Help a newbie!!

M

Marcl84

New member
Im the new guy around here. I'm also new to coyote hunting as well. I'm looking for some advice and or tips on getting started. I already have the guns and camo covered as I'm a avid deer and turkey hunter. My biggest question has to do with calls. I've been looking at some diaphragm calls and electronic models. What sounds should I focus on here in the south east? And are there certain calls that are only effective during certain times of the year?

Thanks in advance!
 
I would contact some of the various call makers here on the board for their suggestions...Most produce lines of inexpensive calls...many can be pitched from birds to calves..

When I first started several years ago, I had no idea of what a predator call should even sound like and purchased an inexpensive Johnny Stewart electronic call and had a little success, but found it was more trouble setting up without broadcasting to all the Coyotes that I was in the area...Coyotes are one of the most wary and danger sensitive creatures on the planet...

Then I found Predator Masters and got some good advice from a couple of the more active call makers and bought a couple of inexpensive mouth calls and success picked up...I still had to figure out what the Coyotes in my area at the time were responding to, but it sure made calling much easier and less time consuming...
 
Welcome to Predator Masters, and to the sport of predator calling!!

IMHO, the idea behind "regional sounds", is a myth that some folks enjoy spreading.
I say this because I hunted my life here in Kansas.
We have zero snowshoe hares here. Yet, I have called coyotes with snowshoe distress.
With the exception of an extremely small herd, there are no wild elk in the state. Yet I have called coyotes using elk calf distress.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

I can only speak for the hunting from Sept-Mar, as I have never hunted the warmer months.
My personal experiences, show that (here in KS) between Sept-early Nov, distress sounds that work fairly well are: coyote pup distress; prairie dog distress; fawn distress; any form of bird distress; and the occasional high-pitched pup coyote vocals (howls, yips, yelps, ect).
I know some guys are afraid that vocals will scare away young coyotes. And that is true of adult vocals (IMHO). However, I have successfully used pup howls at any time between Sept-Mar, to bring in pups and adults...male and female alike.

From Nov-Jan, while everyone else is out there using various rabbit distress sounds, I suggest continuing to use other prey distress sounds, as well as rabbit.
I am a firm believer in variety.

Late Jan-Mar, I still use distress sounds, but concentrate more on coyote vocals, including whimpers & fight sounds.
Since you say you are new, here is a suggestion: Do not use a challenge howl, UNLESS you have been challenged by a coyote. Challenge howls are a form of warning. And unless you are answering a challenge from a coyote, (it is my opinion) that a coyote will bug out, unless he/she started the challenge.

These are just my .01 worth. I wish you success!!
 
Thanks guys! Like I said, im new to coyote hunting. I've shot a few while deer or turkey hunting. But haven't ever really paid much attention to them. Just 2 Saturdays ago I shot one that was coming in to my turkey call. Seems like now that we've thinned out the feral hog population on out lease the coyotes have come in and took over. So once turkey season is over we'll be swapping chokes and shells in our shotguns and sighting in a rifle and shifting our focus over to knocking a few coyotes out. Keep the advice and info coming y'all. I'm willing to learn and great fully appreciative of the incoming knowledge.
 
Not too many folks from our neck of the woods on here, not an abundance of predator hunters in SC in general compared to other areas. That's good in terms of coyotes with little to no pressure on them, but makes it hard to shorten the learning curve. I'm having a great year, but I run a brand of call that isn't popular on this board and it gets blanked out if I type it out (M F K ). I use diaphragm mouth calls for coyote vocals and an Icotec GC500 with that "other" brands sound library. With coyotes that don't get much pressure, there are three main groups of sounds that are the most consistent: rabbit distress, fawn distress and bird distress. Specifically for rabbit is Old Cotton Jolly; for some reason they love that sound, but watch out because the bobcats love it too. Coyote vocals are a little more tricky in terms of time of year dictating what works best, what sounds not to use unless you need to, etc. That part will take more research and trial & error. Locating coyotes and learning to make good setups will put MUCH more fur on the ground than figuring out which brand name of call to run or exactly which rabbit distress to turn on. Experience and learning from your mistakes shortens that curve, also finding someone to hunt with that you can learn from helps a lot too. Don't fall for the cover scent, fancy equipment and cool marketing gimmicky [beeep]. Just keep things simple and you will have a lot more fun once the puzzle pieces start falling in place.

One other piece of advice tying into being new and coming on this board for help. People have a tendency to have a certain idea in their head, then come on here and ask a question for help. They disregard all the things they are told by those that have been there and done that. They keep at it until someone agrees with them and they feel validated, then they keep going out and keep doing the same thing that isn't working in the first place. Be open minded, listen, find the little things that work and don't be afraid to try new tricks.

What part of the state are you in? I'm in the Ridgeville/Summerville area, about 15 minutes from where I-95 and I-26 cross each other. If you are close enough I'll take you out a few times if you want to go. I primarily hunt at night with thermal and night vision and my success ratio is about 5:1 for night versus day around here. Here is a video of a successful kill last week, the kill shot happens around the 9:30 mark or so but you can watch the whole thing to see how it goes.

 
Last edited:
Welcome to PM.
Agree 100% with canislatrans54:
This time of year I switch between pup distress, fawn distress, pup vocals.
Nothing to challenge, instead try to play into their curiosity.
(just west of you)
 
You are going to have a bunch of people tell you "wind, wind, wind". Learn the wind, play the wind, be the wind, you won't kill coyotes if you yourself don't create the magic aura of the wind. I agree to an extent and if I hunted in prairie land or wide open spaces, I would agree more. The area of SC I'm in...the only place you can set up and see 500 yards is down the interstate. If a coyote circles downwind a couple hundred yards out, you probably won't even know unless you get barked at. Yes you can set up in a field where YOU can SEE that far, but a coyote is NOT likely to break from cover and come all the way out into that field. Even coyotes that aren't pressured are still coyotes.

Typical set ups that produce for me is farmland or fields with very thick cover adjacent to it and/or a hardwood branch running next to part of the field. That is where the coyotes will be. You can hunt the field with a rifle or get in the woods with a shotgun, most of it in this area is so thick it's only shotgun distance anyway. In the field, try and figure out corner pocket setups. If you set the call out in the middle of the field, they may hang up just inside the cover or they may just poke their head out to look. They may pop out at the edge for a second and none of those instances make for a good shot.

Getting in that corner pocket allows the call to be close enough to them to entice them out, being closer to them like that lets them still feel safe in the cover and not have to break so far from it to get to the call. They are more likely to run 10-20 yards out to a call than 75-100. Your shots will be quick, but you'll get shots.

In terms of wind, other than not blowing directly into the thick cover or hardwood branch I don't get too wrapped up about it. You are already setting up close to them (be quiet as possible), they don't have much distance to cover getting to the call in which to circle. If they do circle it's within 10 feet of the call or so and honestly 4 out of 5 that I see don't care about the wind. At night it is even more so and because of setting up like that, most of them come straight to the call from upwind. Some of the "experts" will say that is false, but they are likely hunting the Midwest or areas with heavy calling pressure.

If you hunt that spot from the woods, do the same thing...approach it so the wind doesn't blow you out, quietly get as close as possible and be ready for a quick shot. Say you have a 300 acre block and 200 acres of it is clearcut. Hunt the clear cut part even though the other 100 acres might be pretty and give you a good view. Even if its thick like, 40 yard visibility, it's easier for you to hide and when they do pop out they are already in killing distance. They have to break from the clear cut cover just a bit or get close to the call to see it, then bang you got him. Hunt the downwind corner of the clear cut..sit 30-40 yards from it and put the call between you and the clearcut. As long as the wind isn't blowing into the clearcut you are good. Hold on tight and be ready for a quick shot.

You will have a lot of dry stands, but when it happens it happens FAST. When I take people I drill into their head to be ready for 3 seconds of fame, to detect, ID and kill. Anything more than that is a gift. I personally don't see the excitement of shooting them 100s of yard away, when you kill them close enough to see their eyeballs it is the absolute biggest rush you'll ever have. Those set ups work great for bobcats also, but that is a different season and you can't use electronic calls for them here.
 
Last edited:
NoName1, I live up in the upstate area. West of Clemson and almost on the SC/Georgia line. Now I hunt down in Mccormick County down off Hwy 28.
 
Nice video NoName....give you a thumbs-up! On the kill. I do the same, but kinda hard to read with no paragraphs....lol, you say there are not many predator hunters out in your neck of the woods?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DropadoglvNice video NoName....give you a thumbs-up! On the kill. I do the same, but kinda hard to read with no paragraphs....lol, you say there are not many predator hunters out in your neck of the woods?

Oh wow you are right. It looked ok on my work computer, but now I see what you mean. I'll fix it tomorrow. And thanks!

Honestly there aren't many. A few guys get a call and go once or twice then that's it. Everything here is private land with a few small parcels of state land around. I honestly don't know anyone in person or internet land in my area that hunts coyotes, let alone kills them. Every spot I hunt is with landowner permission...I have only been told no about twice for every 20 that say yes. And every single one needs an explanation because they have never had anyone ask before. It's great...a tough area to hunt but helps to have a lot of virgin ears to call to. I have a key ring with places they just give me keys to hunt, from 300 to 3000 acre leases and clubs. Some is family owned land, some are farms and even a 1000 acre farm is on a state prison.
 
Last edited:
Spring time is when the Turkey Sounds work really well,when the Deer start dropping thier Fawns then the Fawn Sounds will work really good,Rabbit and Bird Sounds do really good and Pup in Distress is always a good sound any time in my opinion.When first starting out I suggest using mouth calls and if You know Your going to stay with Predator/Coyote Hunting I would drop some serious money on an Electronic Caller then.....Decoys can get expensive and work good in different situations,start out with something as simple as a Feather on a stick or hanging from a limb/branch then go with with a reliable motion Decoy that will draw the attention to it and away from You yet stay with the tried and true Feather Distractor when Simple & Easy seems to be the best in Your Area!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top