by Varmint Al

MY CALLING…. Since I started calling for coyotes near Antioch, CA on three large cattle ranches, not a single cow or calf has been lost to the type of predation and damage coyotes can administer. My favorite call was the Woods Wise Vari-pitched howler, but the mouthpiece broke. Not sure they are still selling them but last I looked some of the major suppliers still have them in stock. You can’t make a decent coyote howl with it, but you can make the most varied hurt jackrabbit to cottontail calls with it. By biting down on the two halves of the mouthpiece you can vary the pitch. [Note. The Wood Wise call finally broke and I can’t find another one. I have switched to the Johnny Stewart PC-1 Variable call and it works just as well if not better.] Opening and closing your hand around the end of the call is almost as important as the air pressure on the mouth end. If you do it correctly, you can almost feel the bobcat’s teeth as he is biting down on the back of the cottontail. It can be loud or soft and with the most emotion of any call I have used. A real winner, although it does have one problem. After about 30 minutes of use, the reed travels down the mouthpiece toward the exit of the call. Then it gets difficult to make the soft whimpering sounds and takes about twice the air to use. Just take the mouthpiece out and pry open from the exit end and slide the reed to the front. I use the back of a pocketknife blade (while it is closed) between the front of the two plastic pieces that you bite on. This leverages it so you can move the reed forward. It is hard to explain with words, but once you have the call in your hand and see that the reed has moved, you will figure out a way to move it forward.

Like everyone, I have my favorite call but it is important to be versatile and carry a multitude of calls. You never know which one is going to spark the interest of a wary old coyote. Check out the end of the article for my choices of calls I carry and gear I shoot!

RABBIT SCREAMS…. are probably the most popular type of calling and are really effective. Next to the howler my second favorite pair of calls are the Circe jackrabbit and Circe Cottontail calls. The jackrabbit call is loud! It can be raspy and have lots of emotion. The cottontail call is not quite so loud, but I have brought in coyotes from a mile away with it. Be sure to use your hand around the end of the call, causing backpressure and then releasing the pressure. Opening and closing your hand around the end of the call is almost as important as the air pressure on the mouth end.The Johnny Stewart’s PC-1 vari-pitched call is very good for rabbit screams as well. It has a rubber button that you can bite down on and a tiny teat of rubber that clamps the metal reed. You can make all of the jackrabbit and cottontail pleading sounds with it. It is very good there, but you can make it sound like a hurt coyote pup, which is also a good way to bring in a mature coyote. That is where it shines. You can duplicate the ki-yi high-pitched sounds of a pup being trounced by a big invading male coyote. This call is great in the springtime or early summer when the pups are still young and haven’t left the home range.

COYOTE HOWL…. The Dan Thompson coyote howler call is the best howler I have used. I can talk a pretty good “hurt rabbit”, but when I talk “coyote”, I am not sure I am always using the correct message. I am improving with howling, and on several occasions, it has worked very well. A regular greeting howl sometimes works. Repeat it three times, then wait a few minutes and then repeat the series. They will seldom answer. When they come in, it will usually be a slow and quiet approach. They fear you might be a much bigger coyote than they are! They often come in with caution, but not always. I once saw four coyotes running across a flat area about a mile away. I tried the Circe Jackrabbit call on them and there was absolutely no effect. I gave three greeting howls and they turned on a dime and started trotting my way. I made no more calls and they continued toward me. There were some bushes in front of me (bad situation). Well, they never did stop. When the scope was full of fur, I missed one and never got another shot. It happens that way sometimes! There were four of them, and maybe that is why they came in so fast.

MAKING THE COYOTE HOWL…. It is difficult to explain in words how to make a greeting howl, but I will give it a try. The greeting howl is 2 or 3 barks followed by a 2 to 3 second high pitched howl. It takes a lot of practice to get it right. To make the two or three barks at the start you put about 80% of the Dan Thompson Red Desert mouthpiece in your mouth (with the reed up) and do a sharp fast “huff” into the call and at the same time you pull the mouthpiece out of your mouth about a quarter of an inch. The long howl at the end starts like a bark, but you pull the mouthpiece out of your mouth about half way and squeeze on the reed to make the pitch go higher. The challenge bark has the 2 or 3 barks followed by a high-pitched howl for about 1 second. During the short howl, the pressure is varied to make the variable pitch during the howl. It will take a lot of practice. Varmintcaller.com has some good calling sequences and custom calls.

HOW YOUR HOWL SOUNDS TO THE COYOTE…. One thing to remember is that the howl that you are making is going to be heard way out there, maybe 400 yards or more. It does not sound to the coyote like it does to you as you make the howl. It might sound raspy or not perfect to you, but at that distance the coyote merely hears a “howl”. All of the detail that you can hear as you are blowing the howl is lost as the sound travels 400 yards or more. The higher frequency sound details are attenuated more traveling through the air than lower frequencies. If the coyote was sitting right next to you he would know that the howl is fake, but at a distance he can’t tell the difference. Coyote howling works, trust me! Get a howler and give it a try. It is easy to talk to the coyote with practice.

SIMULATING A FIGHT…. I sounded two greeting calls with the Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler. I heard an answer from a couple of coyotes more than a mile away. I answered with a couple more greeting calls. I waited about a minute and then sounded about six challenge barks with the Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler. Then I answered these with a series of challenge barks from the Songdog howler. I waited about 3 minutes and then started a series of three hurt pup calls with the Songdog howler. That was it. I quit calling. During this entire calling sequence, there were no answers from the distant coyotes. About 10 minutes later a large male coyote came trotting up the hill and made a fatal stop at about 100 yards in clear view.
 During the complete series of calls, no rabbit screams were used at all. I was trying to create a series of calls that would simulate a fight between two young coyotes. The idea was that the coyotes in the area would then want to run both of them out of their territory. Well, it worked!

Things to look for in a calling set-up

WATCH THE TRAILS…. Where is the coyote going to come from? Coyotes like a quiet approach. Using the trails is easiest and makes the least noise.

INDICATORS…. Watch and listen for indicators that a coyote is approaching. Out here in the west, one of the best indicators is the ground squirrel.When they first see a coyote, they will give a warning burst of chirps and then continue with single chirps about every 2 seconds. If you can see the squirrel that is chirping, the way he is standing will be an indication of the direction of the coyote. The squirrel will be positioned so either the right or left profile will be facing the coyote. Remember, “eyes to the sides” is prey and “eyes facing forward” is predator. Squirrels eyes are designed for 360° viewing.

DEER AS AN INDICATOR…. Another good indicator is deer. I was once calling when a spike buck stepped out in the open about 250 yards up wind. He watched me call for about 5 minutes, then turned his head to the side for a few seconds and then quickly bolted out of sight. From behind the direction he ran, two coyotes appeared. I got one, and almost got the second. Listen for birds too. Birds in the treetops will often harass a moving coyote. If you see a bunch of birds fly off all of a sudden, that is an indicator. Often crows will circle you while you are calling. Watch to see if they circle another area. There could be a coyote there.

GETTING CLOSER…. You are calling and you see a coyote coming in, what do you do? This is a tough one. If I am actually blowing on the call and I see a coyote on a fast approach, I have a tendency to stop calling in mid scream and drop the call in the dirt and move the rifle toward him. Most of those times that reaction didn’t work very well. The coyote saw me, too! On my cooler moments, I whimper off the calling (rather quickly), then sit still while the coyote is still coming in. Remember that, while he is getting closer, your chances are getting better.

THE STAND…. Walk into the wind to set up your stand if possible. Sit in front of some object to break up your outline and sit in the shade if possible. I have had coyotes come very close, even when I am out in the open with no camo or backdrop. Coyotes see things, but they are not sure what they are looking at. But when coyotes smell you, they know instantly and exactly that you are danger and vacate fast! Pick a location where you can see out 100 yards or more in front of you and to the sides, if possible. If you call where there is no clear view of the coyote’s approach, they will come in behind cover and you won’t see a thing. You will only have made another wise coyote! That coyote will probably never come to your call again. Next time, his refusal to come to the call will also alert any other coyote with him to avoid your call. If there is some cover or bush right in front of you, any coyote that comes in will use that cover and stay behind it where it can’t be seen. Sit in front of the bush to avoid this, if possible.

HAVE THE RIFLE READY…. I have the rifle ready for action before I start calling. I set up my Bi-Fur-Pod sticks and put the rifle on them with the buttstock to my shoulder in the shooting position. I check to make sure the scope is on low power (4X on the Tasco) and set the objective to 200 yards. The parallax will not be a problem for close shots and I won’t have to make an adjustment for a longer shot. If a coyote hangs up at 250-300 yards I will have time to increase the scope power, but when a coyote appears close, I will not be able to move or have time to adjust the scope. It gets exciting looking at a coyote at 10-20 yards!

TAKE ADVANTAGE.… Hunting coyotes is a great way to reduce predation, sharpen your hunting skills, and also extend your season. California is loaded with coyotes and opportunities abound for the California hunter who wishes to get out and do a little predator hunting. Log onto www.varmintal.com for more tips, tactics, and any of the calling sounds you heard about in this article.