Preparing for 1st Sit

I’ve been getting things in relative order over the past two winters to get predator hunting into my bag.

So, as I head out for my first sit, what advice can you’ll give me. Here are my questions.

The area I plan to hunt is a couple hours drive, so scouting is not in the cards. I know I need to play the wind and have 4 areas in mind that should cover all directions.

But, what calls should I play on the e-caller. How often do you make the calls? Do you run it continuous?

I’ve read some things about using a 12 guage and 00 shot if the dog gets in close, but can you have two guns with you? I also have a scoped .243.

I’ll be hunting in Buffalo County, with two of the spots overlooking a field near some heavy trees, and one spot in the woods, and one overlooking a large stretch of pasture land with a creek flowing through. Any of these areas better than another or is wind direction the deciding factor.

As you can tell by my questions, I’ll be learning as I go, but it’s really how I learned to hunt deer, you have to get out and make mistakes and learn from them.

Anything to help me shorten the curve??

ET

I’m on the same quest….. and by the sounds of it the terrain I’ll be focusing on is a bit different than yours but as a fellow “Hudsonite”, I’ll let you know what I run into this winter and maybe my discoveries/successes/failures can still translate into something useful for you. I’ll dump my reports in your pm box. I should be getting out/up there in the next couple of weeks. They have twice the snow we do so I’m holding out for snowshoes to help me get around.

Having been targeting coyotes for only 5 years in a semi-serious fashion, what I can tell you is mainly what NOT to do. Like many people, I expect, I see the predator hunting shows on TV and they filled my head with what, as it turns out, are mainly bad tactics when it comes to the upper midwest.

1. Unlike in the TV shows, coyotes here are EXTREMELY reluctant to cross open ground and they will almost never travel in the open. You have to get into the cover with the coyotes, not try to call the coyotes across open space to you.

2. Stealth matters! What I’ve come to understand is that coyotes in MN, WI, etc are under tremendous pressure compared to western coyotes. Coyotes learn very quickly that if they make a mistake, they get shot at. You must approach quietly and then PAUSE before calling 5-10 minutes so the coyotes don’t associate any sound they heard from your approach with the start of calling.

Also, you must sit DEAD FREAKING STONE STILL. Several times I’ve been busted and it was obvious that it was the movement that busted me and not the fact that the coyote saw through my camo. You have to be very still and very quiet. Bring a tukey seat of seat pad and take time to find a spot where you have good sight lines.

Generally, I try to find an place to “hide my back” like a raspberry clump or bramble pile. That way if coyotes approach from directly behind, they have to come around before seeing me. And hopefully I see them first.

3. With eCallers and the ease of use, it’s very easy to overplay your hand and spook the coyotes with sounds that are too good and too loud to be true.

You have to keep in mind, a coyote’s hearing is hundreds of times better than ours. So think about what a call sounds like to you and then think about what would happen if I put headphones on you and turned up that caller to ten times that volume. Would it really sound like a real dying rabbit to you?

Call softly and seldom. Then wait. If you think it’s time to call again or louder, wait again that much before you call. Most of my coyotes have come in before I ever got to the point where I increased the volume beyond level 2 on my call. Again, this is not Nebraska where you’re calling in coyotes across 2 miles of open ground in a screaming wind.

4. Weapon selection. I’m a fan of shotguns because again, unlike the western calling shows, very rarely do I get anyplace where I can see more than 100 yards. In MN it’s leagal to carry 2 guns, so if there’s any chance of a longer shot, I sit with the shotgun in my lap and the rifle on its bipod next to me.

After wounding a coyote and having a long chase/dispatch process, I’m NOT a fan of 00 buck. Too few pellets and an unpredictable pattern beyond 30 yards. I like BB or #4 buck a lot better.

5. Finally, there is no real “holding cover” for coyotes, IMO. Coyotes are predators, so they can only “hold” in cover as long as there is prey to be had. Bedding or den areas are always one possible location, but at this time of year if you’re playing the odds, the coyots are not going to be spending most of their time lounging in bed. It’s cold and they need to EAT, so they will be wherever the prey is.

it’s really a matter of getting out there and calling. I’m living proof that you can make a lot of mistakes and still be successful.

Grouse

Rabbit distress and mouse squealer on the e-caller at first light works best for me.I have called them in as late as 10a.m.You most certainly can call yotes across open ground and they don’t always come in down wind.Avoid being skylined. They are totally unpredictable.Just have to get out there and do it,trial and error.You will have lots of at bats but when you have that first one come in you will be hooked. Good luck

The only thing I’ll add to TFG. I like to use coyote sounds to start a calling sequence. I guess I like to wait a FULL 10 minutes before I start calling also. Let the birds start singing again etc…

Last thing. Get good with hand calls. I’m in the process of learning to bark etc… I’m fearful the dogs in my area get educated by me and want to be able to mix it up a bit more.

Ok, real last thing. I’ve been experimenting with creatIng my own calling sequences on my ecaller. I’ve found more coyote vocalization may be the ticket out in SD when the dogs are feeling pressured.

I should add I’m a relative rookie when it comes to hunting dogs and my experience is from mostly hunting out west.

Wind direction and weather always dictates my primary spots.

Regardless if your looking over 1/10th of an acre or 1000 acre clearing, give yourself the best vantage point with the wind quartering to where you suspect they will come looking for you. Avoid being skylined and the sun in your face. If timing works, sun to your back and sit in the shadows of the brush.

Sound carries and echoes in the woods much more than you think. If using an e-call, keep the sound lower. Don’t over call. Probably the most common issue with predator hunters. Less is MUCH more. The goal is to get their curiosity to come looking. It is incredible how well they can pin-point where a sound comes from.

Don’t get discouraged with not seeing success. Its a numbers game. You only have so many coyotes that range a certain number of square miles. You need to get into the most likely area that they will be in within that range. It may be denning areas, hunting area, or corridor that links them. Coyotes are not randomly in a given place at a given time. They go and do everything for a reason. It can take a large number of sits to get the timing and everything else correct to have them in the part of the range your sitting in.