And so it is, that we come to the end of fur season and renew the start of full time predator control.
This I like to think of as "Coyote Wars", obviously one, that since the ban of 1080, the coyote seems to be winning.
There are just as many coyotes as there ever were. Probably more.
Many suburbs and major cities now have a 'recorded' coyote population.
The more we kill them, the smarter they become.
Then too, even smarter must we become.
We are after all, the top predator on earth...so why let a 'mangy ol'wiley coyote' mess with our minds.

And yet, so many do.

Coyotes have plagued mankind for years and even the best coyote trappers can tell you stories of the one that nearly
drove them insane before capturing, or perhaps, even worst, never did.
We must remember that there is no coyote that possesses 'supernatural' power.
Although at times it would appear they do.
All creatures have a certain vulnerability. The coyote is no different.

Some studies are now indicating we have a new hybrid 'on the block'.
A Coy-Wolf if you will. That eastern Canadian grey wolves have mated with coyotes producing a super hybrid.
'Brush wolves' if you do your research have been around for decades.
Whether these are actually hybrids or genetically just larger animals is certainly open for discussion.
Coyotes like many species differ in many parts of the country.
Look at a white tail deer in the Florida keys. Now look at one on the corn belt of the mid west.
Still a white tail but quite the difference in size.
We have always had large coyotes in the east.

When you sign up to be a professional Animal Damage Control trapper, you sign up for a 7 days a week job.
There is no off time. You're married to your job.
You might be able to 'set off' a 'coon or squirrel trap in town for the weekend and come back on Monday.
But, you won't pull that stunt with a predator control job or doing beaver control.
Not and be any good, you won't!

And it's our job to be good. To be the best!
Do you want to be the best ?
Do you have what it takes ?
Most ADC men, like long line fur trappers, push themselves physically beyond the bounds that few are willing to do.
Few are willing to sacrifice what it takes to become the best in their field.
We are what we believe we are and what we can become !

But, that takes dedication and hard work.
Hours and countless hours of hard work.
You study. You learn. You try. You fail. You pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and start again...
Nothing worth having is ever easy unless you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth...
I can tell you "the silver dun' run out of these parts, mister".

I would like to invite every member on here that truly traps coyotes year 'round to add to this thread.
Right now I can think of only a handful.
The subjects to be covered will be broad.
Trapping, snaring, calling, denning, best sets in spring and summer,guiding on sets, best traps,when to use pan covers and what types to use. Which covering is the best and why. How to pattern spooky coyotes, draw stations, M-44's and so much more.

This isn't fur trapping. It's full time predator control.

This isn't something for the average fur trapper. Still a lot of the practices can be used in fur season.
If you can trap coyotes during spring and summer when they are at their lowest levels and the season is against you, you can trap coyotes anytime and anywhere.

I plan to go season by season, starting with March, denning season.

"There is a huge difference in fall pups and hard nosed predators"

Welcome to the world of professional coyote control.

( Viewer discretion is advised )

LT

This Pregnant female had killed a set of twins earlier that day after avoiding sets for a week. Called her in with fawn distress at dusk. The shot was not close either she hung up across a valley after studying the situation. Almost got away but quick fallow up shot put her calf killing to an end. This was the 9'th of april 2013. Don't claim to be a full time trapper but with the ranch/farm predator control is full time.

My wife found her in the peas behind the ranger.

That is the view across the valley she hung up on, I placed a western rivers caller across the valley next to the field of peas and oats. She had become used to me being 100 or so yards from the caller. By placing the caller 300 yds. away I fooled her.

I have found that using a caller will fool some of the younger pups and cause them to run in, but the older ones I think can recognize a fabricated or recorded sound. In the spring, I try to use a pup in distress call to lure the mother away from the den. If you kill her, you kill the entire litter. But, they get call shy in a hurry, especially if you have every wannabe coyote hunter in the area educating them. I always try and do sounds that most people normally would not do. A wounded wood pecker is one, or chicken in distress often results in a dead coyote or two.

Good tip. I have used that one by placing the caller away from the shooter.
I have an old Dennis Kirk caller that uses the old cassette tapes but has the option of letting the hunter place the speaker, which is cordless, away from ones self while controlling the volume with a hand held device.
One can also stop and change tapes while the speaker is 100 yards away.

What caliber and what grain bullet did you use, sparkyd ?
Also, how far was the final shot ?

6.5 Grendel 123 gr. A-max The exact range was 420 yds. according to the leupold range finder. The rifle was my first build. And she still made it into the peas. She had cornered or drug a calf the week before into the tinhorn not 100 yes. from the house.

Sparkyd,
How much damage a year do you usually have from predators?

These do not work here, every wanna be knows chickens are grown here and uses them. During winter the woodpecker call is wore out people trying for cats. Last week in March through end of April always use the fawn distress. Another good call here is baby pig in distress, along with Kitten in distress. Canine in distress is good if you can get close to the denning area (but you have to remember they pup here in the open).

Lost three calves. 1 in the tinhorn and the twins. Out of 80 head calving.

You know, one thing I have always wanted to do was record a cow giving birth and put that on a foxpro!

Might work.

We have not lost one in 3 years now to coyotes. However, we now get them in to lots close to the house, and don't turn them out of the barn until they are two weeks old. We have been calving since the first week of January, and they do not go onto summer pasture until the first week of April. By then the calves are pretty good shape. That's not fully "coyote proof", but it sure helps. Working on coyote #55 in three years has helped the most. The ones I don't/can't catch become spooky enough that they stay away from the calving lots by this time of year.

I do not bother the coyotes too bad after about the middle of March, when I pull up all my traps and snares. The only exception to that is if one becomes brazen enough to cause us trouble. I then just becomes a shot on sight scenario.

Anyone ever use a young woodchuck ?
Their squeal is unbelievable. Very high pitched.
They are prey to coyotes out here in the east.

Marmots, which are just a better dressed woodchuck, would also be one that would work well on western coyotes.

Does anyone make a copy of that sound ?

Last three years total coyote was about 120. They move in faster than I can kill them, we have a lot of chicken farms here so the coyotes get allot of Welfare. They dig out composters for the dead chickens. I think my little neighborhood has 16 chicken houses.

I have a calf distress call on my fox pro. I made a BIG mistake one late spring morning using it. I walked back through the pasture right at daylight. I stopped to scratch on a couple of the "pets". Yes…….Our old cows LOVE to get a good scratching . I slipped over the bank, overlooking a wooded hollow that is part of the pasture. I started off with a coyote locate. Waited a while, and hit the calf bawl on the fox pro. OMG!!!!!!!! Armageddon was upon me in the form of 20 very wizzed off cows!!!!!!!!! I don't know what kept them in the pasture!!!! They were going fence to fence at full speed looking for the distressed calf! It took them over two hours to settle down, and they were on edge for two days afterward. DON'T DO THAT!!!!

I have always felt that the best success on calling coyotes is to first locate the coyote if at all possible.
There are so many good 'locating calls' anymore that not having one and learning how to use it seems to be at a disadvantage.
Sirens have also used as locators. The sound is on cassette and CD for clearer sound.
Locating the coyote gives you the advantage to pick an ambush point.
Always an advantage. Coyotes don't always the way you think but mostly generally come in down wind.
They trust their nose!

I've used several rifles in calling. 223, 22-250, 22 magnum and 708, which is a bit of an overkill but, when you aren't skinning it doesn't matter. Remington model 700 bolt action are hard to beat.
Get the best scope you can afford !
Practice!
A Harris swiveled bipod can help you in many cases. Let a coyote get into close with a rifle and most will end up missing the shot.
If he gets within a hundred yards and you can take him, do it.
On shotguns, 10 gauge shotguns are the my personal choice. Second would be a 12 gauge Bennelli, as it will out perform most Browning, Remington and auto Winchesters, if you do a lot of shooting.
00 Buck and #2 high brass as a load. #4 Buck at close range.
Always nice to have both at hand if you don't have another shooter.
You never know how fast a coyote will come in. Using just one over the other will cause you some misses

Camouflage comes in so many patterns but if you are hidden in the shadows and DON'T MOVE most coyotes won't be able to pick you out.
Wind changing positions have sold out many a caller.

Sooner or later a coyote will stall out or spook at the last minute.
Sometimes a sharp bark will stop a coyote for a second to get a shot.
Depending on the terrain and the firearm shooting a charging coyote or one running away is not all that difficult if in range.
Know your range and what you, your firearm and load are capable of.
This will save you a lot of grey hairs in the end.

LT

Sparkyd, That would be a full time job in itself!!!!!! With a full time job to boot for me, I do not have time to trap outside our small farms.

I have a calf distress call on my fox pro. I made a BIG mistake one late spring morning using it. I walked back through the pasture right at daylight. I stopped to scratch on a couple of the "pets". Yes…….Our old cows LOVE to get a good scratching . I slipped over the bank, overlooking a wooded hollow that is part of the pasture. I started off with a coyote locate. Waited a while, and hit the calf bawl on the fox pro. OMG!!!!!!!! Armageddon was upon me in the form of 20 very wizzed off cows!!!!!!!!! I don't know what kept them in the pasture!!!! They were going fence to fence at full speed looking for the distressed calf! It took them over two hours to settle down, and they were on edge for two days afterward. DON'T DO THAT!!!! [/quote]
Ours are pets too! That would be tense worrying over fixing fence.

We only have three chicken houses. There are just several farms in our area.

Not to many woodchucks here. More feral hogs.

I would have loved to have that on film Yaz..lol Predator calling blooper reel!!

This photos has been around since last spring.

Double on a pair of spring coyotes taken on a bird preserve.

Female,(the pale one) was carrying four pups in her.

And mouse took the lighter female while working with me of the double.

Oddly enough that coyotes pelt was still good enough to skin.

Like I had mentioned before, I don't pick on the coyotes too much in the spring and summer months…..as long as they are behaving themselves. In addition, I like to save them them for the fur season so I can at least recoup the cost of me playing trapper for a couple of months. However, you now have my curiosity up on spring/summer trapping for them. What do you do differently, and do you change up your bait and lure combo for that time of year?

Blind sets are more productive for me in the early summer. We are not allowed to use snares. If I use call lures they need to be sweet gland, the skunking ones are not very good here. Don't know what LT will say but flat sets or buried baits with fruit and sweet baits working best. Water mellon and cantaloupe being excellent baits.

Not many people think about watermelons. I have seen them munching on melon patches quite a few times!

I know in August and September the coyotes LOVE my apples that I put in front of the trail cameras to get a deer inventory. I have a female on video running 3 large bucks off an apple pile in the daylight. I caught her the first night I put a snare in a hole she was using to get there………

They don't think of persimmons in the fall, the persimmon buck lure that the feed stores sell is a fine bait.

I had 80lbs of corn out on a bait pile last year with a trail cam set up on it. I checked my cam after 4 days and saw I had 156 pictures. I was excited to see all of the deer pics...until i hooked it up to my computer. I had two pictures of deer and 130 pictures of coyotes eating my corn. The rest of my pictures we false triggers on my camera. In four days, the coyotes ate 80lbs of corn...I never in my life thought that would happen.

Up north one of the states my mentor used to trap did not allow meat bait so he soaked corn in bacon grease.

I think if I did that, I would end up in my own trap...

Yaz, how many of them apples did they eat? I know anywhere I have seen them, the gorge themselves in a hurry.

I had to ration them, thats for sure. There were 4 bucks that would visit about once a week. A couple does and 4 yearlings would visit about 3 times a week. That female coyote, and her three pups were in there at least once a day, and sometimes morning and evening. I'd take two 5 gallon buckets on Sunday, and they were gone by mid week. Id put two more out. By mid September, I got tired of hauling apples back there, and they cleaned it up to bare dirt in no time. I know the coyotes ate more than the deer did. Coyotes ate the rotten, mushy apples, that the deer wouldn't touch too…..

Land owner is worried about his deer herd and rightfully so.....caught these two a hundred yards apart both are personal best for me I'm hopin the tom will cross the 50" mark.

One way to really get a big ole male coyote's panties in a bunch is make a howl with a pup howler then do a challenge howl with the pup howler. Do not use this every time, but it is a deadly combo when things aren't happening fast enough. Many a big coyote has succumbed to their dominant instinct with this calling sequence.

Summer time trapping is great, the ants almost carry your bait or lure away the instant it's applied! Snares loops get smaller, foot holds get closer to water.

Works good until you get into an area thats been exploited hard and the coyotes go silent.

And they WILL go silent when pressured hard.




I worked a pasture once in late summer/early fall about the time the pups are just starting to get a little vocal. The owner was getting ready to drop some goofy early fall calvers and wanted the dogs gone. I knew there was a litter in there. It SHOULD have been a simple matter of going in, getting the pups to talk just a bit, than going in and cleaning em up.

Well, I DID get the pups to answer me. Than I heard three distinct barks from another coulee bottom a quarter mile away, and all was quiet. I couldnt get a coyote to answer me in there (and they never left) again.

Momma (im guessing) was on to that game, and she reprimanded those pups with just a few barks.

Now fast forward to when those pups reached adulthood. They were raised by a female that was probably not into talking to much, and they got reprimanded probably more than one time for being vocal. What are the odds those coyotes grew up to be highly vocal?

Passing on experiential learning is something that has been fairly well documented in coyotes.

That's when you get them with other sounds. They will respond other calls. Even if they hang up 200 or 300 yds out..they have responded...you just have to add the correct dope to your scope and send them a long range greeting round.

It is true that many people go out and think that all you have to do is sit in a field and wail on rabbit squeeler and the coyotes will come blindly charging in to your set. They have read that you should only be on a stand for 15 to 20 minutes tops and then leave if you have no action. Well, I've sat for two and three hours before that old dog has decided to commit and make his way in. One thing that has been consistent for me..is that coyotes are completely inconsistent.

Good stuff boone.

I've read about control operators who maintained getters for extended periods of time in the same location. Eventually entire litters would avoid those locations. Probably a combination of watching litter mates getting dusted and parental reprimand. Also have heard that in the 1080 days there were whole litters raised in close proximity to 1080 baits. I can only assume that if there wasn't a heavy disciplinary influence by the adults then those dogs would have been goners.

This is Gonna be a great thread! Thanks for getting it going LT !!

X2

Thanks

I am going to be following this thread closely. I start my dream job the 28th of February, as a Animal Damage Control Specialist for the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks.
My job will be 80% coyote work and will be doing it year round, in Bison South Dakota. There is 20,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle in my territory of Perkins county. They said I will be a very busy guy!
Thanks for starting this post!
God Bless,
Dustin

Boone,
That's a very good point and why I advocate "wherever possible."
Coyotes like domestic dogs have different personalities.
They are quick learners and don't you know that all the bad things they learn, they learn from us !
Our job is to learn to become better callers and how we learn is by experience or, from the experience of others.

Of course you can do everything right and still have the wind against you.
Luck will play it's hand at times in favor of the coyote.
And if you have other callers in the area, coyotes get educated real fast.
One missed shot and they're spooked.

It isn't so much the type of call that's used but, how it's blown.
That said, certain calls that mimic the coyotes own voice has certainly been the end to many a coyote that wouldn't come to a
dying rabbit or a 'pup in distress' call.

It is to the callers advantage to learn how to use all of them and to know how to pick the right call, as much as the right stand.

Here's one about the one that got away... I trap a valley several mile long and about a mile wide where I live. Right behind my house is a 2 acre hay field. It's a great spot. I usually get 6 to 10 coyotes off that field every fall and winter. I like it because I can see it out my window. Last fall I started seeing a big coyote track along the field lane. He was not working the sets I had out so I put in a dirthole for him. I always set to the right and this coyote came in from the left and worked the set but never stepped around. Only one track on the left. This went on for a week or two and I had to pull out. This fall I started early and hit it hard taking 3 pups and large female out that small hay field the first week. Big foot was there too and he started with the left handed thing again but this time I switched to the left and the next time trough he switched to the right. So I set two traps and his next trip trough he stayed about 18'' back from the traps and scratched and marked the set. Ok, game on. So picked up everything and went back about a week later with 5 new sets for him. Two were scent posts with no lure or scent, one was a step down dirt hole, one was a rub, and the last one was a dropping set. All were with lure I had not used here. The next trip trough he missed the trap at the rub and did not work the step down dirt hole and when he got to the dropping set he scratched around the jaws uncovering them and leaving the dirt alone on the pan. Then he left the scratches and his calling card. By now it had started getting very cold at night, down into the teens and the forecast was for freezing rain then below normal temps so I figured I would keep trying. I made sure all sets were ready for the weather. I put some good gland lure on one of the scent post sets and I put a trap where his front feet were when he scratched. I wish I could say I had him next time through but it did rain and it did rain and it did freeze and I haven't seen his track since. I did get several coyotes across the valley but I guess I won't know until the snow is gone and I can look for his track again.
I have found that most coyotes that dig are digging because I didn't do a good job bedding the trap. I'm 100% sure I did a great job bedding traps for this guy. He must have seen something somewhere else to even think something could be there. I tried a very deep dirthole for him and it sat for almost the whole season. The female I caught had pretty bad teeth and appeared beat up like she was older and had been though some scraps so I am assuming big foot is older too. None of the shenanigans started till after I caught the big female. Any other time I have caught a digger it has been a young female. I'm sure this is a big male. Usually the trap shy ones stay away and will not work a set but I'm sure I'll get this one. It's the only one I haven't so far. Usually you can pattern a specific coyote and get it the next time through.
For march trapping I like scent posts with pee or good gland lure, flat sets, and trail sets. Dirt holes work here but as the warmer weather comes things change and the coyotes get more territorial so the other sets work better. Coyotes are looking for or already have found their home for the pups that are coming. I like to howl using a female howl to locate first. The coyotes in this valley are always in the same general areas. If no answer with the female howl I use a male howl. I think that ground hog call would work well. When I find a den often times there are ground hog skulls around where the pups have played with them.
The male coyote will sleep close by the den - not in it. When you get close sometimes the male will see you and try to draw you of. If the brush is thick (when is it not)sometimes they will stand off where you can't see them and bark and growl at you. Sometimes his bed is easier to find than the den itself. You know you are close if you find his bed. When it's early march before the leaves are on you can set on a hill with binoculars and watch. Sometimes a farmer can tell you where a coyote has ben hanging around. They don't always answer the howl.
I shoot a Parker Hale .22 250 with 50 gr. Barnes blue bullets. Sometimes I carry a shotgun with BBs or larger shot. Most often it's #3 or #4 buck in a 12ga. I like open read calls. I have called and killed coyotes out to 498 yds. One night in the fall I called in three separate packs of coyotes in to one stand at the same time and they started fighting and barking at each other. It was pitch black out. I couldn't see them all but with all the growling and barking it sounded like a lot of coyotes. I doubt if there were more than a dozen all told. I never fired a shot. I just sat there listening and trying to count how many there were.
We have more coyotes than ever. Killing off the local coyotes brings in new ones. New coyotes don't know your game yet and as a rule can be caught easier but sometimes you get a tough one.

Coyotes take an education very well for sure. A few weeks ago was a coyote Derby here...100 teams...200 people out calling ..the weekend was about as bad as could be with 40-70 mph winds. 31 dogs were killed...I bet there were alot that were given an education too...

Lt Grey - I agree with the ''different personalities''. This can be a tough one for new callers

We cut and bale a lot of hay starting in late May. They absolutely LOVE to hunt a fresh cut hay field. We cut a lot after dark, and I have had pairs coyotes follow me in circles around the entire field until it is done. They will stay right at the front edge of the lights of the tractor hunting rabbits, mice and snakes that we are running out in front of us. Once the hay is cut, they will continue to work the field for days looking for dead and "pre-tenderized" treats, until we have the hay up and baled. When we are baling, you can see several places where they have dug for voles, and other critters. It would be PERFECT time to put some sets in.

Haha...Andy has killed a pile of them up there..me not nearly as many. Andys a coyote killing machine...I use to kill more.

Lt I know that MFK calls makes a mouth call that allows you to do a woodchuck in distress whistle...

I'm not a "control trapper",fur trapper mainly but I have removed a few problem coyotes during summer months for friends and family.I used mainly blind sets or flat sets on sign.There is nothing worse than a coyote that has been educated.I will follow this thread,I don't know how much if anything I can add when it comes to summer control but I think this will be a decent educational thread...

One thing that can be deadly on coyotes in the summer is setting a mouse nest set right under a round bale of hay. Coyotes always check out those bales of hay for mice. If you make it loom like a mouse nest has been pulled out, they will check that out for sure. Add some bedding material from the pet store that they cleaned out of the feeder mice cage and you will have a coyote for sure.

On calling.. Find someone with a pack of coonhounds. Hang a coon in a tree, get the hounds treeing. Record these hounds. Hounds treeing in or near a den will completely blow a coyotes mind. Case in point. My buddy and I were coon hunting on a remote river bottom for a local Indian Tribe during late spring. Three hounds treeing a coon. We make it to the tree to see three coyotes picking at our hounds. My buddy unloaded his Ruger semi auto .22 the hounds treed harder thinking meat was dropping from the tree and the coyotes ran off FAST. As we were shining the tree looking for the coon, one of the coyotes came back!!!! Ran right back into the tree with us right there, trying to pick one of the hounds. Having been a caller since the late 70's I took note. I do have hounds treeing on a recording and have killed many, many spring/summer coyotes using it.

Having ran tree hounds all my life, it is a very very rare instance I have not at least seen where coyotes have been to my hounds while treeing be it lion, cat, coon and bear, spring, summer, winter or fall. Best kept calling secret there is.

This works especially good on warm summer nights on creek beds.

Max was in his 80's when he befriended me as a kid trying to catch coyotes. He had trapped coyotes his entire life as did his father before him. Max trapped year round and in his later years only in the warm months as his health and stability could not handle winter anymore. I listened to Max a lot. He talked about blind sets the very most. He always said less is more when catching coyotes. I think scouting for travel patterns and spending time and thought into placing and blending a blind set is probably hard to beat any time, anywhere. Having said that Max was also kind of a mad scientist type personality as well and he was always fooling around with a new idea for catching coyotes. I do remember him saying more than once that he had found coyotes prefer strawberry jam to all other jams in the summer. I have never tried this because Max was also famous for his sense of humor and I always wondered if he was just enjoying the thought of me out there trying all of his mentionings lol. Knowing now that coyotes do prefer sweets and veggies during the later summer/early fall I might just set a few if nothing else, in his memory.

Max always had a dozen or so dogs around his place and he was forever dragging in bleached cow/horse bones. His dogs would drag em all over the place and chew em and play with them. He always said "best bait in the world right there" as we would watch his dogs playing with these bones. He taught me how a coyote will always at least visit where a cow or horse had died and bleached to nothing, even years later. He taught me to take a few of these dog slobbered bones and set them in and amongst the existing bones from the carcass. Many a wise old coyote has fallen for this.

I know the thread is called "Coyote Wars" but the main theme is Predator Control, I understand that the laws in Texas are different than in other states meaning Coyotes and Bobcats are not considered furbearing animals, therefore Bobcats can be trapped year around, no most people will get all worked up about catching cats in the summer, because of its valuable fur, they would want to save them until fur trapping season, but when hunting lease owners and deer ranch owners show me pictures of cats on their game cameras crouching by feeders and such.

The land owner does not differentiate between Coyotes and Bobcats they are both "predators" and want them gone, and to be honest the land owner doesn't want to hear "Well I would like to wait until fall or winter before I will work on any cats", land owner don't want to hear that and at the same time he's thinking "I need help now and I want to protect my fawns when they start dropping, this guy ain't serious, he just want's to play". "I don't think this guy is for me", and this is what he'll say to you "I'll think about it and call you back" I know the nuisance guys knows what that means LOL

I trapped last summer for a high fence club, first time I "truly" trapped during the summer for control work, and I was successful, but I still need to learn more, allot more, although I learned lots of lessons out there in 100 degree heat LOL,

One thing I have never done is trap a cat in the summer, would your methods change? BTW I'm not much of a cat trapper to begin with.

I have not targeted cats in the summer, but have sure enough pinched a few in coyote sets. I don't think it would change much though, curiosity being the one thing that doesn't change in cats.

Yes, a well known fact that coyotes, like wolves, just hate dogs !

You will find many of the full time control trappers use dogs that are trained to agitate coyotes at den sites so that the caller can get a better shot.
Good dogs have a way of finding dens for you.
Their nose knows.
Usually even before they are close, one of the coyotes will show up and expose itself.
If near the den they most often start barking and often fighting the dogs.

The caller mostly will locate the den then sets up within rifle range and positions himself where he can not only get a good shot but also be concealed. Once settled in, the calling beginnings.
If everything goes right you should have one or both of the parents outside the den within a minute or so, defending the territory.
The dogs trained to spot the coyote(s) close in...
The coyotes being agitated and focused on the dogs and will howl, bark and even chase the dogs away from the den.
The dogs of course, run back toward the shooter, luring the coyote(s) ever closer.
If the coyote(s) turn back toward the den, the dogs charge in causing the coyote to repeat his defiant stance and again gives chase
to drive off the dogs from the den site.
At some point, the shooter has to make the shot with a rifle, killing one or both coyotes.

That of course, is the perfect set up.
You may however get a young pair won't fight or chase and that runs away from your dogs leaving the den behind.
If you don't get them on their return, you run the risk of the parents moving the pups during the night.
Coyotes often do move their pups several times during their early weeks anyway.

Timing is everything when using them method. A lot of time can be wasted setting up on already abandoned den sites.
If you're not someone who has good dogs that are trained, trapping, snaring or calling on trails leading to the denning site
can work in your favor.
However setting up too close to the den will cause the female to move the pups.
When the pups are old enough to move on their own, that changes things.
Often the old male will decoy your dogs off the den site.
Once that happens you run the risk of the female and the pups scattering like rain...

Now we have our work cut out for us as they may end up several miles away.
In the east, that can be very hard to locate if not darn near impossible !


LT

This is why I always advocate new callers stay away from coyote sounds until they get a little more experience.

Everybody wants to go out and throw howls and barks out there, not knowing what they're saying to the coyotes.

Theres a fine line between an excited (yet non-aggressive) bark howl, and a warning or threat howl. Both mean entirely different things.

You can spook a lot of coyotes out saying the wrong thing to them. Likewise, knowing what kind of coyote youre talking to. Which all comes with experience and observation.

Saying the wrong thing to the wrong coyote can very easily result in them ending up in the next township real quick. Say the right thing to the right coyote, and they may be in your lap in no time.

My two cents worth from the deep South, coyotes here in Ga are considered non game species and can be trapped and hunted all year, in the spring and summer, hunting them with a fawn decoy and using a fawn distress call in an open area such as a food plot works well for me, I'll set up, blow the call three, four times around a 100 yards from the decoy, if a coyote doesn't show in 30 minutes or less, I move to a different location. Trapping in the spring and summer I go to mild, sweeter smelling lures and use grapes, watermelon, carrots and cantaloupes for bait, in the fall and winter, I go back to the louder lures at my scent post sets, I don't use baits very much but when I do, I sprinkle a little amdro around the bait hole and set the trap a little further back than usual

It works juuuust fine.
I also feel that should I happen to miss a shot over it they may think twice before coming to an actual birth.

Why are you only waiting 30 minutes? You might be educating a whole lot more coyotes than you are killing.

I would like to add, for those who have the option, working them saddleback. I never work them anywhere near a vehicle to begin with. It seems in MT and WY where I work them a lot, they get very bold when I am on a horse. Maybe they are used to seeing the ranch hands working cows from them, and very few if any I know shoot from a saddle. I get a lot closer, even to where they challenge me if I have a dog at heel. Sometimes I think in the denning season they hear the horse, thinking it's a cow and come to investigate then the show is on.
I move on until I can dismount unseen, then set up and wait. Soft call, they'll more often than not give you a shot.
Biggest point to me of many good ones I have seen above here is finding the probable den areas ahead of time. I spend at least a day before I'm seriously hunting checking with the rancher on the terrain and where he first tends to see them in the afternoon and which way they are going/coming from. Same info for the morning. Also a lot of tracking. I do not get too far into these denning type areas until I am ready to work them, as stated above they are quick to change residency when disturbed, especially in spring.

Someone stated above a herd of cows came to the sickened calf call. That's how I know I do it right with the fawn distress sound, I end up with muley does trying to find me. I love that for their distraction to the coyotes coming in and their eyes. They will let a guy know in a quick hurry where a coyote is coming from. So will magpies.

Several PM's have made feel I should answer this question publicly.

Q) "What would you suggest is the best way to learn to properly call coyotes ?"

A) I would strongly suggest spending time with someone who is experienced in calling coyotes.
By that I mean, very experienced ! 10 years would be a minimum.
Doing otherwise can teach one bad habits that will end up costing you in the end.
It's always better to learn from others mistakes than to go out and make them on your own.

That said, if that isn't possible, then I would read, watch and listen to everything I could about calling coyotes.

The late Bill Austin had a series of audio tapes, 'The Call of the Coyote.'
Bill was a master at calling coyotes using calls to mimic their own language.
He knew what to say and when to say it and what they said in return.
I would urge anyone who wanted to learn from the best, to get his audio tapes.

One might just Google the above for more information.

The late Vern Dorn of Wyoming also had a series of calling and denning Videos out on VHS format.
It is, I believe, still sold by O'Gorman Enterprises, INC in Montana.
Some unbelievable footage and info on western coyotes.
Yes, it's in VHS and most people don't even have those anymore.
Probably the only set back.

A lot of good calling DVD's out for fur hunters and also a lot of good mouth calls.
Chris Lyons,( a T-Man member on here who goes by lynoch, I think ) is said to be one of the best callers around.
One might seek Chris' advice.
Never hurts to know too much !

I didn't follow directions very well, "March is for denning season"

From what I've read and people told me that eastern yote dens differ at times from western yote dens, meaning here in the east, or should I say piney woods of east Texas, the dens could be tree root ball from when it blew down and fell back over creating a hole in the ground, or even a thicket that provides enough cover, old buildings and barns so on and so forth, even though I have spent some time in the woods I have never found any dens, but then again I could have walked within 30 yards of one and not known it, I have talked to some of the older trappers around here about dens, and they said sometimes you can smell them and sometimes you don't, but one thing they all said that was in common is look for buzzards around the area where you suspect a den may be, any one have any experience on finding eastern dens or have some of the same experiences

There are some up this way, a lot who are hounders, who go out at 3-4 a:m and use a siren to locate them by listening to the response. The theory is that is the time of night they are back at the den, just before heading out for the morning hunt. They call for a response, then quit before "moving" the coyote. Mark the spot and come at daylight with the dogs and hit the fresh track.
I was along one time with some many years ago who did it that way. Not sure if it's the best way but it may get you closer to the unknown denning area.

This is a very good point here coyotes open den. They have their pups in thickest, old hollow logs, stump blow downs, old buildings and evan beaver lodges that are above water. Their den location once the pups have their eyes open can be a hay field. They move the den daily sometimes multiple times a day. Another point LT forgot to mention sometimes coyotes have subordinate female or two running with the mated pair. When you disturb the denning area they immediately begin to move the pups while either the male and female or evan the male and a juvenile yearly protect the the denning area as a rear guard. I agree with Boone and LT until you learn coyote vocalizations do not use them... I have been calling for 30 years and very seldom use a challenge. I do like the pup distress and a location howl. But I do not set up immediately after locating because I feel you bump into the coyote once you get them agitated and moving. Better to wait and let them cool down and forget about you then move on them.

I didn't "forget to mention" it sparky, I'm just hoping somebody else will add to what I say...

So, thank you for bringing up a very good point !

Good to see Mr. Dorn mentioned LT! He was a very close friend of my father in law and family. We were talking about him just last weekend. I have seen some Dorn dogs flat confound many a coyote for sure.

I use fawn bleats too. One time I was bleating away snuggled up against a tree trunk with a rose bush next to it. All of the sudden the rose bush hit me in the head. I rolled out away from the bush and a saw a doe had come up and kick at me while calling. She stood there giving me the evil eye for about three seconds before she backed up a little. I don't think she liked me laughing at her. Fawn bleats work well for me. I usually call a little and wait. Usually call about 45 minutes or an hour if I think I should be getting some action. A decoy helps.
When I find a den I have to move in right away like Lt Grey says- the land is cut up so much in my area that I can't follow and might not ever find a litter again. Sometimes it can take till fall to find them again. I get calls once in a while in towns but the rules won't let me shoot or trap in town unless I use a cage so I usually hunt for the den and try to get them to move out and away from the place where they have been making trouble. There are a couple large cemeteries in town that have coyotes living in old brush /junk piles. I even saw a den in an old crypt one time. They are always in the same areas. Usually no one complains. The ones that live close to town travel into town for the easy pickings. They use the railroad beds to take short cuts.
A lady helping at a local wildlife sanctuary decided to pet one the coyotes there. It bit off one of her fingers.
When it gets warm out check your sets early in the morning before the sun gets up. The animals get hot fast and can die of heat stroke. It's bad press if people see a dead animal in your trap.
I've never had dogs. It sounds like it would work pretty well.
Anyone have any experience with mountain lions? I have only ever seen sign one time. It came to a dairy farm where I was working and jumped over a fence into where some bucket calves were. It killed one and jumped back over the fence with the calf. The fence was about 3' high. It somehow was able to carry the calf quite a ways before setting it down. I tracked it for about 1/4 mile in the snow but having no gun I stopped.

I don't have enough experience to contribute much, but I sure plan to keep a sharp eye on this post!

MikeD

I have ran Mt. Lion since I was old enough to walk. It would be child's play for a lion to pack off a calf. Best way to deal with a predation issue with lions is by the use of hounds. I would bet the lion in Illinois are not as dog wise as some of the ones around here.

Lion are really just BIG cats and curiosity really does kill the cat. They are easy to trap if you can put your attractant in an area they are working in. I don't know the travel patterns of the lion back there or if this particular lion is a sub adult, adult male, adult female, female with cubs etc. All of these factor in to how they pattern. One would think if this lion found an easy food source it will come back. Lion very very seldom eat carion. They do, but usually only when dang hungry, so using food bait is a waist of time. They believe in killing it themselves. They will bury some kills and re visit their stash, especially if they are rearing kittens. If this lion snatches another calf and drags it off, leave it alone and set some WELL anchored blind sets. I do not recommend the use of drag for someone who is not well experienced with lion. They can and do attack if cornered. They can kill a human without effort.

If you have more info or details on this specific lion I would be happy to try and help with info if possible.

I've used fawn bleats/cries to fill many a doe tag. Especially, if I see a doe off in the distance with a young deer. For some reason they usually come right in and start huffing and puffing.

That being said, when I hunt coyotes, I typically do not use fawn in distress in the fall unless I can see the coyote is hung up and unsure. But, by that point I am just trying anything to get him to close the distance a bit.

Thats interesting that you mentioned these other baits. According to a friend last year they had a yote trapper on their hunt club that was using marshmallows for bait.

Grapes are toxic to dogs. So you may not have to dispatch a coyote if you use them...lol

I'm not trying to step on a lot of toes here but to even remotely suggest that a predator trapper doing animal damage control work on stock killing coyotes should use grapes and marshmallows as bait is down right laughable.
Sure, I will admit that a coyote can at times be taken on unusual baits, as a coyote will eat most anything.
But to suggest we go after stock killers with carrots and watermelons...I'd have to see your credentials !

Comments like that don't even belong on serious predator control post.
You might catch a coyote on a sweet bait now and then but you won't make a living as a predator control trapper doing it.
Randomly catching a coyote here and there on a bait is one thing, making a living as a control trapper with a carrot and a grape as bait ?

Here is how you do it,
Go out on the ice and dig a hole with your auger. Then sprinkle peas all around and make a line with peas up to the hole. Then hide behind a snow bank and wait for the coyote to come up to your set, then jump out and kick him in the icehole..lol

Man, I've been doing it wrong then...

Now LT don't tell me they don't let you protect them there watermelons. That is priority here gotta protect the watermelons.

Yes, but do you want me to set a trap by every watermelon ?

Or would you rather me put some watermelon down a dirt hole in a field pull of them ?


Neither is how I would catch coyotes raiding a field...

Actually sweet corn oil works well in water melon field. But a trick that works here is to use fish oil on a watermelon that the coyote already broke into. Cause more than likely a coon was the actual first culprit. And gang set a watermelon field can lead to a very destroyed watermelon field.

Lots of things work but none in that situation will work better than finding where the coyotes are entering and/or exiting the field and put in flat sets / trail sets with (fresh) coyote droppings.

Dry fields leave a lot a lot of tale tale sign in the dirt.

I pick up fresh dropping throughout the year and freeze them.
I have also dried them and also have re-hydrated them.
I use plain rain water and do it right at the set.

Coyote use defecation as a form of communication more than many trappers realize.
Meaning, quite often, they do it with a purpose in mind.
And that is to let others know who was there...and why.

My thread : "What droppings teach us", showed in detail that very thing for those that read it !

Ok the months April through August. All joking aside. There are only two main priorities for coyotes feeding their young and protecting their young. As LT mentioned above Sign and Location. I think he had a thread, Location Location and Location. In that thread he had stated that coyote do not go long distances for lure and that you had to almost make them trip over your set. I can attest to that when I was helping another student do her masters degree work in college we did a study on lure and bear and coyote response. Bait wise Sardines, bacon and bacon grease got the most responses on our bait line store bought lures were so, so. On coyotes and bears both, the wolf urine got the most attention with mountain lion next. Coyotes also responded favorable to bear urine. But wolf urine during the times they were raising pups would get the most response. Clint Locklear has also stated that in the summer wolf urine will "get into the mind of a dominate male coyote faster than any other product". I have used wolf urine to target the Alpha male before. It will not work well on the subordinate coyote real well but it will make the dominate male work a entire scent line. But the main thing LT teaches and re-teaches is Location! That is one lesson that people get lazy and forget. If you keep your basics down and work the sign that is how you nail the coyotes in the off season.

Biggest thing in summer in my opinion is it can be a waiting game on your traps sets snares etc you got to be patient and do your homework i have seen so many guys set around kills and think and work there buttss off in that area only to realize that a little home work walking and figurein things out would have led them to the "home range" most the time a big mis conception on kills and coyotes is that the coyotes are liveing where there killing i know lots of guys feel that way but im tellin ya go look for the quieter outfits and youl be suprised
had a show lamb outfit here got nailed around 30 kills the bite marks everything i could tell was tale tale that there was a couple but one coyte in particular that stuck out she had busted teeth or were worn down teeth i wound up catching 23 in an area that "has no coyotes" before i killed the "right" coyote. i use traps heavily i shy away from m-44s because of the bs and paperwork they can be a good tool but nine times out of ten a trap is just more effective and if a guy would let his sets work not pull them in 2 days a week or a month (sometimes it takes months on a set) to catch coyotes that get hammerd here in the sheep and goats 365 days a year bye any tool imaginable i once had a gyp a guy had caught she pulled out and chewed out of a snare caught her in a trap i had for 7 months same spot barely any lure the dropping was perdy much completely gone. patience guys. and boonie lane is a 100 percent corrrect coyotes do learn when to shut up doing adc a guy shure learns to set up buffer zone know your areas coyotes tend to hole up and travel thru and den and keep equipment working mild lures in summer urine is something not to get stingy or cheap with it DISSAPATES in hot weather use plenty of it but dont buy that cheap crap they sale commerialy pressured coyotes know better keep your country around your stock set up know your problem areas and dont go to sleep i will add on another note that you should hold some lures back from what other guys are useing sometimes something realy diffrent goes a long way. adc on coyotes is alot of home work looking for the ways in and out and realy figureing out coyotes sometimes it seems on a personal basis i hope this helps write more when i can

That from one of the top experts in the game, IMO.

Thank you TravC, that is excellent stuff right there. Please do share more when you can. I promise anything you guys care to share will not be wasted on me.

If I were using any other call, I'd agree with you but experience as taught me a fawn distress call is ringing the dinner bell, they don't stalk into the decoy, they run to it

Here in Ga we have wild grapes, Muscatine's, coyotes and fox both love them, The late Mr Dobbins speaks of trapping around those vines in his book, guess they don't know they shouldn't eat them! And LT if you read this, as usual, your dead on target, I set the trails going to the fields and found busting a melon close to the trap line works for me. guys visit your states dept. of Ag sites and read about what crops are most damaged by coyotes, as LT points out LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION and reading those crop damage reports tells you what the coyotes are feeding on in your area in the summer, it doesn't have to be a large commercial field, a small home garden with melons planted works well, don't know whose ever seen how a coyote does damage to the watermelons or eats them in the fields, they bite every melon they come to until they find one ripe enough for it to bust and they eat everything, nothing left but a wet spot on the ground and a trail of unripe melons with canine fang marks on them Both Ga. and Texas suffer millions of dollars a year in their melon crop damage caused by coyotes, don't believe it? Ck for yourself, the info is just a few keystrokes away

I do not think by waiting less than 30 minutes you educate them necessarily.
My average in the west, and I do keep track, is coyote in at the 13 minute mark but can vary on terrain some. I stay 20 to 25 tops.
Often I call with a "top gun" a rifle partner I leave buried in bush or rocks above me IF he can get in there from behind unseen. I sneak in and take the low ground with a scattergun.
He always stays put when we are done with the stand observing while I sneak back out. I keep an eye on him, he'll signal any late comers. We do not shoot many late comers. Pretty rare.
And I always try to get out quieter than going in so the spot will be good in the future.
Then again, when calling I call softer than most I think. I do not try to call the entire county at one set up. They can hear at incredible distances.
All that country out there is his dining room. If you had a coyote in your dining room you'd sure know it. I try to keep that in mind sneaking in and out.

when calling, i like to get as close to where they are spending the day as i can without alerting them. much easier getting them to come 4-500 yards then a mile.
fighting sounds are working well this time of year.
Magpies that come from a long ways away and come quick usually means no coyotes are around.
when they come slow (tree hopping) i'm getting ready
i also watch for phesants/grouse flushing. expecially when calling around standing crops/cattails.

Well, out here, you kill maybe one or two coyotes a year by waiting less than 30 minutes. I mean, how long does it take you to leave while your buddy is watching? How successful are you on each stand? What size of coyotes are you taking when you do get them? Are they all young pups, small females or are you getting a mix of all?

This is something to understand. I was told this by a pretty good coyote trapper.

Imagine pulling into your driveway at your home ground and there's a big red dot on the side of your house or in your yard. Think about how you will then approach the situation. it will be with caution and concern.

When your out in there on there home ground, don't be the red dot.

people comment a lot about scent control at the trap sets, but I think a bigger factor is they are physically disturbing things at the set when they are there. And that disturbance equates to that big red dot.

The less branches you break, tracks you leave in the snow the better. Scent control is somewhat important the smell of gasoline on boots, butting out cigarettes next to your trap can be important. But what about knowing where the animals bed down? If you are approaching your set from one direction, animals are bedding down downwind from your sets, will it alert them to your presence and cause issues? Deer hunting it can, not sure how it affects k9s

Let's talk about locating denning areas and picking up the coyote before they have the pups.
Anyone on here have any denning experience ?

They are extremely hard to find in my neck of the woods because they very seldom den under ground. A lot of times they birth in thickets root balls and overhanging ledges. The females like spots not far from water and very, very thick. Best way here to locate is to use a pair of good dogs that are not real aggressive. Another good way to keep track is to bait with chicken or dog food and set cameras up to keep track of the coming and going. Another place to check for denning locations here is abandoned beaver holes around old pond banks.

Same here,twisted tornado paths and narly cutovers

et I appreciate the kind words but without Wayne derrick good trappers I have been absolutely honored to know and learn from helped me get a decent idea on what im doing I hope I will be half as good as any of them what makes a good trapper in adc is he’s got to LOVE what he does almost unconditionally.



denning is not something ill get into to much detail on an internet forum .but I can tell you guys that talk about calling and such one things calling and using dogs is very effective but with more pressure (weekend warriors calling competitions guys using e callers) its gets harder and harder ,dogs sometimes make the difference I don’t have any specific length of time I wait on a calling stand I sat in a place 2 hours howled 2 times and a pregnant gyp came in and didn’t make one sound there is one person who comes to mind that has completely misrepresented decoy dogs he’s from new Mexico and his name bears no mentioning I hate to talk smack but the guys a thief and a liar don’t buy dogs from that man butt the Eddie Wimberley’s Vern dorns etc used a great natural way to work on denning pairs or groups ( I have found several coyotes old to young at den sites) killing the gyp is important to me but killing the dog should never be underestimated he’s the protector he hunts brings food back (to regurgitate) to the gyp and pups, sometimes if you kill her and the pups, he’s going to get mad or just kill because he thinks hes got to it can be a bad sitchuation guys try to kill them both! find the den and take the pups lt made a great point kill her before she breeds work on it do everything you can to do so you save yourself a bunch of time and frustration. As the weather and time of year is right now KILL THEM NOW use your kick backs scent posts as there getting aggressive snaring seems to work real good this time of year its just hard in the sheep and goats that’s why I tend to snare fences the trick for me is to agitate coyotes this time of year make them mad on a kick back or a scent post even loud baits can do it from time to time if there just passion thru use something loud to get them to stop and work around it. calling is a very good tool but just one tool of many not the only one but not the lease either Eddie Wimberley killed 1200 coyotes in the sheep one year over one dog trick is use different sounds hand calling or e callers make the sounds make sense and tale a story sometimes it works but use all your tools don’t get hung up on one thing someone on here said don’t be the red dot and that’s a good idea but sometimes you’ve got to stand out and be different with your sets sometimes making a mess makes a coyote really screw up hope this helps

that was a hard read TravC

i tryed to edit it up and make it so you could read it im not good at the typeing to well i hope you can read it if not i just wont post anymore ill do like alot of guys have told me let people buy the information instead of giveing it away for free
good luck

I understood just fine. But then again I'm dyslexic.

me to man dyslexics UNTIE!

Not everyone is good at typing. Type it like you would say it and we will do our best to understand it. Most of us can figure it out and we are happy to learn from anyone that is willing to share with us. Don't stop.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

I had pulled all but a few sets. Cows have been a little uneasy for the last couple of days, but we've had 3 domestics roaming through the place. I had left a set on a little rise on the lane that goes across the farm and about 100 yards from the barn lot. I can see this one from the house. I'll be curious to see If she has any pups in her. I checked a couple large bulldoze piles that they have denned in in the past. There were no signs of any coyote activity.

She looks a little fat in the belly Yaz!

Thanks Travc great info. Some people just can't read thats all.

Don't care how it's typed, I use what you type to make me a better trapper and that's what matters in the end. We do a real service for people and the more we can learn from each other helps our clients/friends/neighbors etc. I read you just fine and again thanks to everyone who is contributing their knowledge on this topic.

dont let it stop. your getting some good info. Travc is becoming one of the better adc men and is like a spunge. realy sokes it up. One thing dont forget what got you here. If you got where with traps keep at them while you learn more about snaring and calling,dening.there are a lot of sets that we might use 1or 2 times per year and in very unique setuations.Traps are more versitle then anything else. trail sets digs under the fience kick backs role and adution sets pen trash and so on. mostly keep an open mind

Locklear makes a lure called gray getter that works well on coyotes, its persimmon based

I don't understand all I'm reading here. But, I'm trying to retain all that I can. As I have grown older I seem to learn less and less from reading and more from doing. But, please by all means keep the info coming. I need as much info as possible to try out when the time comes.

Keep it coming.

Mike

We make a persimmon lure that trappers catch 'coon, coyotes fox and even muskrat on.
Coyotes like many animals will eat fruit that fall from the trees, even apples.

We make a persimmon lure that trappers catch 'coon, coyotes fox and even muskrat on.
Coyotes like many animals will eat fruit that fall from the trees, even apples. [/quote] I've tried making bait with a fruit base and adding different oils to it but not happy with the results, with spring soon coming, I'd like to know more about your stuff with coyotes being the target

Send me a PM then...

I'm ready for some summer coyote trapping!

Semper, to answer your questions, found a pic that may help. I throw this out as how I distress call. Howling I do totally different. Keep in mind I spend a lot of time afoot, some horseback. Even out in the sparcely populated west the farther from a vehicle the better you will do.
This is pretty much what I work in. Pastures behind the camera. Always a day scouting before hand on a new spread. Coyotes do not for the most part den on grazed open flats, I try to find where they are going to and from. Listening late afternoon, and very early morning is a big ticket. In this picture, I would be trying to call about 1/2 the lower flat you see across at a right angle to the buttes. The lower end left is my second call. It's like Bucksn.. said especially if it is late in the morning and they are thinking of bedding I do not want to try and move them too far. As an example in this pic a top shooter, before light would be down behind that cut rim at my lower back. I would be down at the rim base, maybe a bit out onto the flat either right or left of him up to say 100 yards. I get there thru a cut or brushy slope, and out thru a cut if I'm coming back up when done. Probably take me what 15 minutes walk while the top gun watches? We drop back out of site move down along the rim backside and repeat. I have the cut to go in on, It's critical in daylight for the top gun to get in unseen of course. I call 15, 20 min tops.
If I am alone, I'd enter this drainage up right of the photo and work the center crick cut of this basin going left. Come up every half mile or so to an elevated point, does not need to be much, and call. Drop back down move and repeat. I would work this out all morning, down thru this basin left, out of site, then turn and come back in the afternoon thru the gumbos in the background in afternoon. I shoot for result, I only need to cut two feet to get paid. I hide from the birds any exceptional coyotes, GPS them and if someone wants them we can get them next mid day. I am not there for the fur. If someone gets them they do, if not they don't. With mange and all in some areas, who knows.
In my pocket is water, sandwich, shells, GPS, hand call, pruner, and a very old fishing reel, with a brown and white scented rag tied on the end of the line. If I can stay low and get to a high bush or raised sage in front my calling position 40 or 50 yards I tie the rag off and bring the reel back with me. Coyotes do not notice the mono when I'm twitching it. I want at least a 50 yard flat beyond that bush so the coyote has to come up and out of the drainage or cover he is working in on, or cross it from the sides. That leaves me pretty much a 100 yard kill zone. I can handle that. Once on that last flat if there is more than one they usually get in a race to the flag or to me. Good times.
You may ask about wind. I do not care about it. I must smell a lot like them (probable) or something but I have never found it to matter. Once they come up on that flat they are mine. Perhaps the open country dissipates scent more. Many get right to that rag.( I used to use my fur hat as a decoy this way but a hawk had a tug of war with me one time so I quit. Many hawks and goldens as well take a pass at that rag.) More about wind, on the wicked windy days when most guys give up, that is when you would find me working only those gumbos in the background, not the open flats. And that is the one time I use the electronic, more volume. Works very well. Smartest old toothless male I ever shot was taken this way.
I have killed everything as far as sex and age. Multiples up to 4 at a time come in, very rarely. many times triples, etc. I think they are family groups. Not saying I shoot them all but I try.
Another note, when I am out late spring in this country we can watch the goldens, they often hover over dens watching for pups, or over coyotes on a kill or dragging a kill.
I work best staying low, many don't like that. Having the hills and rim faces around me I feel an advantage as coyotes are hi lited so to speak coming in across rims and rim faces. I also see the heaviest repeat trail use which translates to comfort zone, in the bottoms. I see them 9 times out of 10 drop to the base of the rim or into the washes for the final approach, then onto the flat in front of me. Some have stayed up on the rim, but they always come for a closer look up there. Makes for a nice skyline shot.
I throw this out as some of my methods out west. I understand it is different in your terrain. Just offered this so someone may find an adaptation idea from this that may help them.
Lastly on hand calling. I have said it on this forum before, do not blow that call DIE thru that call. Lots of variation, don't worry about pauses, do or don't, hurt rabbits don't take a break. Cup the call, cap the end and vary pitch, make the volume vary as a rabbit turning flipping this way and that.
Osky

Osky,
I couldn't have asked for a better explanation! I would love to come to that terrain for some long gunning! I do not get to take many long shots here, most are within 10 to 15yds and I try to shoot them in the face..lol

Semper.. I sort of figured you were stuck in tight with them coyotes for the most part. I honestly love them in close out in this west country. I know there are some on here that stretch it out, but as I explained I like to slip in on them and keep it personal. Even at 50 yards that .243 with a 55 grain ballistic tip will will stay in the thick of the neck most of the time and that's where I love hitting them. There are the ones way out and going a different direction, happens when traveling in a vehicle a lot going to a jump off point, then a guy can whistle out some pretty long lead. No two have ever come in the same, watching that happens is what I enjoy most.
The area I tried to explain behind in the picture.. I would work that scenario one day, go somewhere else the next and do the same. I skip at least a day wether I shoot a bunch or not. I try to spend the entire day away from vehicles if I can. Nothing beats those gumbos back there if you have the bait to set up an ambush. Lay it out right to where you can get into an overlook undetected, on a large bait and you can sit there all day long and take them. Has to be down in there and remote to keep them coming all day. Again I set the whole thing up for shots under 100 yds.
I was sitting against a small gumbo one time, windy day with the electronic out in front. Lost track of one I saw coming. Popped out on my left maybe 4 yards tops looking at the caller. Had the 12 gauge over my lap facing that way just slipped the safety, he looked and I squeezed. One of my best and luckiest shots and it was only 4 yards.

My first yote I shot in Ohio was taken at 250yds with my .243. He stiffened up like a board and dropped. Hit him sitting quartered away just behind his left rib and it exited his shoulder. Put a 4" hole out the other side. 75gr hornady.

But you got him!

i love em at 100 yards face on. don't have to drag em so far