A11en

After getting help from many of you on predator calls and proper set-ups,this morning I headed out tothe hunting clubfor my first Coyote hunt.

I arrived at our Dove field 15 minutes before sunrise and set-up a CD player 150 yards up wind from me. I had a 20 minute sequence of calls (downloaded from Varmit Al's web page). I pressed play and walked back to a stand we use for deer hunting and waited.

After just 15 minutes into the calling sequence, out of no where, a good size coyote is standing 25 yards from CD player looking for the source of the noise. It couldn't see the CD player because it was in knee high grass. My heart was going crazy and I developed a case of "Coyote Fever". I squeezed off a shot with my .243 Win and MISSED at 150 yards.

Although I was sick to my stomach due to missing (the rifle prints 1" groups at 100 yards) I'm hooked on coyote hunting! I do have a couple questions:

- Will the coyote I missed ever come in to my calling set-up again or is he "call wise"?

- How long should I wait before hunting this spot again?

Thanks to everyone for your advice - All your recommendations worked, I just need to do my part next time - hit the target!

700bdl870exp

Frist off congrats on the ALMOST coyote. lol i would say from my cases he will come back to the area. i would set up a bit different tho. move the caller and not be so far from it maybe. id say 100 yards is distance enough but with a 243 distance isnt a huge deal. I would say 2 weeks or a little more would be about enough time. but like i said if you wait and change it abit he may not remember his past experiences. you may also change your call sequence a little.

North Texan

Yes, but he'll be a little harder to pull in. A different call and a slightly different place will help keep him from getting that "Hey, haven't I seen this scenario play out before?" feeling.

I'd wait about a week or so after a miss. Give him a little time to forget. Then go for him again.

I'd also recommend setting up alittle closer to the call. I like to keep my shots under 50 yards if possible. I figure the closer they are, the less likely I'll miss. I usually set up with the caller at the 30-50 yard range, that way if a coyote comes to within 50 yards of the caller, he'll be no further than 100 yards from me. I like to set my shots up so they are as close to gimme's as possible.

With an elevated stand, keeping the caller within 50 yards should have minimal effect on your success calling them in, and it will help make up for some of the "coyote fever". After you anchor a coyote or two, the fever shouldn't be affecting your shots anymore.

Howler

Congrats on the quick success!! Many guys go several times without ever seeing a coyote called in.
Without knowing where you're located and how many coyotes there are in your area, I'll go out on a limb and say you could go back to the same spot tomorrow and possibly call in another coyote. Surely there's more than one living in the area. You could try to sit in a slightly different spot and use a different distress sound, and who knows, you may have more action. That same coyote can be called in again someday, but like I said, there's surely more than one living in the area!
I agree with the others, don't put your caller quite so far away from where you're sitting. No reason to set yourself up for any longer shots than you have to. Remember, lots of guys blow mouth calls and kill coyotes on a regualr basis. The biggest thing is to not get caught moving anything, including your head, hands, gun, etc, and of course, play thye wind! If a coyote shows up and you need to adjust one way or the other, don't panic, let the coyote make the move and look away, or move away, and then you make your move to adjust, take a deep breath, and POW!!! Dead coyotes!!!
Good luck!! I know several guys that went many times before seeing a coyote coming to the call!! It is addictive!!

kanderson

For cryin out loud don't tell anyone else how much fun coyote hunting is! Call sour dogs are tough, and ones that get called and shot at and missed just keep us in coyotes! Seriously, just missing once isn't enough to educate a coyote, so give them a couple days, sneak into a different spot, and use a different call. I'm a hand caller and don't use electronics, but I do use a decoy, you might try a bunny or something like it, anything to get their attention and make them hot to trot on in.