Why coyotes bust us

[uncle buck]

In my part of the state red fox, Gray Fox, Coon, are the most called animals...I  have in  past years been calling in more coyotes... However....
I have programmed myself to hunt coyotes like I hunt other predators.. The end results is that you end up getting busted...From field experience
I say that coyotes came into the wind about 80% of the time...The other 20% they came into the the calls any way they saw fit... When they do come in the other directions too they usually come in close to.  Makes sense since they can't smell you.  However here you are looking down wind most of the times and all of a sudden a coyote shows up from your left your right or from behind you... Maybe when coyotes are the target and  it's safe the caller and the shooter should be in a tree stand that they can see everything happening in all directions...When I mean safe..You don't really want to be climbing trees at night time nor if there is ice and snow around...



I have now adjusted my hunting methods... I do not post down wind of the electronic caller all the time now...I first read the terrain to make my decision... If it's a small farm or field.... I now place the speaker in front of me not behind me..If the field is large I will put the caller behind me and try to get cross wind of the main sound beam. One needs to look at the size of the field to determine if the caller should be in front of you or behind you...

[uncle buck]

I  am still living last years Mosquito Creek Hunt...The wind just was not blowing in the right direction...My strategy......was for me to walk into the farm about 70 yards with the wind in my face... I placed two shooter down wind of me. Strategy was this:; The coyotes were going to hear me calling get in direct line with me and then circle down wind behind me and pass the two shooters who were waiting in a tree line along the road...In front of them was a field.. The coyotes were suppose to come into the wind to me but the two hunters  were gong to be undetected s since they were down wind of the field I figure the coyotes would make the arc.
I went through my coyote calling sequence with a mouth call...I had my 17 Rem Encore (single shot). At about the 15 minute mark I see two animals coming out of the tree line toward me.. They were upwind of me and did not know I was there... I said to myself "Oh here comes two deer?"..I'm looking to make sure what they are and they come closer and closer (It's 1:00 AM and dark) Suddenly "Heck it was not deer it was two coyotes!" 20 yards from me..They get the jump on me and take off..I wish I had the semiautomatic shotgun and not the single shot rifle.. I took a quick shot but to no avail..The coyotes came into my calling upwind of me and did not circle down wind of my position like I anticipated..
I should have put one shooter down wind like I planned but had the other shooter flank me to the left side of the tree line... In other words I should have set a shooter to my far left.. he would have picked them off as they were coming from my left into the tree line of my calling..they would have been upwind of the left flank shooter...When hunting with other people you need to flank them upwind of the caller too...
Had we the third shooter it would have been good to flank that person in line with the caller but to the right side.
See you just never know where the coyotes are going to come from..   I now think  "80% coyotes" come in on the downwind side...The other
" 20% coyotes come in as they see fit"

[scott]

the only time i will not post down wind of the caller is when the wind is wrong for the spot and i can use a natural barrier to stop the coyote from getting around me to the downwind side.   i killed one last year like that, i had a pond to my left and a road behind me, she came running into the call and never knew i was there because she couldn't smell me,.

[uncle buck]

I agree you got to know all of the natural barriers on the land...That something in your favor. Since coyotes do arc and when they do come into the wind... farmers house, his barn, A shed, that coyote is not going to make their arc on that side since the odds are they can't go through a structure... However you need to post on that side of the main sound beam too..Since they don't make their arc on that side they ain't going to smell you either. Odds are they will make the arc n the other side of the farmers structure...Maybe...

Also...You know how bigger bait catches bigger fish... Bigger prey also causes coyotes to come in for a look see. Don't' get me wrong they will come in for fieldmice too. But a Snowshoe and or Jackrabbit distress sound makes them drop their guard a Little bit compared to the baby cottontail...

see as you all know...During winter unlike fox and smaller canines...Coyotes need more protein for energy...See things like this you need to keep in the back of your head... No wonder they yard up in the winter core areas of deer...They need that larger portion of vulnerable meat for energy...

I have posted this before...After December...Hunt coyotes where you still see plenty of deer...That's where the coyotes are. Not saying they are killing all the deer there... However they know if they score they will be taken care of for a few days...Coyotes in the Winter "Always Wishing and Hoping!"