The topic of how to call educated coyotes gets brought up quite a bit among coyote callers and always makes me question….How did they become educated? Can a coyote be educated? There is no doubt coyotes are sharp animals but educated seems a bit of a stretch to me. I believe a more correct term would be conditioned. This may simply be semantics and is probably better off left to another discussion. With that said, your best opportunity to call in any coyote is on your first attempt. In many places in the U.S. like the vast public grounds out west or smaller private properties of the east, this may be almost impossible. Another factor to consider is the time of year. In the early fall, there are many young coyotes that are eager to come to the call. As the fall turns to winter there are fewer coyotes and of those left some may have had a bit of conditioning/schooling. Thus, the term “educated coyote”.
So how do you deal with educated coyotes? I revert to the first paragraph and suggest you first hone your shooting and calling skills so that you do not give them a free education and condition them not to respond. I used to poke fun at other callers and tell them in my neck of the woods we did not pass out educations but rather rides home in the back of the truck. While somewhat funny there is some truth to this. Do your best to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Practice good fundamentals of fieldcraft, calling, and shooting and you will be a part of solving this perceived problem.
Coyotes are like I said “sharp” but also quite simple-minded. You’ll find many posts about their ability to smell, hear, and see. While these abilities far exceed ours, let us not confuse this with intelligence. Even the most simple-minded human possesses much more intelligence than any coyote. Therefore we must use this information to deny the coyote the ability to use their main defenses. Let us also try to identify their other assets and deny them of those as well. Coyotes by nature are extremely wary and suspicious. If anything is perceived to be out of place they will go on high alert and either retreat or not respond at all. Those so-called “educated coyotes” are even more suspicious and wary.
So how do you go about all of this? To defeat their best defenses such as their nose, simply keep the wind in your favor. It is physically impossible for them to detect you if you deny them the ability to either get downwind of you or cross your track. The latter is often overlooked. Second, are his ears…apply common sense here. Be quiet! This is not hard to do. Last but not least, if they watch you approach your stand location, they will not come.
With me so far? Here’s a quick story that will help put this into perspective. You approach your calling location as if the coyote is a well-trained sniper. If they smell, hear, or see you it’s game over. This will help you understand the importance of getting there undetected. To you, it’s just hunting but to him, it is life or death.
Once you’ve accomplished the steps outlined above, you will need a plan to call them. Coyotes respond to different types of calls for different reasons. Examples could be food, mating, being territorial, and curiosity to name the most important. While using vocals are all the rage, (and I like using coyote vocals) they are not my go-to call most of the time. I would choose a particularly good distress sound. An example would be the “Cottontail #1” sound on the Convergent Predator Pro app. Even the wariest coyote is still an opportunist and must eat. Ahhh the Achilles heel. This may be a good time to mention; they don’t have to fight, challenge or mate another coyote to survive, but they must eat.
Another important thing to keep in mind is what I call “jumping through hoops”. This simply means that the easier you make it on them to respond the better the chance they will. To put this in perspective, I like to be as close to the target as possible, keeping obstacles away that would impede their approach. The faster you can get the coyote there the higher your chances are to be successful. You want them to react positively to your efforts without allowing enough time to become suspicious. This is best accomplished by using a very good caller like the Bullet HP Bluetooth Game Call and by playing high-quality sounds such as “BB Raspy CT” on the Convergent Predator Pro app. The sounds used should be designed to elicit predatory instincts. Busy sounds with a lot of excitement, and emotional, terror-like content are great for triggering this type of response.
There are lots of coyote hunters out there today. Many of which try to shortcut the fundamentals and have conditioned coyotes to respond negatively. If you want to be a successful caller you should assume they are all educated, do not shortcut the fundamentals. Do your best to make sure the coyotes ride home with you and are NOT further educated.
Having grown up in Texas where 99% of the state is private land I love going to these Western states like Nevada where most of it is public BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) or National Forrest. This means that with a map any US citizen can hunt it and avoid deeded private property. There are literally millions of acres out west that is open to hunters. The only problem then lies in your ability to narrow it down to where you want to hunt within these vast areas. This is part of what I like most about going out there. Having been up there a few times in years past I had narrowed it down to a very picturesque area in Northern Nevada. This country has lots of draws leading out of mountains down into foothills and valleys. These draws mean water and in the high desert this attracts game animals and predators. Great place to start looking.
The heaviest tool in this line up is also one of the most vital tools needed to close the deal when the predators respond. For years I’ve been on a quest to acquire the perfect rifle for this task. It needs to be light but shootable (Yes that’s a word). It also needs to be short as not to snag on brush going to and from stands. Last but not least, it needs to be very accurate in case a coyote hangs up way out there. As the years have gone by I’ve gravitated to the AR platform. I call them the Mr. Potatohead of guns. The AR’s modular design enables the creative mind to build a mission specific rifle. Through the years I’ve spent countless hours and money tying to assemble the perfect balance and come up with the perfect “calling rifle”. I’ve even worked with major manufactures in the very same quest. With that I’ve come close but still kept looking for ways to make what I had better.
A couple weeks later the brown truck pulled up and I took delivery. Looking great so far but only time will tell…right? This all happened latter in the season last year so about the time I got really into shooting this jewel the weather began to warm up and good hunting weather ceased. Through the spring and summer though I did respond to a few “animal damage control” jobs where I got to put the rifle through the paces some more.
Well I just got back from another hunt up in Nevada and I’m still feeling pretty stoked about this rifle. In fact after much reflection I think I’m finally satisfied that I’ve found the perfect rifle for my line of work.
On a recent hunt in Nevada I took along my Christensen VTAC rifle with the Silent Legion SL-5R attached to the business end. The SL-5R addresses every detail I want in a suppressor. I’m more of a fan of direct thread suppressors as opposed to quick detach (QD) suppressors. Both certainly have their place and Silent Legion offers both options as desired. All of their direct thread rifle models such as the SL-5R feature a unique design they call the “Suppressor Retention System” (SRS). The SRS completely solves the problem of “shooting loose”, a common complaint of many direct thread suppressors that can lead to point of impact shift and even the dreaded baffle strike. This gives you the comfort of knowing the suppressor is securely locked down to the threads. I like this system a lot and through many hundreds of rounds the suppressor has stayed put.
My Christensen VTAC is lightweight and short on purpose, so it makes no sense to screw a long heavy suppressor to the end of it. The SL-5R solves this problem too, and is constructed using Titanium and Inconel so it only ads 13 ounces, and at 6.13 inches long it is also very short. Being short and light often means that you have to live with a bit less performance in sound suppression. This is not so with the SL-5R as it is rated at a solid 30 dB of sound reduction, and as a pleasant surprise the gas blowback is nearly undetectable.
I also have comfort in knowing that all the Silent Legion cans are made in a facility that is ISO 9001 certified by professionals who have decades of gun industry experience. This guarantees a level of consistency that is very rare in the suppressor world. This is how they are able to stand behind their products with a lifetime warranty.
So, if you are shopping for a suppressor, I would highly recommend you look seriously at the features, design, and execution of Silent Legion products. That’s what I did and now I’ve joined the “Silent Legion”.
One of the best parts of the convention (other than the hunting) was getting to see the faces on the hunters after they had one some of the Items that Convergent Hunting Solutions donated for the Banquets. Congratulations to all the winners of the Convergent Products. Great to meet all of you.
The week in Nevada spent hunting with friends, old and new, is certainly time I can’t wait to spend again next year!
Mike and Steve took a break from the hunt to visit with our local High School football team. They both gave a very inspiring pep talk to these kids. This was a real treat for a small 2A rural school.
Early in the hunt Steve had mentioned that a bobcat was high on his bucket list. With the aid of my Overseer bite call I was thankful to be able to call in this last minute cat for Steve.
Hope you enjoy the story and pics. This show should air sometime in January on the Outdoor Channel.
Note* With this theme in mind Convergent Hunting Solutions has developed a line of hand calls called “Overseer”. These calls are designed by master call builder Kerry Carver, and professional predator hunter Byron South. 
On the way back home I passed through Marble Falls and visited with the legendary Murray Burnham. Murray and his brother Winston were innovators in the game call industry way back in the very beginning of it all. He is a walking history book. I never get tired of his stories of hunting with the likes of Fred Bear, John Wooters and many others. I consider myself very fortunate to have hunted with him and call him my friend. I’m pleased to report that at 89 he is still in great shape and still sharp as a tack. While there he gave me a handful of arrowheads he has found on his place and his personal Black Magic call. These are things I will keep forever as a reminder of our friendship.
Leaving Marble Falls thinking of the history of predator calling I realized I would also pass through Waco which is home of Johnny Stewart which was also one of the pioneers in the game call industry. Unfortunately I never got a chance to meet Johnny but Gerald (his son) and I have been great friends for many years. I called Gerald and we had a great visit and told a few old stories. Johnny by all accounts was a man that truly loved the sport of calling predators and developed many products and sounds that are still in use today and working very effectively. Gerald has done a great job continuing his dad’s legacy.
Rarely does a guy get to meet his heroes and become friends. These guys have all shaped the industry and the hunting world with their contributions. I’m truly humbled and grateful for their friendship. Great guys all. Hope you enjoy the photos.