The one thing....

Z

Zcustom

Member
So what is the one most important aspect of making a stand? I am fairly new to this, never had anyone show me how, just read a lot(on PM mostly) and kept experimenting. Not sure if I started out like most and just put a caller out there one day and sure enough a coyote popped up, and so started the addiction. The last couple of years have been lackluster at best, called in some, made mistakes but never got it figured out. I had a sense several times they were there, just couldn't see them.

This year I focused on every stand, setup with the wind in my favor, used the terrain, and tried to be patient and focused on my position. I used to get kind of jacked up getting things set and seemed to rush, then when I got settled I would say "this sucks". Now, I will get settled and not every set but more than not I will settle in and say "yeah this is a good one". I think it is similar to bass fishing, you come up on a spot that just looks good, so you focus a bit harder, whether there is fish there or not.

So the question is what is the one thing over everything else that you prioritize when setting up.
 
I'm no expert usually call in a few each year but as blunt as it sounds the comment above is true, I used to make blind stands and hope there is a dog within earshot but since I have been locating dogs and setting up on them my success rate has gone way up and I'm making less stands ... And it seems to help if you can setup and let the coyote think he's cutting down wind of the sound ... Just make sure you can intercept him as he's circling!
 
LUCK LOL. I'd rather be lucky then good
thumbup.gif

I think!! But I'm pretty sure I'm neither so i dont know
 
Last edited:
Maybe it's me, but locating coyotes seems to be the holy grail. First, they do not seem to respond to vocalizations during the day. I don't really night hunt, just not a late night guy so that is out as well. I do scout quite a bit, tracks and scat are fine to let me know there are coyotes around, but to be honest, the numbers are not there. What I have found is that when I do call one in, my confidence goes way up that my sets are working. So my blind sets are a strategy for locating coyotes in my area, I wish I had a better way but my ability and knowledge is just not there.
 
#1 the coyote is close enough to hear my calls. #2 I need to get setup undetected.#3 The coyote needs a "safe" familiar travel corridor into shooting range. My hunting area is open tilled row crop ground, in Minnesota you can only use a light with a shotgun. No thermal or night vision is allowed.
 
In my opinion # 1 is learn as much as you possibly can about your adversary ! Wily is a pro at this game & we are playing on their turf. Then with that knowledge & the tactics these guys are sharing with you combined with patience, perseverance and plain old stubbornness you will have more success.
When you see them in range, SHOOT !!!
 
Originally Posted By: ZcustomMaybe it's me, but locating coyotes seems to be the holy grail. First, they do not seem to respond to vocalizations during the day. I don't really night hunt, just not a late night guy so that is out as well. I do scout quite a bit, tracks and scat are fine to let me know there are coyotes around, but to be honest, the numbers are not there. What I have found is that when I do call one in, my confidence goes way up that my sets are working. So my blind sets are a strategy for locating coyotes in my area, I wish I had a better way but my ability and knowledge is just not there.

With a lower population, you're going to have to travel further and work harder to get onto fresh coyotes. The good thing is, even in low density areas by having a choice on where to spend your efforts hunting, you're in a sense managing the population. A bad hunter out west hunting stupid places has a low coyote population. A good hunter in the east has a high population since he's picking his spots carefully where coyotes are likely to be.

Day hunting In lower density areas, Your number one objective is to hunt the 10% areas that coyotes will be during daylight. After you know what you're looking for, it's a matter of efficiently moving from area to area. To put it another way, you have to find the coyote's house, sneak up to his door, knock and see if he answers. If nobody's home, move along to the next. Realize that most of that scat and tracks you see is made while the coyote is at work, at night, especially if crossing open areas. Nice to know but doesn't help you with where he's at in the immediate time frame.

After years of hunting, you see the patterns on where they like to be and begin to establish a "milk run". The mishaps, blunders and successes begin to refine the details for you and tell you Where and how to set up up in each spot ..where exactly to sit and put the caller at each "house" ..

I guess to cap it off, Hunting blindly is a good way to get burnt out. Because you're essentially relying on luck to happen across something. Hunting In the eastern big woods, without breaking down the terrain, is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
One of the biggest questions you hear asked is "how far should I space my setups." The answer is the distance that the coyotes are likely to be at, in a spot that's situated the best to call that area.. Not 400 yds..




 
Last edited:
Ok, so my instincts seem to be working and I am planning my setups based on where I think the coyotes will be, time of day and weather. Swampwalker, you are right blind sets can wear you down, what I try to do is pull some knowledge from each set and use it on future setups. My success rate is climbing and I attribute it to learning where the dogs are and when.
 
Back
Top