howling troubles

I

idahowildlander

New member
Ive been calling for about 20 years and killed a pile of coyotes in my time all using distress sounds. In my area it seems everyone is calling these days with distress sound so Ive been trying to switch things up with howling. I can get coyotes to answer interrogation howls all day long but if i switch to a distress of any kind everything shuts up it i go to a challenge howl same story if i keep on the interrogation type howl they just keep talking and wont come in. Any advice? I had 11 different coyotes talking today and never saw one of fires a shot.
 
Not sure how long you are on a stand, but this time of year I do a lot more coyote vocals and instead of 15 minutes, I'll stay 30 minutes or longer, depending on the response.
I also go to a higher pitch, less threatening call after the initial round of howls.
 
Ive been staying about 20-25 min. Ive tried letting them howl for awhile going to a cottontail, Snowshoe,coyote pup, fox pup, woodpecker......about any distress you can think of and they just shut up and never show as soon as i hit any type of distress. I just loaded a coyote pup howl and a coyote yodel howl of the foxpro i might try them when they start answering tomorrow and see what happens. This howling thing is for the most part new to me ive always just used distress type sounds.
 
Up here in the east I never ever use challenges,unless I get challeged by what I think is a dominant dog,and even then I have a sound that is a coyote pup barking and howling like a challenge,I also have a higher pitch challenge that sounds like a bata dog,it makes the big guy or gal real mad...
Also I tend to mainly use submissive sounds,breading sounds and higher pitch sounds,then I weave them togheter to sound like abunch of interlopers are in their territory eating their food and having their way with the local "honey"..
Once in a blue moon if I am right in a big dogs living room and he starts vocalizing big time I will use a adult challenge,then I have big male lone howl sound that is a killer,but as soon as I think they are ajitated enough I hit the pup distress and get ready..
Now I say in the east because we have more family groups per square mile,so the territories are close and that plays in my favor when I work the coyotes against each other..
Here is another thing that freaks them out,if you dont think you can get busted,when they start challeging you move up on them,you can even have your call going as you go,this works killer at night also.. Here is another thing you guys will all think I am nuts,but I dont hunt to make tons of stands,I hunt to kill coyotes,so If I have coyotes howling and I know I have good cover,the winds in my favor and they cant get to my back side I stay.I have worked some coyotes a long as three to four hours,just changing sounds and pushing their buttons,and a lot of time I have come away with better understanding of their vocolizations and a coyote or two who just had had enough with the strange coyote that was in his territory making all that noise.. Territory is everything to a coyote family group..
 
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If they answer you, cut the distance in half if you won't get busted and then howl again and see what they'll do...howl back at them with a challenge howl and see how they react. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Then switch to a raspy distress sound. It works for me.
 
It seems the big thing or big new thing is howling. Regardless of what who said it on TV that doesn't make it a fact. First off this time of year a howl let's other coyotes know there's a coyote in the area. Now pups have been dispersed and are getting their butts kicked every time they encroach on another's territory so the last thing they want anything to do with is another coyote. Now let's say your howling gets the attention of an older coyote. This coyote has lived a few seasons and heard it all and knows to approach every stand with the highest caution it can. So it winds you and busts you. Its a lose lose situation. Most guys that will tell you to howl either got lucky and it worked once so its their new go to sound. They likely haven't called more than a couple in with their howls. Or you got the guys that seen All Morris say it on FoxPro furtakers and so they repeat what he said but have never called a coyote in using vocals. No one ever explains what howls mean or how to listen at pitch and what not and for all you may know you are telling all the coyotes that there's something wrong. Of you don't understand howls don't use them until you do. Stick with what you know. Besides all them other guys are reading these same posts watching the same hunting shows doin the same thing. Think outside the box and do something totally different. It will increase your success.
 
If you want to try a more non-threatening howler that, with a little practice, can sound like a female invitation, contact Bearmanric (one of the call makers here),,, He made me a small high pitched howler and while I'm not perfect with it, it seems to work a little better than the challenge howls I've used in the past...

I've found that howling only seems to work at specific times, depending on weather and time of year, but as I said, I'm far from perfect with using them...
 


If the coyotes are young, yes they will be intimidated by other coyotes, but if they are answering the howls than that shows some interest. I have had good success with the suggestion I mentioned.
 
Quote: Of you don't understand howls don't use them until you do so if you don't understand them and you're saying not to use them, how's a guy supposed to learn to understand them?
There are other vocals, other than just howling, that will work. WT's submissive is a good one, TT's coyote fight is a good one, and I've called in my fair share by simply using Foxpros' female invitation over and over and over.
I think one thing that has helped me call and kill more vocal coyotes over the years was cutting the distance to them any chance I got. Make it easier for them to come and look, instead of expecting them to come 1 mile, or more. They're more likely to come if they are just 1/4 mile over one hill from you.
Keep trying different things, even howling. It's how you learn. And if they don't come, then you didn't educate them. Try them again from a different angle, even that same day.
I killed a vocal pair a couple weekends ago and it took me three stands to do it. After the first stand, I moved closer. They didn't come so I moved around 90 degrees on them and sat up and tried different vocals, and killed 'em both. Two males.
 
I don't normally howl until late January, or so. I've not had much success with it this time of year.

December appears to be the start of the breeding season and choosing mates. Several years ago, I was coyote hunting in Mid-December and, way to the North on land I did not have permission to hunt, I spot 2 groups of coyotes laying on the snow, maybe 300yds apart. One group had 7-8 and the other, 5-6. Near each group was 2 coyotes, probably within 50yds of a main group. Every now and again, a member of a large group stood up and walked over and around the pair near them, then went back and laid down. This happened several times while I watched.

I was able to get to about 1/2 mile of them and started to call. They raised their heads and looked my way, but did not budge. Even howling did not get them to come any closer.

A week later, I was goose hunting the same property, and as it got light, I could see what might be the same 2 groups on the same hillside, doing the same thing. As before, they had no interest in my calls.

The next year, same place and Mid-December, I saw the same behavior.

I think the big groups were males and the pairs were females, and they were waiting for the females to be 'ready'. Once they pick mates,maybe early January, they get territorial and vocals work better for me.

Also, I have never had a coyote howl back at me during daylight in January through March. They just come in, quick and quiet.
 
I have been using a submissive call successfully for many years. I would answer dominant challenges with a stronger call.
Recently including yesterday I used a dominant howl starter. It lit up the whole pack and in a few minutes papa was there looking for me.
 
So by your logic just play every vocal and distress on your call til something works? That makes a lot of sense. Go listen to coyotes. Learn how they respond to what the other coyotes say is what I suggest. Make a natural scenario.
 
I use rabbit distress sounds predominantly. I howl to get a response, locate or as in the case last weekend, to see how they would react. They responded to my howl by stopping and listening, then I howled again and they turned, I waited about 30 seconds and started with that little orange Tebbe call...they were hooked...the coyotes were there within a couple of minutes looking for the intruder. Resulted in a young man's first coyote ever. Do what works for you vortex, were trying to offer suggestions to the OP, may be them coyotes where you are at are vastly different than the ones that I'm used to....
 
I hunted in New Mexico last week. Called in 20 in 3 days and all but four were on jack rabbit. Other than those four the rest treated vocals like the plague.
 
Don't get stuck thinking that it has to seem "natural" for it to work. After all, do rabbits normally scream for 15 minutes none stop, but yet that tactic calls coyotes. Will a coyote come to baby cottontail in Feb, sure it will but yet there are no baby cottontails at that time. I could go on and on with scenarios that work that aren't "natural".
nothing but vocals on this stand this morning. That makes 43 for the season so far, and several others have died because of vocals too. Vocals work, and if you don't know which ones, it's time to try some and learn.
 
Maybe I should use an ecaller, my asthma kicks in after using my hand calls for 15 minutes nonstop.... lol.
Good job on the 43 songdog....we got 2 last weekend. First day we tried. I'd been concentrating on getting a lion....do they shy away from vocal sounds too?
 
What can are you using there? What's the rifle set up? I took one with my suppressed 223 AI and a suppressed CZ 223 last saturday. Man what a difference...
 
I often think we overthink this stuff. As soon as someone says 'Coyotes always do this or that", they are wrong.

Like Songdog,and some others, I believe vocals are a deadly tool in the arsenal. That's why this time of year I usually have 4 or more to use on each stand. Some times I only use one and sometimes I use them all and my buddy may also chime in with his.

I expect to howl in 20 coyotes a day this time of year, so it isn't a question of whether it works or not, it's a question of whether the guy calling is willing to try something new.
If distress calls don't produce the result you want, then try something else.

I had two guys from Michigan up for a hunt years ago. They had never howled when calling. We got setup and I was using a "Rich Cronk" horn howler. I started to howl and it sounded like I had been hit with a cow prod. OH NO!!! I tried again and it sounded worse. The sound carried for a mile across the bald open prairie. I checked the horn and found a small piece of grass stuck under the reed. I took it out, gave a howl and immediately the two coyotes off to the east responded.They were inside 150 yards and had come in on the horrible sounds I started with.

It just goes to show what damage a little piece of grass can do.

Don't be afraid to try something new.
 
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