Coyote hunting is fast becoming a popular hobby for hunters across North America, in large part because of the great excitement it has to offer. There are few things that can get my adrenaline pumping faster than seeing a coyote rapidly approaching my position in response to the desperate pleas for my distress call. My goal here is to provide you with some basic strategies that can help you quickly get up to speed on the basics of coyote calling and help you experience the joy of calling coyotes. The tips and strategies I will discuss will be listed in order of importance to your success in calling coyotes.
The first and foremost element that is crucial to your success in coyote calling is exploration. It is a simple fact that you cannot call a coyote if there is no one to call. When in the scouting field, look for traces of droppings and coyotes that indicate coyotes are in the area. Also, take notes on where you see coyotes repeatedly, as these will be areas you want to target with your call. Landlords are great resources for giving you clues about where they see coyotes on their land and where they think they would be good places to call. Look for areas that have a high concentration of coyote prey, such as rabbits, prairie dogs, deer, and mice. If you search these types of areas, you are sure to find coyotes.
The second in line to be successful in calling the coyotes is the montage. The way in which it is configured (positioned) in the stand to call is fundamental. Pay close attention to the wind direction at all times. The coyote’s sense of smell is highly adapted and should not be ignored. When setting up, be sure to position yourself with the wind directly in your face or crosswind. Coyotes are known to circle downwind to get the advantage of scent, so in my opinion the ideal setting would be crosswind and enough open area downwind to see coyotes circling. It helps if you can hunt with a friend and place it downwind to catch the coyotes surrounding your position. If you have one of the newer remote controlled digital callers on the market, you can place the call upwind of your position and thus be in the perfect position as the coyote starts circling. Just don’t place it too far away in case the coyote decides to go straight to the caller’s position. It is also important to call with the sun at your back. This makes it more difficult for the coyote to see you, as it has to look directly at the sun when it approaches. Another important aspect of the installation is to try to be in the shade. Being in the shade will help hide your position and make it harder for the coyote to see you. Now, putting all these elements together would certainly be the perfect scenario, but in reality this is not always possible. Sometimes you have to sacrifice sun position or your ability to sit in the shade in order to call in a prime location. However, I never sacrifice wind direction to call an area. If the wind isn’t right, I hope to call that area another day.
The third element to successfully calling coyotes is camouflage. It is important to try to blend in with your surroundings by matching your camouflage with the terrain you are hunting. It is also essential to cover all exposed skin, including the face. Human skin is highly reflective and coyotes will pick up on this. Give it a try for yourself by having a friend dress in full camouflage except for a face mask, and then have him hide like he’s hunting. Now, go back several meters and see how easy it is to choose. Now try the same experiment with your friend using a mask. I bet you will be surprised at the difference. Another important component of camouflage is limiting movement when stationary. Coyotes have keen eyesight and will detect the slightest movement. If you must move, move slowly and deliberately.
Last but certainly not least is the actual act of calling yourself. Many of you will be surprised that I saved this for last. Don’t get me wrong, making the right sound is very important and you could be producing the saddest distressed rabbit sound the coyote has ever heard, but unless you do all of the above correctly your chances of bagging it are greatly reduced. Learning to use a mouth blown rabbit in the distress call is a relatively straightforward task. Any of the calls on the market today will likely work for you. If you don’t know what the correct sound is, I suggest you buy one of the many coyote calling videos on the market or buy a CD or cassette tape with a live rabbit in distress sound and practice along with it. Many beginners make the mistake of thinking that they have to sound perfect in order to call a coyote. The truth of the matter is, the coyote doesn’t care. As long as it sounds like an animal in distress, it is likely to attract the attention of a coyote. The cool thing about calling coyotes is that no two people sound exactly the same when using a particular call, but all sounds are effective, and yours likely is, too. Another issue that hasn’t been mentioned is how long to call at each location. This depends on many factors, but I usually stay 30 minutes at each booth, especially when I call the open area. If you live in a heavily wooded area, you can only stay in the bracket for 10-15 minutes because the sound won’t travel that far. When you call, you want to call at short intervals. For example, call for 20-30 seconds, wait 2 minutes, and repeat. Do this while on the stand.
These are the basics you will need to become a successful coyote caller. Study them closely and then go out into the field and call in some coyotes. Once you do, I’m sure you’ll be hooked for life just as I am. I wish you the best of luck.