Had an interesting hunt last week. The pup distress was the deal breaker.

P

Pack_Wolf

New member
I set up in a line of cotonwoods lining a ditch bank. I was looking out over several hay fields with ditches running various directions. I started with the woodpecker distress on medium volume and started it lowly with my FX5 from my set.In just a few minutes a yote pops up and comes in to the JIB to investigate. It was slow coming so I figured that he may have seen me.
He kept on coming but started a wide circle toward the same treeline that I was in, and if he got there it would be gone.
Luckily he stopped at about 75 yds and I took him. I had a video camera mounted on my scope and got the kill recorded.

As I surveyed the scene it was such a good set that I decided to call some more. About 5-600 yds I spotted a coyote laying down in a hay field just watching the hay ground. It didn't look as if it heard my call, and he wasn't able to see the JIB.
I kept turning up the volume, no luck. He just layed there.
I tried various calls and nothing. Then I switched to the coyote pup distress. Up went his head, and he straighted up and started my way. It was a very deliberate but nervous approach.
When he finally broke through the last ditch coming my way into the hay field, he never stopped. He started to circle the same way that the other one did and actually should have been able to smell its blood, it was so close. It was interesting that he was so nervous about the calling that I began watching him rather than trying to kill him. I had hoped he would at least acknowledge the dead yote he was almost walking on.
I broke down though and came to my senses though before he got to the trees.
I'm still baffeled by the experience as I know that he heard the original call sequence of the distressed rabbits and wood peckers. Why did he not come or at least move on, as I had another do later that same day.
If the pup distress makes them nervous, is it because they want to kill the pup or protect it?
It didn't come looking for a meal I'm convinced of that.
I doubt that he was worried about a 60grain vmax either.

More fun this week. There is snow on the ground now.

Pack
 
I was calling last weekend and saw a coyote sitting watching from 490 yards. He finally laid down but I couldn't budge him with a normal distress call. I turned the pup in distress sound on and he sat up, watched for about a minute and then came on the run. I turned the sound off when he went behind a little rise and got ready to shoot. I've had them run right up to me with that sound and all I had with me was a rifle. He came to the top of a hill about 225 (I didn't range it) and stopped and started barking. He was bouncing his front end off the ground and really letting me have a piece of his mind. I'm ashamed to say that I wobbled off of him just as I pulled the trigger and missed him. I'm still kicking myself.

Over the years, I've tried this sound at the end of a stand and had quite a bit of success. This was just the first time that I could actually watch a coyote when he first heard it. Kind of interesting. I've always wondered why they come to that sound too. Are they wanting to save the pup or are they going to come in and get in on the fight? I've even had 3/4 grown pups respond to it.
 
I used to Field Trial Brittany's years ago and I had 9 Dogs at one time with some pups on the ground sometimes. If one got introuble and the others could get to it they would come and try to jump on it. My wifes Corgis even today if I played that Pup in Distress and they are outside they come running in ready to fight. I think that is what it does to a Coyote also. They aren't coming to help make it better but they want to help make it worse for the one introuble.

If you notice, Humans are the same way. If they can get one down they will gang up on the one.
 
I agree that pup distress works great this time of year. We've had quite a few victims the past few weeks to it. Ones that flat didn't come in to rabbit or bird distress, earlier in the stand.

Tony
 
went out this weekend, to me it seemed like regular distress actually made the coyotes in the area move off, I have seen coyotes take off running the other way as soon as a distress sound is made. even though I was 200 miles away from salt lake in BFE, I have also seen coyotes run way as if a cattle prode shocked them in the butt, when I used a little hand squeeze squeeker. I have a strong feeling the yotes in the area has already been messed with pretty bad, which is sad this time of year, we got some in, but I would have expected about double the body count.
 
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