He’s not really going to use that call, is he?
That thought raced through my mind as my coyote-hunting partner for the day, a friend of a friend connection, started blowing on a kazoo-style call adorned with more rubber bands than a Staples office supply store. I turned away not only from the frightful sound, but to avoid being zapped in the eye by a rogue rubber band. My calling partner’s wild side was definitely showing.
Five minutes had barely passed when I jumped at the crack of his rifle. A coyote was laying just yards away from his feet. I had to admit I never believed the wild, offbeat call would produce fur, but the evidence was leaving a blood trail as we dragged it back to the truck. Maybe embracing the wild side was the answer to increasing my random success.
That hunt took place in my early years of coyote hunting, and it proved that odd sound works. Today, more than ever, predators are receiving increased pressure from hunters’ intent on hunting the entire calendar year. The hunting industry has embraced this predator trend with new firearms, tailored ammunition, specific gear and specialized clothing.
That’s good, but with the good always comes some bad. The bad is that coyotes have become increasingly more difficult to call into shooting range. More hunters means more botched setups. Today’s coyotes have a Sasquatch diploma in evasiveness teamed with ever-present, coyote paranoia.
Steve Criner, host of Dog Soldier TV on the Sportsman Channel, understands the challenges of modern coyote hunting as much as anyone. It’s his job to produce quality coyote hunting entertainment and that often can be a test when competing with weekend warriors. Criner started hunting Midwestern coyotes more than two decades ago. Today he travels throughout the country experiencing the good and the bad of coyote behavior. To find success he often embraces his wild side by tossing tradition into the borrow ditch as he moves to his next calling site.
“A high percentage of coyotes die their first year of life. After that most are as educated as any 5-year-old coyote,” Criner said. “I don’t believe in the unkillable coyote, but a coyote that has experienced high levels of hunting pressure and human presence makes them alter their activity and attitude.”
Criner knows coyotes feel pressure and danger from humans. This creates a negative association when they sense or realize humans are around. He knows a coyote that has survived a meeting with a hunter utilizing predator calls stands a far greater chance of avoiding the same sound that was blaring right before the blast. That’s the main reason Criner isn’t afraid to try sounds that the average predator hunter may not consider. It comes from his personal understanding of coyote mentality.
“If a coyote hears a dying rabbit and it associates it with a bad experience, it will avoid the area. It’s not due to their mental capability, but instead how they relate sounds and situations to good, and bad," he said. "Coyotes cannot think but they can associate. That’s why you need to move beyond traditional sounds quickly, if you’re having a difficult time calling coyotes in a good area. There are so many sounds that kill coyotes that people won’t use, but using those nontraditional calls can lead to success.”
If you’ve done your scouting and know you’re calling in the zip code of a healthy coyote population, you should experience some success. If coyotes are giving you the cold shoulder then you may need to bring out your wild side when it comes to coyote-attracting sounds.
“If I go a half day and I don’t call anything in or I see one react negatively, I’ll go rogue,” Criner said. “I’ll start going tactical on all aspects of the hunt. I may move in and get tighter on setups, but just as important, I’ll start using off-the-wall sounds. I’ll be trying real hard to give a coyote some motivation to get shot. Nontraditional calls can do that.”
