10 Ways To Increase Your Coyote Count : United Outfitters Association article

If you want to increase your coyote count this season you might have to alter your hunting style. It’s that simple. Coyote population densities might fluctuate to give you the opportunity to pick up an extra coyote or two, but if you really want to increase the fur hanging in the skinning shed, you’ll need to watch the little things.

The best coyote hunters I know have access to coyote-rich ranches, but they continually score primarily because of their attention to detail hunting style, regardless of where they plop down to do a setup.

Coyotes populate every nook and cranny of the American landscape, but that doesn’t mean they are spread evenly across the countryside. Certain areas hold more coyotes than others, and the only way to discover these hotspots is to get out and scout.

By leaving my bedroom window open most evenings I’m reminded of the easiest way to locate coyotes: listen for them. Coyotes are among the most vocal predators. They use howls to proclaim territorial boundaries, to let other coyotes know where they are and, in summer, sometimes just to make noise for the fun of it.

Using an electronic call with recorded sounds of coyote yips and howls can spark a response, but so can using an old-style siren. Oftentimes you don’t even need to initiate a howl because coyotes will do it on their own at dusk or dawn.

Howls pinpoint areas where coyotes are bedding or loafing, so pinpoint the origin of the howls. If you can’t get the coyotes to howl, which can be difficult in some East Coast locations, use firsthand scouting to find hard evidence of coyote activity.

Coyotes travel extensively, oftentimes covering more than five miles a day in their search for a meal and to return to a safe refuge. Throughout this trek coyotes leave clues such as tracks in mud, dust and snow, plus droppings. Like humans, coyotes love to take the path of least resistance so look for tracks along game trails, cattle paths and two-track dirt roads. Also scout around water holes looking for dog-like droppings packed with hair.

Don’t put coyote hunting off until after the holidays. The best coyote hunting takes place as soon as furs prime in late October for northern locations and November for the remainder of the country. If you’re hunting strictly to reduce coyote densities in an attempt to increase fawn production, begin calling even earlier. September is a prime month. Why hunt early? You want access to the young pups that haven’t heard a call or felt the pressure of predator hunters. As the dog days of summer disappear, coyote pups become more brazen and bold, exploring on their own without the watchful eyes of mom and pop.

To get the jump on other hunters you might have to forsake a few hunting days on other species such as waterfowl, quail and deer. Big-and small-game seasons attract most hunters, leaving coyotes unpressured and the door wide open to call in inexperienced youngsters. Be ready for action and tote along a shotgun as backup on early-season setups. It’s not uncommon to call in a pack of pups, two or more per setup, as they race to get to the screaming prize before their den mates.

Confidence Calls

Any coyote that has lasted two or more years either lives in a wildlife refuge or has become an expert in detecting hunter pressure and evading a trap. To overcome a coyote’s predisposition to paranoia, include confidence calls during a calling setup. My best confidence call is simply a long, drawn-out howl that says to other coyotes, “I’m over here.” After waiting a few minutes to see if a coyote will respond, I begin with a series of prey-in-distress calls, finishing the setup with a final howl. Sometimes the addition of opening and closing howls is all that’s needed to bolster a coyote’s confidence level. Coyote whines, yips and growls also add to the illusion of other coyotes arguing in the area.

Other sounds that relax a coyote include the caw of a crow and the yak of magpies. Both birds hound prowling coyotes, hoping to get in on the treat of a raunchy gut pile. Coyotes tolerate the pesky airborne scavengers because their sharp-eyed aerial observations can spot approaching danger. Hunter’s Specialties Pro Staff member Al Morris tipped me off to the addition of crow calls to a setup nearly a decade ago and even recommended the use of a crow decoy to add realism to the calls.

Most of us only have limited spare time to devote to coyote hunting, so check the forecast and choose your hunting days wisely. Coyotes need to eat, but certain days are simply more productive for calling than others. Consider my backyard in the Great Plains. Winds of 30 mph or more are common, and high winds greatly reduce the chances of a coyote hearing my calls. Instead of wasting fuel and time on days when the wind is forecast to howl, I trust The Weather Channel to direct me to the best days to be in the field.

What are the best days? As many novelty T-shirts point out, “A bad day of hunting is better than a good day at work,” but you can make those bad hunting days a bit more productive by following this advice: First, avoid windy days, but if it’s your only option, set up in canyons, coulees and dense cover to increase the distance your calls will carry.

Call in severely cold conditions. Coyotes, like all animals, require more calories to stay warm in the midst of a cold spell. If you live where temperatures plummet below zero, use the cold to your advantage. Deep snow can have a similar effect, particularly when combined with subzero temperatures. All predators have to work doubly hard to acquire adequate calories to sustain themselves.

Although I’m sure coyotes hunt in the rain, I rarely do simply because it is miserable and hard on equipment. Fog, on the other hand, has provided me with some exciting moments in close-encounter calling. I’m not sure if the limited visibility bolsters a coyote’s confidence, but I’ve had them practically run me over in an attempt to snatch a squalling bunny.

On your next predator hunt take note of how ranchers and farmers design entrances to fields and pastures. Notice that almost all have a main gate for visitors to use. Coyotes notice such things as well and shy away from busy routes and crossroads. Oftentimes you won’t be able avoid main-gate entrances, but once you get inside a pasture look for backdoor entrances to get you into unused calling sites and out of sight from the watchful eyes of paranoid coyotes.

If you can find a rear driving entrance into a property, by all means use it, but most of your backdoor strategy will involve the use of your feet. One of my best calling locations has a main road leading almost to the lip of a canyon, but instead of taking the main trail, I shortstop and take a wide hike around the calling location. Using terrain, I stay out of sight before edging up to the canyon lip farthest from the road. The coyotes in the region don’t bed near the road, but instead retreat to the more remote canyon area where I’m waiting after coming in via the backdoor entrance.

Don’t turn your nose up at technology, but embrace it if it helps your predator hunting. Take advantage of the new generation of electronic calls, particularly models that allow remote operation. By placing the speaker and sound downrange and upwind of your location, you divert the attention of the predator to a spot away from you.

How many times have you called in a coyote only to have it suddenly get suspicious of your form because it’s in the location of the distress calls? Then it dashes away in the opposite direction the next second. Remote calls allow you to focus the attention of coyotes away from your location as well as to allow you to manage the calls using a television-style remote. You can turn the caller on and off, increase the volume and switch calls in the middle of a stand to turn a reluctant coyote into a comer.

Although it seems as if hunters on TV and video have access to half of the West — Texas — you and I don’t always have the same sort of access. I find myself calling the same pasture at least two or three times a season, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Unless you can consistently call in and shoot all of the coyotes in a five-square-mile area you’ll have plenty of coyote opportunities, even with only a limited amount of land to hunt.

The key to hunting limited territory relies on variety. Don’t use the same calling site, call and calling rhythm time and again. Doing the same thing repeatedly might work for awhile, but eventually even dumb coyotes will figure out something isn’t right, and avoid.

There are huge numbers of prey-in-distress calls, and when you combine them with coyote vocalizations, you should be able to send a new message every setup for the next decade. If you have trouble being creative, use electronic calls with well-stocked, digitally captured sound libraries for variety.

Articles and books written by professional predator callers of the past cautioned me never to change calls on a stand since it might alert a coyote that something suspicious is taking place. Today I say “bull.” Starting out with a dying rabbit and switching to a woodpecker in distress doesn’t alert a coyote to danger any more than a yellow light at a traffic signal alerts motorists to slow down. On the contrary, most drivers, speed up, and coyotes have the same reaction to multiple calls.

Professional callers like Gerald Stewart and Gary Roberson routinely use two or more calls during setups, with positive results. Roberson often starts out with a rabbit-in-distress, but switches to a higher-pitched call when he spots an incoming coyote in order to alert his calling partners of impending action. On a recent hunt with Gerald Stewart, I noticed that Gerald switched among three different calls, including the sounds of squabbling gray fox. After 20 minutes, a young coyote finally showed up, providing my partner with a quick shot through a tangle of cedars.

Every coyote doesn’t walk across an opening and present you with a classic broadside shot. On the contrary, they either race in without stopping or they sneak in with the stealth and cunning of a bobcat. To increase your coyote count, practice shots from different angles. Since most hunters try to position themselves high above their calling site, practice shooting steep, downhill shots, noting that bullets generally impact higher than the point of aim.

You can also increase your totals by practicing long-range shots to 400 yards and shots on moving targets. An old tire equipped with a cardboard target and rolled downhill is a great way to increase your percentage of success on runaway coyotes.

Finally, be quiet, especially when leaving a vehicle to hike into a setup site. Coyotes have incredible hearing; they can hear the slightest sound at much greater ranges than we can. Slamming car doors, talking or banging gun cases in the back of truck beds can ruin a hunt before it begins. Have gear organized before arrival, instruct calling partners to whisper and park well away from a calling site to avoid alerting targets.

Place yourself in an area sporting a fair density of coyotes and these tips will insure your coyote count will increase this coming season. Better yet, it will help decrease the number of excuses you’ll need to explain your lack of success to hunting buddies.