# First Time Coyote Hunter Impressions



## ramitupurs84 (Nov 9, 2008)

Well, I've branched out from deer hunting with a shotgun to bow hunting, duck hunting and now coyote hunting within the last 5 years. The latest was coyote hunting. My first trip was yesterday and I also went out today. While I'm not a private property owner I have access to some and my other hunting adventures have allowed me to explore a lot of state land. I always seem to come across hair filled crap, tracks, hear yips/barks or physically see them while doing these other activities. So why not try and bag one while doing my part to help sustain those other activities. Santa left me some Cabelas gift cards. So I bought a Foxpro Inferno and their junior Jack motion deal. I have a AR, so I picked up some 10 round PMAG'S with 5 round reducers. Loaded up with some 55 gr soft points and off I went. Some cardinal rules I've heard is hunt where coyotes are and prepare to shoot at any minute.

Yesterday's spot was state land at about 3pm I hunted with a buddy. We did our best to use our library voices/ noise making from the truck to the spot I came across while small game hunting. This state land actually butts up to private land I shot my first deer on. We set up overlooking a swamp area full of muskrat hunts on one side and tall grasses on the other side. We came across two piles of turds on our way out and various sets of tracks on the ice to the muskrat huts and some around a ditch. I set the call up about 50 yards in some grass from us and the motion deal about 10 yards in front of that in a clearing. The wind was blowing across our backs. There is a trappers on muskrat hunts with quite a bit of tracks near where we hunted. I started out with a dying crow since I came across quite a few crows while small game hunting. I let it play for about 7 mins and then let it rest for a couple of minutes then did some coyote yips for about 5 minute. I had something yip back faintly up wind in the woods. I went back to the dying crow for about 5 minutes. We didn't see a thing. I had my volume up to 14. I think I should of played the wind in my face vs. across my back, lowered my volume, shortened my duration to about 1-2 minutes and halted on the yips. I assume o was busted. 

Today's set was on private farm land. Known coyote presence from goose hunting seeing turds and tracks. Partnered up again with another guy. We had the blowing snow in our face - about 18-20 MPH wind gusts. It wasn't like that when we left the house a county over. We had the caller out about 30 yards from us. I started out with dying eastern cottontail. The motion decoy was getting beat up. I tried a couple of minute bursts of sound with 4 minute gaps of silence with no coyote hollowing/yipping. I had the volume maxed out at 20. It was so windy I doubt it was heard in 300 yards from us into the woods. We sat for 20 minutes. 

Questions I have:

- Thoughts on my hunts so far?
- How critical is camo outwear? I make sure I'm in cover. I'm using carharts right now with a white poncho smock to go over. 
- I've read since going out volume is a killer to sets. Start low - how low is low?
- When you move locations, is it worth your time to walk through the woods a mile or so busting anything out by crunching through the snow to get there?
- decoy and motion decoy orientation - right in front of you or to the side?


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## DeereGuy (Jul 1, 2011)

ramitupurs84 said:


> Well, I've branched out from deer hunting with a shotgun to bow hunting, duck hunting and now coyote hunting within the last 5 years. The latest was coyote hunting. My first trip was yesterday and I also went out today. While I'm not a private property owner I have access to some and my other hunting adventures have allowed me to explore a lot of state land. I always seem to come across hair filled crap, tracks, hear yips/barks or physically see them while doing these other activities. So why not try and bag one while doing my part to help sustain those other activities. Santa left me some Cabelas gift cards. So I bought a Foxpro Inferno and their junior Jack motion deal. I have a AR, so I picked up some 10 round PMAG'S with 5 round reducers. Loaded up with some 55 gr soft points and off I went. Some cardinal rules I've heard is hunt where coyotes are and prepare to shoot at any minute.
> 
> Yesterday's spot was state land at about 3pm I hunted with a buddy. We did our best to use our library voices/ noise making from the truck to the spot I came across while small game hunting. This state land actually butts up to private land I shot my first deer on. We set up overlooking a swamp area full of muskrat hunts on one side and tall grasses on the other side. We came across two piles of turds on our way out and various sets of tracks on the ice to the muskrat huts and some around a ditch. I set the call up about 50 yards in some grass from us and the motion deal about 10 yards in front of that in a clearing. The wind was blowing across our backs. There is a trappers on muskrat hunts with quite a bit of tracks near where we hunted. I started out with a dying crow since I came across quite a few crows while small game hunting. I let it play for about 7 mins and then let it rest for a couple of minutes then did some coyote yips for about 5 minute. I had something yip back faintly up wind in the woods. I went back to the dying crow for about 5 minutes. We didn't see a thing. I had my volume up to 14. I think I should of played the wind in my face vs. across my back, lowered my volume, shortened my duration to about 1-2 minutes and halted on the yips. I assume o was busted.
> 
> ...


First..always let the wind be in your face or quartering. I usually set up when I can so that the wind is from my left or right. This will give you the chance to see a coyote that has circled down wind.


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## Filthyoter (Sep 18, 2014)

DeereGuy said:


> First..always let the wind be in your face or quartering. I usually set up when I can so that the wind is from my left or right. This will give you the chance to see a coyote that has circled down wind.


I don't understand the wind in your face idea for sets. For walking into a property it makes sense to keep the scent heading backwards away from where you are heading. For a actual set is where I get hung up with wind in the face. If you are using a electronic call where do you set this up at? Should you set up with a cross wind to the call or the wind to your back so you can see the coyote try to down wind the sound source ? I would think if you are sitting with wind in your face calling the coyote would end up behind you and out of sight.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Keep after it!
A canine can pick up sound when right next to me that I can not hear.
( I have dogs).
Starting out where you can just hear a call assures not blasting a nearby canine.
Few kills of a rabbit create long running squalls.A minute would be a loooong time.
Still ,by repeating a series of squalls ( or dying/ fighting whatever) at higher volume you are reaching out farther each time.
If you can hear it fifty yards ,how far can a canine? A wild guess here on flat terrain when calm is an easy quarter mile. Give them time delays between different volume levels to respond ,they may come in well after pinpointing your location. Don' t want to blow them out. A squeeker can be used if you want more sound while waiting.

An aggressive or territorial yote might show up without using the wind.
A smart one should always use it to confirm what it is hearing by scent before seeing it. Maybe consider blood or urine scent downwing of your decoy with a cross wind keeping your scent out of the stream but still allowing your vantage point to catch a downwind approach.

Give it time locating multiple sites to call on.


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

Wind in your face with the caller 100 yards or so up wind from you. From what I've read, the majority will come in less than that down wind.

I've got friends who have tried and given up on this game. It's very difficult from all I hear and read. It's a different beast than out west.
I've called about 10 times total, starting the last couple weeks. Zilch so far. I'm wanting to figure out how far the sound travels in the terrain I hunt. Some say in the rolling hills to call every 4-500 yards.

And that's the big question, are they not hearing me or is it another reason for failure.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

What do they expect to locate...according to what they hear?

One year a yote was slinking around a doe I was trailing about80 yards not long after the shot.
The next year with two deer down and the shots required, I had yotes in the dark within 40 yards wanting to share deer.
Did gunshots followed by blood scent attract them? Why did they not fear more shooting, or me?
Tempted to think gunfire near known coyote sites combined with blood scent during deer season is like ringing a dinner bell ,but have not tried it to hunt yotes.


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## fowlme (Jun 19, 2009)

The other night our set up was west wind, set up caller southwest of us about 30 yards or so. turned on the caller at low volume with rabbit distress for maybe 1 min, gave a howl with mouth call, turned on rabbit and within a minute 2 came on a dead run from southeast on a diagonal line right to the caller. Me being new to this did not think to try and stop them, my partner said he didn't think to shut the caller off. after they sniffed the caller they bolted. one stopped and I got a little quick and missed. when we went to make sure of no blood we found were the bullet hit the ground about 2 feet beyond the tracks. seeing the foot prints around the caller proves that they never winded us. Now after my story I will say this, they did not come from the exact location I thought they would but I figured it would be from that fence line just not that far down. Just remember this is trial and error. if it were easy everyone would do it. This sight can give you a lot of information for us newbies. and be prepared for when you get some that come in and even if you don't get a shot or like me, miss, you will be pumped and won't be able to go to sleep for a couple hours.


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## ramitupurs84 (Nov 9, 2008)

well I'm going try some of these techniques tomorrow. I have it off so I'll report back.


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## doggk9 (Aug 27, 2006)

If they got all the way to the call they smelled you. Your hands have been on the call.


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## fowlme (Jun 19, 2009)

doggk9 said:


> If they got all the way to the call they smelled you. Your hands have been on the call.


That's true. Must be my buddy had peanut butter on his hands to mask the scent. . But your right.


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## ramitupurs84 (Nov 9, 2008)

So I tried a brand new spot. For me this means I found a spot on the map of state land I know I could hunt. I've never scouted or even driven down the road. There isn't a snow by me except clumps where a drift had formed. It was a sunny 22 degree morning with no wind. I set my motion decoy and caller about 50 yards on a diagonal from me. I kneeled in a standing sorghum field sun in my face towards the wood line. I started my caller on dying crow again since I heard some crows fighting near me. Much lower than volume than I did the last two outings. I did the calling sequence no longer than 2 minutes with equally or longer breaks in between call sequences. I tossed in crow fighting too. I sat for about 30 minutes. There was a truck parked about 300 yards. The crows calling the back ground where incredibly loud and they sounded a lot like both sequences I was using but the duration went nearly 30 minutes. I am leaning towards another hunter vs a flock of 50 crows going at it for 30 minutes. I saw one or two crows flying. So I packed up and drove as far I could. Looks like it's pretty promising habitat. I kept the golden rule in mind - hunt where coyotes are. I could of covered a lot of ground and not seen sign with the ground completely frozen and no snow. I'm going to pick that spot back up when we get our next snow.


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## fowlme (Jun 19, 2009)

Not sure if this is common in all areas or not but this is what I have seen around my area for years. I will hear yotes at night for a few nights then nothing for a week sometimes 2 then start hearing them again. I am not sure if they have circle of area they roam and it takes that long to come back? Or only certain things set them off. I have seen this even at work, we have train tracks nearby and when the whistle blows they light up, then other times the train blows and nothing which makes me believe they are not in the area at that time. Hopefully someone on here with more experience can chime in.


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