This is one of the arguments for the forward assist. I have had slick sides before and after having seen a few friends encounter problems I am a big fan of the forward assist. One friend had his AR come out of battery and when he pulled the trigger it simply went "click." Another friend tried to gently slide his bolt down and it failed to go into battery.
I make it a habit to push my forward assist as I am going out on stand. Good habits=good results.
I personally try to minimize the amount of unnatural sounds that I make. Do I think that coyotes know what a rifle sounds like, I don't know. Do I think that they do not like unnatural, metallic noises, yep. So a bolt slamming home is probably about as bad as slamming car doors, and jingling keys, or slings swivels clapping. I try not to stomp around when I walk in. Do I think that they cannot hear me? I am sure that they can, I just try to sound as non-threatening as I can.
That way when I ring the dinner bell they might be more likely to come and give it a go.