I recently got an email from a member of another site I belong to asking me how to call coyotes. I am no expert on this subject, believe me, but I have spent a lot of time doing it and maybe have learned a little.  For the most part though the only way to learn is to do it.  Go ahead and try and the dogs will teach you what you need to know.

 You don’t need a lot of fancy gear, camo clothing and expensive weapons.  You will wind up with some of that but don’t let not having it keep you from doing it.  All you really need is a dying rabbit mouth call, some dark clothing (unless there’s snow) and a good rifle or shotgun.  I prefer a rifle cause a lot of times an ole coyote will hang up a hundred or two yards out and I like to shoot em.  Any deer rifle will do, I like a 243 but have a 223 that works good too.  Any of the 22 centerfires will work as will the new 204 Ruger.  Up close a shotgun with #4 buckshot is hard to beat though.

 If you are new to calling I suggest an electronic caller till you know what you are supposed to sound like.  There are lots of them at all price ranges and any of them will get the job done.  I have a little Cass Creek Caller with 5 sounds on it, and the whole shooting match will fit in my pocket. The sounds are realistic and it has enough volume for most calling and a price tag of about $20.  If you want to start out on a budget I really recommend this call.  It was designed to teach calling sounds but us varmint hunters figured out pretty quick it would call coyotes as good as the expensive ones.  I have killed coyotes with it.

 Your setups are probably the most important part of the whole deal, once you find coyotes.   They aren’t real hard to find anymore, but you can’t call coyotes where there are none.  I like to hunt around cattle or sheep operations, there are always lots of yotes around them looking for a free meal.   I have seen them following calves for their feces (for lack of a better word.)  A coyote will eat anything.  Of course they will eat a calf or down cow too.  I like to set up in an opening close to the woods or brush where I can get hid.  Along a creek if I can.  I try to be quiet going in and setting up, and try not to spread my scent too much.  Out in the desert I like to find what we call back home a little holler.  Maybe where a couple of little washes come together where I can get a little higher and watch two natural funnels.  It seems to help if you are above them a little, course sometimes they come right in over the top at you, but those seem to be my most productive stands. I don’t use cover scent anymore, I kill just as many without it as I do with it and don’t smell near as bad.   (That may be why I have been married so many times. Lol.)  Most of the time I try to face the downwind side of my stand, I have had more coyotes come in trying to catch scent of what’s making the noise.  But this is not carved in stone, lots of times they just come barreling in from wherever they are.    I think its better to hunt with a partner cause you can watch all sides.  But if I hunt alone I don’t worry about it too much, I probably wont see a lot of the ones I call, but you need to leave some for seed anyways.

Start out calling with a real low volume, I think too loud is worse than not loud enough, you can spook em.  A rabbit is not very big and doesn’t scream that loud.  A coyote can hear a soft cry from a long ways off.  Lots of guys call constantly but I don’t.  I call for about a minute and stay quiet for a couple of minutes.  I like for the coyote to be looking for me not at me.  And he can zero in on a sound pretty quick.  Don’t be surprised when one runs in on you before your first sequence is over.  I have had more come in in the first couple of minutes than the rest of the calling time combined.  If you don’t get a response after a couple of sequences increase your volume for a few squalls, then get soft again.  Keep your movements to a minimum cause a coyote will pick up movement in a hurry.  I usually call in a spot for about 15 minutes then move.  That’s the key to it, make lots of stands.  Move about ½ to 1 mile and set up again.  The more setups you make the more yotes you will call.  Coyotes move around a lot and you have to move with them to find them.

 When you do call one shoot him as soon as you get a good shot.  I read a lot about guys trying to coax them in real close.  I shoot at the first opportunity.  I’d rather shoot em than look at em.  Then when you do shoot, hit or miss, keep calling.  Gunshots don’t spook em.  I have had yotes that haven’t been hunted come to gunfire.  I guess they are looking for a gutpile from a hunters deer or the wounded deer.  I don’t know but I have seen it a lot of times.  Another thing, if you miss one or there is more than one coming in, make some hurt dog yelps, lots of times they will stop and look or even turn around and come back.  You never know. 

I went hunting with a club here in Ca. once.  We had hunted all night and were going to a place out of the wind to throw some sleeping bags down and rest.  When we drove in there were 2 yotes there and they ran off when we drove up.  Now understand, we had 6 guys in 2 pickups.  I got out and told one of them who had been playing with an e-caller to turn it on.  They thought I was crazy but I was getting my rife so he did.  One of those yotes turned and ran straight at us, those guys went crazy, yelling at each other to get a rife, jumping in the back of the trucks, making all kinds of noise.  Cussing because one guy dropped his rifle out of the truck.  That yote kept coming, I shot him at about 25 yds.  I repeat…….you never know what a coyote is going to do.  He doesn’t know either. 

 The best time to hunt is early in the morning and right before dark but I have killed them at noon.  Keep calling and keep moving and you will kill coyotes.  I use a mouth call a lot cause I am lazy, I don’t like toting lots of stuff with me.  I like CrittRCalls, they are open reed and a little harder to master but you can make so many sounds with them.  The closed reeds are the easiest to use and there are lots of them.  I like the Sceery calls but thats just me.  If you use a mouth call, all the manufacturers have audio- tapes to help you get started, get you one.  Major Boddicker from CrittRCall has about the best ones.  He has one called Talking to Coyotes with a Song Dog.  It’s about howling for them and it works.  In the spring when they are denned you can really get them coming at you if you are close to a den and do a challenge howl.  LOOK OUT!!!!!!!!!

 Out in the desert and away from people and livestock, night hunting is effective.  But I personally don’t hunt at night around a ranch or livestock operation.  It’s too hard to know what is just beyond your light and it’s pretty hard to get permission to hunt on a place after you have killed a cow on it.  At least that’s what I hear.  I’ve shot them around cattle for years in the daylight and never had a problem.  You just have to really watch your shots. 

There are lots of books and videos by folks that know a lot more than I do, but maybe this will help.  The main thing is, just get out there and call.  The calls don’t have to be perfect, an old baby doll that goes mama will work.  That’s what I started with.  Take a good call and get hid good, put your back to something to break your outline and get in the shade and call.  If you make enough stands in good coyote country, you will call some in.  I started hunting them cause they were killing calves for me.  I don’t have calves now but I still love to hunt them.  What started out as a necessity turned into a passion for me. I love it.

 Hope this helps

 Swamprat