I feel if your in good cat area they will come in quick. I made quicker closer stands this year and felt it was a better strategy. sometimes only traveling 200 yds. but only calling for 30 minutes depends on day or night. daytime I called for atleast 30 minutes. mostly to give me good enough time to scan the brush for a cat. night time I ended stands at my normal 15 minute mark. maybe spend a bit more if I was at the last stand on the road I was calling. at night cats give away their position easily with their big eyes. I stuck to rabbit, bird, and quick chattery sounds. don't be afraid to crank the volume. I kept the sound going constantly also. get in good area. this is the biggest thing many do not do. don't think that it looks good. know that there is cats in the area by scouting. if your calling day time keep from fidgeting too much. I really like to sit still and don't move. get comfy before hitting the call. also call roads leading into cover. if calling by day time take your time and look hard into the brush for the odd shapes. if calling at night call small openings in cover. scan quick to find the flicker of eye. once found keep light on the cat and study it.
one thing I noticed is many people say there calling for 60 minutes for cats but if you time em after 30 minutes they are ready to go. my remote on my foxpro shows me exactly how much time I have spent on stand. this is the best I can help ya with what I have done.
I agree with earl. if you have studied the way a cat moves you can have a good idea if that set of eyes coming in is a cat or a grey. id everything positively. but you can cut down on focusing on nontargets by knowing how a cat moves. there is plenty of videos out there that show how cats respond to a call. they'll walk a few steps slow down or stop and look back. if I am hunting at night and see a set of eyes. and they go dark I will scan 10ft to either side of where i seen em before and you'll normally pick em up. if a cat seems to set there and doesn't want to come in any further change sounds. or lower volume. there isn't some black magic to calling em. just get in good area and practice good hunting skills by being quiet and choosing proper setups and you'll be rewarded(along with knowing your gun and being able to make the shot) Thats a lot of work to go through only to find out your gun isn't hitting true. I shot my gun probably ten different times last year at targets through the course of the season to make sure it was still on. I plan to get dad and me a cat this year. but need to spend a few weekends scouting first.
