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Hunting & Fishing coyote calling..

primer

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 14, 2008
98
21
S/W Montana
What advice do you guys have on an electronic coyote caller?Just bought a home for retirement in SW Montana, and spent an afternoon with a small handheld caller. Didnt have much luck and my wife was laughing at me saying it sounded like a kazoo....
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What would you recomend?Thanks
 
Re: coyote calling..

Just be careful about what you call in!

August 22, 2010
Watch Out for Yellowstone Bears _ They're Hungry
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:02 p.m. ET

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Yellowstone's grizzlies are going to be particularly hungry this fall, and that means more dangerous meetings with humans in a year that is already the area's deadliest on record.

Scientists report that a favorite food of many bears, nuts from whitebark pine cones, is scarce. So as grizzlies look to put on some major pounds in preparation for the long winter ahead, scientists say, they will be looking for another source of protein -- meat -- and running into trouble along the way.

Wildlife managers already report bears coming down off the mountains and into areas frequented by hunters, berry pickers and hikers.

''Pack your bear spray: there's going to be run-ins,'' said grizzly researcher Chuck Schwartz with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Two people have been fatally mauled by grizzlies so far this year in Wyoming and Montana. Experts said that's the most in one year in at least a century for the Yellowstone region, which also includes parts of Idaho.

The bears in both instances were later killed.

Full-grown Yellowstone bears can stand 6 feet tall and top 600 pounds. They have been known to peel off a man's face with a single swipe of their massive, clawed paws.

In the latest attack, a Michigan man was killed and two others injured when an undernourished bear and her three cubs marauded through a crowded campground near Cooke City, Mont. on July 28. A month earlier, a botanist from Cody, Wyo. was killed by a bear shortly after the animal woke up from being tranquilized by researchers.

And it's not just humans at risk.

Yellowstone's grizzlies were recently ordered back onto the threatened species list by a federal judge who cited in part a decline in whitebark pine.

Beetles, apparently surviving winters in larger numbers due to less frequently freezing temperatures, have decimated vast stands of the high-altitude trees. In some areas studied by researchers, more than 70 percent of trees have been killed.

While bears aren't starving, the loss of whitebark is driving increasing numbers of conflicts with humans.

''Every year is now a bad year for whitebark pine,'' said Louisa Wilcox with the Natural Resources Defense Council. ''We can expect more conflicts and we are getting it.''

Government scientists said the two fatal maulings came too early in the year for whitebark pine to have played a role. Bears typically don't start gorging themselves on the troves of pine nuts that are stashed by squirrels until mid-August.

But the attacks highlighted the hazards of a region that is home to an estimated 580 grizzlies and visited by more than 3 million people a year. And officials said the maulings should serve as a warning as bears begin to push to lower elevations. Adult males will need to gain on average 50 pounds in the next few months to last through the winter.

''Right now every god-dang dead cow down in this country's got grizzlies on them,'' said Mark Bruscino, a bear specialist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Cody. ''We've already had a couple of reports of bears on the gut piles of hunter-killed elk. Road-killed deer have bears on them.''

Hazardous encounters with humans are considered most likely outside Yellowstone National Park, in occupied areas along the fringes of the bears' 14,000-square-mile wilderness habitat.

Hunters -- their high-powered rifles notwithstanding -- are particularly exposed because they do exactly what the experts say not to: They sneak around in the underbrush at dawn and dusk, often alone and making elk calls to lure in big game -- and the occasional hungry bear.

At Stillwater Outfitters near Cooke City, a mile up the road from the campground maulings, owner Mary Robison said her clients were ''definitely a lot more sketchy now'' about running into bears.

Robison, a backcountry runner and hiker, said she had a too-casual attitude about grizzlies in the past.

''Now when I'm running, every two minutes I'm yelling something or I'm singing'' to warn bears of her approach, she said.

While fatal encounters remain rare for humans, it is not so uncommon for bears to die after they run into people.

Twenty-two grizzlies are known to have died or been removed this year in and around Yellowstone National Park. Most were killed or relocated by wildlife officials because they had attacked people, acted aggressively or destroyed livestock or property.

The record number of bear deaths, 79, came in 2008 -- another poor year for whitebark pine.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/22/us/AP-US-Hungry-Grizzlies.html?ref=global-home
 
Re: coyote calling..

If your going to use a hand call it needs to sound almost like a New Born Baby crying. Thats the best way to explain it. Now for an E Caller Fox Pro is one of the best and they have great service and they come out with a new version almost every year.

The Fox Pro Calls some of them you can load up to 200 sounds but truthfully you will only use maybe 5 or 6. I bought a Scorpion brcause it's small and don't take up much space.

Johnny Stewart makes a good Caller, but the only ones I have used were the old Cassette players.

Coyote calling can be easy for some and disappointing for others. Some guys go out and shoot 5 their first day others go out and maybe finally get a shot after two years.
The problem with Calling now is that everyone and their Grandma wants to call Coyotes and unless you own about a 100,000 acres every place you go there will have been somebody there calling before you have tried.

Something to remember is that Coyotes are not the Mythical Creature that some want you to think they are. I have called Coyotes in with Chukar Hunters no more than a thousand yards away and you can hear the hunters talking like they are sitting right next to you and have Vehicle traffic driving down the road at the same time with the road only maybe 50 yards behind me. As far as hiding your ride I find a hump behind or a wash or something to hide it in and some times I walk no more than fifty feet from it and call Coyotes in. Some guys swear you have to walk a half a mile or more. The more your walking the less calling your doing.

Good luck
 
Re: coyote calling..

I have been calling in yotes for years now. I bought the Foxpro FX5. It holds 200 sounds. Foxpro makes the Spitfire, You can find it at cabelas on sale for 179.00. It takes the sd card, so you can carry many sounds. Not as many as the FX5, FX3 or the scorpion. I like to call near farms where there is cattle. When they start dropping young, you can expect the coyotes there. Same when deer start dropping there young. When I call in the winter I use the lightning jack sound. The best I have used. Last year I killed 42 yotes, mostly using that sound. After I have dropped one, I will switch up to a pup in distress. Also when the yotes are dropping there young, use the pup in distress. This will bring them in.

If you need any info, feel free to PM me on the subject.

Once it gets below 20* here, you will find me calling in the yotes.

I would rather call them in than deer hunt. Call me silly, but when you sit down, turn on the call, and within 3 min. you have 4 yotes on you, now that is excitement........
 
Re: coyote calling..

I forgot to add, if you want to look for a good used call, go to foxpro.com and get on there forum site. You think you are on this one alot? Wait till yote season. You can find some great deals on there. Also, foxpro will put sounds on them for you. And there customer service is top notch.
 
Re: coyote calling..

I built my dad an electronic caller for Christmas last year that uses an MP3 player as the source and all the calls are in mp3 format I found on the web! Built it into a plastic ammo style can from bass pro. He loves it and has had a TON of success with it in southeast Kansas! I found the how to on the web, depending on how you build it, should come in around $85 bucks or so unless you go high end on the mp3 player. Somewhere I have some pics and the info on it I'll dig around if anyone is interested..
 
Re: coyote calling..

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: primer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What advice do you guys have on an electronic coyote caller? </div></div>
if you are looking for something on the cheap side johnny stewart PM-4 works great , i went ahead with a foxpro prairie blaster last season and love it... has lots of pre programmed sounds and a built in decoy, got lots of dogs and cats with it so far.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: primer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just bought a home for retirement in SW Montana, and spent an afternoon with a small handheld caller. Didnt have much luck and my wife was laughing at me saying it sounded like a kazoo....
blush.gif
What would you recomend?Thanks</div></div>
i also carry alot of hand calls, lil & big dog, ki-yi, catnip, and a few others, practice makes perfect!!! good luck.
 
Re: coyote calling..

heres a thought, i bought a cheap foxpro fx3, only has like 12 sounds however it takes an audio jack for an ipod or any other mp3 player. Then i went to varmintals.com and downloaded like 130 calls for free and just use the fx3 as a loudspeaker now. Also if you do make it over to varmintals check out alot of his hand held calling tips.
 
Re: coyote calling..

Thanks for all the replies guys..The hand caller I have is a "lil dog", I probably need alot more practice with it. The property I bought has 30 acres, and there is a cattle ranch just to the south of me with about 6000 acres. I have heard coyotes out there at night, and we had a dead antelope in out in our hay field that was stripped to bones in about 2 days. Not to mention we have dog runs with some pups, and am wondering if all the calling by the coyotes is directed at our dogs.
 
Re: coyote calling..

In my history of hunting Yotes, I will say yes. They hear yelping and wimpering. They think they are in distress. If you have all that going on there, my guess you have alot of yotes. If you have little kids, keep a close eye on them. They will attack if there is large groups hanging around. There has been alot of attacks in the past few years. My wife is a runner, and has seen many in town. They are getting used to people and are not afraid to sneak in and check things out. Google " coyote attacks " you will be amazed.

I say get yourself a good digital call, and start wacking and stacking.

Not to mention, there hides are back to being worth a few bucks now.

If you need help, don't hesitate to PM me. I "have call and will travel"
 
Re: coyote calling..

Of all the mouth calls I have ever bought, the Tally Ho is by far my favorite. I also like the standard CritRCall.

Definitely have a couple small calls with you even though you are running an electric call. Regardless of the brand, there will be a time you forget the remote, battery issue, etc, etc, etc.

For electronic, I am sold on the Burnham Brothers Compu Caller III. Just flat works. I have had several, and grab this one every time I go out anymore.



Set up is as important as what you are using. Get out and call, don't get disappointed. Buddy up with someone to go out with at least a couple times.
 
Re: coyote calling..

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigDKC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have some pics and the info on it I'll dig around if anyone is interested.. </div></div>

ME!!
 
Re: coyote calling..

I love my Foxpro caller, I hunt them all winter after deer season is over.
I hunt at night here in upstate NY as I've had almost zero luck calling them in the day time. These animals here seem to be alot smarter then the ones I've hunted out west.





 
Re: coyote calling..

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: vman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">what model of foxpro do you use? any negative feedback on the unit?</div></div>

I have the older 416 I think. Have had it a long time. Nothing negative about it so far.
I have it in my pack no matter what I'm hunting as it has all kinds of different animal sounds on it like deer grunts and bleats, hen turkey, varmint calls, crow calls, Geese etc.

Comes in handy and it works in the sub-zero temps of January and February here in upstate NY.

I called Foxpro last year to see if I could get some new calls put on it as I believe I have educated the yotes around here using the same calls all the time. They said to send it in and we can put on any sound I want. Haven't done it yet, but I should.

You can see a pic of a large male coyote I got a few years ago on a thread called "Snow Coyote" I tried to post it here, but couldn't figure out how to do it.
 
Re: coyote calling..

Sweet thanks guys. Will invest in one soon.

They are pretty pricey, so the scorpion is probably about as far as i would go with one.

If i had my own property infested by critters then i would perhaps buy a larger unit, but the scorpion looks like it should fit the bill

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