Questions about hunting coyotes

[kbyers]

Hey guys, my buddy are new to coyote hunting but we decide to give it a try last weekend.  We didn't come back with any hides, but now we have some questions.  We hunted from 6:30 am to noon on private land that receives no hunting pressure.  Looking back on it last Sat. was probably not the best day to hunt with the almost full moon and a clear sky.  I understand that coyotes are active at night, but will the increased light at night increase their activity?  Also, we had 3 groups of dogs that were fairly active about every 30 minutes, with a lot of howling but we couldn't get anything to come in.  The temp was about 15-20 degrees, would this cause them to stay in and around their dens and not be actively hunting.  When to coyotes mate and have pups, some of the howls and barks sounded higher in pitch than some of the others, but there was one in particular that sound a lot deeper and mature.  Thank you for your help and patience

[Houndhunter]

were you howling or doing a distress? from my expeirence cold weather has never effected my yote hunting. coon hunting yes, they'll den up fro a week or so when a real cold streak comes through but i dont know bout yotes

if you were howling, use a hgih pitch one most of the time. i have 3 howlers one big deeper call, one high pitched and the other is a pup like call. i would say i call 75% useing the high pitched call then 25% with the deeper call. then come june or even may i'll do some pup calls. howling season is just starting IMO it gets alot better here in a few more weeks

[ZEN]

Call in all directions you can shoot.  Not just straight ahead.  Don't sound like you're on a pinwheel or anything but with distress calls sound like you're in pain and moving your head around.    Throws off your position a little in the early game.  See them first of course.  You had partners so keep one guy in good concealment and on binos looking for scouts.  He's the most aware of his movement of course since he'll move the most.  They may not call back but they may be there, curious.  If you're new to calling you may sound like a dog yourself sometimes.  Would you call back to a mysterious dog in your territory without giving him a look first? 

If you're really the man, and by that I mean safe, not gung ho, not drunk and a good shot, you can alternate shooters through out your trip and split up your group.  The dogs will pursue your caller.  Possition your shooter accordingly with a safe lane of fire and good wind.  Being really spread out ruins the group fun IMO but enough to be able to identify your guy, safety first, and holler at him after you guys do a good job.  Be safe if you spread out.  Did I say that.  (If you stand up to change possitions someone may see you though.  Just because you didn't see them...)  Have a hand full of spots scouted.  Gains you repertoir anyway.

E callers are perfect for this tactic and keep the group together.  Some guys have mixed feelings about those.  I built my own and I like it.  I don't always use it.  You should know how to call if you want to master em on their turf.  (Private land may be a differnt discussion.  Have an ethical methodlolgy one way or the other.  I know their unclassified but just because you can shoot em if you lure em doesn't mean you're eithix are in the right place.  Set a good example.) Any way,  load your best calls.  Double wammy.  Mine even moves a little for the whole crying in different directions thing.  Plus it's an extra visual  tease.

[ICEMAN]

Have an orange stocking cap to put on yourself when you decide to move.

[tlbradford]

I only have a couple of minutes, but I'll try to hit all your questions quickly.

Looking back on it last Sat. was probably not the best day to hunt with the almost full moon and a clear sky.  I understand that coyotes are active at night, but will the increased light at night increase their activity?

Moon phase is way down on the list on dictating coyote travel and activity.  The weather is number one in this equation.  Cold weather means the coyotes need to burn more calories to stay warm.  They need to eat and cold weather will put them on the move.

Also, we had 3 groups of dogs that were fairly active about every 30 minutes, with a lot of howling but we couldn't get anything to come in.

Nothing is set in stone with what coyotes are always trying to convey, but here is what I think about your particular situation, and how I would tackle it in the future.  First, you are in a good area.  You had three distinct groups within earshot.  That is a good population to be hunting, even if it is only 2-4 coyotes in each group.  Second, you were not inside any territorial boundaries of any of these groups.  If you are howling, and the coyotes do not think you are in their territory, they are not going to come looking for you.  Howling is most effective when you are inside a coyotes territorial boundaries.  This kicks in their defense mechanism.  If you were using a prey distress, and received only a vocal response, there could have been a few things going on.  There might have been a physical barrier between you and the coyotes.  They are in an area that has a rich food source. (ie lots of rabbits, carcass, etc.)  You could have tipped them off that you were a hunter; too much noise, human scent.

Another scenario is they were not responding to your calling at all, but rather communicating with one another.  Howling is used to congregate, disperse, and locate each other. 

The temp was about 15-20 degrees, would this cause them to stay in and around their dens and not be actively hunting.

No, they'll be hunting.  Dens are only used during the breeding season.

When do coyotes mate and have pups,

They will be pairing up as early as late December and as late as the end of February.  They will give birth to pups between April and June.

Now, here is how I would hunt them.  Get as close as possible to the area that you heard each groups.  You heard three distinct groups.  Depending on the terrain this might mean 3-4 stands per group.  Start calling when you feel you are close enough to be heard.  Try to give the coyote an approach from where you think they are going to come from, that will make them feel secure, but will give you visibility.  Hunt with a crosswind, and always, always make sure someone can see the downwind side of you.  If nothing shows up on your first stand, wait 10 minutes in silence.  Then get up and move deeper into the coyotes territory and begin calling again.  These coyotes are not pressured, so they should be real responsive to calling.  This also makes them lazy.  They are fat and happy and are in the prime area for food, water, and cover.  Stick with prey distress and keep things simple.  Once you educate them and they are not as responsive, then try some different tactics.

The other thing you can always try is to get them howling, then stalk into where you hear them.  If a coyote is howling at you, it is fun, but just remember they are not moving closer while they are talking.

[kbyers]

Thanks for all the responses.  We used a mix of howls and distress calls.  When we heard the Yotes howl, my buddy hit the howl call, when there was 10-15 minutes of silence he hit the distress call.  We were using my buddy's E caller but I was not very impressed by it, but his land access and I was just the invited guest and I did not want to step on his toes.  I have been practicing my calls and hopefully I will be able to get out this weekend.  How long do you guys call in one spot before you get up and move.  And when you move, how far, a couple hundred meters, or 1000-1500?

[ZEN]

After thought about ecallers and re-possitioning.

Some of those callers have a lot of cord or hardware that must be retreaved.  If you change spots I'd consider the amount of activity involved in doing so.  I've seen some crazy home-made jobbies that are mounted on a remote control car.  Neat idea for driving it back to you without getting up...yeah right but cool any way.  It gave me an idea.

When I made my caller, (one of em ) I made it tough.  I copied a couple designs but one factor that stuck with me was encasement.  I copied a PVC design that a few guys tried. 

I used a 4" 90 and some other irrigation fittings to make a really solid, all hardware encased unit, (~$5).  I butchered a speaker from a thrift shop ($6).  It had a little 4" driver with good ohm tolerance so I built around that.  This one just uses an old mini-disc player that I had and just recorded a good sequence on it, no cost.  Bought a little cheapie amp, ($20).  Coated the speaker in West Systems fiber glass compound and encorporated an old toilet O ring.  The whole deal seals up water tight.  Custom paint job and walah! 

I use a long cord with that one for pulling it back to me.  It's small enough that it'll just tip over and it doen't fall apart in the drag.  Then if I'm moving on I limit my activity in the field to specifically where I want to go.  This kind of cr@p will really make a geek out of you.  Keeps it all intersting i guess.