MaverickAU

I usually hunt coyotes around my catfish ponds in choctaw mississippi and i've usually got a good caliber rifle but now i am back at college. I only have a 935 mossberg 12 gauge which i have been using 00 buck shot out of and i got myself a new mouth call but it didn't seem to work. These are some really thick woods with a lot of good shrubbery but I just dont know where to hunt around here. Whats the the best geographical attributes that I should take advantage of inorder to get myself a good number of yotes. I am just wanting some pointers from all you experts on here :-). God i love these forums because it seems everyone answers the questions that i have (and most people ask them before i can :-) )
thanks for yalls time

North Texan

I have always had a hard time calling coyotes around a stock pond. They don't want to come in quite as readily. Your shotgun should work fine in brush. Pay close attention to the wind, and try to pick spots where you can see a good ways downwind. That is the direction your sound will travel the best, and coyotes will frequently circle and come in down wind, trying to smell you before you see them. Don't worry about not getting a response. More times than not, I come home empty handed. Most of the time, it is because they are not in my area. I just keep at. Eventually, I'll find one in the right spot at the right time and call one in.

Howler

Mav, don't give up on a call just because it failed to produce action. It sounds like you're hunting an area where you are sight limited. Keep in mind that a coyote can smell very, VERY good. So if it is possible for a coyote to get within even 100 or 200 yards of you with out being seen, you may have called coyotes that you never saw. Not every call on the market will produce every time, so don't give up any one particular call to quickly. Your shotgun will do fine out to about 50 yards on a broadside coyote. Without knowing what your topo area looks like, it is hard to guess where to say to start. But, if you can find an area that has sign of a food source, such as a lot of rabbit tracks, for instance, it is very possible that a coyote would not be far away. Every time out, keep your eye open for coyote tracks and make a mentla note where you see the most sign, and target those areas. Around here, they like to lay in the sun in the afternoon, esecailly if there is snow on the ground and it's cold. If it's windy, they like to be out of the wind.
When you do a set, always watch your downwind side, and if possible, make that area your most open area so that if the predator wants to get where it can smell you, at least you can see it as well. They don't always come in from the downwind side, but most of the time they will. It's the hard chargers that don't play the wind much, so keep your eyes peeled and be ready, AND don't get discouraged from the lack of success. It may take 20 sets before one shows, that is not uncommon where the coyotes aren't real thick.
Good Luck!

MaverickAU

hey guys thanks for yalls help. i will take all of yalls tips into action and hopefully get one. I've now got my 7mm down here with me so distance shouldn't be a problem but i'm still going to use my shotgun this weekend when i go. All i have is a little single reed predator call that sounds like a distressed white tail rabbit. I hear about alot of guys using electronic calls. What is the best electronic call to use. I'm getting into predator hunting just because my uncle Eleck has done it since he was a kid and he's just gotten me into it and now my girlfriend is really getting into hunting so i want to take her on some coyote hunting trips just to help her get used to the forrest and see how animals will walk in on you and i just want to plain out get her, her first kill. She had never fired a gun before until she met this redneck right here :-)
I've got a country girl in the training

thanks for yalls help

Howler

As far as electronics go, you can't go wrong with the Foxpro. BUT, since your uncle has done it before, you could buy just a couple more hand calls for a lot less, and have him tutor you on the sounds to make. Or, if that's not possible, I'd suggest buying a calling video and watching and LISTENING to the sounds used by those that are successful predator callers. With a video and two or three more hand calls you'd save a bunch of cash! Although electronics work, and you could easily sell the unit if you decided it wasn't for you, it is much more gratifying to call predators with hand calls, and IMO, just as effective!

North Texan

I agree with Howler.

Your the one in training, you just don't realize it yet.[8D]

MaverickAU

Ahhh i see she's really training me to be how she wants...
i had a feeling something was up