Calling them just to the edge of the cover VS calling them into the open

Newpond0

Newpond0

Active member
This past year almost every set I made was finding a big wide open, I’m sitting along the downwind edge of it, caller is in the middle of the wide open, and I’m hoping for animals to run into the wide open and circle that caller in front of me. These are eastern coyotes in the wild by the way, no farms around.

I didn’t get much fur.

I’ve been reading some posts lately about setting the caller up right near an edge with the wind blowing back into the open. All you’re trying to do is get the coyote to come to the edge and shooting him there. He/she is a more comfortable as you’re allowing him to stay hidden, and you’re tempting him to just come out a little bit more to try get the wind. I would setup where I can have a decent view of that edge line watching it/looking in to it as best I can.

What are your experiences/thoughts on this style rather than trying to suck them into the wide open?

Also I don’t have a thermal, night hunting is not allowed here, and my rifle is scopeless (peep hole)
 
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I know nothing about night calling. Day time calling it is easier to call them in the cover than to try and call them out of it. In coastal WA I found calling in the corridors between clear cuts easier than trying to call them out into the clear cut. In sage and greasewood country they will stay in the cover until they can get as close to the caller before rushing at it. I try and hunt small pockets in the cover.

I was hunting a little pocket in the Olympic national forest and had a coyote jump up on the log next to me and watch the pocket the caller was in. He lived, the rifle was facing the wrong way.
 
DoubleLungRage said:
Kill ya a moose and get ya meat and hunt over the remains.
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One day if I get a moose I will definitely do that. We have a moose draw system here, where I’m at your odds are 1 moose tag every 4 years. Other parts of the island you can get a tag just about every year.

A friend from work loves hunting but only hunts moose and wants to get a bear tag and partner up with me so he can at least go out in the woods and hunt something. I’ve gotten more hunting time with the bear tag and coyote small game license this past year probably more than these guys hunt in 10 years
 
DoubleLungRage said:
Kinda sounds like it's not a great place to live if you like to hunt. LoL

Good luck with the coyotes.
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Thanks. I think it might play to my advantage though, less people out there hunting ‘em. Once I get my skills up to a decent level I’ll be ok. As far as mentors go I went with this forum rather than the locals/friends at work. Some seriously experienced people who know their stuff on here 👍
 
I would not worry about finding openings. Just call them in the cover. When I was in Nova Scotia a few years ago, if you terrain and cover is similar to their woodland/bush areas, l would just do my scouting then hunt the wind
 
Newpond0 said:
I’m hoping for animals to run into the wide open and circle that caller in front of me.
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That's not gonna happen. Sounds similar to a lot of the ground I hunt.
AWS said:
Day time calling it is easier to call them in the cover than to try and call them out of it. In coastal WA I found calling in the corridors between clear cuts easier than trying to call them out into the clear cut. In sage and greasewood country they will stay in the cover until they can get as close to the caller before rushing at it. I try and hunt small pockets in the cover.
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Heavy brush with some small openings around dry lake beds with roller chopped pastures and various pipeline, power line senderos and two tracks and fence lines cutting through the brush. The roller chopped pastures are mostly rectangular in shape and in various stages of re-growth.
The brush is usually too thick to hunt in and, as stated previously, coyotes are very reluctant to exit the brush during the day. However, they will respond to calls along the edges. My favorite stands are either on the side of a pipeline/sendero with call about 50 yards away and breeze across one shoulder, or in the corner of a rectangular pasture where I can watch both brushlines and the corner. Again, wind must be across the shoulder. Picture below is one such stand. We sat under a small tree, surrounded by undergrowth about 20 yards out in the rollerchop. Lacking such cover away from the brushline, I would set up on one leg of the 90* brushline a hundred yards or so from the corner.
Picture does not depict the corner clearly, but it is just to the left of the dark tree out in the pasture (4th from right). Wind was from the lower left hand side of picture, call @ white dot. Coyote came out of the brush and sat down in the edge right behind first dark tree @ right of picture, watching the decoy/call area before committing, then trotted (yellow line), following edge of brush to red X.
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Good example of hunting fencelines and senderos. SE corner of ranch has pipeline terminating at the corner of picture. Prevailing winds (red arrow) usually NW>SE or visa versa. Set up w/partner (red dots), both can see pipeline and one of the two fence lines. Coyotes use established fence crossings and and come down the pipeline, maintaining close proximity to brush and undergrowth bordering. The call is placed about 50 yards from corner on pipeline.
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Another way to hunt this area is to walk through E>W brush line in vicinity of the red arrow and place call a few yards out, beween brush line and the point formed by brush line to the north. Watch the brushlines; depending upon height of undergrowth, they are reluctant to come out in the open.
View from corner of the north fence and pipeline
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Another tactic that works is finding narrow openings where the opposing brush line is within your accuracy range such as picture below. This is a narrow meadow, about 150 yards to the break in the brushline. That break is where brush joins a fence line at right angles (can't tell in picture, but fence/brushline is a 90* angle). There is an established crossing of the fence at that point. Call is off picture to the right and wind direction indicated by arrow. Grass is about knee high to provide a sense of security to the coyote, when grass is lower, they follow the opposite brush line. Watch the edges!
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I have lived and hunted in 3 or 4 Central States... All most inpossible to call a coyote in during the day time. Maybe one that is sick or 6th day in a row of -15 and then I stay close to the fire. Spend your time finding places to hunt at night , save your gas money and buy a thermal. Only way to go. You can make 3 stands after dinner and kill 1 coyote at one of them and still be in bed by 8:30 pm. Time Management. MD
 
With no scope, peep sights you will need to sit with sunlight behind you. Find openings you can shoot across, sit on the downwind side of the opening. Since you shots probably need to be under 100 meters(yards) keep the caller near you so you don't spoil the edge the coyote need to come to for a shot opportunity. Walking, moving around small openings prior to calling is just ruining your chances. You may want to try on off the call, it could give you a bit longer time to get a shot off if the coyote can't get an immediate fix on your location when it steps out to look for the sound.
 
💡 I get these setups and tips and they make perfect sense! Thank you for your help guys, I’m gonna start setting up like this now.

Also I never considered the edges of the woods as a kind of secondary travel route similar to a fence line or path but with some comfort. I only thought of them as a coyote will plow thru the thick to get to the edge or peek out from but actual success requires them to come charging out from that spot into the open often towards the downwind side of the caller

When I got my coyote I was at a crosswind (blowing from my left to right) with a barrier at my back and facing downhill towards Some thick and a creek at the bottom of the hill. There was a small opening 20 yards in front of me where I put the caller and decoy that I could see into to shoot. But my intention was there might be animals in that thick with the creek and they would run up the hill into the opening. I never set up like this but it was the best I could come up with due to the terrain there.

Anyways a coyote ran in from behind me and into the opening below me with the decoy and was about to pounce on it so I shot it. The atv trail (the only trail) was behind me and I never considered the travel routes. I always felt strongly there was a lesson in here for me about the travel routes, and that it maybe be even more important to play the travel routes than where I think the animals are when I turn on the call.

I ended up going back to my old habits in part due to not scouting first and finding the travel routes first or at least considering them seriously when setting up. Too much focus on wind in my face and hoping they come out where I can see them and just keep doing that as many times as possible and something will eventually come. I may have gotten this idea from calling in the west style without realizing it
 
Lol another idea I seemed to have was that the farther away you put the caller from the edge =the farther they have to run into the open to get to it=the more chance you have to see the animal=good, my advantage because I can see ‘‘em better to get the shot.

Yeah I have to see them but maybe I’ve been asking for/depending on a little too much there
 
NDAR15MAN said:
I have lived and hunted in 3 or 4 Central States... All most inpossible to call a coyote in during the day time. Maybe one that is sick or 6th day in a row of -15 and then I stay close to the fire. Spend your time finding places to hunt at night , save your gas money and buy a thermal. Only way to go. You can make 3 stands after dinner and kill 1 coyote at one of them and still be in bed by 8:30 pm. Time Management. MD
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I was thinking about it, just bought a new caller so I’m gonna have to wait a bit for my wife to let me spend more $. Between it being constantly wet here and daytime use only do you think it’s worth it? I’ve never looked thru one before only watched the videos on here. Also do they see into the thick at all?

Edit: I could probably scout with it at night, just no shooting
 
They can detect through 'thick' IF there are voids, even very small ones, in the 'thick'. They cannot detect through objects. Military grade can (from what I have been told) but not hunting grade.
 
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