Scouting

Coyotes are extremely smart animals and they are very wary and cautious (most of the time). Their highly developed sense of smell, sight, and hearing make coyote calling one of the most challenging hunts you can attempt....even for the veteran sportsman. For this reason, a successful coyote hunt requires a lot of planning, time and knowledge of the animals.

The first step in planning a coyote hunt is finding locations, both where the coyotes frequent and where the terrain is suitable for calling. Before heading to the field, take some time to familiarize yourself with your quarry.  The hunter must know how to identify coyote sign like footprints, scat, etc. Here is an example of coyote paw prints, they are narrower than dog prints and the toenails will be visible unlike cat prints

Scat is also a very good indication that coyotes are or have been in the area. Their scat is similar to dogs in the shape and size but can vary dramatically in color and texture depending on their diet. Typically the scat will bleach white the longer it's exposed to the sun, so if all you are seeing is dried white scat then they may no longer frequent the area. Coyotes can range a very long distance and they also have preferred areas that they only hunt at certain times of the year, however, coyotes that hang around populated areas tend not to range very far since they have year round access to trash, house cats, etc.

 

Coyotes like to leave their calling cards (scat) on trails, roads, etc. for others to easily find so it won’t be difficult to determine if you are in the right area.

Another sign to look for is fur stuck in barbed wire or chain link fences. Look for places along the fence line where coyote have crawled under or through fences. Look for game trails or dry creeks that cross a fence line and 9 times out of ten you will find fur in the wire.

A more modern way of quickly determining if you have coyotes in a particular spot and also gives you the ability to cover a great deal of territory is to use a siren, either an actual siren or an MP3 sound on your electronic caller. What you do is to drive to a general location that you would like to hunt and then play the siren loud for a minute or so then stop and listen for a response. You can repeat once or twice to make sure but you should get a response after the first blast if they are going to respond at all. Early morning and late evening are the best times to use this tactic, coyotes don’t respond well in mid day for some reason.

Coyotes are like dogs and most just can’t help themselves and will howl uncontrollably at the sound of a siren. I have an MP3 of a siren sound you can download for free on my site here. After you have found a few promising areas you will need to wait at least 6 to 8 hours before you try and call these spots. Obviously, when you drive through the area blasting a siren the yotes know you are there and will be on the lookout for more human activity. If you locate coyotes in a good spot in the morning you try calling them in the evening.

When you are out doing your scouting you need to be taking mental notes of good spots in each area to setup your calling stands. Your stand locations should have some elevation and have a good field of view over the locations you expect the coyotes to approach from. As I explained earlier, coyotes are very cautious and most of the time will approach your call sound with as much stealth as the terrain will afford. You need to give them approach options that make them feel safe. This means that you should select locations that overlook the edge of a woodland, thick brush, dry covered creek beds, etc. so they can sneak in for a closer look without exposing themselves to much. If you are calling in open country wise coyotes will try to circle your spot at a good distance to try and get downwind so they can scent what is making this sound. I will cover the stand and setup in more detail in the next chapter.

If you are serious about calling you need to do your homework. Start by picking up a few books on coyote behavior (preferably written from the hunting perspective) scour the internet and pay attention when in the field. A book that I can recommend is “Predator Hunting Proven Strategies That Work From East to West” by Ron Spomer. This is a well written guide with a wealth of very insightful gems of information.   

Go to Chapter IIII