Nighttime Locating

[223sav]

Just looking for some opinions/thoughts on locating coyotes at night. I realize all coyotes are different and lots of variables play into specific areas(densities,pressure,etc), but on average how long should a guy wait for a response, what would be the expected time of response, how far away will they respond from? I tried it for the first time the other night, 2 of 5 spots produced responses and both times it was within 5-10 seconds, then you could hear ones further out picking up, like a chain effect. Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated.

[lyonch]

I think if you do a search on the topic locating you should get some really good posts that people have put together. In case your results dont show what you are looking for; there are numerous ways to locate coyotes. There will be a lot of opinions and experience that others have gathered from what they have experimented with, but i think the two most common ways are to howl and use a siren. Another thing that is pretty neat is if you send your buddy down the road about a mile or two and then you go locate. You might be suprised that you didn't hear a response but your buddy a ways away did. With my little bit of experience, it seems like there is usually a chain reaction that happens when you locate. There are a lot more people on this site that have way more experience than i do at this.

[Prairie Ghost]

It's a great idea to have someone else spread out and then comparing where you heard coyotes you can also get a better idea on the ones that you both hear (triangleation) SP. Howling works well with a hand call, an ecaller played with the "coyote serenade" works well, and a siren can work well if you don't over use it and play it different each time. This time of year the responses can be very quick. If not looking for a specific group of coyotes just locating in general i usually stay 10 minutes at each spot and will a lot of time play the sound again or try one of the others if i haven't got a response after five minutes. You nailed it though densities will have a lot to do with how often you are getting responses. Major Boddicker did a study about the "ripple effect" on coyotes howling and I want to say it was out to 125 miles or something crazy like that so you don't want to be too loud or the coyotes ahead of you down the road will have already howled to your early trys when you couldn't hear them and then won't howl for you when you are close enough to hear them.

[223sav]

Wow, 125 miles seems like a long ways, but it makes perfect sense. As long a coyote can hear another, they will probably join in. The calling to loud also fits in my situation, as the first place I got a response from two directions, then I only traveled about two miles up the road before trying again, with nothing. Then I traveled 5-6 miles and got another response, then again nothing. Thanks for the info, I have never really located coyotes before, just always called blind or in places that they had been seen. Hopefully by doing some locating first, I will be able to put more dogs in the truck with the time I have to hunt them.

[jaybic]

PG, where did you get that "ripple affect" info. That is something I would really like to read and learn more about. Thats crazy!

Jaybic

[Prairie Ghost]

It might be in "talking to coyotes with the song dog" the book that comes with the song dog call in the store but i'm not sure. I will try to look later if not it would be in one of his published studies. I talked to him about it a little bit at Nationals a few years ago pretty interesting stuff.

[rorycoyote]

i have read it too but i think i saw it in hoof beats of a wolfer by o'gorman

[Coyotehunter]

yep it is boddiker who talks about that.