First stand, what did I do wrong ?

[Wolfdog91]

Finally got around to making this little three minute deal of my first calling stand pick. Got map pics showing the terrain and what not so hopefully y'all can see something I didn't

 

[Downhill]

Sometimes they are just not where you are. Day hunting, I'll pick natural cover, wind in my face and call for 15 to 20 minutes. If I see nothing I will relocate to a different area and try again. Nights hunts we use a high rack in a pickup bed. Night, sunset and sunrise are always more productive. But like I said, if we are seeing nothing we move. But there again sometimes they are just not in that area when you are.

 

[K22]

Sometimes they are just not where you are. Day hunting, I'll pick natural cover, wind in my face and call for 15 to 20 minutes. If I see nothing I will relocate to a different area and try again. Nights hunts we use a high rack in a pickup bed. Night, sunset and sunrise are always more productive. But like I said, if we are seeing nothing we move. But there again sometimes they are just not in that area when you are.

This had been my experience also for day hunting.

The guys I know that are really good at this hunt at night with night vision equipment.

 

[SVT_Tactical]

Day hunting is very hard as most predators rest/den up then. Dusk/dawn hunting when they start moving can produce some success by most my luck all comes from night calling using red lights or thermal.

 

[nmkid]

Try your best to sneak into an area. "Downhill" nailed it with his first sentence.

 

[nakneker]

One lesson I’ve learned over the years is not to get hung up on searching for a picture perfect stand. When we are calling good areas we will set the odometer and stop about every mile and half. I think taking the time to put at least 500 yards between you and your vehicle is worthwhile. Some of our best stands have been in some really ugly set ups.

I think we all have a mental image of the perfect stand when we call. Where you can watch the critter approach, set up and take a perfect shot. It just doesn’t work that way most of the time, they come from behind, they hang up or sneak in without being seen.

If your new to calling just remember it can take a lot of patience especially when your not being successful. Those dry spells discourage a lot of guys and they give up. The more experience you have the better your set up will be and that takes time.

Some of the funnest stands we’ve had have been in thick cedars or thick forest areas. They tend to let their guard down a bit and approach with less caution, we always have our rifles but we also have shotguns for those types of stands. A shotgun with the right load and choke is lethal. Things happen fast and it will put a grin on your face when it works out.

 

[17cal Fan]

It took me many trips to get my 1st yote and that was with a mouth call in 1976 or 77. I've heard or read that a coyote is like the only critter that can identify a motionless man, sitting or standing. In daylight, I always back up into the brush to break up my outline and so that my gun barrel is not the only thing sticking out/up. I bought a book called Professional Predator Calling by Ed Sceery many years ago. Some of the best money I ever spent on yote hunting.

Every single movement you make on the stand must be very very slow. The electronic call does get the focus off of you but it does not make them blind. If you scratch your nose, they will see it. If you rotate your head quick because you heard something, they will see it. If you do not have a decoy, I would strongly recommend one. This one would do https://mojooutdoors.com/product/mojo-fuzzy-critter/category_pathway-43

They focus on that movement and get careless. Giving you a few seconds to slowly get behind the scope and get on them.

Primos made a product called Decoy Heart which was simply a ball with batteries and a motor inside. The motor was weighted and would cause movement. I made a stuffed rabbit, shoved a decoy heart into it and it worked. And I was still using mouth calls at the time. But it got their attention and focus off of where the sound was coming from(me). You can even shove a decoy heart into a brown sock and run a nail through the sock into the ground. It will just bounce and roll around.

Hide and remain motionless as if someone is out in front of you trying to spot you, because they are. Blend in with your immediate surroundings. One movement that catches their eyes can cause them to turn inside out and leave through their butt hole and you'll never even know they were there.

One more thought and I'll shut up. Don't just look for a coyote, look for a piece of a coyote. A black wet nose in the brush, an eye, a tail, a leg moving through brush or grass.

Keep trying, you'll win !

 

[JMA]

Hunting in in calm conditions can be tough because the light breezes switch and swirl alot.
I prefer a steady breeze that is more predictable.

If prey populations are up it might because predator populations are way down

 

[ken158]

I was at a hunting show a few years back and struck up a conversation with Michael Waddell. We were having a good time talking about hunting and such and Michael made a comment that really hit home with me. He said “you can’t kill a big deer where there aren’t any big deer”. Simplistic but insightful comment that most of us forget when hunting (anything). Do your scouting and have an idea of what is in the area so you can give the proper time and attention the area deserves.

 

[JB10]

Some of my best spots can be a dud one weekend, then get 5 in the next weekend. The more you go out the better ur chances. Around me i have found they are shy coming in to open areas. They like cover as they come to the call. Thick areas are the best producers for me. I hunt all public land so also have to consider did someone else call there before you at some time?. I like to go to areas not many people go for a better chance. My first 2 years doing this was scratching my head woundering what was i doing wrong. Ive also watched them come in slow to hang up behind a bush to creep away. Had i not seen them would have never known one was there. Worst is when you are done and stand up to leave to see one behind you looking right at you. Now hes had a lesson.

 

[RegionRat]

Sometimes when folks say there is no wind, there is still wind that gives us away.

We have to be careful how we come into a stand, and remember how good their sense of smell really is compared to ours.

Imagine you are a smoke bomb walking in and the swirl will move that smoke to them, or they may have to cut across it as they close distance on your call.

They nearly always mind the wind and try to cut the downwind to their quarry as they get close.

If you are tracking around too much, or moving or talking too much, you might need to re-think your plan. They see us the same way we see them, movement. Set yourself up to make the least amount of outline and try not to move at all till the last moment. We are trying to bust them before they bust us.

And, in the end it may just be they are not there or your stand was too early in their timeline for the day.

Keep at it an you will eventually score.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Smell you, hear you, see you NO visit you.

 

[Ranger188]

Yotes have a large range, might not have been there.
Not as easy as you see on TV. Those folks can edit a lot of film
so it looks like everywhere they go theirs coyotes everywhere.
Most will say you odds are 1 in 5 or 1 in 7 stands produce.
Coyotes are becoming more nocturnal. Thermal costs more, but you'll
have more encounters.
The more places you have to hunt the better. Also the less pressured the better.
If they hear callers more often or smell hunters, they get educated.

 

[Deadeyedickie]

Finally got around to making this little three minute deal of my first calling stand pick. Got map pics showing the terrain and what not so hopefully y'all can see something I didn't

I find that they tend to circle down wind to catch a whiff of things, so I tend to face down wind. Stay still , work the wind and be patient. I have luck with howling then a rabbit call, then some yips and yipes like a couple coyotes are fighting over the rabbit and then I’ll go back to a rabbit call and really add some emotion to it. Don’t call constantly, make em work for it and give em time.

 

[WyleWD]

Don't expect instant success calling in coyotes during daylight. If you do everything correct, from stand selection, stand entry, call selection and use, move slowly, etc etc, if you call in or see a coyote on 2-4 times out of 10 you're doing outstanding.

If one comes in DON'T miss the first shot, and right after the shot and the coyote is down immediately begin calling again for about 15 seconds using the same call, and wait sometimes another will come in, and sometimes more than one. Ya just never know. Lastly, don't call too much, the longer your call sequence the more time a coyote has to narrow down your exact position. Good luck and be patient. JME.

Night calling with good thermal gear is a whole nother ballgame and more productive. JMHO.WD

 

[searcher]

When I first started coyote hunting, I read everything I could and did everything most people said would help. I used scent masking sprays, full body and face camouflage, walked 1/2 mile or more from the truck, etc., etc. What I learned in practical application is that clothing color matters little and they can't smell you (no matter how bad you smell) when the wind is right and they are coming in from the front. The three things I think were most important was to not use the call continuously, giving good, long periods of silence between squeals or howls. Use a motion decoy. Stay perfectly still. I found that neither trucks or gunshots will keep a lot of coyotes from coming in when they hear (and see) the dinner bell - and it often pays to continue calling after putting the first one down. Don't over-think your stand locations. Just be downwind, have a good view of what may come and a safe shooting zone.