spring calling

longbomb

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Feb 20, 2008
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i have been out three times now in the spring and had no success calling in a coyote. i went to all the same spots i call in the winter were i had good success. ive been using distress calls but i am wondering what i have to do to call one in or if its even possible to call in the spring.
 
It is possible to call coyotes in the spring, just don't use a distress call. Why would you want to call in the spring anyhow? The pelts aren't worth anything. I'd say stick with the winter when you can actually utilize a renewable resource.

xdeano
 
This time of year I like to turn the very strong parenting instinct against the yotes. I hunt using Pup in distress sounds. Most of my coyotes this year have been coming in on a dead run.

And just as an FYI you can kill up to 75% of the coyotes in any given area before the coyote population will be affected in that given area. However for every coyote you can take out in the spring mean that many more deer and where I live antelope fawns have a better chance of making it to adulthood.
 
+1 on that. I say hunt them whenever you get the chance. Me and a buddy called in a pair by a series of barks and howls. Pup distress works great too. And if you call and they just howl back without coming in, close the gap and try again. This has worked for me a few times. And if you dont have much practice at it dont worry. I have heard some coyotes with some terrible "pipes" out there. The best place to practice is in the field.

Go get M and let us know how you do!
 
actually you could clean up an entire township and they'll be right back in about 3 weeks. I know this for a fact. All i'm saying is that why waste a renewable resource on summer calling when it is better utilized during the winter when the pelts are actually worth something.

Granted if you're in it to save all the fawns then have at it. Does that mean that you're going to go out and shoot some eagles, hawks and owls too? They do a number on fawns too.

I'm not trying to create waves, just opening up the subject a bit. Coyotes are given a bad rap when it isn't always them.

xdeano
 
here in se north dakota, i regularly shoot 20+ out of season (feb thru sept) coyotes. those areas will never be without an excess of coyotes. coyotes have three things that control their numbers; disease, food availability and other coyotes. if i shoot one, i'm letting another one live. as long as their established, you won't get rid of them without poisoning. you can't shoot them all at once and if you hunt too much in that area, they wise up. and if you can get rid of them, others move in in a few weeks.

every spring, each coyote pair has 6-10 pups. some die in the first few weeks, a couple more in the first few months, leaving 2-6 pups to find their own territory by december if they're males and next spring if they're females. do the math. they're not going anywhere.

so find the denning areas, try to get within 500-600 yards and play puppy distress and throw in some howling to get them upset. if they don't respond, move in a few hundred yards and repeat. keep a good open lane down wind as when they come, they come hard. and this time of year they're hard to see way out there. also, they like to sit out 500-800 yards and complain. those are my favorites. shot one at 585 and another at 653 the last two weeks. don't forget the bug suit and therma-cell.

i totally respect the people that don't want to hunt them "out of season" but i haven't sold a coyote for 2 years as they haven't been worth much.

plus, this time of year few are out there so you've got the countryside to yourself with low hunting pressure. so get out there and have some fun.
 
In the area i live in the hunting is hard year around, there can be many reasons your hunting changed. Deep snow can make them change areas for winter hunting, they have to hunt further out than they do when the mice and other critters are easier to get closer to home.

Having learned your call can be another reason, pups in distress may work this time of year or simply a new sound can make them come around to see what that was. I got two last spring using a jack rabbit call even though i live high up in the mountains and cotten tails are whats in this area. blue
 
had two more come in to five yards away at 11:30 this morning. I love spring/early summer coyote hunting. nothing but puppy distress.
 
Personally, I have good success year round with the rabbit/fawn distress sounds. A little tougher in Feb and March, but it can be done if I am close enough to them.

I always use a prey distress first in an area, when I quit getting responses with the distress in the said area, I'll then start using some howls too. I've gotten fairly good at coyote vocalizations using my howler, and have called in alot of coyotes with just a howler during all times of the year. Coyote vocalization works better for me during Feb and March.

I don't like to use a pup or coyote distress sound to "call them in". Just my opinion, because I know it works great...............But I'd rather use that particular sound to call back or stop the survivors after the shooting starts (calling in multiples). I always figured.....if they come into that sound and then you start shooting, what are you gonna use to get them to stop now?? Save the best for last type of thing...............Just my opinion, but it's worked for me.

Sometimes however, the yotes don't care what sound you're making; once the shooting starts, they are running for the next county and not even thinking about looking back. ?? Perhaps some of these are coyotes that have been educated to the coyote distress sound in the past??
 
I don't like to use a pup or coyote distress sound to "call them in". Just my opinion, because I know it works great...............But I'd rather use that particular sound to call back or stop the survivors after the shooting starts (calling in multiples). I always figured.....if they come into that sound and then you start shooting, what are you gonna use to get them to stop now?? Save the best for last type of thing...............Just my opinion, but it's worked for me.

Admittedly I only started hunting yotes last year....but in Dec I used the pup in distress out of a mouth call to call in a double twice (Amtrak chased them off the first time :rolleyes:) The second time in I could only see one.....shot it in the chest....stopped the second one 150 yards out with another pup in distress......got that one too.
 
Admittedly I only started hunting yotes last year....but in Dec I used the pup in distress out of a mouth call to call in a double twice (Amtrak chased them off the first time :rolleyes:) The second time in I could only see one.....shot it in the chest....stopped the second one 150 yards out with another pup in distress......got that one too.

Congratulations on your double!!

I was curious..........is Amtrak a train or a big black lab? LoL.

Reason I ask is, I've had similar experiences from time to time, but most of these were when I had a dog with me.

Seems like most of the time for me; after the first shot, the other surviving coyotes are in high gear and heading for the hills. Sometimes I can stop one or two. Perhaps the coyotes in my area are more educated to being shot at?? That wouldn't suprise me, because it seems like every rancher or oilfield worker in the county shoots at most every coyote they see.
 
LOL.....Amtrak the train.....it may have helped that the first one I shot was the female.....not by choice.....she was just the only one of the two that I could see at the time.
 
around here where there's a farn every 2-3 miles they don't respond to the rabbit distress at all during the spring and summer. so if they don't show up, it doesn't matter. i use the adult canine death cry to stop them anyway and usually they'll go out 600-700 yards and sit and complain. that's when i shoot them. spring and summer is the best time to get that long range shot.
 
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