The number of summer-coyote hunters compares to the amount of summer snow skiers in some zip codes, but a few diehards use the summer months to continue the pursuit. Although there’s a debate on whether coyotes should be left alone during denning months, if high densities abound then a bit of trimming may help all prey, including some games species you may want to pursue come autumn.

Summer does bring about a whole different set of hunting circumstances. To begin with you need to consider the extreme heat. Coyotes won’t be lounging around on open hillsides or strolling through fields. They’ll be seeking shade throughout the day and spending more time moving at night, and at dusk and dawn. As pups venture farther and farther from dens look for coyotes to bed up under low brush, along creeks and on north-facing slopes to beat dog-day heat.

This also means you should schedule your hunts for these windows to take advantage of coyotes on the prowl. I’m not saying you can’t get a coyote to move when it’s 100 degrees, but it may be more likely to course to your calls if it’s a foggy, 70-degree morning.

Coyotes will also be near water. Again this may not come into play for some zones that have water behind every bush, but in the Midwest, Great Plains and West, water is as much a luxury as an Easy Boy lounge chair in your shooting house. Check the edges of water for the pattern of regular coyote visits. If you find a packed trail of paw prints near water you may be near an active den site, also a great site for calling coyotes.

Lastly, think elevation. You will be hunting when vegetation is at its peak growing season. Trees and shrubs will be dense, grass is tall and crops are maturing. Coyotes are already masters of using terrain to sneak toward your calls without showing a whisker, but when you add in foliage your old setup sites may be as useless as a Prius in the backcountry. Look for elevated sites such as old barns, steep creek banks, the top of your truck and treestands. One summer a pal from Minnesota wanted to call coyotes and we fought the vegetation battle daily. Finally, I decided to move to the edge of an active prairie dog town. The prairie dogs kept the basin mowed and coyotes routinely hunted the fringe. On the first setup our problems were solved. Good luck this summer-calling season.