It is no secret that predators have an uncanny ability not only to survive, but to thrive in today's ever-changing world. By learning to adapt to human encroachment, many predators--especially coyotes--have spread their range across the entire continental United States, including major cities and suburban areas. But adapting is not just about living with humans, it's about adapting to hunting pressure.
As predator hunting has increased in popularity, predators themselves have gotten tougher to kill. They associate the more common calls with flying bullets instead of dying bunnies. Predators now listen for vehicle traffic and become extremely cautious when it's heard. They have learned to circle downwind before committing to a setup. They hunt hard at night and less and less during the day. If you are seeing these trends, there's little doubt that predators in your area have upped their game. If you want to compete in this evolving and extremely challenging sport, you must follow suit.
Incorporate these advanced techniques into your repertoire to take your calling game to the next level and hopefully put more fur on the stretcher this season.
Amp Up Your Calling
As winter sets in and wind sweeps across much of the land, turn to more power to reach out and touch predators. Electronic callers are a good start to increase your range, but to really be effective, pick a model that is designed for high volume, such as the Fox Pro Prairie Blaster. If you don't want to invest in an entirely new caller, look at plugging additional speakers with built-in amps into your existing unit to crank up the volume. In addition to pure volume, try changing up your technique for windy-day action. Instead of playing the caller for a few minutes, shutting it down and waiting, try letting it blast at full volume. We have done this on windy-day sets, with the call blowing full volume from the moment we first spotted the dog until he was dead up close, with no ill effects.
When Not To Use a Decoy
There is no question that under the right circumstances prey decoys can tip the odds in a hunter's favor. They can convince wary coyotes to close the distance and dupe them into range. They can also keep a predator's attention off the hunter if a small shift in movement has to be made to take the shot. Most of the time decoys are good, but occasionally they are not. Sometimes making the effort to set up a decoy may actually expose you to more predators than it will help you bag, spooking the whole setup before the first note is blown. Advanced predator callers understand this and know when to use decoys and when not to. A few general rules: Always set a decoy if cats are sought. Always set a decoy if there are concealed approach alleys. Always set a decoy if you think you may have to move for a shot. Always set a decoy if experience in the area suggests coyotes will hang up out of range. In all other cases, examine the sets carefully and decide if placing a decoy is worth the risk. If it is not, skip it and you may be more successful.
Song Dog Double Down
Beginning hunters are more than happy calling in and killing a single coyote, as they should be. But like good pool players, advanced hunters are not thinking so much about killing a single coyote as setting up their next shot. When multiple dogs come into a call, try to take the farthest one first. The closer one will likely stop in range if wounded coyote calls are made immediately after the shot. Even if a single comes in, it is a good practice to immediately switch from a prey-in-distress call to a wounded coyote or pup-in-distress call as soon as the shooting starts. If you are hand-calling, keep both calls at the ready. If you are using an electronic call, take a look at the Fox Pro calls with Fox Bang; it detects the shot and immediately switches over to a secondary sound such as a wounded coyote. Keep calling with a wounded coyote call for up to 10 minutes. It's amazing how many times a secondary unseen coyote will cautiously emerge.
READ: Missouri Hunter Drops 104-pound Coyote
Waiting them Out
Most coyote hunters feel that 15 minutes is plenty of time to allow a coyote to reach a stand. If a coyote takes longer than this, your time may be better spent hitting another area, but for cats, be prepared to stick it out much longer. Consider 45 minutes more the norm, with an hour and a half not being unreasonable. Scan the foreground carefully. More often than not, a cat will sneak into range without being noticed. Visual attraction combined with high-pitched sounds are the key for kitties. "I have watched cats come in and if they don't see something, they will often turn around and sneak back out," says Mark Zepp of Zepp Game Calls. "But if there is something to catch their eye--and it can be anything from a motorized decoy to a feather to a piece of toilet paper--you will hook them."
© 2012 InterMedia Outdoors