was on it was a beeline, when the sound was off it was headed downwind while stopping frequently to look. You can play this to your advantage to position a coyote for a shot unless you have a hard charger. Then you have to shut the sound off as soon as you see them, and then try to shock them to a stop.
Ironworker, you would be pleased to know that the last one I finessed out of the tall grass for a shot using this technique fell to the 6mm284.
I still have my 6/284 what bullet and load did shoot that coyote with ?
blksno
Well-Known Member
Also good info...with experience you can read body language, but sometimes, you just don't know what to expect. Here's a video of my partner calling in a pair by himself. First spotted out beyond the farthest wind mill, and he never called again. You could tell by the body language, that they assumed the sound came from the grass in between their original location and the shooter. This let them stop short and start to look for what they heard.
Here's a situation that was similar, but you can tell these dogs already had a pretty good idea where the noise was coming from, so they were starting to circle. My cousins set up in a spot that allowed them to protect their flank, so that if/when a coyote did circle...it was actually circling right into their lap. Fortunately, the prediction worked. Since they were concealed VERY well. The 2nd coyote didn't really run from genuine fear of death, but more of being startled from the strange sound of the suppressed shot, and so it stopped to look back, even without the need of a (tried and true) "pup in distress" call
[ame="www.youtube.com/watch?v=A44ptHvc1bw"]Predator Hunting Suppressed : SD Sandhills Double - YouTube[/ame]
And finally...this situation was unique. We set up overlooking a wetland that had been relatively dry during the summer and expected coyotes to come out of it. We did NOT expect 7 to come charging out on a dead run directly at us with the call blaring on full volume. SO LOUD IN FACT, that when we tried to bark, to intentionally stop them...they couldn't hear us or didn't care. at about 3:25, the call is the very darkest black spot so you can tell, these guys were also trying to get downwind...but it was more of a dead sprint down wind, as opposed to a general "circle". When shots ring out in this video...coyotes SCATTER, but the "pup in distress" sound causes the last one to slam on the breaks and look back one last time. A fatal mistake.
Point of the whole long post....you just never really know so you gotta try and plan for the highest probability based on the wind and how the terrain looks.
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cornstalker
Well-Known Member
I am still shooting up a huge stock of 85 grain SGK HPBT over H100V. Works good. Not to bad on the fur either unless you hit the shoulder.
When those are gone I will be trying the 62 grain Varmint Grenade.
Cool videos, c_bass
Thanks LRH hunters very helpful I'm going out tomorrow to same place I went to Monday.
