Recommendation for hand/mouth calls for coyotes in the Northeast

[kmcdonou1]

I am older and want to get started in coyote and coon calling. Not looking to sell the furs nor measure my success by the overall amount of fur I get, but mainly I just want to spend more time in the woods. That said, I do want to be successful to some degree over time and will likely keep some of the fur to have made into a blanket, line a coat, etc. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is really forested. I will be doing my calling after deer season. I suspect much of my success during that time of year will be cedar swamps, and river bottoms.

I am at the point in life where I am attracted to simpler things rather than more complex, and am considering using hand/mouth calls instead of an e-caller. What would you recommend for a few callers to keep it simple and yet be effective enough to call in coyotes and coon? I suspect I will hunt them separately, so I am not against having a couple of calls for each species.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks much.

 

[Yotarunner]

Can't believe I missed this one.
There is a bit of a general rule as far as mouth calls go in regards to ease of use. Enclosed reed calls are the simplest to use due to not needing to worry about controlling the reed itself but are limited in use as they are only one sound.

Open reed distress is the next simplest as at least for myself I find any mistake can be easily covered up with quickly adjusting and continuing calling as if nothing happened.

Howlers are also open reed but take a bit more practice as where you put pressure on the reed affects pitch and tone to the point where the howl may cut off prematurely or start to sound scratchy.

Any of the call makers on here make phenomenal calls that will work and call predators. I suggest finding what appeals to you and then practicing it a little bit. I suggest in your vehicle both cause it's fun to see people's looks in traffic and it also doesn't drive the family nuts.

 

[JTPinTX]

As Yotarunner said, closed reed are the simplest and usually where most people get started. As long as you know a few basics it is pretty hard to mess up with one and you can learn it pretty quick. But, 2 drawbacks to closed reed calls. First off each one is fairly limited as to the sound it makes due to the fixed voice in it. You can get them voiced various ways with different reeds, and each person has their own calling style. But still, they are kind of what they are. Also due to the nature of them they can freeze up in cold weather. There are ways of dealing with that as well, but still it is a characteristic of them. They make really good prey sounds though and for sure it is worth having a few of them.

Open reed are a different animal. With an exposed reed that you can bite down on and shift up and down, you can make all kinds of sounds on them. For sure more difficult to learn, but not that hard. Think of them more like a musical instrument and not a kazoo, lol. Prey distress, pup distress, whines, howls, kiyi, you name it. Very versatile calls that are a major part of my calling gear. They come in different styles as well. Some are geared mainly to prey distress, and others towards howling. My favorites though are the ones in the middle that will kind of do it all. I pretty much do not leave the truck without an open reed (or two).

And lastly there are squeakers/rodent distress. Some of those are mouth blown closed reed, some have a bulb you squeeze. To me they can be a real "seal the deal" kind of call when you have a coyote hung up. And I have called in many a coyote with nothing but a squeaker.

For me a lanyard with a squeaker, a closed reed distress, and a middle of the road open reed is what I generally roll with. With that I can do pretty much everything I need.

There are various videos an instruction tapes out there, but honestly if you can find someone near you that mouth calls they can teach you a whole bunch in a pretty short amount of time. After that mainly you just need to practice. Listen to tapes, e-callers, whatever and try to mimic what you hear.