Hunting Deep Cover

I’m in dense woods, it’s super tough calling. Have had zero luck using e-caller or hand calls…only shot opportunities I’ve had are pure luck that something rolls through. I’m at a loss for what calls to use….the woods is THICK, not much undergrowth, but has a heavy canopy.
Any advice appreciated! Mostly red fox, although I’ve had coyotes and greys on camera.

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That is thick...if you've got greys on camera try using some fox distress calls in your sequence.

If I'm calling for coyotes I usually start with some howls, then roll into crows then into some rabbit calls and round out with some pup calls. Fir foxes I would drop the howls and start with some crows or magpies then rabbits, bird distress, grey fox distress and finish with some pups.

With those hills on your pic I'd set up to call along them. Foxes seem to like a sidehill approach. Set up where you've got some downed logs or rocks and set the call pointing either up or downhill. Foxes like to get up on things to look down on the source of the sounds, and more often than not they'll approach from the side of the call. Watch behind the call as well as coyotes will try to come in from the side or behind it.

Good luck and good hunting...Mo
 
SnowmanMo said:
That is thick...if you've got greys on camera try using some fox distress calls in your sequence.

If I'm calling for coyotes I usually start with some howls, then roll into crows then into some rabbit calls and round out with some pup calls. Fir foxes I would drop the howls and start with some crows or magpies then rabbits, bird distress, grey fox distress and finish with some pups.

With those hills on your pic I'd set up to call along them. Foxes seem to like a sidehill approach. Set up where you've got some downed logs or rocks and set the call pointing either up or downhill. Foxes like to get up on things to look down on the source of the sounds, and more often than not they'll approach from the side of the call. Watch behind the call as well as coyotes will try to come in from the side or behind it.

Good luck and good hunting...Mo
Click to expand...
I’ve never heard coyotes howling ever, only have had them on camera maybe 3-4x in 10yrs.
I do hear foxes howling back and forth to each other quite often, an have tried using that on the e-call, did get responses but nothing ever materialized.
We have virtually no rabbits…mostly squirrels, birds (lots of woodpeckers) and small vermin (mice, chipmunks, moles, voles)
I’ve tried using all of those types of calls to no avail. I have 2 dedicated blinds so not much option for moving. And there’s only so many options to shoot as far as cover/openings.
 
I wouldn't worry about using calls from animals you don't see...I've called in plenty of them with animals I know they've never seen...snowshoe hares in AZ, prairie dog distress in the forest and probably the weirdest was penguin distress.

If you're calling the same stands over and over that probably isn't going to be too productive. Odds are they know it and avoid it. I know it can be challenging if you have limited land to call but you can definitely burn an area by overcalling it. I might hit a spot 3-4 times a year, spaced out by a few months, then leave it alone.

In my early days of calling the friend who introduced me to the sport kept taking us back to the same spot week after week. We went from seeing them to them staying out and barking to nothing.

I know you said the area is thick but I'd still try to move. Sometimes just flipping a stand, calling from the opposite direction can do the trick.

I call for foxes and bobcats in some thick brush so I know it can be challenging.
 
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