# coyote, a mythical creature?



## drJake (Oct 11, 2008)

Where should I look for coyotes? I don't want any secret spots or anything. I want to know more about what kind of habitat and what weather conditions are best to go out looking. I was also wondering if wounded rabbit calls are most affective or if I shoud try something else. I've been out a few times with a wounded jackrabbit call with no success. I'm starting to think coyotes are a mythical creature like bigfoot. :lol: :wink:


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

Some hunters just drive 3 hours due west and then road hunt the dirt roads or paved roads and shoot them out in the fields.

If you really want to get into calling then search some sites on the net. You will find useful info.

Here's my take (I'm a fanatic on stealth so take it for what it's worth).

You can't be quiet enough, you can't hide the vehicle well enough. You can't sneeze, fart, blow your nose, talk (even a whisper), close car doors, sky yourself or smell of tobacco, B.O. or other unnatural smells. Be sneaky. Be quiet. Blend into the surroundings. Remember, you are not there.

Sometimes a rabbit squeel will work, sometimes a howl and sometimes a combo of both. Most people blow too much and too loud. Blow the wrong tune with a howler and you can ruin a large area. Some camo is useful, but I've never painted my face and have had coyotes within feet of me looking right into my eyes.

I think the big secret is to get out into an area where Tom, Dick and Harry haven't been, which usually means driving some. Don't go out with a big group. It's hard to be sneaky with more than 3 people. Find a good partner or two and leave it at that. It's not a social party. If you go with Tom, Dick and Harry, that makes four. Good for a party but not coyote hunting.

Yes, coyotes are mythical creatures. For every one you see, you probably didn't see some others. The native americans called the coyote the trickster for good reason. You have to become a trickster yourself. Good luck!


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## drJake (Oct 11, 2008)

Thanks HighNDry, I went out and bought "calling all coyotes" with Randy Anderson. I think I was blowing too much and too loud, with the rabbit squealer, just like you said. Thanks for all the advice.


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

There a several video makers on the market that have good advice and a lot that are not good videos at all. Randy Anderson, Byron South, Al Morris and Kerry Carver of Carver Calls all have good video. Kerry Carver is working on his second video right now. I am going to be filming with him. He makes some very nice calls also. Byron is a very nice guy (meet him on a coyote hunt in Globe Arizona) and has a lot of knowledge. There is no secret sound. The biggest problem in Utah is so many people out chasing them. Call one in and dont kill it and you have an educated coyote and will probably not call him again.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

The best place I have found is next to the South Mountain Golf course in Draper. Just act like a Shi-Tzu or toy poodle and they will come running in.


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Dont think that the guys making the videos are calling them in all the time. They will spend 1-2 years making a video.


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## Tylert (Aug 6, 2008)

How long do you wait between calling? and what weather is best to hunt in?


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

Wind is usually bad when it gets above 15 MPH or more. Clear or partly cloudy days with little to no wind after storms are good. Quiet snow days are good. Mild fog is real good. Never called in the rain cause I don't like getting wet.

If you know for sure dogs are in the area call for 20 to 30 minutes. Some claim if you don't see a dog within 15 minutes pull up and move, but I've been busted too many times to leave that quick. I've had dogs show up thirty minutes after I've called in open country.


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## James (Oct 7, 2007)

Have you used the old howling trick? Can you howl like a dog? Stop the truck and get out and howl.
If there are coyotes within hearing they will often answer. Then you know where they are. We had some coyotes hanging out near home a few years ago. I could howl them up most nights. Kinda fun to hear them start yapping back at me. The neighbors probably hated me cause many dogs around town would start the howling too. :twisted:


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

HighNDry said:


> Wind is usually bad when it gets above 15 MPH or more. Clear or partly cloudy days with little to no wind after storms are good. Quiet snow days are good. Mild fog is real good. Never called in the rain cause I don't like getting wet.
> 
> If you know for sure dogs are in the area call for 20 to 30 minutes. Some claim if you don't see a dog within 15 minutes pull up and move, but I've been busted too many times to leave that quick. *I've had dogs show up thirty minutes after I've called in open country*.


+1


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## BIGBEAN (Apr 16, 2008)

http://www.sunad.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=14417
8)


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## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

The technique I used in years past went like this.
Stop at least 1/4 mile from where you think there might be coyotes. Further is better. DOWNWIND. Preferably behind a couple of hills or some woods.
Quietly get yourself and your sh!t together and sneak to the spot. 
Sit for at least ten minutes after arriving without moving or making a sound. 
Glass the area slowly and carefully during this time looking for dogs sneaking away. Shoot any doing this if possible. :wink: I have gotten several this way.
Start out with a very soft call, either wounded rabbit for 20-30 seconds or howl two or three times. _*VERY SOFT*_, as in can't hear it more than 100 yards away. Keep in mind that under calm conditions, a coyote can hear a mouse squeak at over 50 yards and adjust your volume accordingly.
Wait 5 minutes. Carefully observe your surroundings, glass or use your eyes.

Call somewhat louder, maybe 150-200 yards. Again wait 5-10 minutes. 
MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE GLASSING SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY DURING THE WAITS.
If no response, increase the volume. The idea is to cover the ground between where you are and where the yotes are, one section at a time. I have had dogs appear out of ravines practically at my feet within seconds of my first call. They were bedded down within 30 yards or so. 
Vary this technique to fit the situation. If in the flats, sound will carry further than in hills/gullies/ravines, etc. So a smaller increase in sound will carry longer. 
In folded terrain, a call that sounds unbelievably loud to you, may only carry 100 yards, except of course when it doesn't. I have heard a call come echoing back to me from off of a cliff face that was almost a mile away, when I would have sworn the sound could not be heard 50 yards away. The ravine at my feet ran off at an angle and the atmospheric conditions allowed it to carry my call a VERY long ways. 
More wind means less effective calling. Also more volume, just don't get carried away.
If you get a coyote within visual range that is not yet shootable, use a mouse squeak or some other call that is NOT capable of blowing him off the map, and try to coax him closer, or into a better position.
Total time on stand should not be any less than 30 minutes. You will be VERY unlikely to see all the dogs that respond to your calls. And even more unlikely to kill all the ones you DO see.
The more time you spend the more likely you are to get a response from the entire area that your sound can reach. Remember it may take ten minutes for a dog to get there from wherever he is when you blow your loudest set, fail to give him that time and not only will you not kill him, but you are likely to educate him in ways that will do US no good at all later. 

What type of call you should use depends on how much pressure there is in the area, what time of year it is, and what the primary local food supply is. Usually in that order.
In the fall, young dogs that are new to all this will come running like they are starved until they have been educated either in person or by losing "friends". 
The tougher the winter the more likely dogs will respond quickly, unless they have been educated.
During Feb. territorial howls and barks can be VERY effective, as the dogs are mating and intruders are either not welcome, or are VERY welcome. Either way, the residents will come in for a look. The trick is to see them before they see you. hehe
During the spring, puppy barks, whines, and distress can bring in the yotes by the ton. Not to mention that in livestock country, lamb and calf calls can be very effective.
Motion decoys are totally the bomb. I have used things as simple as a pheasant wing tied to a string and hung from a stick when there is a breeze. 
This summer I bought a quiver rabbit that I am looking forward to trying out sometime soon.

Sadly the YEARS PAST part of my intro is because I have not actively hunted coyotes for the last 6-7 years, so I am rusty at best.
I have an electronic call which is basically an amplifier attached to a speaker that you can jack all manner of sound producers into. It came with a cassette player, then I bought a Cass Creek e-caller that is compatible, I could use a cd player with the right disk, and now I have aquired an MP3 player that I can load with all manner of sounds available over the internet, so my options just keep growing. I killed a dog once while using two different sound sources, and playing the sounds of a crow fight and a wounded rabbit call at the same time through the amp. Sounded like a rabbit was getting shredded by crows.
I also have a full on Ghillie suit that I use from time to time in areas that are hunted fairly often, TOTALLY breaks up the outline and turns me into a bush.

Thing is, I hunted for more than two years before I killed my first one. And I still am not sure what changed. Suddenly I was getting dogs doing what felt like the same things I had been doing all along. :? 
Seemed weird to me.


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