Between lawyer and doctor appts, I managed to get out a few times over the last 3 days. Wow, what a disappointment. I have let a number of properties untouched since early this fall in hopes of calling in a few un-educated song dogs. With a perfect light wind, perfect direction, everything had to go just right….WRONG 
When giving advise on sets, I always stress having the best vantage point of the most likely direction a coyote will come from. I encountered a dog that obviously didn’t read the manual. I was in a treestand overlooking a area of set-a-side land. 250yrds straight across the field is an old gate from when this land was farmed about 50 years ago. Every encounter I have in this spot, they come around the gate posts, stop, and trot slowly across this field. In the first 5 minutes of a squealing rabbit, I got a glimpse of motion, but never got a look at what I saw. 30 minutes later, I stood up to leave, only to see 3 sets of eyes looking at me through a down treetop that was quarted behind me. All 3 had slipped in quartered to the wind, and was approaching the caller from up-wind. Never saw that one coming. Before I could draw up, they were gone.
On my third set, a small red fox came to the edge of my food plot. It sat up on a stump and spent about 5 minutes looking back and forth. I normally stake a small piece of fur or feathers to a string when I’m set on a open field/wood line. Laziness got the best of me. Realized I left it in the truck after walking a couple hundred yards. Figured I didn’t need it since these critters haven’t been called upon yet this year. Yep, lesson learned.
Made my 8th set this morning from a cornfield hill, over-looking a combination of tall brush and evergreens. I had a coyote within two minutes sitting out in the tall grass barking at me. I can only guess that it saw me walking in. With every cadence on a caller, it replied with a cadence of 3 to 5 barks. Just enough to say “Not this time” It was about 450 yards out with a serious cross-wind. My better judgement said to pass, as I couldn’t get a good steady bead on it.
Made 3 more sets and blanked 
I know your day will come when everything will go right! 
