Western Open Ground vs Midwest Timber Country

Austin Laughlin

Austin Laughlin

Active member
Being from Central MO..

we’ve got big river bottoms, crops, and a heck of a lot of timber, hills, and hollers.

There’s a little flat land mixed in there too. But mostly in my part of the state, there’s just big blocks of timber.

I’ve hunted out west a lot. WY, AZ, TX, NM, UT, SD, ND, MT and so forth.

I was sitting around just talking to other coyote hunters and listening. And I got to realizing how different we all do things obviously, but there were quite a few things different about their approach and calling stands.

I’m always eager to learn something. So I just thought I’d ask y’all if you were calling out west open country vs the timber and hills in the Midwest..

do your stands vary? And if they do, what do you do differently? What is your favorite type of country to call?

Sounds. Time on stands. Volume.

It all kind of differs for me. I’d definitely prefer to call the Sandhills of NE or the Red dessert Basin in WY over the big timber hills of Central MO if I have my choice. Mostly for the fact that if you’re setting up in a big holler with a cross wind for example, you can’t see but maybe 50 yards to the downwind side sometimes. You’ll never even knew you called a coyote. Whereas most of the time out west, they’re a lot easier to spot most of the time. At least if you get busted, you’ve got a chance to see him leave and maybe make a play.
 
In the foothills (Kansas) around here we try to buddy hunt and put the non caller behind or whichever spot the wind dictates. Kind of like eyes in the back of the callers head. By myself I just pick a high spot with something behind me and hope for the best. 15 to 20 minutes unless I think a bobcat might show up. But my luck and lack of skill make me a very poor person from which to take advice.
 
I've hunted most of the west from the rain forest of coastal WA to the deserts of the SW to the forests of WI and MN. Even within the what is perceived open country of the west there are forested river bottoms, seas of high sage, Russian olive thickets, Palo Verde thickets and number of other terrains with close cover.

To pick one type of terrain just because it seems easier will limit you. I love the rush of a coyote appearing just beyond my boots as much as I love watching one working his way in to the call from across the hillside.,

It's coyote hunting wherever you are and it is fun.
 
Originally Posted By: WTJonesIn the foothills (Kansas) around here we try to buddy hunt and put the non caller behind or whichever spot the wind dictates. Kind of like eyes in the back of the callers head. By myself I just pick a high spot with something behind me and hope for the best. 15 to 20 minutes unless I think a bobcat might show up. But my luck and lack of skill make me a very poor person from which to take advice.

I have been using a "tailgunner" for years. What I have discovered over the years is that I get about 60%-70% of the shots and my tailgunner gets the rest. In the big timber country that I hunt the tailgunners shots would never be seen by me. So if I am hunting by myself and hand calling I can guess that I am not seeing roughly 1/3 of the coyotes I am calling. An ecaller helps when hunting alone. With a partner I prefer to hand call.
 
I don't own an ecaller. That may be part of my lousy hunts but everyone around here has one. I just stick with the carver rabbit distress call I've had for years. At least the coyote aren't hearing the same sounds from me that they probably hear every weekend. It also seems that the tailgunners see more bobcat than I ever do with that call. Maybe just coincidence because we really don't see all that many bobcats.
 
The link you posted talked about the "harmonica" type hand caller. I still use one.....often. It still gives good results. Mine must be at least 40yrs. old.
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Originally Posted By: GCOriginally Posted By: WTJonesIn the foothills (Kansas) around here we try to buddy hunt and put the non caller behind or whichever spot the wind dictates. Kind of like eyes in the back of the callers head. By myself I just pick a high spot with something behind me and hope for the best. 15 to 20 minutes unless I think a bobcat might show up. But my luck and lack of skill make me a very poor person from which to take advice.

I have been using a "tailgunner" for years. What I have discovered over the years is that I get about 60%-70% of the shots and my tailgunner gets the rest. In the big timber country that I hunt the tailgunners shots would never be seen by me. So if I am hunting by myself and hand calling I can guess that I am not seeing roughly 1/3 of the coyotes I am calling. An ecaller helps when hunting alone. With a partner I prefer to hand call.

That's interesting, I always wondered about the statistics of it.
 
I totally agree AWS. Coyote hunting is coyote hunting, and I’ll take it however I can get it! But I’d much rather hunt the western side of the US. My killing percentages definitely go up there.

We do pretty well around Central MO, we’re shy of 20 since the new year here. Which I don’t feel like is bad at all. But calling solo here vs. calling solo out west.. I definitely succeed more out west. And I just enjoy that country more.
 
If you’re ever around Lake Ozark area, give me a shout GC. Maybe we can kill a few.

I’m gonna try the tail gunner idea. I’ve always got somebody watching the downwind side when I’ve got a partner or two hunting with me. When I’m flying solo, I’m always watching the downwind side if the stand I’m making allows it.

I guess I’ve never really thought about having a guy watch the back door though. That makes a lot of sense and I’ll definitely be giving that a shot.
 
My tailgunner may be ten yards behind me or may be 100 yards behind me depending upon terrain and cover. It's always fun to hear them shoot and know that if they had not been back there that I would have never known that coyote, fox or bobcat was there. I came into this idea from hunting in the snow. Occasionally I would make a stand and then when walking back out the way I came in would cut fresh tracks that were not there on the way in. I realized that coyotes were looping wide downwind and because of the steep Ozark ridgetops and heavy timber that sometimes they could be within 40 yards and be impossible for me to see. An ecaller can help mitigate that situation and when hunting alone I definitely kill more coyotes with an electronic call. With that said, I feel I call more coyotes with a handcall. And using a handcall and having a good hunting partner watching the backside gives the best possible results for my hunting situation.
 
I’m pressing hard to get better with a handcall. I like the idea of it, especially for heavy pressured areas or areas that I’ve hunted a few times before, I can switch it up.

I don’t know if I’m going about it right, but I call much much less with a handcall. A few seconds at a time and at different volumes. I’m always afraid of getting picked off. I’ve always thought that if I keep the calling to a minimum, maybe they’ll pinpoint the direction of the sound but not me.
 
I call fairly steady with short pauses of a minute or so and then get back into the call. Too much quiet time and bobcats will lose interest and coyotes will swing downwind searching for the source of the sound they heard. Once they loop downwind in tight steep cover you're screwed. If you have a partner that's the one the tailgunner gets.
 
I don't mind having someone watch downwind but I don't like being too far away from people I'm calling with. I've seen that screw up a hunt too many times when a coyote was coming in and the person was sitting too far away to be able to communicate. Guys stand up or make an unnecessary movement and the coyote takes off. And normally it's one they saw coming in that wasn't really even coming from or coming to the downwind side. They were just in a position where they could see it before it got to the call. So when calling with a partner I sit fairly close to them for that reason.

I've called hill country,brush country,wide open country and very thick country. My stands don't really vary much as far as how I call. Some coyotes you're just not going to see. I just go in hopes that I see more than I don't. I sit with the wind in my face or at a cross wind no matter what.
 
Originally Posted By: Austin LaughlinI’m pressing hard to get better with a handcall. I like the idea of it, especially for heavy pressured areas or areas that I’ve hunted a few times before, I can switch it up.

I don’t know if I’m going about it right, but I call much much less with a handcall. A few seconds at a time and at different volumes. I’m always afraid of getting picked off. I’ve always thought that if I keep the calling to a minimum, maybe they’ll pinpoint the direction of the sound but not me.

They will. Of course with a handcall you're not going to be able to call constantly. If you think about it though it's much more realistic. A rabbit doesn't sit there and scream constantly when a hawk swoops down and pins it to the ground. The pauses in between calling will give you time to spot the coyote. Read its body language or pay attention to what it's doing. If I see one coming in and it's committed I don't call again. It already knows where it's going. If it checks up let out a few more screams and see what it does. If it keeps coming let it. At that point it hasn't seen you it's hunting for the rabbit. I keep the call in my mouth and my hands where I don't have to make a lot of movement. I sit with the butt of the stock already on my shoulder and my right hand sitting on top of the stock so if I need to call my hand only has to travel a short distance. Whether it's to the call in my mouth or to the trigger.
 
That makes sense too, I’ll definitely pick up the pace with my calling a little then. Hunting in the Missouri timber I don’t worry so much about being picked off, so I’ll definitely try that.

What mouth calls do you use GC? I’m running some handmade calls that Les sent me a few years ago. I’ve got a AP6 and a couple ruffi dogs with tuned reeds. I’m always intrigued by the different hand calls and their sounds.
 
I have a bunch of factory and custom calls. The AP-6 is probably my favorite call. That and several of Kerry Carver's handcalls are my favorites. Calling is important but in my mind the set up is far and away the most important aspect of a successful stand.
 
Amen! I love my AP6. It’s probably the most well rounded and versatile call I’ve got. Heck, even running my Foxpro, my main killer is Crazy Critter, which is the same sound but saves my lungs lol

I totally agree with you on the setup. Especially in this big Midwest timber.. Setup is everything.
 
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