what do YOU do when they howl back??

T

Trapper Luke

New member
Went out callin last night and had some yotes answer me. Never did see the coyotes but a red fox came in and I shot him. He was the first predator I've ever called in so was still pretty excited anyways still bein fairly new to calling I was wondering what sound you guys have had the best results with when they answer back?

Thanks,
Luke
 
luke...i get whiplash from snap'n my head to the music...heart starts THUMP'N....brain cells go bananas ( howl back or not,is there a shell in chamber,am i where i wanna be,did i unplug the coffee maker)....grin...congrats on fox!
 
luke...serious this time...if they responded to ur howl,sometimes doing nut'n works-they know ur there & they may come to you to checkout trespasser. Sumtimes blow'n a distress call after a bit will draw'em in too.
 
First I look for a new pair of undies... Haha!

Seriously, I'd blow a submissive challenge howl, ki yi, or just rabbit distress. You obviously had them listening, so it was just a matter of sparking them to come in.

Congrats on the fox too!

Steven
 
When you said that they answered you, I assume you were howling. If it's a case of them howling while you are distress calling, then theres a good chance they won't come in. I've rarely had them come in when they howl, even a group howl, when calling with distress.

Now, if they answered you while you were howling, then I usually go silent and hit some rabbit distress on them. I've had some that only came in after challenge howling back and forth with them for 20 minutes or more. It just depends on the situation, but I'd switch from a howl to prey distress, trying to lay out the scenario of someone is in their kitchen.

Good luck and congrats on your first predator!

Tony
 
I have never had them respond to me either while on the distress if they started howling but if they answered your howls do to a challenge howl depending on the time of year.Early in the year though I will go strait into a distress while they are howling if that dosent produce I will move around to get a different angle on them and get on the distress again.Doesnt work all the time but it works often enough to keep doing it!
 
Originally Posted By: TonyTebbeWhen you said that they answered you, I assume you were howling. If it's a case of them howling while you are distress calling, then theres a good chance they won't come in. I've rarely had them come in when they howl, even a group howl, when calling with distress.

Now, if they answered you while you were howling, then I usually go silent and hit some rabbit distress on them. I've had some that only came in after challenge howling back and forth with them for 20 minutes or more. It just depends on the situation, but I'd switch from a howl to prey distress, trying to lay out the scenario of someone is in their kitchen.

Good luck and congrats on your first predator!

Tony

So why is it that they wont come in if they howl after one does a distress call do they know something is up?
 
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So why is it that they wont come in if they howl after one does a distress call do they know something is up? [/quote]

Good question. Wish I knew the answer. I do know that in most cases, as in my cases, that I know about, I don't think they know something is up. LOL

Like has been mentioned, if I get all set up at a stand and I hear coyotes group howling off in the distance, they seem to *seldom* come in to distress sounds. BUT, sometimes they will. How's that?
 
I do a lot of howling and the coyotes do alot of stuff that the internet says they "never" do.
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Of course they don't always come in, they also don't "never" come in. Fact is the only thing they never do is what you think they will always do.
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Were you howling?

I start very nearly every stand with a howl or two. I wait a few minutes and howl again. Sometimes I get a vocal response and they come in, sometimes no response and they come in, sometimes they don't come in at all response or not. If nothing shows I'll go to a distress sound.

I think this forum is an excellent place for ideas and opinions and educated guesses, informed answers and good advice, but there are some things only experience can teach us.

One is that thing about carrying a cat by the tail, and the other is coyote vocals.

When I hear a coyote howl in reply to my distress calls, I can tell from experience whether he is likelyto come in or not. As has been said most times it's "not". I look at this as a learning opportunity.

Sometimes we over think this sport and give credit to the coyote that he doesn't deserve, some times we underestimate him and he makes us look stupid. They are not as smart or as dumb as we think they are. What keeps him from coming in when he howls in reply to your distress calls? Must be fear. If he was hungry or horny he would come in. What else motivates a coyote? So I try to dispel his fear.

In the case of a reply to howling, I'll howl back with something similar to his howl, unless his is a challenge howl.If his is a challenge, I'll sit for a couple minutes and let him howl a few times, then I'll answer his challenge a couple times with a higher pitch than his and then go to a pup distress with lots of noise and aggression for at least thirty seconds. Then nothing. This has worked often enough to keep me trying it.

If he replies to my distress calls instead of howls, I'll just go silent for a couple minutes. He is waiting for my response. After a couple minutes I'll challenge with a high pitch sound, and then go to my pup distress with lots of emotion.

When this works the coyote does not come charging in but does come to see what is happening. At that point I can "work " him with whatever call I think will work in that instance. That's where the experience comes in.

This works for me. Your mileage may differ.Do not be afraid to try something not found in the "book". All the pages haven't been written yet and until the coyote does the writing, they won't be.,
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I started out with a few locator howls on two different calls to act like there was two different yotes. Waited for awhile with nothen so I went to the rabbit distress and soon as I finished that call is when they started howling back. I waited for awhile after they stopped and did a pup in distress. Waited nothen so went back to the rabbit in distress and they howled again after that series. so bein inexperciend I had no idea what was goin on so was gettin ready to do another rabbit in distress when mr. fox came in and it was right at dark so I ended up shootin him.
 
Originally Posted By: Redfrog What keeps him from coming in when he howls in reply to your distress calls? Must be fear. If he was hungry or horny he would come in. What else motivates a coyote?


As humans we will never know what all motivates coyotes to do what they do.

It really only applies to a relativly short time period out of an entire year, but a horny coyote ready and looking to breed and coming to a prey distress sound don't seem logical to me unless he plans on raping the rabbit, fawn, mouse, or whatever critter he thinks is making the noise.

I do think hunger is the number one reason they respond to a distress sound.

I also think there are several other reason besides breeding and hunger that they may come to a distress sound.

I'm curious as to why you think fear must be the reason a coyote, after howling, will not come in to a distress call?
 
Doggin, you cantankerous old fart,I know you get impatient when a response is not quickly forthcoming,so if you don't mind I'll interject my .02 cents worth.Now I don't think for one minute that anything I'm sayin is new to you,but here's my point. Don't get too hung up on the word fear.We could very easily replace it with the word uncertainty.Fear, uncertainty, worry,curiosity,pain,hunger,cautiousness and procreation all rule the world of the predator.

Now, I don't ever remember a time that a coyote howled back after I played a distress call.Many's the time they have threatened me,barked at me and probably called me every name in the book.I've been busted.Now I suppose someone could confuse that a bit and believed they were howled at, who's to say.

But nevertheless,a coyotes world is pretty much ruled by fear and uncertainty.Why else would most of them circle downwind before committing? From the time they were weaned they had their butts kicked every time they turned around. IMHO fear/uncertainty are major factors in a coyotes daily life.

Now, having said that,I would have to agree that just when you think you've got them figured out,they heap on the humiliation and you realize you really don't know Jack. If I was a bettin man,I'd say our friend Trapper Luke was busted.lol
 
I should clarify something.

When I said I have got set up to call and heard coyotes howling off in the distance, I should of said I heard them BEFORE I ever started calling.

Like you, I don't ever recall a time I have had them howl at me AFTER I had started calling with a distress sound. Usually if I hear a coyote making any kind of sound after I start with a distress sound it is bad news (for me) and it ain't what I would describe as a howl.

Having said that, the next time I go out and start calling a coyote will probably howl and come running right in. Ain't that the way it works?

Cantankerous old fart? Impatient? Huh? Me?
I'll ask my wife about that. Opps, I shouldn't of asked.
 
D/C I agree that there are many things that make a coyote do what he does, but I think the variances in response are the result of small triggers. If that were not the case, then every time i blew a distress call he would come for a free meal. For some reason he doesn't. It could be because he's not hungry, or on the edge of his comfort zone, or he just has that niggling feeling that sumthin ain't right.

I think there are only a few serious triggers to activate a response from a coyote.

Hunger, breeding, territory, and fear. There are others, but I believe these are the most important.
Depending on the time of year, the time of day, the area, the weather, and the individual coyote, some of these are more important than others.

During breeding season, I have much better success with just howling. I use little or no distress sounds. My thinking is when the females are in the mood to breed. I know I've never found myself too hungry to participate and I guess I project that onto the coyote. I can always catch a bite later.
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If the coyote is hungry, why would he not come to a free meal. I think it is apprehension at getting his butt whipped.
That is why I go to a higher pitched, less threatening sound.

I've said it before, your mileage may differ. I've heard from guys that howling flat out does not work in their area.That may be true. It flat out does work here and anyone who doesn't use it is handicapping themselves. A caller has nothing to lose by trying it and sooner or later he will find what he is "saying" and what works. Do the same as you always do and you will get what you always got.

One thing a coyote never does is cease to amaze me.

My wife called me a few days ago while I was away from home.
She is a cat person and she has several cats. I like cats, I just can't eat a whole one myself.
Anyway we live in a very rural area with lots of coyotes. I think the cats make good coyote feed.She disagrees. Apparently a large coyote walked through the yard and up into the orchard. She thought it was after her cats, so she went out and yelled at the coyote. The coyote gave her the "look" and carried on about his business. My wife went up into the orchard to chase him out and when she did, she found him up in the apple tree about 6 feet eating apples. She went and let my dogs out of the kennel, and they promptly ran the intruder off. BUT when she put the dogs back in the kennel, the coyote came back and climbed that tree again. No pics.

Who really knows what goes through their minds?? Or the coyote's mind.?
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Originally Posted By: Redfrog
In the case of a reply to howling, I'll howl back with something similar to his howl, unless his is a challenge howl.If his is a challenge, I'll sit for a couple minutes and let him howl a few times, then I'll answer his challenge a couple times with a higher pitch than his and then go to a pup distress with lots of noise and aggression for at least thirty seconds. Then nothing. This has worked often enough to keep me trying it.


I have had success as well with using this type of methodology - I listen to how the coyote is howling and respond to it with a similar response, but as Redfrog does - with a higher pitch tone so that you may appear to the coyote as a less threatening younger coyote. And of course hitting him with the aggressive pup distress and a hard pause when all else has failed usually seems to perk the coyotes interest and curiosities.

Again, don't be afraid to add your own personal spin on how you approach the howling coyote because again the objective is to find a combination that will capture the coyotes attention and not all yotes respond to the same sounds.

Good Luck to You!
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Gents, I'll add something kind of obvious to this thread . . . I'm guessing it was too dark, Luke, or you would have moved closer to the howls, right? In my neck of the woods, if I hear them howl during daylight hunting I just get myself closer and blow an immature / young coyote howl a couple times. I wait a few minutes then I blow a pup distress and play a pup distress on the foxpro at the same time . . . my thinking here is to convince the pack that I'm a couple young, stupid coyotes making a play on their territory. We didn't do any calling last winter - snow was over the fence lines - but two years ago I called in a group of four from roughly 1/2 mile away. There was a fifth, but he hung back (younger brother watched them through his binos). Anyway, they came directly to me and when they got to about 200 yards away, they formed a single file line and came up through the coulee like a column of soldiers . . . barked the lead doggie to a stop and put her to sleep in the deep.
Also, in my neck of the woods of course, if I hear them howling close to dark I'll just wait them out. When it gets dark out, I take out the spotlight and use an immature challenge howl, followed by pup distress.
 
Ya it was right at dark when I shot the fox or like you said I would have moved closer to the coyotes.

thanks for the input so far guys its been helpfull
 
Originally Posted By: RedfrogI do a lot of howling and the coyotes do alot of stuff that the internet says they "never" do.
grin.gif
...



...I think this forum is an excellent place for ideas and opinions and educated guesses, informed answers and good advice, but there are some things only experience can teach us.

One is that thing about carrying a cat by the tail, and the other is coyote vocals...



Hey, this cant be possible, I read somewhere on the internet that Fox and Bobcat will never be seen if you make coyote noises cause they are arch enemies
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.

Luke, your experience just goes to show how correct redfrog is. No matter what we "know" and how smart we think we are
ALL these predators will continue to educate us.

B
 
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