Hunting coyotes primitive style.

This past fall I took my second coyote ever with my 50 caliber Hawken however both times I was still hunting for deer and just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Since then I have gone into the woods numerous times to try calling in the elusive eastern coyote but have been unsuccessful every time. I know there are dogs in the area as I can see their tracks but I just cant seem to get them to respond to my calling.

I have been using a rabbit distress call but as mentioned "no luck."
Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for calling in these wily critters?

If you're in an urban area, lost kitten and lost puppy calls are way better than wounded rabbit. The table is set when yotes hear lost pets.

Calls usually scare them away because they are so loud and aggressive and are too much for the wily and timid yote. They run away. Try a mouse squeak type call.

This sounds logical. I will be sure to give it a try this weekend. Any thoughts on time of day? Might this work mid day as well as at dawn or dusk?

With so many people using calls, the Desert Dogs have become very call shy. Most of the real Dog killers I know do not use calls. They use the old time proven method of kissing the back of the hand. You kiss the back or side of your hand to get low or high pitch sounds. With a little practise this can work well. Most folks use a too loud call scaring the dogs away. Just think, they can hear a mouse a 100 yds away. Keep the sound low and watch the cover.

This is true!

In England here I call and shoot alot of red fox, have done for over 20yrs.

I don't call to often, once every ten minutes. To often and they will get a fix on you and move down wind and your cover is lost. Less frequent calling will get their curiosity and they won't know where to get down wind and so come a looking etc.

If I use my hand I suck in on the palm where the index finger meets the palm- but on the palm,,,
half the left hand closing the left side of the closed lips.

Good luck :hatsoff:

Mighty Oak,
I've been learning the coyote game for a few years now and the learning curve is steep.
Distress calls are fine, but have a few different ones on hand. With both open and closed reed calls, you can vary the pitch and intensity of your calls. A howler is also a good tool to have at hand. Like turkeys, yotes have their own language. Learn to howl.

I know the area you hunt well, and when I used to target coyotes there, I used to walk a large loop, generally a few miles. Set up and call. A couple of series of distress calls and wait a few mins. Repeat a few times. I never spent more than an hour in a setup before I moved to a new spot in the loop, maybe 3-4oo yards away.
Give them a bit of time. Depending on conditions, they may have to travel a bit to get to you. I noticed if you manage to call one or two in, they'll either come straight in (or behind you), or slowly circle you on the outskirts trying to wind you.
A decoy (I use a Mojo Critter and a hen turkey) greatly helps as it keeps the dog's eyes off you, at least long enough to get a shot.

Don't get discouraged either. As said, it's a steep learning curve and you WILL get busted a few times before it starts clicking.
Also remember, These dogs have a large cruising area and they can be a few ridges away from where you may be.
I've been fooling around with a pack of eight this winter, and they have been in my hunting area usually a day or two ahead of me. But I'll catch up with em, it's a matter of time.

Your area , if I remember, has low pressure. In high pressure areas, the yotes DO get educated fast.
No night hunting here, so daytime hunting for me.

Have fun, and you'll probably call in a few Fisher Cats as well.

Responsiveness to calls will apparently vary by region, too. In my neck of the woods, young coyotes are fairly easy to call during summer and fall, but after that they have heard so many calls that they become educated. At that point, howling seems to be more effective than prey sounds. As we consider 20 mph winds to be a nice day here in Oklahoma, mouse squeakers are not very popular because the sound doesn't travel as well. We need a lot of volume, but that might be different where you are. :idunno:

I have had the best luck calling in the early morning, but coyotes can be called at any time of the day. I called one in a few weeks ago at 3 in the afternoon.

Getting to your setup without being detected is probably the biggest factor. Then, just watch the wind direction and do not move once you start calling. And be ready to shoot, most coyotes I call in don't stick around long! :cursing:

Good luck!

This is all great info and I appreciate the advise. I will stick with it as I am determined to make it happen.

I will tell you this, I have called in numerous owls and hawks so far. One owl almost took my brown flop hat right off my head one day. Needles to say it startled us both.
I will keep you posted.

Me too, had a Redtail make a pass at my fur hat. :haha:
BTW, lip squeaking works for close work as well as a Squeaker out of an old dog toy. Always have one of those in my pocket.

I have called a few with both mouth calls and electronic calls. Never thought high volume was a problem but then again I don't know which ones did not come!

I have had some coyotes come to my elk calls. Both bugling and cow calls. I don't think they are responding to it because it is an elk though. Just shows my elk calling does not sound much like an elk. :haha:

If you use an electronic call, you can place it out front of you 50 yards or so. They will be concentrated on the position of the caller rather than the hunter. They, like all animals coming to a call, know exactly where the call sound is coming from. Or, use two guys with the caller out front and the shooter back.

During the fiscal year of 2007 the coyote harvest in wyoming was around 100,000. The US Dept. of Wild LIfe Services {Govt. Hunters} killed 10,414 dogs. this was up 3,054 from 2006. This was due in part to 20 more Federal Agents hired with a $6 million dollar budget increase. The kill with air planes was 7,500 coyotes. Most coyotes are killed by state hunters, private hunters, private ranch control agents, fur trappers. The number of coyotes in SW Wyoming is up 20% this year. The cost to wild life and live stock is very big in the western states. The coyote is a hard critter to control. They are a real problem, and hard to control. :hmm:

I'm sure there is some variation by region, poulation, etc., but, I've had some success here just using a plain old turkey call. Adding a good decoy is a plus. Any setup that will fool a wise old gobbler has a good chance of fooling Ole Wily.

Nice yote! Got me wantin to go even more now, thanks!

Mouth calls work best here. Belive it or not a cow elk call works good here in Wv. Larry Wv

Here in PA a study has been done of Yoyes and they now know from DNA that many in the northwestern part of the state are a highbred/cross bred with a wolf.
From experience calling yotes I have had only 2 in 20 years come in straight to the call. They all circle before approaching. This I believe is from being call wise yotes. They will circle to see if they can wind you. If they do forget even trying to call them in that area again, it will usually be a waste of time.

I'm sure there is some variation by region, poulation, etc., but, I've had some success here just using a plain old turkey call. Adding a good decoy is a plus. Any setup that will fool a wise old gobbler has a good chance of fooling Ole Wily.

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I think that is good advice. Never have had anything (including turkeys) come to a turkey call but guys I know have reported yotes and lions coming in. Lions, being very wary and quiet, are probably there more often than they are seen! :shocked2:

Mouth calls work best here. Belive it or not a cow elk call works good here in Wv. Larry Wv

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Wonder how a fawn distress call would work!

Fawn bleats work well,even in Winter.(go figure)

During Turkey season, I've had numerous coyotes and a few bobcats coming in on my turkey calls.
When the dinner bell is ringing, and pickins are slim, it seems they'll come in to just about anything.

Mighty Oak said:

I will tell you this, I have called in numerous owls and hawks so far. One owl almost took my brown flop hat right off my head one day. Needles to say it startled us both.
I will keep you posted.

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If you're calling hawks and owls then you are doing something right.Coyote calling in the Northeast is a numbers game and far different and more difficult than in the west.We simply don't have the numbers of coyotes and the yotes we do have maintain and defend a large homerange of 20-25sq. miles as a family unit generally?It can be discouraging calling in the east,but it takes patience and alot of unsuccessful stand attempts to put up the numbers.Understand that the fresh yote tracks you see this morning might have been made by a dog that is now 5 miles away,and no matter how good of a caller you are,no coyotes respond to calls that they can't hear.Stick with it,have patience,and try to cover alot of ground in a day.I don't spend any more than 15-20 minutes at a stand,and then depending on the topography,wind conditions,etc.,try to judge how far my LOUD calls are carrying and move far enough to call over fresh ground...usually 1000yards or so?Even with relatively short stands I do well to get 8-10 good sets in during a full day of calling,with moving between stands,settle in time,calling etc. taking app. 1 hr/stand.

Howling and other coyote vocalisations are most effective at this time of year being breeding season(Jan-Mar)Fawn distress are indeed a good coyote call this time of year,especially if you hunt in and around deer winter yards.

My bud and I are actually planning a 3-4 day muzzleloader/coyote hunting trek next week over the course of hiking 32 miles of sled trails and three cabins with as many calling stops as we can squeeze in?Day one is from home to first camp 10 miles.Day 2 is 13miles to next camp.Day 3,9 miles to last camp and stay another night or two..then call missus for ride home.Should be a good fun,old school hunt!:thumbsup: