Predator Xtreme - Feb 2012
Stay On Stand Longer upon negatives and pros bring upon cons The Speedy Gonzales approach has become a coyote hunting tradition but its not perfect You cant argue that living by the 15 minute rule offers more stands per day Even if you have to travel between sites by hiking youll tally two to three additional stands in a morning over taking a longer stand that limits your morning to two or maybe three setups at most Unfortunately like people all coyotes have different personalities and responsive characteristics Some coyotes burst onto the scene while others have a laid back composure Eighty percent of all dogs Im going to shoot arrive within five 44 www PredatorXtreme com FEBRUARY 2012 to eight minutes states Stewart Thats why most hunters get up and move quickly but with the rise in calling popularity the faster is better rule may not be true anymore Longer may be better Mature and educated coyotes simply take longer to show Stewart believes more calling pressure calling contests and the influx of humans into more and more coyote environments have led to coyotes being more cautious Today he often emphasizes that hunters call for 8 to 15 minutes and then sit another 15 minutes to wait for wary coyotes If youre hunting in heavily populated regions of the country or areas receiving lots of calling press the education process alone makes coyotes more cautious says Stewart Coyotes adapt to these factors by hesitating longer to review the situation at hand and once it evades a dangerous situation it learns to continue this trait Although Ive lived in the Great Plains and West most of my adult life its still difficult to remove yourself from the affects of people on coyotes Remote undisturbed coyote areas become more common the further West you travel but for most coyotes the occasional drive by shooting is a weekly event during the fall and winter A chance meeting with a coyote more than a decade ago caused me to think about staying longer After calling for 15 to 20 minutes I grabbed my gear and started back up the hill toward my truck nearly a mile in the distance Topping the hill I looked in the gully below and to my surprise a coyote was gawking at me with retreat as its next move Dropping to the ground I deployed my bipods and centered my crosshairs on the tail of the running coyote Instinctively I barked to stop the dog and apparently it didnt register I was a threat as it squashed the brakes to look My Hornady bullet piled the coyote and a good lesson was logged for future reference Hunters who live by the The author poses with a slow coyote that took more than 30 minutes to respond to his calls
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