Wait and Wait Predator Calling 

Being somewhat of an impatient person, varmint calling stands would normally last between 10-15 minutes.  Having gone ‘dry’ on several predator hunts lately had me scrambling for a new or old trick out of the blue.  Some stands produced in just a couple of minutes and usually consisted of younger coyotes only.  My trophy is the fully matured coyote with a white tipped tail.

Anything your dog at home can learn, a coyote can learn in half the time and be an expert in short order.  With the abundant of sports people out there realizing just how exciting varmint calling is, makes for a very cautious coyote.  Some areas have been called so much that I can imagine two or three ‘yotes’ sitting around listening to the fake noise and judging whether or not a certain brand of call is being used.

All the above information set me thinking what can I do to improve my hunts.  Logic told me calling a shorter time and covering more areas probably would not work so, why not stay a little longer.  That is exactly what I did.  A plan was hatch out, over lunch with Ted Scholl, on how we would go about this ‘different’ way.  Quick excuses were made to the wives.  The two minute drill of grabbing calling gear and getting ready for the road went into effect.

What Ted and I planned was this.  First, find a place where we knew there are coyotes.  Second, set up the stand where we had a great view and were very comfortable.  Third, call somewhat quiet (you don’t know how hard that is for Ted) for about 10-12 minutes then no calling at all.  Fourth, sit quiet and as still as possible for at least 20 minutes after we were done calling.  Sound silly?  Well, if it worked I would be happy with silly!

On the first stand, well into our quiet time, both of us saw movement out in front of us about 250 yards.  A slight change of wind and what ever it was disappeared.  Still trying to make this waiting thing work we chose our next spot.  We sat approximately 200 yards apart, but had visibility of each other.  Sitting in silence for about five minutes I did an easy whimper on a open reed call.  A total time of noise was about 5-7 minutes, then I stopped.

With not just one but both legs asleep now I figured we were into the quiet zone about 20 minutes.  Off to my three o’clock position, about 300 yards, I caught some movement on the edge of a treeline.  Not one but two adult coyotes stepped out and were looking right toward my spot.  Normally I will lip squeak trying to coax them in a little closer.  But this was a different approach, so I kept silent.

It took the coyotes 8-10 minutes to go from 300 yards down to 100 yards, all the while stopping and sniffing the air.  At the three quarter mark one of the predators disappeared into a nearby wash.  The single male made his way to a small dirt berm at about 90 yards and just completely stopped.  I watched this slow stalk through my scope to the point where my eye started to blur.  The wind had shifted and was now at my back.  In less than five seconds the coyote had winded me and was turning to go.  Now I squeaked with my lips and he gave me a quick opening through some low hanging branches.  The AR-10 barked and instantly I heard the sound of a solid hit.

The total time invested in the second stand was about 35-40 minutes, but patience paid off.  This style of calling was tried again and has worked very well.  A few of my friends tried the ‘waiting period stands’ too, with equally good results.

So if they don’t show up early, kick back and rest a while and reap the rewards.

Gary McCraw
AZOD Shooting Editor

Shooting@azod.com