deerslayer still

I got the chance to hunt an area for coyotes last weekend that as far as anyone can tell have never been called to. (Nobody I talked to for miles when asking permission to hunt had ever heard of anyone trying calling them.) I set up in the farmers deer blind and blew about a 30 second series on my dying rabbit call and then waited for 10 minutes and then called another 30 seconds. I went through this sequence twice. I didn't see a thing. When I got down and walked around the area which is almost encircled with logging roads I saw a couple sets of tracks come up to the trail and then turn and go back. I had the wind in my face and the tracks came with the wind. So I figure either the wind swirled and then winded me or I startled them while walking in. Any ideas from anyone on what I might try differently? I have let the area "rest" for four days now. By the way, not one landowner denied me permission to hunt their land for coyotes and were more than happy that I came by.

coyoteseeker

correct me if i'm wrong,was the blind up in a tree??if so this was your first mistake.calling coyotes from up in a tree is about as productive as calling turkeys from a tree.if they were going with the wind and the wind was in your face then they shouldn't have winded you.your right you may have spooked them going in or by calling from in the air it made them a little more cautious on there approch and when you blew the second series they senced something wrong and spooked.or it may have been as simple as waiting the ten min between calls.you may have gotten there attention on the first series and they came in fast.when they got there they didn't hear anything or see anything so turned and continued what they were doing.or its possible that the tracks were older then you thought and you didn't call anything in.don't wait so long between calling sequences and keep your eyes peeled for any movement.if movement is noticed(remember a coyote will come as far as he can under availible cover before exposing himself)switch to softer coaxer calls.i would recomend not using the blind(wheather its in the air or on the ground)again.if you did spook them from that blind,its unlikly that you will call them to it again.try calling from the opposite side of the area.coyote huntin is a ficale business and unless you do something obveous to spook them its hard to figure out why they do what they do sometimes.

deerslayer still

It was in a tree about 6 feet up. I know of a place about 200 yards on the other side of an ash swamp that I might set up a small ground blind out of balsam boughs. I know that the tracks were fresh cuz it was snowing on my walk in to the blind and it stopped shortly after I climbed in. Should I call constantly or just wait a minute or two inbetween series? I'm afraid that my movement will be picked out by anything coming in.

coyoteseeker

ground blinds are good to conceal you but you should set them up long before you want to hunt.do not set one up and then hunt,you most likly would make some or alot of niose and make alot of movment in the procces of building it.this no dought would alert every predator in the area to your pressence.ground blinds are good but not absolutly nessasary,hunt against a big rock,tree or any thing else to help break up your outline,never alow yourself to be skylined.try to set up in shade with the sun at your back.make sure your camo is suited to the terrain and blends in well.face mask and gloves are nessasary,if theres any snow on the ground then snow camo is in order.if every thing is white and your in your regular camo's they will pick you very fast if you move to much.with snow camo it sometimes seems as though your invisable becouse they just don't seem to pick you like they normaly do.as far as calling length,thats a matter for debait.try making two or three series of calls,each series about 30 seconds or so long then wait about 5 to 8 min and try again.calling continualy will work but its hard to pay attention to the area for movement and you do run the risk of getting busted while your blowing on a call.break it up and inbetween calls pay very close attention to the surrounding area,exspecialy towards the down wind side.

Edited by - coyoteseeker on 01/18/2002 16:15:15

deerslayer still

Thank you very much for the help and advice. I'll try it in the morning. I plan on making a day of it. I have all day to cover a lot of this land and one of the farmers son's wants to come with me and see how it works. I can't wait. He called me just before 10pm tonight and said that before sunset he saw two coyotes in their field behind the barn and could hear them yipping and howling as we spoke. I think he was as excited as I was! Thanks again. I'll post on here if I get anything...or even if I don't.

deerslayer still

What a day! We got four coyotes. Mike, the farmers son got three of them and I shot one. It was more fun watching him shoot than if I shot them myself. The first one of the morning came running in and stopped in it's tracks when it saw us move. I swung around and a quick shot dropped it like a sack of potato's. On our next set up we called in two more that circled around down wind of us and we caught glimpses of them through the brush and grass. Mike shot the bigger one and I immediately took out my howler call and blew a blast and the second one stopped long enough for Mike to put a bullet through it's side. The fourth was in the evening just before dark. We were getting cold and decided to call it a day so started to walk across the field back toward the truck. I looked across the road and up on a hill on the other field a lone coyote was walking across toward the swamp to the south. We turned back quick and walked the edge of the field around and crossed the road and snuck around to where the hill entered the woods and set up just inside the trees. The coyote came back into the field after about 20 seconds of calling and I adjusted the reed to the mouse squeak and quietly kept calling. Mike kept it in his scope until it started to walk to our left and he got a nice broadside shot at about 30 yards. Wow! was that exciting. We figure we'll let the area settle down until next weekend and I'm going to pick him up and try it again in some areas we didn't cover yet. Thanks for the help and ideas.

Edited by - deerslayer still on 01/19/2002 20:24:23

coyoteseeker

congrats on the successfull day.one final note,don't over hunt an area.let that area lay for a couple of weeks and try another spot.the perfect set up would be,have enough huntable areas so you can hunt every weekend and never hit the same spot twice in a two week period.i know thats easyer said then done but thats what you need to strive for,gain access to lots of land in the off season.

deerslayer still

Just got back in for lunch and to check my e-mail. I went back to the farm to take some pictures of Mike and his coyotes since it was pretty dark when we came last night. A bunch of neighbors were over and were really excited to see that we were successful. They asked for my phone number in case they had trouble with coyotes and said they would call me. A guy about 20 miles away asked me to come help him because the coyotes are harrassing his sheep and have killed some lambs in the past. I'm going out to his place after lunch to try call some in.

coyoteseeker

yep, your fast becoming the locale neiborhood wildlife nuisance control specialist, this will open up lots of property to you that might other wise be off limits.good going,stick with it.

Edited by - coyoteseeker on 01/20/2002 15:58:13