What call to open a stand with?

T

Trapper Luke

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Alright so when you first get to a stand what call do you guys like to open with? Does the time of year have something to do with what call you use first?

Thanks,
Luke
 
When by myself or hunting with my preferred partner I often start with a lip squeak. If nothing shows right away the rabbit distress is used most often. Mid to late winter I might use howls more often.
 
Originally Posted By: Trapper LukeAlright so when you first get to a stand what call do you guys like to open with? Does the time of year have something to do with what call you use first?

Thanks,
Luke

Luke,

Regardless of the season or the animal I'm calling, I open my stands 98% of the time with Pileated Woodpecker distress. Every predator will respond to it, it's not an intimidating sound, and if I have a bobcat laid up nearby it usually trots right in.

The other 2% is baby cottontail. This probably works just as well as the woodpecker - It's a preference thing.

Good hunting,

Mark Healy
 
I use a JackRabbit or Cottontail almost all of the time.

Just to expand on this some. I think to many people start with a sound and if nothing pops right in they then change to another and another and another. Sometime there just isn't anything around. Pick a sound and stick with it start to finish. If nothing comes in, in 15 min go find another spot to call.
 
Too many times I've seen coyotes not responding to one sound, only to change up on them in the middle of the stand and have them come. No harm in changing sounds on stand.

I often start with rabbit, of one flavor or another, sometimes start with a howl of some flavor or another, might even start with lip squeeks from time to time. I dont' have a pattern for the most part, just play it by ear on what ever feels good at the time.
 
Rabbit. Low volume mouth call, muffled with the off hand, very mournful sounding in short duration (dying breath sort of thing) for 30 seconds then e-caller with dying rabbit followed by gray fox in distress.
 
Most of the time I start out with rabbit in distress sounds but I do start with woodpecker or jay sounds at times. Don't be afraid to change sounds 3 or 4 times in a 15 minute stand. In some of the country I call in there are lots of jays. Switching back and forth to jay sounds from any other distress sound works pretty good for me. When I use to trap years ago quite often I knew I had something in my trap way before I could see my trap set because of all the jays squawking.Yesterday on Brian Downs Predator Hunting Talk-cast Show Terry Denmon from Mojo Decoys mentioned a sound changing tip that has worked good for me the last two years. Before you quit the stand play Coyote Death Cry or Coyote Pup Screams for 3 or 4 minutes. I have had coyotes come in quite a few times at the end of the stand after switching to a coyote in distress sound.
 
Switching sounds is like Gambling to me. It's something you never know about. My Buddy the other day started playing a quarter Keno machine. He started with $10 he soon won $300 on a 7 out of 10 spot that he had hit 7 times. The 10 out of 10 was $20,000 he just knew he was going to win that $20,000 if he kept playing. By the time he was done he lost it all.

The question is. How do you know you didn't call the animal in with the first sound? By the time you give each one of your sounds a chance to call something in you could have probabaly made 3 or 4 other stands someplace else and called in other animals.

Don't get me wrong on other sounds if they work use them. But give them a chance before you start flipping through your Library of sounds and then claim nothing works because your changing every two min.
 
I always start with Lipsqueak or DSG on low. I then go to a loud Jackrabbit. Before leaving the stand I like a coon fight or Coyote Fox fight right before Coyote Pup distress. Sometimes in the Middle I play a little Crow sounds as well. If you attract enough Crows you will most always call a dog.
 
Quote:The question is. How do you know you didn't call the animal in with the first sound? By the time you give each one of your sounds a chance to call something in you could have probabaly made 3 or 4 other stands someplace else and called in other animals.

Don't get me wrong on other sounds if they work use them. But give them a chance before you start flipping through your Library of sounds and then claim nothing works because your changing every two min.

I agree: By flipping through youre sound list all a caller is doing is confuseing the coyote.
If and when i change to another sound its at the end of a stand and then i may sit and wait a extra 5-10 minutes or longer if i know there are coyotes there to start with..
 
With the number of answers you're getting, it sounds like it doesn't matter.
If I'm after cats, I start with a Yellowhammer or high-pitched bird and let it run.

Quote:Does the time of year have something to do with what call you use first?


Breeding season you might try some howls. Female invite should work pretty well. You should watch a couple of Randy Anderson's tapes, he's pretty good at calling in coyotes and shares his knowledge.
 
When Im handing calling i blow the call for thirty sec. then lay off for thirty sec. Often a yote will show up in the first two minutes. As far as opening a stand i perfer a cotton tail.
 
Alright thanks for the input so far guys. To answer you Evil I've watched I'm thinkin 3 or 4 of Randys vidoes and have learned alot from them. I've also got bout all of his calls along with a few others.

Luke
 
For me once I get past about the 12 minute mark, then I know I'm past the high odds time frame of a coyote responding. I'll often throw about a minute of some sort of offsetting squall in there like a woodpecker, fox distress, or coon distress then go right back to the original prey distress sounds. Too many times for it to be a co-inky dink I've had something trot in after that quick break in the sequence. I nearly always end the stand with a couple or three minutes of pup distress and then sit quiet for a few minutes before breaking the stand. I have killed coyotes at 20+ minutes into the stand after that pup distress series. I don't think all those were coming from long distances and just happened to come into view after the pup distress. I think that caused either curiosity or the protective sense overwhelmed them and they came in even when they didn't want to. I've called whitetail deer with pup distress and turkey gobblers with rabbit squalls, ya just never know what might come in and that is the fun of this sport.
 
I live in western wa with a lot of timber and clearcuts. I love to howl with my foxpro I with start with two or three lone howls then go straight into a seranade wait to get a reply if so use pup distress to bring them in it works very well but beware they come running and they dont wory about the wind. lots of people just use pup distress for after they shoot one to bring out others. let me tell you try it for just calling them in I have probubly killed more coyotes with pup distress than any other sound!!
 
"By flipping through youre sound list all a caller is doing is confuseing the coyote" By using 3 maybe 4 sounds on a stand, is not flipping through a sound list, and if you think 3 or 4 sounds on a stand confuses a coyote, I THINK you're giving coyote way too much credit for being able to "think". They re-act, they don't think! IMO!!
 
I cant figure out listening to a wounded rabit is any fun, learn how to speak to them and it will make for a much more adrenalin filled hunt. If they dont answer after about five min or so go to that god awful sound of a wounded animal. I have found that howls will bring in more at once than a rabbit will, you have to love more targets!!
 
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