My introduction to the coyote hunting addiction
Like most new coyote hunters, I still had an itch after the big game hunting season ended. With management and regulations increasing, and public land opportunities decreasing, time in the field is limited and at a premium. Unless you are lucky enough to draw a tag, or have an endless cash flow, you may only get 1 hunt a year if you are lucky. I decided to take on upland and waterfowl hunting to extend my time in the field pursuing mother nature’s critters. While it was somewhat enjoyable, I felt it was too redundant and it left me unfulfilled.
During the daily scan through social media I came across several photos of guys predator hunting. I had run a trapline for a few years (back to that itch thing), so I was familiar with the animals, their habits and how smart they were. I decided to do a google search and came across several youtube videos. Wow! Was I surprised. Man, this looked awesome!
From there I expanded my search and spent a few nights trying to gather as much information as I could. I went to the local Sportsman’s Warehouse and picked up a few Primos calls. Practiced on my way to and from work each day until I felt comfortable reproducing the sounds. Called my brother and invited him to head out that weekend to kill some coyotes!
Holy cow was I pumped up! Got the calls and rifle dialed in. We were destined for a truck bed full of furs. We headed out to an area we knew held coyotes. We found the most picturesque setting for calling some in. It looked just like the videos! We got out of the truck quietly and made our way to the stand. I placed the howler in my mouth, went to play that sweet female invitation howl and bam!! it sounded like cow stepping on a duck. My brother looked over at me with one of those brotherly “wtf faces” and I turned red from embarrassment. Yep, definitely not like the youtube videos.
We drove around that day and made several stands. The temps dipped into the negative. That itch rapidly got scratched by a miserable day freezing and getting wind burn. Not what I/we had in mind. From there I discovered the learning curve was steep, and much steeper considering the lack of education and guys willing to share. Sure, you might find someone willing to share call sequences, but that only goes so far.
Fast forward three years. During this time I had taken up long range shooting and participating in competitions. While a buddy of mine and I were driving out to our spot to hammer some steel on a cold December morning, three coyotes ran right in front of us. All of our rifles were in cases and ammo in containers. Dammit! Well, as they ran away from the truck they suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at us. They were only 200 yards out. That was a chip shot. My buddy scrambled to open the door and get his rifle. Suddenly someone says, “what is that noise”, can someone mute their phone. Ooops…. yeah we were on a conference call for work. I pushed the mute button and the coyotes started moving. My heart was racing while I was enthusiastically explaining to my buddy where they were moving. He setup his precision 6 creedmoor and pew (we shoot suppressed, thank goodness…you will understand in a second) he hammered it! Going back to that conference call, I had to do some talking while he took the shot. I started violently fist pumping while everyone on the phone call had no clue what just happened.
A few moments later the call finally ended. High-fives and fist bumps all-around. We treaded through the deep snow out to retrieve a big furred up coyote. When we got to the spot there was blood everywhere in the fresh powder, but no coyote. “What the #*%#!” Where did it go? Mildly disappointed we started tracking it. It wasn’t hard. Big coyote tracks with a blood trail in the snow. That mild disappointment turned into a huge disappointment 45 minutes later. The trail stopped as it hit a hillside full of rocks and steep cliffs. Once again, no coyote. Now back to banging cold steel.
That moment consumed me over the next week. I decided to put together another coyote hunting trip. Since the last experience of setting up stands worked so well I thought we could replicate what did provide “some” success. Driving two track roads early in the morning. But, this time I wouldn’t be on a conference call and gear wouldn’t be locked up. We headed out before sunrise and started cruising the roads. Intensely scanning the sage and open flats hoping to catch a predator off guard. Like all my previous trips this one ended without fur in the truck.
Out of boredom I decided to place my rifle on a rock and capture at least one memory of the trip. I uploaded it to social media with a caption of “chasin them song dogs”. Later that night a life-long friend sent me a message. “Did you get any”? I replied with, “nope”. He responded with, “we need to get out sometime.” Since high-school, like most, we had grown apart. He had moved to another area of the state and life happened.
We started messaging each other periodically trying to sync up. Winter was fading fast and we didn’t ever find a time to meet up. Over the next year we continued to stay in-touch. The conversations turned into a productive data dump. He wanted to learn more about long range shooting and I wanted to learn more about hunting coyotes.
In January of 2017 we finally nailed down a weekend to head out. I was stoked! Chad had several successful outings that fall and winter, had scouted this area and it was finally time to get some fur!
I invited a great friend, Rex, along whom I met through shooting long range, and Chad brought his hunting partner, Jeremy. Jeremy and Chad had beat us to the spot. We called them when we were getting close. They informed us that they had gone out and hammered one on the first stand! We met up in town and headed out for the hunt!
We drove to a spot and got out of the truck. Chad and Jeremy constantly were whispering back and forth about the wind, pointing out tracks and scat. From my trapping days those tracks and scat connected quickly, but this “wind thing”? Why were they so consumed by it? I knew it was important hunting big game, but it made no sense. We got about 500 yards from the truck. It was getting dark and this was the only stand we would get in. Chad and Jeremy whispered back and forth some more. Rex went with Jeremy and I followed Chad. Chad instructed me on where to sit and explained where the coyotes would come in. I got comfy and looked over while Jeremy placed a decoy and walked back. Jeremy gave Chad a thumb’s up and the calling started! About 2 minutes later Chad in a very intense whisper said “there’s one!” My slow intense scanning of the brush turned into a frantic one. I couldn’t see it. Seconds went by and I caught a glimpse of it sprinting through the brush. Chad let out a bark and I heard Jeremy fire his shotgun. Chad and I got up and hustled over to Rex and Jeremy. Turns out the dog picked them up and had baled outta there. Jeremy had taken a hail-mary with the shotgun but didn’t connect.
Over the next few days we produced a lot of stands and I was consumed with all of this information. We had called in over 30 dogs. Several triples and quads. We harvested only a few. I had my chances, but never ended up putting one in the truck. This is where the learning began and the real addiction started. Seeing these predators come into a call was so intense. I tend to become addicted to things I suck at. I am now hooked.
The following week came along and the work grind became familiar again. All I had on my mind was those missed chances and the elusive coyote. I reached out to a buddy of mine, Josh, and asked if he wanted to go. He was supposed to go with us a few weeks earlier, but wife and kids were sick.
We headed out and at least I kinda sorta knew what I was doing now. We got to the first stand at sun up. Now the pressure was on as I was calling. Again, went to make that sweet female invitation howl…. and you guessed it, a cow stepping on a duck. This time it may have sounded more like a goose though.
The day progressed and my calls got better. Almost all the stands triggered a vocal response from the local song dogs, but hadn’t seen anything yet. Darkness was getting closer and we had time for one last stand. Long story short (from trip a few weeks ago) I put Lil John “get low” on the radio, cranked up the volume, and we made our way up the road. Hey, after listening to Waylon, Willie and Merle all day, you need to get some hype!
I picked a location for the last stand. It was perfect. Wide open flats, a long deep wash, and dense sage about 300 yards out. The wind was the only thing not perfect as it had picked up and was swirling. From what I had learned a few weeks ago, I told Josh we would sit back to back. I placed the decoy and started my calling sequence. I decided to go from coyote vocals to straight distress. About 5 mins went by and I heard Josh whisper, “I see one, I am going to shoot”! I heard a pew and instantly went to a ki-yi on the hand call. I couldn’t see what was happening as my back was to the action, but kept calling. I heard Josh shoot again followed by “I got it”! Josh had missed the first shot, but the ki-yi stopped her and he connected on the second shot. Once again, I had a blip of success. I had called in a mature coyote with hand calls late in the season, but was headed back home personally without a harvest. It was a thrill to see Josh get his coyote.
In this next section I would like to share a few tips that I wish were available to me from the start. Some may be obvious, but they were to me too. However, I didn’t put enough thought into them prior to my hunts. They didn’t become second nature and cost me in the end. When the action, excitement, and stress start, a lot goes out the window. Predator hunting is like nothing else. It combines the speed and action of fast flying waterfowl, but tactics and strategy of big game. Which is why it has become my addiction and I am sharing my story with you.
And….. In case you were wondering, yes, I finally did connect and have harvested some coyotes!
I am by no means an expert (maybe you have picked up on that) so I will leave call sequences and a few other things to those guys. There is plenty available about that stuff on the web. But while I am still a rookie, I think it valuable to share some things that veterans may take for granted. I hope these tips make your first outings more successful than mine, and you find yourself enjoying predator hunting as much as I do.
1. Practice with your gear at home and on the range
Up until hunting coyotes all of my game pursuits were done off-hand or resting on a tree or rock. In case you haven’t noticed, not many coyote stands offer suitable trees or rocks for a rest. I also know some great shooters, but none that can consistently hit coyotes off hand.
For most, shooting sticks or a bipod is going to be a critical component for steadying the front of the rifle. While I owned shooting sticks, they were only deployed as a means to steady the rear of my competition rifle in field matches. I decided to take them with me on that epic trip where we called in over 30. Having never fired off shooting sticks before, I quickly learned they were not for me. While I never missed a shot with them, I struggled to get into a solid shooting position. I was seated in a low profile chair, and the sticks were sliding all over the ground. It became a major pain-point for me each time we called dogs in. The field isn’t the time to figure this out.
I needed to find something that worked for me and practice with it. Although I have done a lot of shooting prior to this, I found myself in a mental battle and a lack of confidence. I hate losing (missing). Probably more than most. Because of this, it developed into hesitation.
I started doing what worked for me in other areas of life. Practicing. I created my exact setup, purchased a Harris bipod (Harris’s own range sorts by swivel and leg height) and doing dry-fire at home (marksmanship 101). During my practice, I will create scenarios that force me to react quickly and still get good trigger presses. Practice multiple angles and transitions. I furthered this by going to the range, sitting in my chair (exact setup) and making hits on steel plates. This has developed into allowing me as a shooter to become a predator hunter with confidence in my shooting ability, no matter the distance or circumstances. It is all about turning chances into successful impacts.
To be clear I am not stating shooting sticks are bad. They don’t work for me. The key is finding what works best for you in hunting type situations and practicing.
2. Plan your trip strategically
There are a lot of tools nowadays you can take advantage of. After spending a few trips with seasoned hunters, they have an outline and plan. They don’t waste a lot of time figuring out where to go when you should be dragging out dogs. You can easily cover 30-90 miles a day setting up stands. While that may seem like a lot, it isn’t when you have a goal of a stand every 20-45 minutes. Using tools like google maps or onX maps will put you on stand a helluva a lot more. I like to grid out areas and roads and mark them on my phone using onX maps. You can also download the map when you drop out of cell service.
OnX also has a tool that allows you to draw lines and will show distance and acreage. This will provide context on how many stands you can get per road. Whether your split between stands is 1 or 2 miles, it is nice to have a plan that will make your recreational time productive.
3. Wind is important… might be the most important
There is a ton of factors when selecting a good stand. Because I am not an expert, I will leave a lot out. But what I can say is wind will be one of the most important factors. I have seen coyotes called in all types of conditions. At least 90% of coyotes either come directly from or circled down-wind.
While this is a factor in most big game hunts, it is critical for successfully harvesting coyotes. Most of the time they will circle between 100-200 yards out to “get your wind”. When choosing where to call from, you want to make sure this plays to your advantage. They will take advantage of cover, bushes, elevation and washes like no other animal. If you select a position that provides these things, they will get down-wind before you know it and disappear.
Don’t be in a rush to select your position. Understand the wind and what it is doing. A windicator will help tremendously. Picture the terrain in your mind and imagine a coyote circling 100-200 yards out. Will the terrain play to your advantage? Will it provide a shot? If you are hunting with a partner, will it be safe? Coyotes are everywhere so don’t press a bad stand and provide education to dogs you want to hunt in the future.
4. Look further out
I love long range shooting as much as anyone. Having capabilities and equipment to crush targets at extreme distances is rewarding. But, I also like successful hunts. The goal for me is to get the coyote inside of 200 yards. You know, creating situations in your favor and not providing education.
My biggest downfall is I always found myself looking 50-300 yards out. While coyotes aren’t the biggest animal, they are not difficult to spot, especially if they are moving. They are generally moving more the further out they are from the call, thus easier to locate. For some reason I really had to train myself to look out as far as possible. What I found works best for me is utilizing glassing techniques that work for big game. When the calling starts, I will split the terrain into grids. Starting at about 50 yards and going out to a mile. Then move to the next grid and repeat. I work the grid around me as fast as possible with minimal movement and keep repeating.
If hunting with a partner, it is also great to select a landmark and make it the 12 o’clock position. It becomes easier to explain where they are coming from. Just remember 3 o’clock is different than 9 o’clock (inside joke).
5. Practicing your calls
Going back to a cow stepping on a duck. Practicing your calls is important. I love e-calls and own a FoxPro Shockwave. With that said, mouth-calls are great to have in your arsenal and incorporate into your sequence.
It isn’t that difficult to sit down and after a few minutes replicate howls or a rabbit distress. However, you can’t blow your call for several minutes in the field until you get it right. I decided to change my practice techniques and focus on single calls I can repeat. I am sure everyone is different with mouth pressure, teeth, lips etc (look ma, no hands). So instead of blowing on a call repeatedly for practice, I will add in gaps of 5 plus minutes between. This allows me to focus on mouth position and pressure to produce the call/sound exactly like I want it to the first time.
I still have a long ways to go using mouth-calls, but using this technique has improved my calling sounds and consistency. No more cows stepping on ducks during the first call or stand of the day.
Thanks for reading. While not inclusive to success, I hope this helps!
Article by Brady K. If you want more on the gear side of this, the calls, rifles and everything else pages cover what we run.