EDITOR’S NOTE: After 30 years of hunting coyotes, Allen Morris of Springville, UT, Hunter’s Specialties’ predator specialist, has learned that to take coyotes, he simply must eliminate the mistakes that keep coyotes from coming to him.
Mistake #1: Allowing Your Human Odor to Reach the Coyote’s Nose:
One of the biggest mistakes that most coyote hunters make is leaving human odor as they go to their stands and not covering their odor while on their stands. The coyote is a very smart animal. Most of the time when a coyote comes in to a predator call, it will try to circle downwind to confirm with its nose what its ears have told it is happening. For this reason, if a coyote picks up your human odor before the animal reaches a place where you can see it, it will be gone.
You may have very effective calls, but your human odor can keep you from having a successful hunt. I use all the Hunter’s Specialties Scent-A-Way products, including Scent-A-Way Shampoo & Conditioner, Scent-A-Way Antibacterial Deodorizing Soap, Scent-A-Way Anti-Perspirant Deodorant, and many others to stay as scent-free as possible on the way to my stand and while I’m calling in coyotes.
Mistake #2: Waiting to Hunt:
Most coyote hunters really don’t start hunting coyotes until they get to their stands. But I’ve learned that to take more coyotes, you have to start hunting before you get out of your truck. You have to open the door as quietly as possible and leave the truck as quietly as possible. You can’t slam the door of your vehicle; you have to close it quietly and not even let it click when you push the door shut. I believe a coyote can hear a car door slam 2 to 3 miles away in open country. If you drive to a spot where you believe there are coyotes to call, but you slam your truck door before going to your stand site, you’ve killed your hunt before you’ve even got it started.
I sneak out of my vehicle. When I close the door on my truck, I make sure it doesn’t shut all the way so it doesn’t click. I try to move as quietly and as low to the ground as I can as I go to my stand. I try to have the stand site already picked out between 100 and 200 yards away from my vehicle. When I park my vehicle, I want to make sure the coyotes can’t see it.
Remember that the more ground you cover trying to get to your stand site, the more likely that the coyotes will see you before you ever start calling them. Coyotes live in their environment 365 days a year. They know everything that’s going on around them, and they can hear a mouse squeak from 100 yards away. So, if you’re not as stealthy as possible from the time you leave the truck until you get to your stand site, you’re not going to call in any coyotes. Being quiet and scent-free, I believe, are the two most important ingredients to being a successful coyote hunter.
Mistake #3: Staying Too Low:
Look for elevation. When I set up to call coyotes, I want to be higher than the dogs. I want to be on a hill overlooking a canyon, a creek bottom or a field. I want to be able to see the coyotes coming before they can see me.
NEXT WEEK: ELIMINATE MISTAKES #4 & #5 TO TAKE COYOTES WITH ALLEN MORRIS
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