Positioning: The Key to Becoming a Better Coyote Caller

Over the past decade I have had the privilege of calling in some of most diverse and coyote-rich areas the Midwest has to offer. Hunting the rolling sand hills of Central Nebraska, juniper-covered foothills of South Central Wyoming, vast yucca-laden prairies of Eastern Colorado, and CRP and wheat ground of Western Nebraska, have given me great insight into finding the right sets and positioning myself correctly.



Through the years I have developed a method for successfully calling coyotes and refer to the “4 P’s” as the most important aspects of the equation. The 4 P’s include: Place, Positioning, Patience, and Practice. In this article, I will focus on Positioning. Obviously, Place is the most important of the four. If there are very few or no coyotes on a particular piece of ground, the best callers in the world will struggle. Just as in business, location or Place will make or break you. Even though it’s a close second in importance, Positioning is a factor that if done right, makes average callers into great callers. When discussing Positioning, there are three objectives. First, you have to find the proper position(s) or set(s) on a place or property. Second, you must get into those sets without being detected. Third, you should properly position yourself and others once on the set.



Finding the Right Set



Experience, mostly gained from trial-and-error, has taught me to coordinate my sets with the time of day and the terrain. Coyotes do a majority of their hunting in the early morning and late evening hours, therefore I always try and set up on areas rich in prey during these times. One particular term I like to use when referring to these prey-rich areas is a transition area. A transition area is any place where two different types of terrain meet. This may be a corn field that runs into a river bottom, a sage flat that dumps off into a rocky canyon, an abandoned farm yard on the edge of a stubble field, a yucca pasture that runs into some rocky outcroppings, a shallow reed-filled pond surrounded by sand hills, or a hayed meadow leading into the foothills. All transition areas have one thing in common: an abundance of prey.



Once I’ve indentified a transition area, a plan is generated as to when and where I will make a set, keeping the sun and wind in mind. Usually, I will call transition areas for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon. Many times I’ll spend longer on these sets because coyotes will generally be on the move during these times.



During the middle part of the day, usually from 10 until 2, I will focus on calling the bedding areas. Just like many animals coyotes will usually spend the middle part of the day resting. These places will typically be a secluded area out of the wind and in the sun or shade depending on the temperature. When trying to locate bedding areas, I’ll look for the most rugged terrain or areas with the thickest cover. Rocky buck brush covered canyons, pockets of thick vegetation, or zigzagging washouts through the middle of the prairie are all great bedding areas. Coyotes are opportunists and when awakened by the sounds of a screaming jackrabbit, chances are they will be coming to check it out. If you have ever called in a coyote during the middle of the day and it was on top of you within the first minute, chances are you called it out of its bed. When calling these bedding areas, I like to set up 200-300 yards from the cover and call the coyotes out into the open where I can get a good shot. If the coyote hangs up on the edge of the cover, I will still have a manageable shot with any good, flat-shooting rifle. For me, these sets during the middle part of the day are usually shorter because I’m calling one particular area and not betting on coyotes coming in from long distances.



Now keep in mind transition areas and bedding areas can vary across the country and this is just a basic guide for you to follow. Another thing to keep in mind is that many transition areas have very thick cover and/or rough terrain and can also be bedding areas.



Moving into the Set





Once I have determined where I am going to make my set, it’s time to start thinking about getting into the set undetected by any coyotes that are in the surrounding area. More times than I can remember I have spooked coyotes out of a set that would have been easy pickings if I would have taken my time and looked over the set briefly before cresting the hill and sky-lining myself.



Once a hiding place is found for the vehicle, I quickly access a route to my set that involves the least amount of sky-lining and that has minimal amounts of walking out in the open. Gaining elevation over an area is a great advantage, but the down side is that you usually have to sky-line yourself at some point to get there. If at all possible, I’ll always try and take the side-hill route because it involves the least amount of sky-lining. Picture a coyote sitting out 400-500 yards from your set. Slow, controlled movements with the hill as a back drop will not be nearly as detectable as movements on the sky line. There have been times where I’ve added a 1/4 mile into a set just because it was necessary to take the side-hill route.



Taking the side-hill route isn’t always possible and sometimes you have no choice but to go over the top of the hill. When this is the case, I always stop just as my eyes crest the hill and take a few seconds to either glass with my binoculars or just scan the calling area in search of any unsuspecting coyotes. If I don’t spot anything, I’ll walk up over the crest of the hill and down the other side fairly quickly until I’m no longer silhouetted. If I do happen to spot a coyote, I will reassess my route and try to sneak into a position to call it in. This process of stopping and looking over the calling area is also something I do when using the side-hill route.



If I’m calling in an area that has very little changes in elevation, I’ll use any cover that will conceal my movements into the set. Tree lines, washouts, ditches, fence lines,and even livestock provide great cover for concealing movement.



In both cases, taking extra time and getting into the set undetected will lead to success. Unaware coyotes, as well as the ones that are spotted first, are some of the easiest coyotes to bring to the call. By spotting an unaware coyote off in the distance, you can also change up your calling in conjunction with how the coyote is reacting to it.



Once on the Set



Once I’ve made it to the set, the first thing I will do is position myself and any other shooters I have with me. If I’m by myself, I will find a position that offers the best unobstructed view of as much of the calling area as possible. It’s not always going to be possible to view the entire area, and if that’s the case, I always elect to view the downwind half of the set. This is also when I will choose to use the remote with my FoxPro and place the call upwind of my position 20 or 30 yards. If other shooters are present I’ll use them to cover all the areas on the set that I can’t. My goal is to have at least 180 degrees of coverage. Depending on the terrain and wind speed, I’m not afraid to put shooters 100 to 200 yards downwind of my position. If a coyote splits us, we each will have a 50 yard shot. If a coyote tries to circle downwind of me 200 yards, the other shooter will have a 100 yard shot. When doing this, it does make it difficult to communicate with each other. Over the years I’ve tried different things such as 2-way radios with ear pieces and hand signals, but I have found that using mouth calls seems to be the most simple and effective.



By spreading shooters out across a set, it’s hard to tell whether or not someone else sees anything. The last thing I want to do is to stand up to leave a set only to find out my partner had a coyote coming in on his side that I couldn’t see. For this, I use a simple system of 3 barks on my howler. When others hear the 3 barks, they will stand up and head back to the truck if they don’t see anything. Obviously I don’t get up until I see them get up. If no one gets up after the barks, then I will start scanning for the approaching coyote. When it comes to alerting the others of a coyote coming to the call, I simply turn off the electronic caller and give a few wails on a distress call. I’m also listening for anyone else giving the same signal to me. Whether or not you use a system like this is a personal choice. However, having a plan of communication will keep everyone on the same page which will drastically improve your kill percentages.





Once everyone is in their position I will find a spot that is comfortable, in the shade if possible, and far enough down the hill that incoming coyotes won’t have a chance of silhouetting me. Over the years, I’ve been busted by more coyotes silhouetting me than by any other factor other than wind. By simply moving down the slope 10 or 15 feet more than I originally planned, I alleviate the possibility of being sky-lined, but can still see the same amount of area. If I’m not on a side-hill, I will find something to sit in front of or behind to breakup my outline. Fence lines, hay bales, rocks, yuccas, tree trunks, and old machinery are good examples of this.



Once I’m situated, I will orientate my rifle to the most likely place within my coverage area that the coyote will show up. More times than not, this will be on the downwind side and to an area where the coyote has the best chance of sneaking up on me. If I spot a coyote coming in and he’s 300+ yards out, I will have plenty of chances to move my rifle and get ready for the shot. If suddenly there’s a coyote standing in front of me 75 yards out chances are that I will not be able to move my rifle for a shot without spooking it. Therefore, if my rifle was already orientated to that place, all I will have to do is put my eye in the scope and squeeze the trigger. Once I have taken these factors into consideration, it’s time to let loose with the call of choice.



Hopefully throughout this article you’ve been able to pick up a few pointers on positioning for your next trip out into the field. Finding the right set, getting into the set, and properly positioning yourself and others once on the set are all very important parts of the calling equation. Can you successfully go out and call in an occasional coyote without following these steps? Probably so, but if you are really looking to improve your success this next season and transform yourself from an average caller into a great caller, mold these steps and techniques to fit your own style of calling, and you’ll be on your way to calling greatness!