As the deer season comes to a close you are hopefully rearranging your freezer to make room for the venison steaks and salami. Or maybe you’re stuck holding the main ingredient for your tag soup recipe. Either way if you are preparing to put your guns away until next year, hold it right there. You may be missing out on some great hunting action to keep you busy until next years big game draw results come out. I am talking about the fast paced heart pounding action of coyote hunting. Calling the most adaptive creature in the world is one thing, but harvesting him is quite another. There are hundreds of calls out on the market. You can spend thousands of dollars on all the high tech equipment available to the coyote hunter but you surely do not have to. I want to give you a few tips to keep your hard earned money in your pocket and give you a few extra days in the field.

When looking for a call to get started try a closed reed call as a starter. These are very easy to blow and can be mastered in a very short time. If the weather is sub-zero open reed call. With the open reed call you can adjust your tone from a coarse jackrabbit to the high pitched squeals of a cottontail. There are a few closed reed calls out that will also give you’re the variable pitch. Quaker Boy has a great closed reed call, the Super Screamer that will give you the high and low ranges and is freeze proof.

So grab your deer hunting tackle and a Super Screamer and try some coyote calling. You can eliminate a few fawn eaters and spend a few extra days in the woods. Be careful though you may become addicted to this sport.

David with his coyote kill

There are factory loads out now that can travel 4200 feet per second and scopes that can see across the Dakota plains. Digital predator calls with a multitude of sounds, but you do not need all this stuff to get started. Your deer hunting tackle and a couple of mouth blow calls are all you need to be successful. Do not get me wrong about the high dollar stuff, I ogle over it all the time but the fact that I do not have it does not keep me out of the coyote woods. Finding coyotes is the easiest part of the whole project. Once you have located the area they occupy you want to enter the area undetected. Park your truck or ATV as far away as you can then move into the area very quietly. Your best bet is to keep your transportation out of view. Park behind a hill or down in a draw. When moving around the hill or up the draw to call on the other side do not skyline yourself. When approaching your

calling area make sure to keep the sun at your back and the wind in your face. When the coyotes are approaching you want them to be looking into the sun. This will minimize their ability to see you. When coyotes approach you they more often than not will move to the down wind side to wind you. Never under estimate the nose of a yote dog. I have had them coming in on a dead run when they wind me they will stop on a dime and exit stage left. During the middle of the day when the sun is overhead try to set up in the shadows of a tree or tall sage brush. Don’t sit behind them; this limits your view of the approaching yotes. You want to sit in front of the trees or sage so they will breakup your profile. This is where your camouflage comes into play.

When choosing your camouflage it helps to match your surroundings, but breaking up your outline will work just fine. Your deer hunting camouflage will work great, minus the hunter orange. The two most important pieces of camouflage are your face cover and your gloves. When using mouth blown calls your call is right in the middle of your pie hole, this is where the coyotes will be looking. Gloves are important because your hands are constantly moving when using your mouth blown calls, albeit minimal movement a coyote will pick it up if you’re calling and he is looking your way. There are some stands when it is impossible to get completely in the shade. For this reason I always wear a hat, it keeps the sun out of your eyes and the glare off your face. When you have your spot picked out and you’re ready to start singing the Jackrabbit blues make sure you are comfortable.

When sitting on stand you may sit as little as 20 minutes to as long as an hour. So get yourself in a position that won’t make your legs go numb. Also make sure you will have to make very little adjustments to get your rifle up and ready to shoot. Do not leave your gun in your lap. You will not be able to get a good shot off on those coyotes that show up out of nowhere. A shotgun may be alright to leave in your lap, because you can pull it up and shoot in seconds. It is to hard to pull up your scoped rifle find a coyote and make a quality shot when they are on top of you before you see them. Your rifle is perfect for those shots when the coyote is approaching and you have seen him. This is when you get to dictate the action. When he shows up undetected and just about runs you over it is good to have the shotgun handy. I have a pair of homemade shooting sticks that keeps my Ruger .243 up and ready to shoot. When calling solo I will take a shotgun along for those quick shots. When calling with a partner at least one of us is carrying a shotgun. Some callers say stay no longer than 15 minutes, move often, and call in as many areas as you can. I have done this and it will produce coyotes. I prefer to stay on stand at least 20 minutes, but I rarely leave in less than 30minutes. I have found that coyotes will often times take their time to respond. When they finally do respond you may have to use a few tricks to get the right shot.

When the coyotes show themselves it can be on a dead run right at you. Or you may see them trotting at a steady pace to get down wind of you. Sometimes they show up 10-15 yards away from a blind spot. When this happens it is time for the shotgun. Often times you will see them coming and they will stop every so often to listen and look for the source of the sound. This is where the tricks come in handy. If they are coming on a dead run, let them come don’t over call at this point. If they seem hesitant, stopping every so often to listen, give them just enough to get them coming your way again. If they stop and seem to be looking right at you, don’t pull up your call. Try a lip squeak, like a kissing sound. This is usually enough to get them coming again. On the contrary if they are on the move and getting close to your downwind side the squeak will usually stop them. If they are still way out and they are stopping to listen for you you may be able to lift your call up and give a few squeals to get them coming. This is a judgment call on your part. If they are coming in and on the move but are moving downwind of you you can also stop them with a bark. Once you have them stopped take the shot. When a coyote is coming in and he stops and sits down, this is usually and indicator that the game is over. If he is in range let the air out of him.

© Copyright 2005 David Millsaps