Not really a hunter but I enjoy seeing coyotes, bobcats, fox, etc. Thinking about giving it a go in my spare time. How often is it successful and how long does it usually take to call something in? Is dawn vs dusk better? Do I need to hide in a blind is just wearing something semi-camo and blending into a treeline good enough?
Calling predators: Odds of success?
- Thread starter takepics
- Start date
Personally I'd recommend just getting an inexpensive 3D Leafy Suit. Really only need the jacket if wearing pants of similar color palette. (North Mountain Gear makes several nice inexpensive ones. I currently use FirstLite's one, because it passes thru even more air, for those hot months. And it squishes dawn even smaller in the pack) 3D Leafy boonie hat (my favorite headwear while hunting, nice and light, doesn't make you too sweaty), mesh facemask and liner gloves which also have similar colors in their camo pattern to hide you. I've seen a buncha cool stuff up close and personal while wearing the leafy gear. I once literally had a Cottontail come from behind the scrub oak I was sitting by.... to around 18" from my Right Boot! Was soo damn cute to see up close! Almost felt bad for taking him home with me.
If you wear eyewear like I have to, my belief is it would be preferable to make sure it's comprised of muted dull colors, and I wouldn't have lenses with tint or auto-darkening, as that'd be easier for them to discern as a pair of eyeballs, is my thinking. Also it seems a little easier for a non wrap-around eyewear style to have less chance of them seeing reflection of the lense. (BTW be mindful when checking your watch not to inadvertently cause a reflection from it to light up your face!)
So... are you going to be calling them in with a eCaller? Stuff it into a bush like a scrub oak or Juniper at about chest height, to get it off the ground so the sound carries farther.
If you go someplace where you've seen rabbits in that place... and especially if like you've already seen a coyote or bobcat in such a place... that's a good place to try. Or like if it has a water source and evidence of small game around there.
In general you want to get low to the ground on your sit, and pick a place to sit at where you're looking upon the caller from a crosswind perspective, backed up into a scrub oak, or juniper or leaned against a big ol pine. And you being in the shadow. And if you can arrange it to where when they're coming in.. they'll be blinded by the sunlight.... even better! And if possible in front of you like a small piece of what I call "rabbit brush", one of those various knee-high types of plains habitat low-lying bushes. YOu just don't want it so tall that you can't get the shot off though.
Start the eCaller at a volume level that's more like what you'd think the natural volume of that prey would be... just in case there is one close by that doesn't know you're there yet. And before you even press play.... make sure you're entirely ready... because sometimes they'll shock you and come in very quickly. While other times it's just you making sets and just putting in the work and grinding it out all day so you can check some location off your list as a Nope.
As you begin allowing the eCaller to play... after like the first 2 minutes. Give it like at least a 30sec-60sec pause... and when you resume playing again have the volume bumped up a couple notches higher. And.. if you're going to switch to a different sound, I tend to give the pause just a little more time, so they can forget about what sound it was that just played prior.
Dawn likely to be slightly better most times. And... As the sun is starting to create good shadows again in the opposite direction is a good time as well. Basically the times you'd typically see the Rabbits starting to come back out again.
If you're not having any success... another good thing to try is picking some bird distress sounds sometimes. Like if you can identify the kinds of birds you're naturally seeing flying around that area... if you have one of their sounds on the caller, definitely make use of that. As it'd be a sound they're familiar with. So that adds realism to what they perceive.
Regarding how often is it successful? Welp.. depends on if you've found a good spot. But you need to be prepared for your outings resulting in a big fat zero. But if the kind of terrain looks right.. and there's sighting of the various prey animals they'd target... then it's more likely that you've blown it for yourself on the way in to the spot.
Things like :
Not quietly and gently closing your vehicle doors.
Parking the vehicle so it's out of sight of where you're going to head into at.
Not putting thought into the path you'll take in order to hike-in to the spot you wanna try in such a way so that you're not wafting your own scent all across towards the area downwind they are likely to come in from. Or maybe you're just too fidgety.
And you REALLY do need to remain quite. If you mess up and like sniff or something... they're hearing is insanely good and they're head will whip around and point damn near directly at you. But.... if you remain still and quiet. and that caller is continuing to wail.. they'll fairly quickly revert their attention back to the caller.
And don't be surprised if, for example, you're using Jackrabbit Baby Distress.. and you end up calling in a JackRabbit due to maternal/paternal instincts!
Your ability to remain still and not move will be the thing that helps you most, especially with bobcats. Look with your eyes first. Then... if you have to turn your head more towards a particular direction you're keen to observe... as long as you can do so uber slowly... there's a good chance they won't see it.
With a rifle... make sure your optic is dropped back down to it's lowest magnification setting BEFORE you press play! If you've got an AR that you're having to constantly put back into it's case each time you then have to drive a little further along to another spot... make sure each time you put it back away.. that you've for sure ejected the round in the chamber! Failure to remember to do that will cause you to inadvertantly put the mag back in and then proceed to pull back on the charging handle causing a 2d round to be taken off the top of the magazine so now you'll have 2 rounds "traffic jammed" into the chamber, so your trigger will be locked up solid!
You can try a motion decoy. But personally, I've stopped bringing mine because I've had some of them panic and split once they arrived onto the scene and saw the motion decoy. Also it may cause them to hang up trying to be crafty standing beside a juniper or something for cover and they'll proceed to observe that motion decoy from a distance, sizing it up, figuring out WTH it is. So that may or may not help your cause.
-G
If you wear eyewear like I have to, my belief is it would be preferable to make sure it's comprised of muted dull colors, and I wouldn't have lenses with tint or auto-darkening, as that'd be easier for them to discern as a pair of eyeballs, is my thinking. Also it seems a little easier for a non wrap-around eyewear style to have less chance of them seeing reflection of the lense. (BTW be mindful when checking your watch not to inadvertently cause a reflection from it to light up your face!)
So... are you going to be calling them in with a eCaller? Stuff it into a bush like a scrub oak or Juniper at about chest height, to get it off the ground so the sound carries farther.
If you go someplace where you've seen rabbits in that place... and especially if like you've already seen a coyote or bobcat in such a place... that's a good place to try. Or like if it has a water source and evidence of small game around there.
In general you want to get low to the ground on your sit, and pick a place to sit at where you're looking upon the caller from a crosswind perspective, backed up into a scrub oak, or juniper or leaned against a big ol pine. And you being in the shadow. And if you can arrange it to where when they're coming in.. they'll be blinded by the sunlight.... even better! And if possible in front of you like a small piece of what I call "rabbit brush", one of those various knee-high types of plains habitat low-lying bushes. YOu just don't want it so tall that you can't get the shot off though.
Start the eCaller at a volume level that's more like what you'd think the natural volume of that prey would be... just in case there is one close by that doesn't know you're there yet. And before you even press play.... make sure you're entirely ready... because sometimes they'll shock you and come in very quickly. While other times it's just you making sets and just putting in the work and grinding it out all day so you can check some location off your list as a Nope.
As you begin allowing the eCaller to play... after like the first 2 minutes. Give it like at least a 30sec-60sec pause... and when you resume playing again have the volume bumped up a couple notches higher. And.. if you're going to switch to a different sound, I tend to give the pause just a little more time, so they can forget about what sound it was that just played prior.
Dawn likely to be slightly better most times. And... As the sun is starting to create good shadows again in the opposite direction is a good time as well. Basically the times you'd typically see the Rabbits starting to come back out again.
If you're not having any success... another good thing to try is picking some bird distress sounds sometimes. Like if you can identify the kinds of birds you're naturally seeing flying around that area... if you have one of their sounds on the caller, definitely make use of that. As it'd be a sound they're familiar with. So that adds realism to what they perceive.
Regarding how often is it successful? Welp.. depends on if you've found a good spot. But you need to be prepared for your outings resulting in a big fat zero. But if the kind of terrain looks right.. and there's sighting of the various prey animals they'd target... then it's more likely that you've blown it for yourself on the way in to the spot.
Things like :
Not quietly and gently closing your vehicle doors.
Parking the vehicle so it's out of sight of where you're going to head into at.
Not putting thought into the path you'll take in order to hike-in to the spot you wanna try in such a way so that you're not wafting your own scent all across towards the area downwind they are likely to come in from. Or maybe you're just too fidgety.
And you REALLY do need to remain quite. If you mess up and like sniff or something... they're hearing is insanely good and they're head will whip around and point damn near directly at you. But.... if you remain still and quiet. and that caller is continuing to wail.. they'll fairly quickly revert their attention back to the caller.
And don't be surprised if, for example, you're using Jackrabbit Baby Distress.. and you end up calling in a JackRabbit due to maternal/paternal instincts!
Your ability to remain still and not move will be the thing that helps you most, especially with bobcats. Look with your eyes first. Then... if you have to turn your head more towards a particular direction you're keen to observe... as long as you can do so uber slowly... there's a good chance they won't see it.
With a rifle... make sure your optic is dropped back down to it's lowest magnification setting BEFORE you press play! If you've got an AR that you're having to constantly put back into it's case each time you then have to drive a little further along to another spot... make sure each time you put it back away.. that you've for sure ejected the round in the chamber! Failure to remember to do that will cause you to inadvertantly put the mag back in and then proceed to pull back on the charging handle causing a 2d round to be taken off the top of the magazine so now you'll have 2 rounds "traffic jammed" into the chamber, so your trigger will be locked up solid!
You can try a motion decoy. But personally, I've stopped bringing mine because I've had some of them panic and split once they arrived onto the scene and saw the motion decoy. Also it may cause them to hang up trying to be crafty standing beside a juniper or something for cover and they'll proceed to observe that motion decoy from a distance, sizing it up, figuring out WTH it is. So that may or may not help your cause.
-G
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Cannot find better advice ^^^^^^
What part of the country are you wanting to call in?
And to answer your questions, I expect to call in something every set. Have that mind set where you’re going to be successful then it’s not a surprise. Realistically I get an opportunity about every trip is the average. Sometimes I call in 4 on the first set then maybe one on the third and sometimes it’s the last set before anything responds.
The wind is critical in the predator game so plan your hunts and approach around that.
Im hunting the open sage of Wyoming so I generally set the call 100ish yards away depending on terrain and cover and I always use a motion decoy, I think it helps.
I won’t spend more than 20 minutes on a set. Usually I’m getting a response in the first 5 minutes if it’s going to happen. Sometimes I sit longer to test the theory but 20 mins seems to be a good mark before moving.
All times of the day can work but I prefer morning or evening but hunt when you can.
And to answer your questions, I expect to call in something every set. Have that mind set where you’re going to be successful then it’s not a surprise. Realistically I get an opportunity about every trip is the average. Sometimes I call in 4 on the first set then maybe one on the third and sometimes it’s the last set before anything responds.
The wind is critical in the predator game so plan your hunts and approach around that.
Im hunting the open sage of Wyoming so I generally set the call 100ish yards away depending on terrain and cover and I always use a motion decoy, I think it helps.
I won’t spend more than 20 minutes on a set. Usually I’m getting a response in the first 5 minutes if it’s going to happen. Sometimes I sit longer to test the theory but 20 mins seems to be a good mark before moving.
All times of the day can work but I prefer morning or evening but hunt when you can.
Steve300xcw
WKR
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2017
- Messages
- 974
I have called them in, standing on a skid road in front of the pickup wearing blue jeans and a flannel with a $24.99 caller I got from walmart lol
Called in a bear, just making noises with my mouth.......that was kinda dumb btw lol
And have spent alot of time listening to a foxpro make noise without seeing anything.
If animals arent there, they arent going to come in,,,
Called in a bear, just making noises with my mouth.......that was kinda dumb btw lol
And have spent alot of time listening to a foxpro make noise without seeing anything.
If animals arent there, they arent going to come in,,,
This is the big thing right here.
But as long as you've seen sufficient other small game... you also have to realize that sometimes they're just not at the place you're at.. on this particular day you're there. Just means there must be someplace better for them to be at that day. So your new job is to find the new place. Sometimes you can use intuition from knowledge gained about their habits thru observing them in the field, other times it's just you sorta carpet-bombing across a landscape, move just enough down the line to the next place so you're far enough down the line they likely didn't here your calling at that last place you stopped at.
And each new time you're fortunate enough to observe them coming in... ya learn a little more from the observations up close you end up having. Like all the different examples of how they'll enter into the scene. And your brain starts to see the trends and that helps you figure better where to place your sit within the space the next time. And seriously that's a big part of it. Just taking a second to really think and put some thought into where within this scene is the best place to post up at!
And I can't stress this enough, before you commit to a spot to take your sit at, you need to drop to a knee and crouch-down and see what the visiblity will be like when you're seated and nice and low. Can you still see around good enough to detect them coming in? Will they be obscured from your vision by too much brush, or brush that's a lil too tall? Then ya gotta move and try somewhere else.
^^^ True for sure. Also if hunted harder, they like to loiter and see what's up before committing.
Just came back from a weekend trip to a spot I've been numerous times. I made 10 stands in two mornings [got pushed off by t-storms and high winds for the evening]. Thought it was going to be a great weekend when I had 3 coyotes come in on the first two morning stands.
Never saw one until he saw/winded me first and full-on ran out; got one of a pair on the second stand. Saw nothing on the following 8 stands. ALL of these spots except two were places I've seen or taken coyotes at under similar circumstances in years past [not recently].
Two years ago during the same timeframe, every coyote came to fawn distress - ignored everything else. Year prior it was rabbits and coyote vocals with one fawn distress taker. This year, all rabbit sounds - and I never saw a live rabbit during the trip.
This year, no coyotes until the 30-minute mark [29 minutes and 34 minutes to be exact - I rarely stay that long but liked the areas]. Prior years, results in 20-minutes or less; maybe a couple nearer the 30 mark. Reports are the last two years, coyote population is on the low swing for the area.
switchback7
WKR
any tips on how to get them to stop trotting/running? maybe a bark or mouse squeak ?
Skerhunter
WKR
Bark and howl at them using your voice. That works too after a shot. Once you see them coming in turn the volume way down on the caller, once “in range” shut it down. A lot of times they will pause to look around/listen and give you a good shot.
switchback7
WKR
awesome, appreciate it!
If running a suppressor I like to leave the call running even when they are within range. Bark loud with your voice to get them to stop. I think leaving the call running helps muffle the suppressed shot even more so you have a better chance to call in multiples on a stand
Depending on how far away they are, if they're farther I'd try like the dudes on YouTube vids and do a "Woo!:
If they're in close, maybe do like your dog will sometimes do.. that Muted under the breath "Wffph!" You know, that one they do where their cheeks puff out a lil.
EDIT: Won't take much at all, they're hearing is insanely good. Humans can hear up to about 20KHz. Coyotes apparently can hear frequencies up to like 44KHz!
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Laramie
WKR
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2020
- Messages
- 2,631
Really depends on location. I have some areas where we average 2 dogs to every 3 sets and others loser to home where we get maybe 1 every 10.
wirehead
WKR
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2021
- Messages
- 314
Tagging in... good info here. Thanks for sharing!
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