Fatal Attraction?

[uncle buck]

Remember as a boy...going into a pool hall and the owner saying to the young teenagers...Ah the boys that just come into this place to shoot at the balls! As you know Pool with a capitol P truly is a game of strategy. As you shoot you need to set your next shot up..So yes you don't just shoot at the balls to make the click when hit...You shoot and you try to observe if I do this this will place the Que ball in this position on the table to yet get more numbered balls into the holes...  

When calling just don't push the button on the electronic caller ask yourself what am I trying to do here? what time of the year is it? how has the weather been? Think for a moment that your prey animal is also a mammal like yourself. also it is also a canine like your dog too...So what bothers you, what would make you hungry. why does your dog act this way to human actions?

 let use the coyotes as an example.....They like us are omnivores.....Omnivores means we can eat anything meat, seed, fruit, vegtables and Cow Flops...Just thought I throw that in there... So it's going to be hard to determind what all mammals will eat since we can eat a lot of things...How about what is readily available at that time of the year... Also what is available because of the conditions outside too...
So when using food sounds what is most readily available?  


Now here is the thing that is so important... we are both mammals...We need sex and we can get upset real fast if someone yanks our chain...Some people more then other just lose it....So that is what you want to do....Do calls in the mating season to stimulate the coyotes sex drives. also the coyote do not like other coyotes not in the pack on their turf. yep we don't like people on our turf either... "Stay Off My Turf Is A Common saying these Days!"


So from now on into March you need to yank the coyotes chain or stimulate their interest in sex....Coyote howling works, high Pitch Howls...Ah the female saying   "IM READ................Y!!!!!!!!!!In Coyote Female Invitational Talk.


The Yanking of the Chain....The Coyote Challenge Howl or any Howl not associated with the pack....Coyote thinks ah ________ we've got intruders IN the area...They start thinking "STAY OFF MY TURF!" SO you need to make them think this... However the problem is you don't want to be like those teenager that just go into the pool hall and shoot at the billiard balls and think of getting set up for the next shot.. you want to use a strategy....One to use is coyote vocalization of course... However less is better when you be wanting to yank the chain of the Pa coyote....So make them think a coyote came into the area and then SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP FOR ABOUT * minutes in between calling...Stay long because it take awhile to yank the chain of a coyote...Now remember you can do this with electronics too if you have a remote... just got to have the coyote vocalization on it...

Don't just shoot at the billiard balls from now on I mean don't just push the button on the electronic caller. Your a mammal they Are mammal They Are Canine your Dog is a canine...Your an omnivore there an omnivore.. You like sex they like sex...You don't want anything on your turf they do not want anything on their turf..

[Hern]

I might add, when playing pool you are on one table.
When Coyote hunting you play on many tables...let me explain...
as seasons change so do Coyotes home range...
As UB stated, Food is important, but so is cover.
In my area of Pa., Coyote become very lazy during the summer, for the most part laying up in Corn fields and not traveling too far.
As the corn is cut, Coyotes go to the next unharvested field and hold, until that's taken off. This is repeated as Corn is taken off.
Now it's mid-late fall the young of the year are dispersing (and some adults), it's a busy travel time for Coyotes. They are anywhere and everywhere at times, here today, gone tomorrow, but holding in thick cover.
By early to mid-winter some cover is flat: windblown, snow packed, died off.
Pine swamps, Dense pine stands, thickets, slash'ns, log'n cut outs become hold up spots for winter Coyote. I don't think our Pa. winter Coyote doesn't travel far from food, he may be close. Winter Coyote have stumped me many times. I think I have 'em pegged, then poof...their gone. Some times it takes me years to learn 'why'. Often times I find out that so and so had a dead cow or butchering scrapes dumped at the back forty and the Coyotes moved to that food. Shoulda been there, Hern...tracks all over and Dad saw two! Dang...missed out again.

[Hern]

So now it's late winter and Coyote are on food. Breeding season is in full swing.
I wish I could cage an in-season female decoy. I believe I could see every male from several surrounding townships...LOL.
UB, stated breeding sounds are good for this time. But the location is still near cover and food. The males will really be on the move at this time.
Next comes Spring and Coyote is denning in cover with plenty of food nearby.
It's an active time for Pop Coyote.

Coyote cover goes hand in hand with food. Studys have shown that western Coyotes travel miles and miles for food and water. (one study I read, a denning pair of western Coyotes traveled 21 miles to watering hole, each taking their turn everyday)
I am no biologist, but I haven't found that Pa. Coyotes don't travel too far for food and water.

I understand what UB is saying but wanted to add to know where the Coyote is at certain times of the year. Weather you are kill'n Coyotes on a sunny side hill den site in the Spring or work'n over a dense laurel thicket in the dead of winter. So learn to play on many tables...my best to you.

[scott]

my take and observations on coyote movement and behavior, coyotes have a huge home range and inside the home range they have core areas that they will stay at durning the day and hunt the surrounding areas at night.  i beleive coyotes have about 5 or 6 core areas within their home range.  they will stay in  one core area for about 5 to 6 days until moving to the next.  I believe they do this so they do not over hunt an area.   A buddy of mine lives one mountain over from me, if he is hearing coyotes at night I am not behind my house but in a week or 10 days they will be behind my house then they are not heard by either of us for a week or 10 days then they are back at this house.  in those periods when they are gone you could have a coyote move in which would be one that was pushed out of another home range this dog is usually not very vocal.  

[scott]

anyone want to bet we will see some of the information posted above in an article within 2 to 3 months?  Good information, thanks Hern and UB. 

[Hern]

scott, good info. Thanks.
I have found the same to be true in my area.
Why they move and don't show up for days, weeks or up to a month has me guess'n for years.
My take now on Coyote 'here today, gone tomorrow' 'moving core area' is mainly due to human pressure, food or cover (or any combination of all 3). Some of this movement is Coyote habit or behavior, that's understood. But human pressure sure plays a part.
I am a trapper. And have closely observered Coyote travel patterns for 25 seasons (since they moved in my area). My traps tell the story of where and when. The 'why' one must make an educated obersevation. As more Coyotes show up in traps the following years, then one can feel confident of his educated oberservations from years pass.

I link my trapping observations with my predator call'n. By that, I call areas that I in-season scout, I know they are in the area, NOW. I like to have the edge, and odds in my favor. I won't waste my time if I don't have a chance to kill a Coyote. Disclaimer: I strike out as much as anyone. Dang Coyote movement. And I have a ton of excues...LOL. Don't read me wrong here, just trying to put myself on Coyotes.
So you take a new predator hunter or a first time Coyote Contest participant, they purchase a new mouth call and go out to where the neighbor's brother's friend's cousin knows a farmer that heard Coyotes howling this summer. They set up and work the area. They fall flat on their face.
Why? Why do they fail?
There are several correct answers. You know that.

[scott]

some more coyote behavior.  we had two deer killed in the rifle season that nobody claimed, the first one was killed in the first week when it was warm and they found that one and ate it within two weeks.  the second one was found the last saturday of the season and was already frozen solid, they haven't touched the frozen deer until the last week sometime.  that deer laid there untouched for almost 2 1/2 months untouched, yesterday i walked into the area and noticed the deer was moved.  i walked over to him and he was almost all but gone,  they had the snow around him packed down to where it was almost slick, they had beds 10 to 15 feet away from it where they laid down, and they had a path through the snow one way in and  the same trail out.  they had the area marked up with urine, female and male.  looks like maybe 4 or 5 different yotes one being a really big male.  if i had taken my cable restraint class i am sure i could catch a few of them on the trail. 

[Hern]

that deer laid there untouched for almost 2 1/2 months untouched
Local Coyotes knew where it died was within 72 hours.
They didn't need it until now.

[uncle buck]

Scott me thinks they, coyotes  were marinating the deer to make it taste better?  LOL

Scott and I  were calling for predators back in October. When we started calling, coyote came running right at us then winded us... We went back the next day (daylight) and found the deer right where the coyote ran from to us.  It was feeding at the time. deer was near picked to the bone..
 
This time of the year...Find the deer in numbers and your going to find the coyotes.. Thank You for all the landowners that will not allow people to hunt deer....


I remember Hodgon posting one time that coyotes would lay in ambush near a frozen carcass and eat the fox etc trying to eat the frozen carrion. Kind of using the bait pile to draw in live prey for them to eat..
Now that we have recently read the research that coyotes in Pa have the jaws of wolves they sure could eat frozen anything...

[scott]

should we be calling our coyotes, coywolfs,  sometimes i wonder if wolf sounds would work on them.  that would get the neighbors in tizzy. 

[scott]

was able to get out for a set this afternoon, the wind was right for me to call the deer that the yotes have been eating.  put a good hour on the stand and nothing.  here is a pic of the deer, looks like they are just about done.  in the picture you can see the trail coming in and out to the deer also if you look you might be able to see a bed on the left and there is one on the right that is hard to pick up. 

[scott]

in the last picture i took and posted the deers hind quarter were gone and the stomach, then the coyotes seem to disappear and i thought they were gone, no tracks for a week then today we went for a quad ride and they were back they drug it another 15 yards and skinned it and are almost done, man they do not leave much on the bones, i didn't notice but Forrest said they crushed the head to get to the brain.  one of the tracks if from a big dog, i think he is going to go well over 50. 

[lonewolf]

I agree with scott on the way a coyote comes n goes ,ive noticed there in one spot for 5-7days then gone for 15-20 days then back again. They definatly move in patterns.