You don’t have to be at the end of a 30-minute calling setup with nothing in sight to sense failure on a predator setup. In fact, you could be setting yourself up for failure before you even sling your shooting iron over your shoulder or turn on your predator caller.

Take a look at these scenarios to see if failure is following you all the way from the trailhead.

Your Vehicle

You rely on your vehicle, ATV or even UTV to get you to great hunting locations. Nevertheless, is your vehicle giving you away before you even start the hunt? First, consider if you vehicle is a bit too noisy. A worn out muffler on your truck or an aftermarket muffler to boost horsepower on your ATV could send a message across the landscape for predators to vamoose. Consider quieting your ride.

Next, make sure when you do arrive at your hunting area you don’t wake the neighbors. Slamming car doors, banging tailgates, loud talk and other noises from your truck, and gear could send a shockwave of terror through the land causing animals to shirk, slink and disappear. In brief, be as quiet as a church mouse and take the steps need to make sure you vehicle allows a whisper approach too.

Making noise, being at the wrong location or making the incorrect calls can all spook predators or create situations that aren't beneficial for you. (Photo: Mark Kayser)

Wrong Location

Have you ever shown up for an event only to discover you’re at the wrong location? You can fail at predator hunting in the same manner. Predators, like all animals including you, have favorite diners, motels and even pubs. For them it really means they have preferred places to hunt, bed down and drink.

Showing up at the wrong locations means you might not meet up with your predator of choice. A thorough understanding of predator habits combined with scouting can give you insight on where a bobcat or predator may be located. For example, if the area you’ve chosen to hunt doesn’t include a prosperous hunting area full of rodents for the predators, you may be on track to failure.

Wrong Time of the Day

Even if you do have the address right you could still fail simply by showing up at the wrong time. Predators follow a schedule, again like you. Many ramp up hunting at dawn and dusk. They continue this activity through the evening hours. After sunrise they sneak back to bedding refuge with a possible stop at a water source to hydrate. Then, after a long nap they’ll begin their daily routine all over again.

You need to scout diligently and be where the predators want to be at the right time of the day. In the mornings you should station yourself near predator hunting grounds along a route to bedding cover. In the afternoons a setup just outside of a bedroom could have merit. Strategically-placed trail cameras could help in your scheduling.

Your Approach

With time and day firmly in your corner it’s time to ensure you don’t fail on your approach. Nothing gives you away more than approaching with the wind blowing into potential predator cover. Park in a location that gives you an immediate advantage to the wind and don’t stop with that scent advantage.

You should also try and cloak your approach. Use terrain to stay hidden from big openings. Use low spots, such as ditches or creek beds to advance out of sight. Lastly, never silhouette yourself if at all possible. Instead of going over a hill try and side hill to give yourself a background to blend against. In all advances cover your own scent with a quality scent elimination product like Scent Killer Gold.

Lastly, if your first set is in the morning utilize the cover of darkness to boldly cross farther into good predator calling country.

Wrong Sound Choice

A closing consideration is to always choose the correct sound. If you know the area is heavily hunted it might be wise to stay away from rabbit in distress. If there’s the chance for fox, coyotes or bobcats to show up then don’t include coyote vocalizations in the ruse. And if you know it’s breeding season for your target predator toss in the sounds of the species fighting. A squabble always gets predators to listen and possibly look.

It’s easy enough to have a disappointing hunt when you’re up against a quarry as savvy any in the woods. Don’t set yourself up for failure before you even turn on the caller.

Featured image: Mark Kayser