What did i do wrong?

I've never had a coyote wind me and howl. Normally they'll bark when you're busted. So I think you should have threw more sounds out there to see if you could break it loose. I don't think it smelled you I think it thought another coyote was there. If it moved in closer it obviously wasn't afraid of what it thought was where you were.

This is just my personal opinion and what I would do moving forward. If you deal with high winds I would start calling with the wind in my face and make stands close together. I've hunted with guys that hunted with the wind to their back when it was windy and it never panned out. Setting up with a wind going left to right or right to left is the only time I'm ever able to see downwind. I'm not saying what works for me will work for everyone but I've seen it work a lot. It's worth a try. One thing I do know is if something isn't working you're not losing anything by trying something different.
 
Please allow me to clarify - if it’s a perfect calling day I will take the wind in my face 100% of the time and the sun at my back. When I set up I can usually see in front of me for miles, if one does come from behind my set then I will get him the next time. He has smelled me but is not as educated as if he was shot at and smelled me on the stand.

My partner and I took 80 coyotes to the fur auction and probably left 30 lay as early, Mangey, ugly, late Coyotes lay.

My system works for me and my partner, if you hunt with someone, set up so the Coyotes that do come in from behind or your side he can possibly kill them.

Side note - went out yesterday because I have been holed up from that [beeep] virus. Killed 1 and saw another 14.
62 degrees, very little wind and and hardly any action. They are very smart and will die come late October;-)

Just remember, if they were that smart? They would be hunting us!!
 
Mr. Poppadopalis, your set up is much different than mine, I'm alone hunting. also, it's in the winter time and tons of snow, also here where I live I bet there aren't 14 coyotes within a 30-mile radius of me. You saw 14 in one day! You can afford to have one or 2 smell you!, lol
You said, "if it’s a perfect calling day I will take the wind in my face 100% of the time"
My first question is, Can you see on the downwind side of you as well? (When I say downwind side, I don't mean just the very path that your smell is travelling but also to both side of where your scent is travelling) My second question is why look into the wind? yes, I know a coyote can't smell you if it comes into you upwind, but there is no way a coyote will come into the clear in shooting distance of me here where I hunt because the forest cover they use to their advantage. So when I find an open area, such as a bog/marsh and if there is any wind I will set up so that my scent is moving out across the open bog, and again I can only speak from my own experience, a coyote normally only circles 100 yards or so downwind of the caller, giving me a perfect chance to shoot so that is why I leave the open area that I'm set up at on the downwind side of me so my scent is in the open which is much better going into the trees don't you agree?
The next question is regarding what you said," if one does come from behind my set then I will get him the next time." I guess you mean your next set later in the day? Again as I said you can afford to have 1 smell you, it's just 1 coyote it's not a big deal when you have so many.
I'm looking forward to your reply. Hope you can answer my questions. But you have to realize the landscape and terrain here is so much different than your area I feel.
 
Originally Posted By: newfielanderMr. Poppadopalis, your set up is much different than mine, I'm alone hunting. also, it's in the winter time and tons of snow, also here where I live I bet there aren't 14 coyotes within a 30-mile radius of me. You saw 14 in one day! You can afford to have one or 2 smell you!, lol
You said, "if it’s a perfect calling day I will take the wind in my face 100% of the time"
My first question is, Can you see on the downwind side of you as well? (When I say downwind side, I don't mean just the very path that your smell is travelling but also to both side of where your scent is travelling) My second question is why look into the wind? yes, I know a coyote can't smell you if it comes into you upwind, but there is no way a coyote will come into the clear in shooting distance of me here where I hunt because the forest cover they use to their advantage. So when I find an open area, such as a bog/marsh and if there is any wind I will set up so that my scent is moving out across the open bog, and again I can only speak from my own experience, a coyote normally only circles 100 yards or so downwind of the caller, giving me a perfect chance to shoot so that is why I leave the open area that I'm set up at on the downwind side of me so my scent is in the open which is much better going into the trees don't you agree?
The next question is regarding what you said," if one does come from behind my set then I will get him the next time." I guess you mean your next set later in the day? Again as I said you can afford to have 1 smell you, it's just 1 coyote it's not a big deal when you have so many.
I'm looking forward to your reply. Hope you can answer my questions. But you have to realize the landscape and terrain here is so much different than your area I feel.


Can you post some pictures of your calling stands?
 
If I’m walking in to hunt I’m gonna have the wind in my face ,otherwise my smell is alerting everything ahead of me. Get some kind of natural backing and use it to block downwind. I pretty much always have the wind in my face with backing ( around me old farms)and have no problem with coyotes running in. I wouldn’t make a set if I had to walk in with the wind behind me.
 
Mr. Poppadopalis,
I don't have a picture of my setups, but here is a picture of the kind of area I hunt. This picture is taken from a little hill I used to spy, and its a nice lookout, and if the wind was the opposite direction I would maybe sit here and put my caller out in front of me and over to the right. I will add 2 pictures and if you would be so kind as to try and explain how you would do it (using the picture) if it's not the same as my description.

[img:center]https://imgur.com/a/ZVrYtHM[/img]

[img:center]https://imgur.com/a/TeeBI52[/img]
 
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Host photo somewhere, find BBcode and copy, go to fourth symbol from left above, choose center floating and paste then ok.

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[img:left][/img]
 
Get Down wind of them next time and set up your stand. Cross wind in your face or directly in your face.

Make sure you have elevation on them and try to call them into one of the many openings in your picture.

Your only difference from where I hunt is that you have trees.

 
You would probably be surprised how many coyotes won't even try winding you. From my experience the more hunting pressure the more likely they are to try and wind you. Early season coyotes don't even try a lot of times. And I could count on one hand how many times I've walked back the direction I walked in from and saw coyotes downwind. I've sat up wrong and had them come in straight downwind from me but they didn't deliberately do it themselves. If you call in the direction you think they're staying in they're going to come from that way if you're right. If you shoot and miss or get winded the first time you're just making that coyote head straight downwind every time it hears a call. If they think something isn't right they're going to circle downwind right away. If they're straight downwind from you they won't have that far to go before they can achieve that. Either that or they'll just start barking because they know something isn't right.
 
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Amazing how many folks just automatically think that where some else is hunting the terrain and cover is just like where they hunt . Calling coyotes with lots of trees around is very challenging . Not very often do you those big numbers bagged when there is lots of cover . A man with a good rifle in open country is king of road with lots of cover not so much so he gets some but not as easy or as many.That is what makes it challenging and why we do it .some areas just don't have the habitat that others do plus some areas have lots of competition for the available food source (wolves, cougars,foxes etc. )So even when we get better at calling we might not get the action others do but we might not have the numbers of critters to call in . Do not get discouraged ,and keep asking questions as you have here .I get a few but I remember each and every one !!!
 
Lodgepole, wow I appreciate your comments, many comments on here I just grin and pass by for the very same thing you noticed, you can't compare apples to oranges. So many guys are tough-talking coyote killers,I'd love to have a few of them here for a week, it would be fun to watch. I'm a guide (big game) here in NL and I have seen and heard it all! The first day of the hunt I get these comments all the time, of "how far I can shoot", "how good my eyes are", "how quiet I can be", "the years of experience I have", "I think this is how we should do" by the end of the week, its a different story!
But anyway it's great fun, I love the challenge of the hunt and just smile when I read many of the comments. But also try to learn from others.
 
New, here is my advice. When you came on this forum and asked for help, you needed to first ask yourself some questions. Do I really want help? Do I want hunters to give me opposing opinions to what I think, and am I willing to accept them? Do I want hunters to just verify to me that my method is correct.

Opposing views are far more important than agreement! Why not just try what they suggest? I mean after all, you did ask what they thought.
 
Ooh he’s a big game hunter, no wonder he’s only shot 5 coyotes. Sorry but most of these guys would more than likely show you a thing or 2 and not trash people offering help.
 
Ok, ok boys before we all get cranky here, lol I will agree to call facing the wind , but not without also being able to see downwind area as well. Fair enough?
 
That's called calling Crosswind.
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Being a big game hunter doesn't mean squat when it comes to calling coyotes. Pretty much everyone that I know is a deer hunter, but I can count on one hand how many would be successful calling coyotes.

There have been some knowledgeable guys on here that has given you some good info. Take their advice and try it out. It might work, it might not. I did some calling a few months back with a couple guys in Colorado, who I consider top notch coyote callers. I kept my mouth shut, listened to what they told me, and learned a lot of new techniques. I've been calling coyotes for over 10 years, and killed my fair share. But I am always willing to learn from others.
 
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