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Author
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Topic: What makes a successful competitive coyote caller?
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Wiley E
Knows what it's all about
Member # 108
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posted December 29, 2005 04:14 PM
The other thread is starting to bore me so I thought perhaps I would add to someone's coyote calling video with some thoughts on competitive coyote hunting.
DISCLAIMER - YES THAT (adding to someone's video) WAS A JOKE!
I had a discussion not too long ago with a friend of mine regarding what factors contribute to a consistantly successful competitive coyote hunter/caller.
We agreed that there is four key factors that contribute to a consistantly successsful competitive coyote hunter.
1. Of course, a knowledge of coyote behavior and how that relates to knowing which sounds to use and when.
2. The ability to shoot well.
3. Being in good enough shape to cover a lot of ground as quickly as possible.
4. Good calling techniques including stand selection, locating coyotes, handling multiple coyotes, authenticity in sounds, limited movement, etc.
Most competitive callers have #2 and #4 down pretty good but there is a wide range of knowledge related to #1.
Of course this isn't revolutionary by any means but it's amazing how limited some coyote caller's knowledge is in regards to coyote behavior. As an example, calling coyotes where there are none or tying to pull coyotes towards a source of danger.
I had a very successful coyote caller come up to me a few years ago after a coyote calling contest and thanked me for something I had told him. I asked him what he was talking about. He said, "remember when you told me that a gutshot coyote will always (hate to use that word) head towards the lowest ground"? I said, "yeh". He said, "well I gutshot a coyote and he took off into the brush and we looked for him but couldn't find him then I remembered what you had told me so I headed for the lowest ground in the direction he was heading and promptly found him".
Gut shot coyotes almost always head for the lowest ground and go only as far as they have to in order to feel safe. Many times I have sent my partner around to block the creek and pushed the crippled coyote right to him. Something to keep in mind.
The goals I have established for myself over the years in competitive coyote hunting is:
1. Killing 50% of the coyotes that I see that I have access to.
2. Killing coyotes on 50% of the stands I make.
3. Killing coyotes with 80% of the shots I take.
Sometimes I reach those goals and sometimes I don't but I usually reach one of them in every contest.
This past year I kept track of how many good calling stands I could make in one day and ended up with 13. Of course this will vary depending on how long a person stays such as when sound is not traveling very far.
Another thing you really need to pay attention to is how far sound is traveling. If you really pay attention to the various sounds around you, you can start to get a feel for how far away a coyote will hear your sounds.
A real good way to learn this is to take a hunting partner and get apart from eachother at 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 3/4 mile, etc. distances. You need radio communication between you. Do this on the flat ground and do it in a canyon with echos. Do it facing your partner, quartered away, and facing away. Do it in varying wind conditions. Test your various calls and howls. You will quickly start to learn just how far your sound will carry under varying conditions.
Hope this helps some of the less fragile egos out there.
~SH~
[ December 29, 2005, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: Wiley E ]
Posts: 853 | From: Kadoka, S.D | Registered: Feb 2003
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KevinKKaller
Knows what it's all about
Member # 559
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posted December 29, 2005 04:41 PM
You hit that on on the head.
Gives some a gole to think about.
Good hunting Kevin
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Maker of K-Kalls
Posts: 126 | From: Idaho | Registered: Feb 2005
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Cal Taylor
Knows what it's all about
Member # 199
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posted December 29, 2005 06:00 PM
3 other things Wiley.
Location
Location
Location
By that I mean having enough country to hunt that holds coyotes and isn't being hunted at the same time by another team. If you don't have the territory, you don't have a chance. That one I have learned by experience.
I have talked to other successful contest hunters and the odds lay with whoever has the best country. It doesn't have to be private, but it has to hold alot of coyotes. An example:
Team A is a highly qualified team with lesser country. They see/call 8 coyotes and kill 6 or 7.
Team B is also a decent team with some of their basics down but with better country they see/call 25 coyotes and kill 10 or 11.
So which team is better at handling coyotes? but which team wins?
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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
FoxPro Field Staff Member
Posts: 1069 | From: Wyoming | Registered: May 2003
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JeremyKS
Knows what it's all about
Member # 736
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posted December 29, 2005 06:23 PM
Great post...Being very new to the calling world along with the contest world this stuff really interests me. I suppose this would have lots of variables such as wind etc...but how long are you figuring you stay on a stand in order to get those 13 stands per day?
Posts: 369 | From: Texas panhandle | Registered: Nov 2005
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NASA
Knows what it's all about
Member # 177
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posted December 29, 2005 07:47 PM
It would be safe to assume that, as a minimum, everyone would want to be a successful coyote hunter/caller. However, I don’t think “everyone” has ambitions of being a “competitive” coyote hunter/caller. I saw many 1 and 2 coyote kills turned in by teams at the Rawlins. I’ve killed that many in a days hunt too, by myself. Does that mean I should feel an obligation to compete? Does that mean I’m missing out if I don’t? Not in my mind it doesn’t. I have nothing against competition or competitors. That is not until, like SH says, “the showboating and grandstanding” begins. But that’s a different rant, lol. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
But, that does not detract from the value of your observation that “success”, for any predator hunter, is totally dependent upon the factors you mentioned:
1. Having enough country to hunt
2. Hunting country that holds coyotes
3. Hunting country that isn't being pressured by other hunters
4. It doesn't have to be private (but it helps). Otherwise, #3 comes into play.
(Disclaimer: All the above assumes you have proper knowledge and field time.)
"If you don't have the territory, you don't have a chance." That holds true for the recreational hunter, as well as the competition hunter. These facts may be a “revelation” to newbies, but to those that have paid their dues, you are “preach'n to the choir”. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
[ December 29, 2005, 07:52 PM: Message edited by: NASA ]
Posts: 1168 | From: Typical White Person | Registered: Apr 2003
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2dogs
Knows what it's all about
Member # 649
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posted December 29, 2005 08:15 PM
Good info.
I'll add a #5 to the list of 4.
5. Never quit
Posts: 1034 | From: central Iowa | Registered: Apr 2005
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NASA
Knows what it's all about
Member # 177
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posted December 29, 2005 08:29 PM
OK Scott, this is where you come in and say, "NASA, here's your sign", right?. LOL!
Wait a minute, I didn't get paid for that one. 2dogs, you owe me 5 bucks! OK, now I be a ho' too!
[ December 29, 2005, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: NASA ]
Posts: 1168 | From: Typical White Person | Registered: Apr 2003
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2dogs
Knows what it's all about
Member # 649
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posted December 29, 2005 08:46 PM
Nasa, How about a [$5.00 spot] of Monopoly money .
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Can't speak of vast land range's.
But, coyote's will [lay/bed] atleast a 1/4-1/2 mile out in a 1-square mile section. Wind @ their backside, Sun on their face, while bedded.
Between the "wind" or Sun". The "wind" always rules, their body position. As to which way they will be facing.
[Generally], most will bed down. From around pre-dawn to around 10:00 am. Sometimes 11:00 for their daily nap.
Then they'll get back up [around 2-5pm]& start hunting again.
Posts: 1034 | From: central Iowa | Registered: Apr 2005
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Gerald Stewart
Knows what it's all about
Member # 162
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posted December 30, 2005 05:10 AM
I will add #6 to the list of 4. Though all of what you have mentioned will contruibute to a greater potential for success, my # 6 would be simply getting lucky every once in a while. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Posts: 419 | From: Waco,Tx | Registered: Mar 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted December 30, 2005 06:50 AM
What makes a successful competitive coyote caller?
#1. Turns in more coyotes than his competitors.
( geez guys, how simple can it be?)
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted December 30, 2005 09:37 AM
I think a successful contest hunter is one that already has the basics down pat. They know what good cover looks like, they have good access and they know when to shoot and they don't miss. Sums it up for me, but those are just the basics.
A huge part of the basics is having excellent area to hunt. You can't make something out of nothing.
Now, you need a fire in the belly. You need to have the hussle to squeeze in a couple extra stands, every day. You need to go to extreme lengths for very little in the way of reward. There is no room for mistakes.
I tend to agree with Scott about killing fifty percent of the animals you see, but it depends on circumstances. It is real easy to see two per day, and kill both. Success brings another responsibility. Now, you have to kill more than the first animal busting out of the brush. If the coyotes respond together, you had better be good at running the table; to use a billiards analogy.
I also think success involves a little instinct. Knowing when your stand is good for more than one animal, stretching the stand out, or being flexible, in certain situations. Otherwise, it requires military precision to cut off the stand and move on, trusting on the percentages. You will seldom win a hunt by snagging that occasional late comer after twenty minutes on stand. But, if your gut tells you to let it play out, obey your instincts.
You have to have everything organized. No searching around for cartridges or calls or shooting sticks, etc. Getting in and out of the truck should be done with a minimum of wasted time, no coffee breaks, nothing that slows you down. Sorry to break the news, but it's not fun; it's hard work.
Your partner needs to be a 100% asset and you need to think alike. No squabbling, no strong divergent opinions; total cooperation. Finances need to be casual and completely equal, before and after. A team takes time to mature. Once you have an exceptional partner, be very good to him, they don't come along every day.
Other than the above , there's not much you need to know, in order to be successful.
Good hunting. LB
[ December 30, 2005, 09:39 AM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31473 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Q-Wagoner
FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP
Member # 33
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posted December 30, 2005 12:17 PM
It has been said here before but you can’t put enough emphases on location. A little luck always plays a role in hunting whether you make a lucky shot or stumble into a triple of dumb pups. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about luck good or bad. People like to say they make their own luck but it doesn’t always work out that way. Just like when T&T told Scott and I about there 5 coyote stand. It was over or very near a carcass. Five coyotes is a pretty good day by most people’s standards but how can others compete with that?
At least 80% of competitors don’t have a chance of winning before they even start to hunt because they don’t have the numbers to work with. The real competition is in the top percentile that does. Just like Scott told me the other day. When a guy sees 10 coyotes and killed 8 and another guy sees 52 and kills 13 who is the better hunter? The guy with 10 will not be going home with the gold although he probably should.
There is no real level playing field unless all competitors have equal opportunity at the same ground. It is like having a fishing tournament where 98% of the competitors have to fish a public lake and the other 2% get to fish a stock pond.
The only thing that keeps it interesting is population dynamics. Great spots are always good but not always great. Entering a tournament is like playing a hand of poker. You don’t know for sure what the other guy has but if you are confident that you have the better hand then go all in. But in the end it still boils down to the luck of the draw to be in the running.
The bad thing is that if you know a good competitor has some fantastic ground that you can’t hunt and you have some average ground. The odds weigh heavily in the other guys favor.
We had a local tournament here a week or so ago and I knew who was going to win before the hunt started. It was a couple of brothers that had exclusive rights on one of the largest sand hills ranches in Nebraska. They split up as well. Unless you have equivalent ground and are willing to take the chance of cheating like that you may as well stay home or be happy competing for second place. If any top-end competitor says any different then offer to trade them hunting ground for the next tournament and see what they say. LOL
Leonard learned what it was like to not have any ground worth hunting when he went to Kansas. Take those champs and through them in a California hunt and they couldn’t compete with the veterans. So who is the best hunter then? Winners are always good hunters but winners always have some kind of advantage or edge over the other guys that has nothing to do with hunting skills. That is just the way it works.
Good hunting.
Q,
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Wiley E
Knows what it's all about
Member # 108
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posted December 30, 2005 01:46 PM
Great posts Leonard and Quinton.
Excellent!
Lots of pearls of wisdom particularly this one:
LB: "You will seldom win a hunt by snagging that occasional late comer after twenty minutes on stand."
Rolling the dice! Playing the odds!
One of my favorite topics is camoflauge. How many of you realize that you can overdo camoflauge? In order to stop coyotes consistantly for a good standing shot, they need to see something, not just hear something. You can stop a lot of coyotes with a bark. You can stop more coyotes with a bark and a visible object such as your face. Nothing stops a coyote quicker than something "unthreatening" that looks totally out of place. Of course a human face is threatening if they are close enough to know what it is they are looking at. On snowcover with full white camo, all you need is one dark glove to stop a coyote.
Slipped up and gave a tip away. Hate it when that happens.
~SH~
[ December 30, 2005, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: Wiley E ]
Posts: 853 | From: Kadoka, S.D | Registered: Feb 2003
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Cal Taylor
Knows what it's all about
Member # 199
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posted December 30, 2005 05:23 PM
Damn Scott, I thought you'd like my plagerism, I can't believe you missed it! LOL! Here I thought I was being funny and I never got a comment. I'm not nearly as good at fishing I guess. But I was just trying to get a Huber to bite.
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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
FoxPro Field Staff Member
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