# MN calling report.



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

It's been slower this year than I've ever experienced in my area of MN for animals called in. Finding them is not the problem. Getting them to come to the call this year is another story. The animals are here in good numbers like always but they just plain are'nt hungry. I have many theories but none are rock solid.

The fox are up from last year again. The fox numbers have been increasing steadily year after year for about the last 5 seasons here.

The only other time I've experienced animals this stale is in ND a few times.

After about 30 sets I've killed nothing. Have not had a good oportunity. Partner did get one coyote kill on one of the sets though.

Thats all I got for you guy's....


----------



## owwwwww (Jan 8, 2008)

I hear ya cluckin big chicken! You usually have quite a few kills by now! It seems they are only moving around in the dark here in MN. Always fresh tracks but no day walkers comin to the call. Cant wait for the next full moon though. It will probably be the best hunting of the year...Hopefully. The 1 coyote ive gotten this year was at 12am blue last moon phase. They must be evolving into even harder creatures to get. Good luck all! :beer:


----------



## texcl (Oct 6, 2007)

I agree with all that you said, here in ND, on my farm there are more tracks than last year, but the critters won't come into the call during the day. Last year all I had to do is walk over to the wind break behind the house and call and I'd have coyotes come in within 5 minutes, consistantly. I have been seeing more predator hunters around than ever and I'm sure they are getting wise to it.


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

Most of my sets have been at night. In the area I hunt it's no secret the animals are much more active at night. Been that way since I started hunting about 10+ years ago.

26 night sets under the moon so far. 3 coyotes and 3 fox called in. I coyote kill. The three coyotes that came in did'nt come in hard by any meens. Did not even get a shot at one (brief 300yd sighting). The other two sat down and were warning barking us at like 400yds. Thats where my partner scorred the kill.

5 day time sets with no visitors. On one of the day time sets I watched a yote through the scope who would'nt budge. My dad experienced the same thing on a day time set he made. Coyote did wake up and come 100yds closer to him, Only to lay back down and go to sleep. Litteraly. So he took the 452 yard shot, After throwing a large number of sounds at the dog from the Fox Pro, And scorred a kill.

Like I said. I know I have listeners. They just are'nt hungry or even curriuos.


----------



## jonnyr7 (Jan 5, 2010)

pretty much the same report here man. smart dogs


----------



## Snowgooser (Mar 28, 2008)

They have been doing that same stuff here in Saskatchewan the past two weeks. Our weather was cold and we were calling in plenty and killing them. We haven't had a daytime high below 32 degrees in two weeks and killing coyotes has become a problem. As soon as the sun comes up it is over. I was out this morning at day break and my first stand was a bust. Went to the next spot a couple miles away and saw 6 sleeping in the middle of fields on the way there. the most excitement I had was bumping two that were sleeping on my way into my second set. Saw another 5 one the drive home, all in the middle of big fields and all sound asleep. It has been so warm that if it doesn't get cold soon our snow will be completely gone. I am not even wearing snow camo anymore.


----------



## rattlem'up (Feb 6, 2008)

It has been pretty slow for me also. Although we did manage to score 4 coyotes this year and 1 miss. 3 of the coyotes and the miss were all night hunts on the last full moon. 1 coyote was called in at 8 am. Also during the nice moon we made a set and the fog started rolling in and couldn't see anything. So we stopped calling. Bad idea! We drove down the adjacent road and found that 200 yards away from where we were calling we had a pair come in. They crossed the road and were heading towards us. The only reason we know they were fresh tracks is because 1 coyote took a dump on the road and it was steaming fresh! Just going to have to keep at it!


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

I should also ad that nearly all of the 26 night sets I made under the December moon were subzero nights. -15 to -22 average. My best nights of calling are during subzero nights so the whole thing confuses me even more.

Guess the only cure is to keep hunting and try to be patient with the animals. Things will change. They better :wink:


----------



## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Do you think a reason they may not be coming is that since there are more yotes more people are calling and educating them?


----------



## lyonch (Feb 26, 2006)

have the houndsmen moved in??? Stay after them and they will come. August and january can the be the hardest months to call coyotes sometimes. I have also noticed a huge difference in air density versus the distance the sound travels (gun and call).


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

blhunter3 said:


> Do you think a reason they may not be coming is that since there are more yotes more people are calling and educating them?


I dont think there are any more coyotes this season than in years past. Urban sprawl is evident for sure though. I'm sure there are more callers every year.



lyonch said:


> have the houndsmen moved in???


The houndsmen, The guy's who run'em with snomobiles, And the groups who make coyote drives have all been around since I started calling coyotes many years ago.

I dont think any of these practices educate the coyotes to the sound of a call. And non of these practices take place at night, Wich is why thwe coyotes are so naucturnal around here, Wich is why we hunt at night under the moon.

And as previously stated, Finding coyotes to hunt has'nt been the problem. Getting them to come to the call is another story.

Food must be incredibly easy to come by this winter with all the snow. I dont know. They are'nt hungry enough to come when I ring the dinner bell. The coyote vocals that I've had such good luck with in the past are'nt even working so maybe it is increased calling preasure screwing everything up. I just dont know.


----------



## owwwwww (Jan 8, 2008)

Getting them to come out of the thick stuff seems to be my problem. Might be time to take the shotgun out to the woods and swamps and do some close combat. Thats a downfall of hunting alone.. Its nice to have the sniper and the assassin out together. Too bad my hunting buddy only 4 years old and cant hold a shotty yet :shake:


----------



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

owwwwww said:


> Getting them to come out of the thick stuff seems to be my problem.


Getting em to come out of thick, expansive cover is and has always been tough. They just dont want to come out. Big tracts of thick woods, big tracts of cattail flats, big tracts of standing corn, all tough to get dogs out of. My success is MUCH higher in smaller, more isolated patches of cover.


----------



## FurGittr (Jan 24, 2003)

As crusted up as our snow is right now movement isn't a problem but mousing has got to be a pain in the nose ,I was always under the impression more snow = hungrier critters. All types of human activities as mentioned above have an effect on critter movement,look how long it takes the woods to settle down after the blaze orange invasion. I live no where near the suburbia you do but have seen much more pressure hereabouts also. It's no surprise really just marketing giving Joe Blow the belief that if he plunks down x amount of ca$$$$$$h on the latest greatest there will be coyotes knockin each other over in a death race to get to him ,so yah pressure good possibility.
I've only been calling for just under 20 years but people I know that have been doing this for a bit longer around these parts anyhow and I agree,say that one response in seven sets is a realistic and acceptable average. I'm not big on keeping stats as you are but it would be interesting if you'd do the math over the last 10 years of calling and see what you come up with. You had some exceptional luck last year maybe it's time for the law of averages to take effect. Kinda like the weather here, from almost 2 weeks of below zero stuff to 2 weeks of 20's and 30's but at years end there will likely be a + or - 2 degree difference in average. Just gotta tough out the empty sets and stick with it...can't kill 'em on the couch!


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

My long term avg is 1 animal called in for every 3-4 sets............. Until this year it's more like 1 in 10 and it's arguable weather or not they are comming in or just seen while calling. None have come in hard except for the fox.

Watched another coyote through my scope today as he pretty much ignored my calling.


----------



## lyonch (Feb 26, 2006)

A guy also needs to consider that a mn coyote is not the same coyote as north dakota to the montana region. They are actually a sub specie. Houndsmen are the guys who come in with dogs and run the coyotes with dogs. I have a lot of groups that do this in my area and it makes it extremely tough to call. There is something about another dog or group of dogs that freak a coyote out. Levi and i really saw this at the beulah hunt. The area we called had a fair amount of plots land in the north dakota and virtually every coyote we got a visual on would peak its head over the hill and examine the situation and turn and walk away and never get a shot at them. Its a tough call who knows besides the coyotes themselves. I would have to say your howls will become a lot more effective come february.


----------



## FurGittr (Jan 24, 2003)

Bloodyblinddoors said:


> My long term avg is 1 animal called in for every 3-4 sets............. Until this year it's more like 1 in 10 and it's arguable weather or not they are comming in or just seen while calling. None have come in hard except for the fox.
> 
> Watched another coyote through my scope today as he pretty much ignored my calling.


Please define long term? If you have been averaging 1 response to 3-4 sets here in Minnesota for the last 10 years than holy ---- you've blown every callers' average that I personally know all to heck and have no reason to complain! :beer:


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

My records are kept at my parents place in the reloading room. Next time I'm back there I'll track them down and copy them onto this thread.


----------



## bigtime (Aug 14, 2008)

phil, i figured you would be doing really good this year. you know i shot 6 earlier this year and got 4 in 2 nights during the full moon.


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

Yeah there are a few iscolated cases of guy's doing well, Or in your case, REALY well. But most of the guy's I know are haveing a fair to poor year of calling. It's not for lack of critters. Thats the frustrsting part.


----------



## Mrmallard (Aug 9, 2008)

I remember last year it started out slow for us. It was late jan before connecting. This year has been a little better for us. Not that it has been great or anything. It does seem odd that the pics and stories from everyone are down from last year. Hopefully the breeding season kicks into high gear soon.


----------



## carp_killer (Nov 24, 2006)

having no problem killing them this year. actually id say its our best year. they are taking a little longer to come in and arent talking much but when they start coming they come in hard


----------



## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

killing them has turned tough in Wyoming too. i am actually well ahead of last year's tally for this time of winter, but i have had to work much harder. it gets tougher every year. i think a part of it has to do with the fact that coyote calling has become vastly more popular and coyotes forget nothing. nothing! i know a man who had one for a pet. when he let the yote in the house at night, that sucker knew if you had so much as moved the salt shaker and would not rest until he found it! they are smart and adapt quickly. if they can hear you, they are curious, hungry, or aggressive. problem is that they are becoming reluctant to come. one other thing that makes them darn reluctant is an increase in wolves. got wolf problems in your area? if you can get close enough for them to hear it, try rodent squeaks.


----------



## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Ditto here, Kingcanada. I've had the best year yet in terms of dogs down. But I've had to work harder by making more stands to do it. When I look back at my records, I'm calling in a yote on approximately every four stands. Sometimes they'll come in multiples (but very seldom) and sometimes I won't even get a shot. And sometimes when I do get a shot, I miss. 

I only hunt half-days (mornings). In past years I averaged two dogs per day of hunting but this year, it's down to about 1 1/2 dogs per day of hunting. It's alway tough calling after deer season and into January and February. We got a whack of snow last night, probably between 8-10 inches. Do you guys find that a dump of snow like that makes these dogs hungrier and more willing to come to the call or does the extra snow actually discourage them?

Are you guys finding that as we get into the mating season that calling success goes down or does switching to howls bring them back around?


----------



## lyonch (Feb 26, 2006)

February is an awesome month to call coyotes! For me personally i just started switching it up and the late season responses are one of the reasons i coyote hunt.


----------



## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

when it dumps snow like that here it often shuts the hunting down. the dogs will come to the call and the hunting can be great. find tracks and the dog is likely nearby, not 4 miles downrange. the problem is the wind. 10" of snow turns into 2" with 36" drifts. i used to run a geo tracker with 35" tires because of it. then the tires grew to 39" and heavier gear was needed to prvent breakage. give the drifts a few days to set up, air down to 2 psi (really) and float over them. i don't have that one any more and my samurai pickup is not done (lighter weight :thumb: ) so i am getting by with an F-150 for now. some areas will be off limit due to drifts soon. i used to have a snowmachine, but it was too noisy. all the dogs would hear you before you arrived. i never called in a dog when i used the machine, they already knew i was there! all the rocks on the wind swept ridges tear up skis too. a side note in reference to snowmachines and chasin', it is actually legal here. it doesn't have much affect though, our terrain is not well suited to it. the guys i know who still do it rarely bring much home. calling is still the best way to go. :thumb:


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

FurGittr said:


> Bloodyblinddoors said:
> 
> 
> > My long term avg is 1 animal called in for every 3-4 sets............. Until this year it's more like 1 in 10 and it's arguable weather or not they are comming in or just seen while calling. None have come in hard except for the fox.
> ...





Bloodyblinddoors said:


> My records are kept at my parents place in the reloading room. Next time I'm back there I'll track them down and copy them onto this thread.


Ok I'm a little late but I did dig up some of the past records. Keep in mind these are call ins and not kill's. Never did keep track of the kills but I know We've never killed %50 of what we call in per season. Would'nt be so bad if they all came in one at a time but when you call in 2's or 3's, In the terrain I hunt at least, The chances of killing more than one are slim unless you can call them back. Thats a rare deal.

2005:
101 sets made. 24 called in= one animal per every 4.2 sets.

2006:
48 sets. 11 called in= one animal per every 4.3 sets.

2007:
92 sets. 36 called in= One animal per every 2.5 sets

Next are a set of records I'm assuming are from 08:
122 sets. 35 called in= one per every 3.4 sets.
On this set of records I even broke it down into night calling and day calling.
26 daytime sets= 3 called in. One per 8.6 sets.
96 night sets= 32 called in. One per 3 sets.

You MN callers might wanna make a note of that last part hint hint :wink:

09:
I did'nt get out much cause a severe lack of snow. Lost the records but I think it was only like 36 sets total. I know I personaly killed 5 yotes and partners killed another 3 that I called in. I remember off the top of my head calling in 12 yotes. I usually call in a few reds every year too but I'm drawing a blank on reds.

So far this year:
57 night time sets. Yotes called 13. Killed 6.
Fox called 4. Killed 0. They're hard to hit :-? 
So one per 3.3 set this winter so far. Last moon was slow but This moon made up for it.

9 Day time sets made this winter. Preds called. Zero.

Yup.


----------



## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

thats a great post :thumb: . looks like your night calling is quite similar ratio wise from year to year. as for the fox, 20 years ago when there were fox everywhere, i did do some night-moon calling and don't remember ratios but i do know it was rare NOT to have at least 1 come.


----------



## FurGittr (Jan 24, 2003)

Great results for Minnesota. Would be real curious if the average wouldn't come closer to 1/7 responses not counting multiples at each set.


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

FurGittr said:


> Great results for Minnesota. Would be real curious if the average wouldn't come closer to 1/7 responses not counting multiples at each set.


Me too. I'd say my average response per set is closer to one in 5. Maybe 6. If I remember correctly my longest dry spell was 13 sets. I think it was on the 13th set I called in a three pack. Also remember nights of 4 responses in 5 or 6 sets.

Another thing thats helped my average is I started hunting with 2 other guy's instead of just going out with one other guy. More eye's cover more ground. And with three sets of eye's each man can spend a higher % of time scanning a smaller % of an area. I'm confident I did'nt start calling in more critters when I started hunting with 2 partners. We were just seeing more of the critters comming in.

Hunting with only one other guy there were times we cound'nt cover all angles. We would be limited to covering the angles we assumed they would come from. How often do they come from where you expect them to  3 guys is nice when I can.


----------



## aklosowski6342 (Aug 9, 2009)

There stickin in the corn in my area a good friend of mine runs the combine for the farmer the sight report for that day is 19 yotes 4 red fox and 2 greys soon as taxes are in howa .223 baby oh and there were getting as close as 20 feet from the combine


----------



## FurGittr (Jan 24, 2003)

I agree with the extra eyes especially if they can sit still, although it's tougher to conceal more people. My problem (dunno if it's a real problem) is I tend to hunt to hard for most people. Heck I'll go all night if the conditions are right (gotta love them 6 hour energy drinks :thumb: ) Friends are getting older and more married to the couch :eyeroll:


----------



## aklosowski6342 (Aug 9, 2009)

furgittr im with u on that i have hunted with my buddys every thing from big to small game and me and my good friend seem to call each other on all hunting and fish trips and weekends were u located (city)


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

FurGittr said:


> (gotta love them 6 hour energy drinks :thumb: ) Friends are getting older and more married to the couch :eyeroll:


HAHA yeah  Lovin the Monster loca mocha or Red bull for a shorter burst if I still plan on sleeping when I get home. Gotta bring snacks too. As soon as my stomach is empty I get worthless. I always eat before I head out and make sure to pack water, Energy drinks and snack bars.


----------



## FurGittr (Jan 24, 2003)

aklosowski6342 said:


> furgittr im with u on that i have hunted with my buddys every thing from big to small game and me and my good friend seem to call each other on all hunting and fish trips and weekends were u located (city)


I live outside a little town called Bluffton. We have 1 gas station,1 post office,1 hardware store,1 feed mill, 1 church,1 bank,1 bar and more hound hunters you can count on both hands and toes.

Don't much care for the taste of most energy drinks and the short kick in the butt but do have a weakness for the mocha ones too (yummy)! The little shot size ones have become a regular part of my night calling arsenal though. Take one around 11 or so and I'm good for the night. Not a jittery buzzy type caffeine kick but keeps me sharp and motivated, have no problem getting to sleep around 6 or 7 but then I'm a bit older too :wink: Wish they would keep my leg muscles from burning towards morning though, kinda weird when your snowshoes start slapping each other from fatigue but your brain says "woohoo can't wait for the next spot!" :rock:


----------



## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

FurGittr said:


> kinda weird when your snowshoes start slapping each other from fatigue but your brain says "woohoo can't wait for the next spot!" :rock:


 :lol: :lol:


----------

