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howling when using distress?

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:01 pm
by Nodak72
Is there any benefit to using A greeting howl at the beginning of A jack rabbit in distress calling sequence in dec through mid jan? have heard different opinions, just curious what other people think!

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:42 am
by lyonch
If you're new to the sport i say don't do it. If you feel that you are a veteran i say sure go ahead. Randy Anderson howls on virtually every stand. Less Johnson doesn't howl at all. Both are very successful callers. Find what works for you and stick with it.

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:48 am
by Coyotehunter
location, location, location.

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:04 am
by Tim Anderson
I have used the howl at the beginning of a stand and also at the end. Here is what can happen though if its used at the beginning of a stand. Depending on the time of the year you use the howl to open a stand you can have the YOY coyotes. Lets say you are calling in Dec. The YOY coyotes have dispersed or are dissperseing and finding a new area of there own or may still be with mom and pop. By howling at the beginning of youre stand you could scare off the YOY, some may have moved off to a new area and found it was being used by another coyote and it ended up getting its butt kicked so now it may not come to a howl. Some of the YOY maynot be ready for a confrontation so they may not respond also.. So now what??? Just use prey in distress ( Birds, rabbits, ect.) and then at the end of youre stand if nothing shows then use a few howls. You may have some older coyotes around that are not interested in prey distress sounds but will come to coyote vocals. I don't have to be anything fancy, just a lone howl will due. The young of the year coyotes willbe the easiest to call so use sounds that will bring them in and keep it non-threatening...

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:43 am
by Nodak72
Thank's for the information, I have been calling off and on for about five year's. My hunting buddy And I get out together four or five times A year ( He go's A lot more than I do, but he has more time in the winter than I do), I have only called in three coyote's personally. (I would say do to lower number's where i am located)( or, maybe my calling suck's :lol: :lol: ) so I guess you could say I am new to the sport, but my friend has been doing this for years. He is primarily A rabbit squaller ( and has A lot of success) , and I have been buying howlers and have been learning that. I howled one in, in march. so I know the howl defiantly works later in the season, but I was looking for opinion's about using vocalization"s earlier in the year! thanks for answering my question, that was A lot of help!

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:45 am
by RandyRoede
TIM ,HHHMMM, although you have left out a couple things, important things, I couldn't have said that better myself!!! I guess you hear pretty good at times!!!

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:30 am
by Jerry Hunsley
Somebody left out hurt pup sounds, which are excellent in early Fall and Spring. They work for me.

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:39 am
by RandyRoede
Jerry there you go again givin away all your secrets!!!!

Been fishin, I hear they are biting????

I got a craving for some fresh walleye!!

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:52 am
by Tim Anderson
TIM ,HHHMMM, although you have left out a couple things, important things, I couldn't have said that better myself!!! I guess you hear pretty good at times!!!
LOL Randy..I have to leave out somethings and let them figure it out, thats the fun part of calling coyotes . :mrgreen:

Yes i'm hard of hearing but not DEAF.LOL
You just wait till i get out there with my Game Ears, you won't have to hollor at me when we walk up on the coyotes.. :mrgreen:

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:11 pm
by Jerry Hunsley
Randy, Me a a friend hit the walleyes one day at the marina. Just about every cast. Way up in the shallows. Haven't been out there lately. Went to West Bend and had good luck. Also been out to Farm Island for crappies. Got into them one day and went back the next day in the same place, and not a bite. Totally different day. Should be awesome this coming week with the sunshine and warm days ahead. You can go with me in my boat sometime when your off.

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:37 pm
by Dcoy
Any white bass in the Marina? :D

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:11 pm
by Jerry Hunsley
Not yet. It won't be long. We need a few nice warm sun shiny days and they will be full on. The smallmouths are biting down at West Bend though. Man , is lake level on Oahe coming up. Just about a ft. a day. Will make for some good pike spawining. :D :D

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:59 pm
by Coyotehunter
ok guys don't highjack this thread with stories about the big one that got away.

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:46 am
by Jerry Hunsley
Coyotehunter, this kinda got off the topic a little. Sorry about that. Now we are back on the howling and distress topic. I guess you try different things and through experience you may touch on somthing that works for you, in your part of the country. Our coyotes are very vocal where I live and respond to howls just about all year. Some people try a few howls and when they don't get any responses, they go back to distress sounds. I say , stick to it and give it a chance. It just takes a little practice , or a lot of practice to hone your skills. When you get the howling down and your distress sounds down, it can make a deadly combination. I might have said this before. One day I was hunting the Missouri river bluffs for muley deer. A coyote howled and another one answered. I just tried to make the best howl I could using my voice. It worked and I had two coyotes in my lap in no time. Of course I missed the shot, but after that I improved my skills and started experimenting with making different howlers from horns, wood ones, and all sorts of different materials. That was a lot of years ago. Most of my stands, I usually start out with a howl followed up with some sort of distress sound. There is a wide variety of sounds from high pitch to low gravelly sounds that will get a coyotes attention. There are soo many different calls on the market now days and a person has quite a variety to choose from. To say one call is better than another simply can not be a true statement. Not all guys blow calls the same way. The way you hold the call makes a difference in the sounds you can make. Some people bite down on the reed more than others. All sorts of variables. To get a true accessment of call volume, you should blow the call outside in the open. You will be surprised what a difference that makes in volume and sound. Your best teacher is being in the field and trying different things and combinations. Sometimes it might just take one howl, or one Kiyi. I call that a hurt pup. Sometimes the strangest sounds work, like a duck sound, or goose sounds. It all depends on location you are calling, and what they are praying on. I final note: You guys that are just getting started , I would advise finding a call that you can master and play with that until you can master that. It may take awhile to get it down. Same with a howler, don't, pass judgement too quick and say it is not any good. The bottome line , just like anything else , if you want to be good at somthing , you have to practice til the cows come home. You get out of what you put into it. If you just want to go out once in awhile , that's fine also. It's a great sport.

Re: howling when using distress?

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:50 am
by Coyotehunter
Good info Jerry. I have hunted in 9 western states and Eastern Minnesota for coyotes. What I have found is that the response to howling (types of vocalizations heard on stand) and the consistancey of responses (number of stands per visual response) is very dependent upon coyote densities. High population=good responses, Low population....well not so much, as it relates to howling on stand. this is assuming that you are on coyotes to begin with. This is the same with trapping as well. high densities they are just more aggresive in every sense of the word. Though I feel there is no reason to not learn all the vocalizations, just very few of them are necesary at all on stand. If you can get a coyote or group of coyotes to respond early in the morning with a siren or howler, then on stand I would try a howl or 2 with minimal to no barking. If you are unable to get your coyotes to howl at you in the morning, say 1-2 hours before sun rise, well then I would stay with just the destress sounds. this is a great place to start in any part of the country and/or time of the year to help determine what is appropriate for any given population of coyotes.