king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated Magazine Dec/Jan 2008 - Coyote Crazy! - Index

The author relies heavily on effective camoufl age that blends him into
the surroundings so that he becomes like the predator he is calling
predator caller you might ask? I
want to try and call each and every
predator to within shotgun range.
How do I do that? Well, my friends,
several other important factors come
into play, but body concealment
is my number one goal in getting
predators close enough for a shotgun
shot. Over the years, people have
worn everything from a Santa Claus
suit, courtesy of Mr. Gerry Blair,
to Halloween-like costumes while
calling predators with success. Will
I be trying this anytime soon with
my calling? Not only “No,” but,
“Heck no!” I will take everyone
else’s word for it that it works. In
order to understand this, the fi rst
thing a hunter needs to do is to try
and decipher what a predator is
doing once it is coming to the call.
First, I try to set up in a
likely spot to call a predator. Then
I blow on the call. If a coyote
hears the distress sound and wants
to investigate the sound, it heads
toward us. While coming at us, the
coyote is going to be using three
of its fi ve senses the most. Ears
(hearing) - listening for sound and
danger. Nose (smell) - trying to
smell for any unfamiliar scents.
And eyes (sight) - spot the sound
source or movement, etc. Notice, I said
“movement.” Remember, predators
are easier to see whenever they are
moving. Just like predators, we are
easier to spot when we move as well.
To briefl y summarize, you must fi rst
wear a camoufl age that blends you into
your surroundings making you become
part of the landscape, and second, keep
your movement to a minimum. If you
do this, not only is your success going
to increase, but you will be having a
few close encounters on your predator
calling trips. Predator calling is a
terrible* addiction of mine. (*Please
note that I use the word “terrible” in
a very good way!) Not only am I
obsessed with calling coyotes, but
I love to call them in close - real
close. I like to look into their eyes
to try and fi gure out what they are
thinking. Will I ever know what
they are truly thinking? I doubt it.
But the idea of fi guring out what a
predator is thinking reminds me of
one of my last hunts of the season
this past winter…
It was the latter part of
February 2007, somewhere in
Wyoming. The temperature was
hovering in the low thirties and a
snow squall was visibly moving
our way. I told my videographer/
hunting partner/ brother Jeff that
we had better hurry and try to get
our last stand of the day in. It was
only mid-afternoon, but it appeared
as if our day of calling was quickly
approaching an end. Six motionless,
pale Wyoming songdogs were
already lying in the bed of my Toyota
Predator Quest Vehicle. The wind
was blowing 10-20 mph and this was
below average wind speed for this
part of Wyoming. We hurried over
the ridgeline to drop our silhouettes
out of sight of any watchful coyotes
that might be forewarned of our
December/January 55