Hyperwrx
New member
Got out late morning, 11am, headed South to an area that repeatedly has been produces for me. I deviated from the normal giant thick stuff and headed down a canal bank with cotton fields and thin patches of thick Mesquite and Palo Verde trees, and Creosote bushes. Realized at that point I forgot the ladder.
Stand 1- Careful of the wind direction I approach a thicket of trees with deep yellow grass. I walk in and find an open area on the fringe of the thicket. No good trees to stand again so I find a tree to sit against with the Minaska in a bush in front of me 20 feet. No decoy as I lost it yesterday on the quad. I fire up Woodpecker in distress for 2 minutes on loud volume with no action. I switch to kitten distress, which is basically a kitten meowing over and over and 25 seconds into that I see a nice bobcat step out of the edge of the thick stuff and walk behind the bush the caller is in. I raise my shotgun hoping that once the bobcat realizes there ain't no kitten in there it will go back out of the stand the way it come in. I have about a 10' window to shoot him in. Just as I guessed he slinks back out but since I am sitting i can only see the top of his back and his head. I shoot at what I can see and drop him right there. Thicker fur than the ones I shot a month ago. No pelt damage from the #4 buck, even at 20 feet.
Picture of the thicket I called him in from. I was in the middle of the tall trees in the center of the picture.
Arizona cotton field as backdrop. The harvesters were in the field behind me picking the cotton.
I then move 400 yards down the same ditch and see a thin section of dense trees. I stop the truck and walk quietly around the trees so my wind isn't heading into them. I put the Minaska All in One in one of the small bushes in the picture and stand up against a tree.
30 seconds into woodpecker distress I have a nice sized coyote come busting out of the trees heading for the caller. As she approaches the caller she passes in front of one of the bushes and I take that opportunity to raise my shotgun. Not stealthy enough, she sees movement and wheels around and is bolting for the trees. I shoot twice and she does a Pete Rose slide, head first, into the trees. Very nice sized female I'd guess between 25 and 30 pounds. Worn teeth and some battle scars on her head.
Haven't done stands on the ground in a while. was nice to not have to carry the ladder but visibility is dramatically reduced. Almost lost the bobcat on account of it. 5 total stands, 1 coyote and 1 bobcat taken.
To the AZ hunter not having the success he wants in calling in coyotes. I am a firm believer that anyone can call in just as many coyotes in the desert as I am by just remembering a few things. First you have to call in areas that hold coyotes. I do not call open desert flatland hardly at all. Maybe first light but then I move into thicker trees. Remember the wind. Do whatever you have to do to get good visibility, ladder, standing.. whatever. Don't create for yourself a stand where if a coyote comes in, you can't shoot him, on account of too many obstacles yet have enough cover he feels comfortable coming into the stand. My mentor taught me to situate the caller on the fringe of the thick stuff so the coyotes sense of security is higher and he is more likely to, at least, show himself as he looks at the caller/decoy. Don't use big decoys or white decoys. I use small feather lifelike bird decoys that are used to bring the coyote in closer, not to make it stop and stare. I want the coyote to see my decoy and say 'there's a tangled up bird for lunch'. Walk into your stand 100% silent. No stepping on sticks, branches, and such. Gun barrel not making contact with branches. Use sounds that the coyote is not hearing constantly from other callers. Go through 2-3 sounds per stand. Throwing a zoo at them in 15 minutes is stupid. I use 3 completely different sound types in hopes of peaking the coyotes interest. Right now I use Woodpecker Distress, kitten distress, and puppy distress. I don't call continuously. My caller plays 25 seconds and I let it go silent 1 minute, over and over. I have created sound files with the pauses already in them so I don't have to have my hand on the remote when on stand. Shotguns are forgiving, rifles are not. In thick stuff, a shotgun is your best firearm to get the job done. #4 buck or Dead Coyote will plow right through bushes and small branches. My stands NEVER exceed 15 minutes and are more close to 10 minutes. If you can't coax it out of the thick stuff in 10 minutes, it ain't coming no matter what you do. Move on. Do other methods work? Of course they do. I just know I am shooting a lot of predators this season and it isn't because I'm some fabulous hunter, it's just because I stay consistent to a proven certain pattern.
Stand 1- Careful of the wind direction I approach a thicket of trees with deep yellow grass. I walk in and find an open area on the fringe of the thicket. No good trees to stand again so I find a tree to sit against with the Minaska in a bush in front of me 20 feet. No decoy as I lost it yesterday on the quad. I fire up Woodpecker in distress for 2 minutes on loud volume with no action. I switch to kitten distress, which is basically a kitten meowing over and over and 25 seconds into that I see a nice bobcat step out of the edge of the thick stuff and walk behind the bush the caller is in. I raise my shotgun hoping that once the bobcat realizes there ain't no kitten in there it will go back out of the stand the way it come in. I have about a 10' window to shoot him in. Just as I guessed he slinks back out but since I am sitting i can only see the top of his back and his head. I shoot at what I can see and drop him right there. Thicker fur than the ones I shot a month ago. No pelt damage from the #4 buck, even at 20 feet.
Picture of the thicket I called him in from. I was in the middle of the tall trees in the center of the picture.
Arizona cotton field as backdrop. The harvesters were in the field behind me picking the cotton.
I then move 400 yards down the same ditch and see a thin section of dense trees. I stop the truck and walk quietly around the trees so my wind isn't heading into them. I put the Minaska All in One in one of the small bushes in the picture and stand up against a tree.
30 seconds into woodpecker distress I have a nice sized coyote come busting out of the trees heading for the caller. As she approaches the caller she passes in front of one of the bushes and I take that opportunity to raise my shotgun. Not stealthy enough, she sees movement and wheels around and is bolting for the trees. I shoot twice and she does a Pete Rose slide, head first, into the trees. Very nice sized female I'd guess between 25 and 30 pounds. Worn teeth and some battle scars on her head.
Haven't done stands on the ground in a while. was nice to not have to carry the ladder but visibility is dramatically reduced. Almost lost the bobcat on account of it. 5 total stands, 1 coyote and 1 bobcat taken.
To the AZ hunter not having the success he wants in calling in coyotes. I am a firm believer that anyone can call in just as many coyotes in the desert as I am by just remembering a few things. First you have to call in areas that hold coyotes. I do not call open desert flatland hardly at all. Maybe first light but then I move into thicker trees. Remember the wind. Do whatever you have to do to get good visibility, ladder, standing.. whatever. Don't create for yourself a stand where if a coyote comes in, you can't shoot him, on account of too many obstacles yet have enough cover he feels comfortable coming into the stand. My mentor taught me to situate the caller on the fringe of the thick stuff so the coyotes sense of security is higher and he is more likely to, at least, show himself as he looks at the caller/decoy. Don't use big decoys or white decoys. I use small feather lifelike bird decoys that are used to bring the coyote in closer, not to make it stop and stare. I want the coyote to see my decoy and say 'there's a tangled up bird for lunch'. Walk into your stand 100% silent. No stepping on sticks, branches, and such. Gun barrel not making contact with branches. Use sounds that the coyote is not hearing constantly from other callers. Go through 2-3 sounds per stand. Throwing a zoo at them in 15 minutes is stupid. I use 3 completely different sound types in hopes of peaking the coyotes interest. Right now I use Woodpecker Distress, kitten distress, and puppy distress. I don't call continuously. My caller plays 25 seconds and I let it go silent 1 minute, over and over. I have created sound files with the pauses already in them so I don't have to have my hand on the remote when on stand. Shotguns are forgiving, rifles are not. In thick stuff, a shotgun is your best firearm to get the job done. #4 buck or Dead Coyote will plow right through bushes and small branches. My stands NEVER exceed 15 minutes and are more close to 10 minutes. If you can't coax it out of the thick stuff in 10 minutes, it ain't coming no matter what you do. Move on. Do other methods work? Of course they do. I just know I am shooting a lot of predators this season and it isn't because I'm some fabulous hunter, it's just because I stay consistent to a proven certain pattern.
