The Pefect Stand?

OK, here is the setup, you see a high point on a ridge and you walk toward it. When you get there, you find a big bush or two that you can back into for the stand. About 250 to 300 yards in front of you and down to a brushy draw that runs forever in both directions, left to right, is what you consider the perfect stand. You can call your critters out of the brushy draw and up the hill where you are. You can see them coming all afternoon from you stand.

I have done this stand many times. Is this a good stand or not?
 
Bruce. . .

If you are speaking of steep high hills, as opposed to rolling hills; I’ve never called I coyote in on those type of stands, and I mean never!!!!

I’ve called lots of cats and a few fox in such situations but I’ve never seen a coyote that would climb high to get to a distress sound.

The location you described sure sounds good and they look even prettier but I’ve never got a yote to climb high or steep grades.

Wonder if it’s a Arizona thing...
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http://www.predatormasters.com
 
I don't have much experience with the steep hill variety, but we called one such setup around Big Spring and two coyotes responded. They stayed at the bottom of the hill but were up out of the draw on a little flat. Result, two coyotes at 75 yards and a miss. I won't say who, though.
I have a similar stand around here, too. The difference is rolling hills with brushy draws. Lots of flat coming up to the hill. Called in quite a few and killed a few there. It just looks like the perfect spot and this place is loaded with these spots. Little cover bushes and all.

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B.Pierce
 
While I'm deciding if this is a trick question, which way is the wind blowing, and what time of day did you have in mind for your perfect stand?

Good hunting. LB
 
There seems to be a few variables missing from the scenario determining a "perfect stand"... However...

I duplicated this setup just this last Sunday... Except that I didnt walk through the bottom I dropped in from over the top and walked halfway down the slope.

called in two coyotes, only two I saw all morning. They also stopped at the bottom of the hill. Most of the coyotes this last month have been maintaining a wider distance than what Im used to (Im used to getting them in shotgun range 80% of the time) Also got to see how slow a 7.62 x 39 round is.

Not my normal stand choice but I decided to call for two reasons: Visibilty and the sound carried nicely through the canyon over longer than usual expected distance.

Even with the steep hillside, in my meager experience I would expect that in most cases you would not see the coyotes below you, but rather they would "side swipe" you (approach from the same elevation) on the hillside or even come from slightly above you... and you wouldnt see them until they were practically on top of you. Coyotes are good like that.

My recommedation would to be using a remote-located call (instead of handcalls) and place it closer to the bottom of the draw (but still take advantage of a little elevation so the sound carries well) where you can monitor most approaches, then play "jungle sniper" from your hilltop.

Robb


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"Happiness... is a Target-Rich Environment"
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Bruce,
The perfect stand is the one where your butt never gets cold and wet, the snot sickles don't freeze to your beard and the coyotes come running to your calls like pups to a dog whistle. I thought you knew that already.
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Lots of info not mentioned, but I`ve had very good success with this scenario,only I never call them up the hill, I leave the 512 in the bottom of the draw & scootch my keester into the bush on the hill, sure leaves some good shot opportunities while there standing below ya trying to figure out whats goin on.

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Jason
 
Bruce the only problem I would ever have with a stand such as you described is how hard that area has been called this season.

Reason being is that if it looks like the perfect stand to you, it also looks that way to every other hunter .

Early in the season this stand will most likely be not only productive, it will be immensely enjoyable as well. Nothing like having the high ground so you can watch them come loping into ambush range is there?

However after a few months of calling by inumerable hunters I think that coyotes get a little shy about small furry dying things above them in elevation.

About this time I start changing my stand locations considerably.
I go low, or in the brush. I try and look for the places that most other callers would not use. Often even places that look terrible at first glance can be just what the doctor ordered.

I am a little suspicious here though,I know that you are a very knowledgable caller , so whats up?
 
Bruce, I think you know the answer to your own question. I agree with everything that Craig said here.

My perfect stand would be described as wind in my face, sun at my back, prelocated coyotes in front of me, slight elevation but below the horizon, no blind spots in front of me, back nestled into a solid object, ground gradually sloping away but not steep, private land with little fear of educated coyotes, and a white flash in the sage below. I think too much elevation can be too much to ask at times but I also prefer the visibility when it's available. Placing the caller at the base of the hill is good advice. Like Craig said, what's up? I smell a skunk in the woodpile here. I think the skunk is the reluctance to pull coyotes up. If it's not too much of an incline it's usually not too much of a problem. Wiley E

[This message has been edited by Wiley E (edited 04-18-2001).]
 
I guess I need to explain my reason behind this thread. I have several of these “perfect stands” scattered throughout Southern Arizona and I have yet to take a single coyote from them. They are beautiful stands and one can see a very long ways. They are just to good to pass up and I still will call one of these stands out boredom I think. I keep thinking, there has to be one dumb coyote to come up this hill. Never happens. I am talking about a fairly elevated hill and not just a gentle slope. Now if you march down to the bottom and set up about 75 yards from the brush line, now that is a much different story.

The only thing I can figure on this, is all the game is down in the brush line. All the predators are down in that brush line as well. When you sit on top of this perfect stand and glass the bottom you will see hawks working back and forth, trying to flush critters out of the brush. None of this activity takes place up on the high ground. Maybe when I blow the distress sound of a cottontail, perhaps the coyotes think there is something not quite right with this because we the coyotes catch our rabbits down in the brush line and not on top of that hill. Beats me.

Wiley and Leonard, you know how this works.

Rich, since you are so much older than I am, when you come up with plans for a battery operated heated seat, please let me know. An old guy needs to keep things warm.
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Take care.
 
I had a stand here that sounds just like one of your areas. And I was up about mid point and could see all sides but my back area, I did call in a yote on this stand and I look and the yote come in from a long ways out, coming in from the N-E the yote came in real fast and then stop out about 400yards and the yote then sat down, so I did not take the shot I just was looking at the coyote and it was looking around for quite some time I then called again to see if I could get it in closer but no dice the yote just sat down and was looking in my direction then it got up and went on its own way, by the way the yote sat around for about 5 minutes? And when it left it just walk away. I could of taken the shot but I was wating to see what it was going to do. I have called this area severl other time since then but nothing has ever came into the call.

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Jason's Gun Room
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Bruce,

I've tried that stand many times. I know it won't work when I set up, but I keep trying it anyway. I do have luck when I put the distress sound at the base of the hill and set up above it.

I'm getting to the point I like to set up in very open areas, with flat terrain. You can still see the coyotes coming in for several hundred yards away. But with everything flat and just a few scattered bushes, they don't mind running right in at full speed.

As for butt warmers, the best I've had was the cushion from an old fake leather couch someone tossed out. Always dry, too thick for stickers to poke through and cow pies wiped right off of the smooth surface
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Bruce,
I have made many successful stands just like this with one exception. There was no wash at the bottom of the hill. Just scattered brush that continued up the hill. This gives the coyote no steady line of cover to hide behind where they can travel back and forth without being seen. When I call where there is a wash I like to get where I can see anything traveling in it or else I place a second hunter to cover it. Ditto for a small rise or a dip where something can approach unseen.

I discovered this several years ago when a friend and I were calling an old mail road just south of Benson. I had a stand like yours and kept seeing flashes of movement in the wash but the coyotes never came out. When I ended the stand I checked the wash and it was littered with fresh tracks. On the next stand my buddy got in the wash and I called from the hill and he got one. It was another lesson learned and not forgotten.

Good Luck,
Daryl

[This message has been edited by Daryl (edited 04-23-2001).]
 
Bruce--I really like this kind of stand and have done very well at similar set-ups a number of times. This key for me is to get to the designated location without being skylined. This sometimes means crawling the last 30-50 yards. The problem in this open country is that the coyotes invariably declare "nap time" on the downwind side of something (hills, rocks, dugout banks, whatever) at least in the cold months. Thus, if the coyotes are upwind of me someplace (hopefully they are), they are in a perfect position to see me if I walk to the top of the knob and sit down at my "perfect stand." It seems like they have the capacity to sleep with 1 eye about half open.

I have got into position a few times after being skylined and look around with my binoculars to see a bedded coyote a half mile or so away. Upon cranking the rifle scope up to 12x I can see he still has his head down, but both eyes are open and looking right at me. Dang, I hate that!
The times I new I was skylined I have done very poorly at this type of stand.
 
My Perfect stand is anytime and/or anyplace I can call and shoot more than one coyote in a single stand.
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[This message has been edited by UTcaller (edited 04-23-2001).]
 
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