hc4runner

Since I am new to coyote hunting, I was just wondering, when I pick a spot to call from, should I always be looking for the coyote to come from the downwind side of my caller?
Will a coyote ever come across an open field with the wind at his back? This is important for me to know, so I can choose a better setup.

coyoteseeker

will a coyote ever come across an open feild with the wind at his back?? as a general rule when responding to a call - no,but this is not to say it would never happen.when targeting coyotes always set up expecting the coyote to circle around to the down wind side.if you expect it, and when it happens you will be ready for it.

trapperDave

YES and YES

noway

I would say there are no real rules, other than if they smell you they are gone.
Seems to me they seem to have a knack for coming in from the direction that you least expect.
The majority of dogs I call in don' t seem to make an effort to get down wind. I hunt in fairly open country and I think they come in more looking for movement than trying to get my scent.
They do not hesitate to come in across the open with the wind at their back.
Good camo and don' t move, set up where you can see them if you do call one in.
That was a mistake I made when I was first starting. I used to call them in and not get a shot, because I was not set up in a way that allowed me to get a shot. Now when I call one in I usually shoot it.

basserman

noway' s experience with yotes is similar to mine. No they do not always come into the wind and yes they will cross fields w/o coming into the wind. Our dogs seem to use cover funnels i.e. trees, fence lines etc. to approach a call. I' ve seen time and time again when using a decoy (moving) they abandone caution and " rip right in there" with virtually no wind direction sense. Guess we got dumb yotes!

Howler

Hey Basserman, what kind of decoy have you had good success with? I tend to agree with the guys that the coyote doesn' t always use the logical, downwind, approach. Seems like later in the season, they tend to be more cautious and use cover more and play the wind better, but then again, that rule seems to be broke often too. I think another factor to concider is the amount of calling pressure that the coyote gets, the more pressure, the better it utilizes all of its senses and its smarts to get in and get out with out being seen. I' ve been lucky enough to get to call some very unpressured lands, and it seems that if the coyote hasn' t been called to at all, they tend to be easier to fool and come in with his guard down. But, generally, the coyote is hard to fool and will use cover and try to get downwind of the call. I call very open country mostly too, and it doesn' t seem like the coyotes try to get downwind as often as when I' m calling areas with more cover. I think that' s because they expect to see any danger in the open, so when they can' t see danger in the open, they figure the coast is clear.

basserman

Howler. We simply use a tanned rabbit hide that we stuffed ourselves. Our calls during non-frost times we use a lathe with mono running to it out of an old baitcaster. Pulls on the mono make the " rabbit" jump around. During frost we use either a fence of sturdy tree branch to loop the mono over. Sounds crude but let me tell you....It really works when they " can see something" . LOL

Howler

Basserman, I made a decoy this year too, used a rabbit skin and stuffed it, kinda like what you described. I' ve never been and still am not sold that I need a decoy, but it is fun to play with. I just need a coyote to hang up sometime so I can try it out. I have put my decoy out several times to try it, but the coyotes are usually coming plenty hard that I haven' t really got to try it out. Only had one coyote that I used it on, but honestly, I didn' t need it then, but it didn' t scare it away either. I was just curious what you were using, thanks for the reply.

Guest

retro fit a weasel ball, you can also add a robo duk remote to turn it on and off, which helps save batt life here in winter.

I' d recommend setting up cross wind, picture a line running from the downwind side to the caller, where you aren' t sitting, and you would be perpendicular to that line.

most callers that are busted here abouts are having preds come straight into them.

you don' t set up your bow stand so you get a straight on shot do you?

If you want to be a better pred hunter start hunting them with a bow and the rifle/shotgun/pistol/ blackpowder thing is simplified.

have fun