Calling in this Terrain.

J

Jay Cummings

New member
Just curious how you guys would call in this terrain. This is different than where I live where we have farm ground and creeks with hayfields and grassland. Thie picture is of a WIHA that is about an hour drive from my house. I usually take a day off work and go hunt it and stay all day since it's an hour away. Plus with it being walk in hunting it is foot traffic only so I usually walk about 8-9 miles each time I go so it's hard to cover a lot of ground this way. This particular canyon is about 1 1/2 miles in. Up on top it is just a flat grass prairie with no trees and these high flats will run for a couple miles with various canyons shooting off down the sides. I know the coyotes hunt the bottoms at night and early morning and by mid morning have usually bedded in the canyon on the sunny side of protected from the wind. While walking the top edge I have jumped up coyotes bedded just below the rim rock usually in some short brush and sometimes a little further down in the canyon in some trees out of the wind. How would you guys hunt in the midday? Stay up top and call them up over the top or hop down over the edge and call?
 
Being a native Kansan (north-central area), I have hunted coyotes in this type of terrain for a long time.
Granted, much of the areas I have hunted, have been broken into one or two mile areas surrounded by roads.
But, I have also hunted my share of ranches that were in 3K to 10K acre tracts, non-broken by roads...only fences.

For whatever you think that might be worth. Hahaha

I have always preferred to sit far enough below the ridge line, that I wouldn't (hopefully) be skylined.
And, if I had a small tree or rock pile to help break up my outline, you bet I would use it.


Now...Based on the photo...(Keep in mind that I am a hand caller. However, IMHO the scenario works for either hand calls or e-callers.)

...Looking the same direction as the photo is directed, if the wind was either blowing in my face, or a crosswind...personally, I would sit either in front of the tree directly ahead of you, or in front of the "evergreen" that is just to your right.
I would direct the main direction of sounds towards the bottoms that run off away from the pond, as far as the eye can see.
But, yes, I would throw the occasional sound a little "closer to home", towards the closer finger draws across the way from me.
Literally, a coyote could pop out of any of those draws during midday, in my experiences.

...Now, if the wind was blowing from my back (as I am looking @ the photo), if I could enter from the opposite side, and set up on the other ridge, that is definitely what I would do.
I would choose to sit in front of one of those evergreen trees that I can see in the distance....staying back away from the tips of those finger draws.
I would focus the calling just as I described before though.
With an occasional shift of sounds towards the closer finger draws on the other side of the bottom.

Ideally, both scenarios would work best if you had a partner. Simply because, as I said, a coyote could pop up anywhere.
However, I have almost always hunted alone, and know from experience, that a single hunter can have lots of success in this terrain.

IMHO, you could sit and make your stands 30+ minutes (if necessary), before moving on aways.
Or, you could make short 5-10 minute stands (giving yourself a few minutes of "quiet time" after the final sound before moving on).
Either strategy will work, IMHO.
HOWEVER...if using the short stand strategy...don't be surprised if while moving between stands, you bump a coyote that was already on its way in to your previous calling.

Me personally, in terrain like this, i have always chose to make 30-45 minute stands...staying that long, even if a coyote came in & got dropped within the first few minutes.
My confidence has always been that there could & should be more coyotes in the general area, who might still come in, if I sit & keep calling.
That being said, I have never stayed on stand more than 45 minutes (that I can recall).
But, by staying that long, I have had coyotes come in that otherwise, I would have either missed seeing, or would have seen me gathering my gear, and bugged out.
 
Thanks Will! I get the playing the wind part. The wind was in my face when I took that pic and approached the canyon from this side. I was actually sitting in front of an evergreen when I snapped the pic and made a stand from where the pic was snapped. I guess I'm calling it proper but to be honest I rarely if ever get a coyote to come in during the midday. Yesterday I made a set on the next canyon over that looks much the same. Played distress for 20min and no response so I set quiet for 20min and did some lone howls. Nothing. Got up to leave and two coyotes jumped up out of some trees and headed up out of the canyon. They were obviously there the whole time. This is a public hunting area so maybe they are educated.
 
Everytime I've gone into a draw like that it's either busted or winded and game over.
Now I either stay out or barely crawl in the top.
 
I also hunt this terrain often. Will has given you good advice.
Those big draws can be hard to sneak into on a sunny midday. Coyotes lay up to use that terrain to their advantage and use it well.

I personally would try to make the location you are at an early morning stand (assuming that draw is running South or Southwest).
I would save it for a day when the wind was blowing from left to right about the same direction as the pond dam runs. I would also sit in front of the big cedar to the front and a little right of you. Those trees are obstructing your view and shooting from where the picture is taken. I usually sit down and start calling right way, but I have a few spots like this that I will try to get in an sit down before the sun lights everything up and just as soon as it does start calling. It will shine that whole draw up and a coyote will shine like a mirror.

If I had to call it at midday, I might try to set up 100 or so yards from the mouth of the draw, up on top, facing the draw with a cross wind, and never dropping down into it or traveling along the top of it. Pay extra attention to the downwind side for their approach. 95% of the coyotes I've called since the first week of January have been hard to the downwind. That probably won't change much unless we get a weather event.

Good Luck!
 
Originally Posted By: tripod3Everytime I've gone into a draw like that it's either busted or winded and game over.
Now I either stay out or barely crawl in the top.

My experience is relatively similar. Now I often make a stand to pull them out. If no takers appear, then I work my way on in.
 
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