Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Coyote calling help - Howls vs distress

Do you guys out there seem to have better luck with howls or distress calling? I have heard so many different things from people, such as, if you start howling, you cant get any positive effect if you start a distress call after that.
If you howl for a while and get no response, then what?
This morning I howled for a little while, and a few seconds later I had a reply. I howled back at him, and next thing I saw him trotting straight toward me at about 800 yds. At 400 yds he stopped and lay down. He looked at me and I tried everything I had and couldnt get him any more interested. What should one try when they stop and you cant get em any closer (other than take the shot).

reading Outdoor Life this month says that you might try wounded puppy yelps, and also bitch in heat calls. that might work for you. this is per the magazine.

keep in mind here, i am not an expert, and i have only hunted yotes once.

eagle,
You need totry and match the call to your situation. We have lots of coyotes up here but right now I get very little response to the howler. Today I called in four at one stand using the rabbit squeal and my tallyho. Probably didn't need the talleyho but I was getting tired of the rabbit squeal. I believe the rabbit squeal was so effective because we just got done with a blizzard and the coyotes were hunting. Another thing to remember about the howler is if you choke upon the reed you sound real raspy and that makes them suspicious. The howler seems to work real well when the dogs are in heat. Are you getting anything for the hides where ever your at? They are worth about $15-$20 scraped and stretched.
skitish

I use the distress calls almost exclusively, but I tend to make a higher pitched and more animated sound then the standard jack rabbit you hear on tapes. To break things up a little I sometimes use my howler to imitate a coyote in distress, kinda like the yelps and howls of a hurt dog. Generate your calls from within the core of your body, lots of feeling. I have hunted coyotes for many years and can say that, for me anyways, distress calls are far more productive day in and day out than howling. I use howling sometimes to pinpoint where the coyotes are and hunt to those areas using distress calls.

Regarding the second part of your question about the out of range "hung-up" coyote, you have three options. First is to wait him out and try different calls, squeaks and howls to get him coming again. The second is if there are two of you, one can continue to call and hold the coyotes attention while the second guy makes a sneak on the coyote. This only works if the terrain is right so that the guy sneaking can stay out of site. The third option, and to be honest, the one I use most, is to not waste time and go find another coyote. I probably average about one coyote for every three or four call sites, so the more calls I make in a day, the more coyotes I get. You can waste a lot of time on a hung-up coyote, often times with little reward.

The coyote breeding season is underway here in the midwest now and coyotes kind of like deer have one thing on their mind and its not eating and coyotes kind of like us humans recognize the voices of all in their group,coyotes males again like deer dont like strange coyotes snoopin around in their buissness during mating season and if youll take a coyote howler out during breeding season and bark and howl on it you will occaisionally get the attn of the alpha dog who will come in to see what stranger is snoopin in his bizz.BANG its not whom he thought it was.................

I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I use an ancient 12 volt siren off a fire truck to locate tons of coyotes.

I don't do a lot of howling anymore. I also feel various distress calls can be more productive year 'round. When I do howl its after a non-productive series of distress calls.

I have been told not to change from howls to distress, or vice versa. How much truth is there in that?
Dan, you say that you will howl after a non-productive series of distress calls, have you had any success with the howls after you have given up on the distress?

How much truth? None, howling after a series of distress has worked for me some. The main problem is leaving too early, you need to sit tight for a while after howling. Just figure if you're in good coyote country they will be sneaking in to see the new guy.

When I howl at the start which is very rare and I'm no authority but I go into a series of pup whines before leaving if I don't get a response from just the howls.

Like anything else, sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

At this time of year someone's howled them already so I only distress call.

Spot