Predator Call

I hunted the open plains in New Mexico 8 days in January.  On three of those days, it was the quietest that I have ever seen it there.  I was almost afraid to turn on the electronic game caller at low volume as the sound seemed excessively loud.  In the past, I would have considered these to be excellent days but with only one coyote responding in three mornings, I have changed my mind.I feel that the reason for the lack of productivity is due to a couple of reasons.  One, as quite as it was you could hear the sound of a pickup driving on the ranch roads from miles away.  Since the ranch hands shoot at the coyotes from the trucks from time to time, the dogs keep track of where they are.  Even though we are hiding our truck and walking several hundred yards from them to make a call.  The coyotes did not want to go near the area where they last heard the truck noise.

Another reason that I feel the coyotes were inactive is a coyote feeds with his nose.  While he will use his eyes to see prey, he will not bite it until he tests it with his nose.  There was so little wind that I could not tell where the pressure was coming from.  When I looked at the Stick Tease (a turkey feather attached to a fiberglass rod) near the caller, I saw it move 360 degrees.  When a coyote cannot decide where to go to wind his prey, he is very nervous. 

On all three days, the wind decided where it would blow from around noon.  It was then that the coyotes started coming to my calls and hunting improved.

I have hunted three mornings in the vast open plains of northeastern New Mexico this winter when there was little to no wind.  It seems that everytime I sat down with the electronic game call, the wind was so light that I could not discern where it was blowing.  While one would think that these calm mornings would be perfect, I have not had any success.  After it warms up a little and the wind has a defined direction, the coyotes would begin to respond to my calls. I am not sure if the coyotes are hearing my approach in the truck and staying away or if they are just uncomfortable responding to a distress sound when they cannot use their nose to assist their hunt.  I have not had this problem in the tight cover of South Texas and loved those calm days. 

“Don’t make a marginal call” is easier to preach than to practice.  It is my experience that it is difficult to kill a coyote on a marginal stand.  “Okay so the sun is going to be in my eyes a little” or ”I do not see any sign but that sure is a pretty place to make a call” are some of the statements I have made before wasting my time on a marginal stand.  Experience has taught me that it is not the number of stands that you make in a day that will determine how many critters you kill rather the number of good stands you make.  I would rather make only five good calls in one day than to make 15 marginal stands a day.

The characteristics of a good stand or call are to call where predators are present.  This is determined by sign, tracks or scat.  You should never call from a stand where visibility is poor or the wind is questionable.  Many times I have attempted to make calls where I had everything in place except a little cover to hide the hunter.  In most every situation the approaching predator detected my presence and escaped.  By using an electronic caller with remote capabilities and a rabbit decoy or Stick Tease I have managed to get away with less cover.