Got the first miss out of the way…

Went out last night for a few sets… took Mitch on the first two and came up dry. The snow is super crunchy here and it’s almost impossible for a stealthy approach but figured on trying it anyway… Mitch got tired out so I dropped him off at home and decided to head to a spot with a little more open country.

On my way in a nice crosswind came up and I thought that it might help me out by covering the noise of my approach. Got set up and let things settle down for a few minutes, then started with a couple of howls. Things were looking good as I started with the distress… about 7 minutes into the stand I see a pair of ‘yotes coming across the open field working their way downwind. They were moving fast so I stayed on them until they were nearly downwind, stopped them, and took the shot at about 200yds… missed two more shots on the run and came up empty.

After the encounter I kept calling to see if I could pull in another with no luck. To make things worse one of the ‘yotes proceeded to challenge bark/ howl at me from across the valley. Gave him a quick and headed for the truck. Made one more stand for the night that was dry. Plan on heading out tonight to give it another shot… good luck out there.

Sometimes the misses can more memorable. I know a few of my clients have talked much more about “the one I missed” than the one they got. Sounds like you had fun. Keep on’m

I was wondering at night can you see and us a scope ? reduced power or 8-10 power? thanks Stan

went out for the first time ever with my brother,cousin and sister. We called for a while with a distressed rabbit call and then waited for about 40 minutes and we were cold so went walking on are way back we shined our first spot and about fifty yards behind where we were sitting there was one standing looking at us never got a shot off,how long do you normally sit before you move and what calls do you use and how long do you use them any tips greatly apperciated.

No problem seeing with decent optics… I’m trying out a 1.5-5x right now and I’ll have a better idea if I like it in a few days. The past few years I’ve used a 3-9x with good results. You’ll get a better field of view and better light transmission on the lower settings (3-6x)

Full – or nearly – full moon,… Yes you can see very well. Just ALWAYS be sure of your target and what is beyond before you shoot. I used to use a 2-7 power and now have a 4-14 power (40 mm + objectives are a must) on my .243. Both work very nice out to about 200 yards in open country at night. Like I said though, be sure of your target because a small deer can look much like a dog at that range in the dark. I’ve had many deer approach me to see what all the racket was about (until the dogs come running in) so you don’t want to make a shooting mistake out there. You’re always better-off holding out for the closer shots at night anyhow. Usually the dogs come in pretty close so they can see what’s up themselves. You really have to be on your toes at night because they always seem to just appear from nowhere and they’re always right on top of you then too.
I do a lot of night hunting and less late morning and/or early evening hunting when the moon is out. If no moon/no snow, foget it; stick to daylight. I also never use lights. I find no reason to in these conditions.
I’m actually finally getting the chance to get out for the fist time tomorrow night – and for the rest of the weekend. The weather sounds good but it sounds like my worries about noisy snow are true. That will be a bummer if there is no wind to cover some of the noise. Maybe my large Alaskan snowshoes will support me without the breaking and crunching??? I hope so…. Good luck to all!
Splitshot

Thanks for the advice. I’m thinking of going out for the first time also. What are the best calls this time of year?

Try different variations of a distressed rabbit for a start. You will find both fox and coyotes will respond differently in different areas. As an example, I have better success down here in southern WI and IN with a higher pitch sound. Out at my farm on the the western side of WI, a mid to deeper tone works better.

I also make rodent squeekers for more close range calling. My favorite is going into PETCO and buying the cheapest chew toys they have. I take the little plastic squeeker out and my dog gets a new toy. I can keep the call in my mouth and be hands free for the action.

As for time on a set goes, it varies. On new land that isn’t hunted often, I will set up and call for 30 seconds to 1 minute / wait 3 to 5 minutes / and another 1 minute series of calls / wait 10 to 15 minutes / repeat. So that ends up being a 35 to 50 minutes per set. Usually on un-preasured land the action happens faster. Once they are called to a couple of times, they smarten up pretty quick.

Keep in my mind how critical the wind direction is for a set. Nearly 100% of the time, K-9s will circle around and come in nose into the wind. If you think a whitetail is good at smelling…..coyotes are much more superior! Aviod sets that have dead spots you can’t see that are down wind. I’ve had more K9s than I care to admit get into a blind spot down wind of us and bust us before we knew they were there. Its a rush though when you have that first one respond and rush in

Deerslyr, I typically sit around 30 minutes per stand… if the spot looks really good, I may sit a bit longer but 30 minutes seems to work for me. Sometimes the animals will show up in the first 5-10 minutes, in other cases I’ve had critters come in after 20-25.

I’ve been using a Minaska electronic caller w/ a remote for my calling. I like this kind of setup because it allows me to get the sound away from me and allows me to focus my attention on the landscape as the action can be pretty fast and furious at times.

Pretty much any distress calls can be effective with the rabbit distress being the most popular. I have a couple of “go to” sounds that I start with and then try to switch things up as the year progresses… good luck out there.

Thanks for the advice and answers I was out deer hunting and decided to try calling before I left within 5 minutes I had one come in and just as you guys said he circled downwind and I lost track of him but at least I can get them to come in thanks again.

that’s awesome Keep at it, more will follow