What sounds and when?

[HappyPlumber]

I would like the different sounds discussed and when to use them. I picked up a 4 hour disk with Randy Anderson and a number of other guys on it. For $13.00 that is cheaper than going to the movies. They were using the Desert Howler to start with and then they would remove the "guts" part and make a different sound for shorter range work. How to set up a stand almost seems to be a standard practice. I'm not clear on what sounds work best in early fall as apposed to winter and then spring. HP

[SteveCraig]

HP,
It's not all that hard to figure out. If you are just starting out, Stay with a few different hand calls both open and closed reed calls from about Sept 1 to the mid to end of Dec. You will call more coyotes with prey sounds than with howls. After Dec, then do like Randy does in the video.
Remember he went through Lord knows how many calling stands with blanks to get enough footage for that video.
This time of year, if I am not calling cats, I use NO rabbit distress sounds and alot of different howls for coyotes. From now to the end of March, I call mostly lions and some bobcats too. I leave the coyotes to the other guys, as cats are my true love this time of year.

[Wiley]

HP,

I had a lengthy response to your question and I lost it somehow. Give me a day or two and I'll try to get back to "what sounds and when". There is a lot of variables that have to be considered to answer this question properly but it's a great question to start with.


~SH~

[Wiley]

The answer to this question depends on the following variables.

1. Time of year - early in the season or late

2. Calling pressure in the area you plan to hunt. What sounds you believe the competition is using in that area.

3. Prey availability in the area you plan to hunt both in what kinds of prey and the amounts of that prey.

4. Age of your coyote population. More pups or more adults.

5. The naturalness of those sounds.

6. Electronic or hand calls.

7. Whether you expect bobcats and foxes to show up. Naturally if you are in an area of "RED" fox and coyotes or bobcats and coyotes, it's not a very good idea to howl. I know there is exceptions to this rule.

8. How far sound is traveling can create variability. If it's windy, you need to penetrate that wind and your probably not going to do it with a mouse squeak.

Each of those variables will affect what sounds you should use and when. Let's cover these variables.

1. Consider that in most HEALTHY coyote populations at the beginning of the fur season, 70% of that population is young of the year and have never heard the "dying rabbit blues" other than from a live rabbit.

As the season progresses, more and more coyotes will have been exposed to traditional calling sounds.

This is a game of percentages and the more things you can have in your favor (such as natural sounds coming from a natural place) the better your success will be.

2. If the area you plan to call is swamped with "weekend warriors", you need to know what they are using and stay away from those sounds.

3. If your rabbit sounds are very natural sounding (diaphram calls or high quality electronics) and if you have an abundance of that prey species in your area, you can dupe the same coyotes repeatedly because those coyotes have probably had more good experiences with those sounds than bad experiences.

Consider that every coyote is an individual and each coyote has a certain level of curiousity and a certain level of caution depending on their life's experiences. The more you can perk their curiousity and ease their caution, the more successful you will be.

If you walk in from a noisy highway, if you talk all the way to your stand, if you walk on the skyline, if you shine a flashlight around or your gun is causing reflections, if you plop your ass down on top of a high hill and start calling against the sky line, if your vehicle is in plain site, if your wind is blowing in the direction you are calling, and if you keep checking to see if you chambered a round, you probably won't have a lot of success.

If you keep your noises to an absolute minimum, if you walk quite a ways in from the back side of the country where most callers would not approach from, if you stay below the skyline, if you approach with the wind in your face, if you keep glassing the ridges to make sure a coyote is not watching you, if your vehicle is hidden, and you're hunting as you are approaching your stand, and if your sounds are very natural you are going to be far more successful.


Natural is the key word here. Natural sounds coming from a natural place under natural circumstances.

4. If you suspect that you have far more pups than adults, you will probably have a lot better luck with distress type calls. If it's later in the year and you have more educated adult coyotes, you would be better off to do more howling.

5. If your sounds sound like every other caller out there and they are coming from the same place that a particular coyote has been shot at before, your success is going to be limited. Any coyote, no matter how educated, can be tricked with some sound in some situation.

Also keep in mind that there is some days you can't call a coyote no matter what sounds you make because they simply are not interested. Probably tired from running all night.

Now that you have all that to consider, I'll give you the short answer. Start out by using distress calls early in the year than use more howling as the season progresses IF YOU CAN HOWL AND MAKE IT SOUND NATURAL. If you can't, leave it alone.

NO PERSON is the judge of what sounds natural, only the coyotes are.

There is a multitude of distress calls out there to imitate or use electronically if you don't know what others are using in your area.

Personally, I use a combination of coyote vocalizations and various distress calls which I will not disclose. A combination of howling and rabbit calls will work best in most areas. With more calling pressure you would be best advised to change to different distress sounds.

My favorite mouth call is Ed Scerey's AP6 and AP7. They sound natural and have more variability than a closed reed call. If you are just starting out, any of the closed reed calls are very good. A Tally Ho is still a great open reed call too but just doesn't have as much volume as the others. Major Boddicker also makes a good call with his Critter Call.


Gappa,

Please archive this one when it dies out.

[HappyPlumber]

These are great responces on this site. If myself as a beginning caller can't develop a plan something has got to be wrong. I have learned more about calling in the last two weeks and haven't even got out to pattern the new gun. HP

[richc]

Wiley covered this one very well. Read that answer again, and don't forget the part in regard to approach to you chosen calling stand. I use mostly lonesome sounding howls this time of the year, and mix in some prey distress sounds. Mating season is in full swing now, and the coyotes are not very friendly toward a stranger that may steal their girl friend.