Hunting With Novice Hunters

     I take out numerous novice hunters in order to teach them the tips and secrets of predator calling. What I have learned is once you take them out and teach them what you can to get them started in turn you start to learn again yourself. I have taken out 3 novice predator hunters over the last 6 months, they have taught me some things I do are just plain habit. I do things they ask, “Why do you do that?” I always have answers for what I do but I don’t always realize I am doing it until they ask me. Things I have learned from novice hunters are I need to explain all elements and reasons for doing certain things. I take some things for granted and don’t want to upset them by questioning their hunting skills. Most individuals I take out may be new to predator hunting but not new to hunting in general. I do not always tell them to stay behind your cover going into your stand. If you are going over a hill or entering open areas you need to stay behind the cover available in order to help hide your walk in to your stand. If you are going to transcend a hill you need to walk behind a tree on the top of the hill and skirt around the tree to where you want to set up in order to not silhouette yourself.

            I am often asked what is the perfect setup? There is no such thing as a perfect setup! The things that could make a setup ideal are to have the wind in your face (helps even the odds of a coyotes using his #1 sense, his nose, and smelling you). The sun at your back, make the coyote look into the sun and not yourself. Locate yourself with a lot of cover behind you to help break up your outline and sit about halfway up a hill where you have the high ground. I am often asked why halfway up the hill, wouldn’t you be able to see better if you were on top of the hill? Of course you would be able to see better on top then halfway up, but you will usually skyline yourself on top of the hill. There is also not near as much cover on top of the hill as there is halfway up. OK, back to a perfect setup. If you have all the things I mentioned above in your favor what you will usually find is there are no coyotes in that area. In other words, the best place to set up are where the coyotes are. If you have everything right but can’t call in a coyote it really doesn’t matter now does it. If everything is wrong and you do call in a coyote, what you will usually find out is the coyote will head in toward the call and for some reason disappears and never actually comes in. Why is that? My guess is you were just winded, the coyote smelled your scent and took off. If that wasn’t it then maybe the sun was in your face and the coyote saw a glint of reflection from your rifle, scope, calls around your neck or something else. You have to be careful of the sun almost as much as the wind. By far the wind is the most important but reflection and movement are number two.

           I have learned from novice hunters just how hard predator hunting is and how frustrating it is to not call in a coyote. I usually call in coyotes when I go out but of course there are those days no matter what you do you can’t get a coyote to come in. I guess I am use to it, does it frustrate me? Yes, but I know I will soon get one to come in even if it is the next time I go out. To a novice, hunting is expensive and maybe they do not have the money to hunt as much as me and when they do go out they want to get something. If they don’t they may give it up. Two of the three individuals I took out the first time I called in coyotes the third individual had to go out with me a second time in order to call one in. We didn’t only call one in we called in 4 in the first 5 stands. The number one thing I have learned from novice hunters is how fun it is to hunt. I love to hunt and be out afield but the joy on their face when they see a coyote come to the call is just amazing. It brings me back to what it was like the first time I called one in. This is something I would have forgot what it was like if it wasn’t for those that gave me the pleasure to take them out hunting on their first successful predator hunting trip.

            Tips I would like to give novice hunters that want to go out with someone that can teach them is get out and do some scouting. You find the areas you want to hunt and then go and find a seasoned predator caller to go with you to teach you what they know. The reason I say this is because after years of hunting with novice and some seasoned hunters I have lost numerous areas for hunting. I go to those areas and find they are hunting them or have told their friends about the areas and now the areas that were once really good are only OK. I have decided I will not take out novice hunters to my areas any longer even when they tell me they will not go there. It isn’t I don’t trust them, it is part of hunting finding your own areas. If they really want to hunt they need to show it be doing a little homework and find some places.