Calling Tactics and Sounds?

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When you get the jays crows hawks coming do you
slow or keep the same cadance,change the call ?
This is an excellent thread!!!!
 
Coyote trax,
When the hawks and crows are coming, you know that you are making the right sound. Keep a sharp eye in direction the birds are coming from, because these birds may be flying over top of incoming predator. Birds love to harrass incoming critters like that.
 
That helps me. I get a little antzy with all that screaming going on and on... Nice to see that crow trying to find you though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Coyotetrax, Don't forget to listen for the squirrels barking either. Their telling you there is a predator of some kind on the way.That small warning may be enough to line up a shot or give you a chance to duck the owls. Owls make no sound in flight and come in to the calls as well.They will take the hat from your head if your not careful.

Keep the sounds and the rythem the same.Don't change a thing.The winged predators are just telling you that it's perfect /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Jimmie
 
Hello
Ok I hunt on a ridge with a couple of small fields about 8 to 10 acres each.There is a saddel between the fields with a creek that is dry most of the time.It is about 200 yards between the fields there is a 4 wheeler trail that runs across both fields and the creek.The leaves are to thick to hunt the saddel now,but when they fall do you hunt the saddel first or the fields?Are they to close to call both areas,also it is modern gun seasion for deer here so you need hunter orange the crows and hawks bust me in it every time. I will not go out with it,but it seems like it is a waste of time to go calling now.Do you guys have this problem with orange? I like deer also mabe I should be deer hunting. Thankyou
 
Now I'm Thinking we did'nt cover stand selection well enough.Remember that your calls will be heard at least a half mile away even in hill country.Stands should be chosen as much for your benefit as they are for the location of travel lanes.The sounds will cover at least 300 acres even in the roughest terrain.The beginer should always call into the wind and have as much open space as possible behind them.The open area should be without any ditches or other cover that the coyote would use to aproach down wind.400 yards of open area behind the caller is barely enough.After you've taken a few coyote's you will get a feel for what you can get away with and what you can't. Jimmie
 
Jimmie,
This is good info not just for the beginner but a good reminder for everyone. We must not only out smart coyotes to be successful, we must also be able to see then first. With the terrain here in the east, it ain’t always easy. A coyote can cover a lot of ground real quick when it wants to. I have blown good stands because there was just too much cover for one or two hunters to watch. IMHO, picking the best possible location for a set is one of the most important factors in calling. And sometimes we just screw up, it happens. I don’t know how many coyotes I have called in but never got to see just because I over looked a few little details.
 
It's interesting to backtrack downwind after a stand is finished sometimes when there's a fresh snow on the ground. Circling a 100 or 200 yards out several times I've cut fresh tracks that I know where responding coyotes, which probably because of poor stand site selection on my part, came in from the wrong way from my perspective. A coyote can be 100-150 yards out here in the big woods and probably not be seen. Out there he can circle, cut the breeze, or stand and mull things over without catching lead. Many times after rethinking the stand over I've been able to learn from my mistakes. Other times, it would have been impossible to have made the outcome any different. That's hunting folks! Minimize all the mistakes, then relax and have some fun. If things don't work out, before hauling out from there, just stop, clear your mind and evaulate the deal. Learn from it and move on. Sometimes I think we're our worst enemy and can over complicate things. It isn't black majic, there are some basic tendancies of the coyote, certain tactics work best most often, calling with some basic sounds, and a good deal of woodsmanship and common sense, will kill a lot of coyotes. After a guy has several under his belt then you can begin fine tuning and working on more advanced situations, ect... But I think it's important to maintain perspective and most of all-have fun!
 
CH1 and Gc, I couldn't agree more.We're out there to enjoy the day and time in the woods.Taking our quary is icing on the cake.I learn a lot from my mistakes because I take the time then to figure things out right there on the spot.File it away in my mental computer and move to the next set up.From these mistakes I learned the places where I need to stand up to make hte call or when I can sit down and let it happen.When standing I look for cover that will conceal my silohuette and allow me to prop my gun in a shooting position.If it's open enough I can sit I find the biggest tree around with a good view and just become a knot on the base of that tree.Weapon on my knee ready and the call over the stock ready to my hand.

There are other things out there besides coyote's.For some strange reason I love to drive an owl nuts when I get the chance.I know I don't want the rascal grabbing a holt of me, but when they look away I just have to wiggle a finger or two to make that head snap back on target.Or maybe winking each eye in turn to make them bob their heads trying to get a better look /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Jimmie
 
Hello
Thank you all for the info.What about the blaze orange.I'm defantly guilty of over thinking things.On most of the land I have permission to hunt a 100 acre field is a big one,so it is hard to get a lot of open space behind me.Is a decoy more help in a small field or large one?I see more coyotes on the highway than in the field.Do I need a car horn in my selection of calls. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Well I'm going quail hunthing
today that is a good way to scout the area.
Good Day
 
Coyote trax,
How long is your rifle or shotgun deer season? If it is only a month or so you may be better off staying home til deer season is over. I know that here in Iowa and over in state of Nebraska, the crowds of deer hunters spook the dickens out of coyotes. I also consider the fact that some of those hunters shoot at anything that moves, so I stay home for my own safety. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif As far as the blaze orange, I wouldn't worry about spooking coyotes with that. I think that coyotes see mostly in black and white, not being able to see most colors very well at all. As for setup, read the three posts just above your last one. GC, Jimmy and I think it was coyote hunter1 that covered that real well. Stand selection is important but we can usually never cover ALL of the approach routes, so we do the best we can. Every caller is gonna get busted once in awhile, no matter how good he is. Getting in to an area where coyote population is high and people population is low--Well that is 90 percent of the battle.
 
That is as good an oportunity to scout and learn as any.Our small game seasons opened today and deer season opened this past saturday. I was thinking about th eslump after deer season and began to wonder if deer hunters caused the change in habits we see in coyote's at this time of year.They just seem to vanish and we blame it on full bellies. As for having to hunt in blaze orange don't worry about it. I've taken them from fifteen feet to fifty wearing it.

I've got to go and have Red Frog remove this curse. I laughed a wee bit to hard at one of his missing post's and missed a gimme 200 yard shot this morning :rolleyes: Jimmie
 
Hey guys,
Been gone a while and just got back to see if this thing had died yet! Still goin strong with great information I see!! Thanks to everyone!

Hey Rich,
Was up in IA last week to shoot some yotes but the wind just killed it good!! Thought I was out West or something!! Did manage to call some though and the turkeys were giving me heck too!!1

Hey Jimmie,
I hear ya on the owls!!! Got tired of blowing and put my foxpro about 35 yards out to my left in a open field near a draw. There was one little tree near my caller all bye itself! Danged if two old owls didn't lite in that tree and give my caller hell! Thought they were gonna carry it off. Just when it got dark enough they saw the red light flash from the caller when I hit my remote and that sent'em hauling! It was a blast to mess with'em.

Stand selection is the key! key! key! to me. Might need to cover it again. Lots of new folks over on the other boards who need to read this fine book here. Pass it on to them.
 
I've read and re-read this book a couple of times trying to figure out where we missed something on stand selection and haven't figured it out yet.I'll keep working on it and see. It take sme an hour or so tto read this thing!

Another tip on scouting. Particularly howling to locate them in the feeding areas at night. Try to choose the calmest night you can. My locals seem more talkative on such nights. This thread has gotten me to notice particular patterns more. Things that I was used too and not paying attention. Things like this will help beginers a bit.I was out last night at midnite on the button last night and every group cut down on the sweetest music a dog hunter can hear. It was cold clear and calm as a cucumber out there. It was the first time all the groups have howled at each other I know of this season. Jimmie
 
Posted earlier by Jimmie----"I've read and re-read this book a couple of times trying to figure out where we missed something on stand selection and haven't figured it out yet.I'll keep working on it and see. It take sme an hour or so tto read this thing!"

Jimmie,
At my age, one really good place to select a stand location is---really close to the pickup. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Sad thing is, I am only HALF joking about that.
 
When calling thick cover with hand calls I think that most folks call too much. This is one of my own faults too. If we call almost constantly, the coyote zero's in on our exact location. What happens is that the coyote comes running in full bore, almost runs over us and then disappears into the brush. This is something that really makes a man cuss. It is better to call six or eight excited squalls, and then go silent for two or three minutes before we give em another series of screams. What this does is make the coyote look for you a little bit, and gives you better chance to shoot him while he is standing there looking for the rabbit. I hope this makes sense to you.
 
Rich,
I'm going to counter your opinion with my own concerning that last post of yours. I'd rather get the coyote on a string than offer him the opportunity to cast about and circle downwind. If he gets downwind, I'm sunk for sure.

By giving him nearly constant (pauses of 1 1/2 to 2 minutes) calling I get him excited and coming hard. Once I get him on that direct line to the stand, then I give him something to look at with a small motion decoy. That occupies him while I get the shot. In heavy timber and brush, I feel that a coyote can circle relatively close unseen while looking for the source of the commotion he heard (our calls) and cut the scent cone. That nearly ensures a busted stand and an educated coyote in my experience.

I will certainly agree that it's real easy to enjoy the sounds of your calling way too much. I've over called coyotes and turkeys both. That can ruin a stand in short order too. I never hit the call once I've got one coming and see it. Here, once I can see the coyote, he's under 100 yards and usually I can kill him if carrying a rifle. If I have a shotgun, or the brush is so thick I need him closer, or need to position the critter, I lip squeak. I learned my lesson of hitting the distress series again when a coyote is in close. I've spooked a few critters and lost the shot because I spooked them with a hard sell on the call.

Some guys say they take 5 minute+ or more pauses in thier calling. I've always felt that was too much, letting the coyotes either lose interest, or begin circling, searching for the scent trail. I guess it's different strokes for different folks. Just thought I'd offer another idea there. Different ideas and experiences are cool, doesn't make one right or wrong. A fellow has to work out a system that works for him and gives him confidence.
 
GC,
I hardly ever look at my watch while on stand, but I sure can't argue with your last post. I have been downwinded by too many coyotes and that is for certain. If you ever figure out how to keep them from circling downwind, please send me an E mail and we will keep the secret forever. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Sometimes a feller can put an open field to downwind side and control the situation, but back in the bigger timbers it ain't always possible.
 
Rich,
If I ever figure out how to prevent it 100% of the time I'll drive up to Iowa and we'll go kill the heck out of them!

You've killed more coyotes than I've probably ever seen. I respect your opinion greatly and listen closely when you offer an opinion regarding something. My counter was given as a way I've worked out to combat my particular problems here. A different terrain obviously would probably need different ideas.

My problem here is that it's all good-too good. Speaking of cover for the coyotes, that is. It's sooo..... simple for them to simply drift downwind and then blow the stand. Most often they can do that and never be seen at all by me. The timber is heavy and the very, very, up/down terrain makes it simple for them to swing wide of the stand by 100 yards or less many times and not be in view. I mentioned somewhere above about checking your backside after an unsuccessful stand when calling in the snow. It's surprising what you find out that way.
That's why I started trying to get them all to be hard chargers and draw them on a line to the area that I set-up for the kill zone. It doesn't work all the time, but even if I get them looking "over there" and worked up a little, if they start to circle the decoy that's OK. Because I'm "over here!" Of course I handcall most often. E-calling would make this simpler yet.
 
Calling speed or rythem is something each person is going to have to figure out for himself.A lot of factors go into this.Terrain is one we've discussed already. Huntingn pressure is anohter. The county I live in is a third as large as the LBL.Big county with a lot of diferent terrains, flat to almost mountainous.How coyote's behave and react is diferent in other areas.They do so because of hunting pressure.When you have a numbeer of beginers out there trying to learn the ropes they make a lot of mistakes. Most of them are using the e-callers.The e-caller sounds are constant without a break.Dogs coming in to these sounds are most often coming in hot and fast.The dog runs into the scent stream of the hunter and it's over without so much as a howdy do.The hunter never knows the animals are there.

We can get another chance at this animal by using mouth calls. With mouth calls we can break the constant rythem pattern and change it to suit our needs.I personally use one and a half minute to two minute pauses between sequences.This allows me to go behind the beginers and take some of the animals from that area.

None of the above will do us any good without understanding set up and it's importance.You must be able to see the aproach lanes.Thsi mistake has cost me a few dogs over the years.Getting in to tight to the cover you run the risk of blocking your view.Too far out and you get a hung up animal or one that won't aproach at all.I've had this happen as well.

The hunter needs at least thirty yards of visibility and no aproach lanes to his rear.The area behind the hunter needs to be open as far as possible with no ditches or shallow swales in the field.This won't stop your being downwinded all the time but it will help prevent a good deal of it.You also need these aproach lanes in front of you giving the animals the safety of the cover, cover is their security blanket.

We need to add mountainous areas to this part of the discussion later. I need to get the weeks supply of wood ready and go deer hunting.Jimmie
 
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