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Coyote hunting is quickly becoming a popular pastime for hunters all across North America largely due to the sheer excitement it has to offer. There are few things that can get my adrenaline flowing faster than seeing a coyote rapidly closing on my position in response to the desperate pleas of my distress call. My goal here is to provide you with some basic strategies that can quickly get you up to speed on the basics of coyote calling, and help you experience the joy of calling coyotes. The tips and strategies I will discuss will be listed in order of importance to your success at calling coyotes.

The first and most important item that is crucial to your success at calling coyotes is scouting. It is a simple fact that you can’t call a coyote if there isn’t one there to be called. When you’re out in the field scouting look for scat and coyote tracks that will indicate coyotes are in the area. Also, take notes on where you repeatedly see coyotes, as these will be areas that you will want to target with your calling. Landowners are great resources to give you hints on where they are seeing coyotes on their land and where they feel would be good places to call. Look for areas that have a high concentration of the coyote’s prey, such as rabbits, prairie dogs, deer, and mice. If you seek out these types of areas, you’re sure to find coyotes.

Second in line for success at calling coyotes is set-up. How you set-up (position yourself) on stand to call is critical. Pay close attention to the direction of the wind at all times. The coyote’s sense of smell is highly adapted, and should not be ignored. When setting up, make sure you position yourself either with the wind directly in your face or with a crosswind. Coyotes are notorious for circling downwind to gain scent advantage, so the ideal set-up in my opinion would be with a crosswind and sufficient open area downwind to see any circling coyotes. It helps if you can hunt with a friend, and position him/her downwind to get any coyotes that circle your position. If you have one of the new remote controlled digital callers on the market, you can position the call upwind of your position and therefore be in the perfect position, as the coyote begins to circle. Just don’t position it to far away in case the coyote does decide to come directly into the position of the caller. It is also important to call with the sun at your back. This makes it more difficult for the coyote to see you, as they have to look directly into the sun when they approach. Another important aspect for setting up is to try and position yourself in the shade. By being in the shade, this will help conceal your position and make it more difficult for the coyote to see you. Now, putting all these items together would certainly be the perfect scenario, but in reality this isn’t always possible. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the position of the sun or your ability to sit in the shade in order to call a prime location. However, I never sacrifice wind direction in order to call an area. If the wind isn’t right, I wait to call that area another day.

The third item for successful coyote calling is camouflage. It is important to try and blend into your surroundings by matching your camouflage to the terrain you hunt. It is also critical to cover all exposed skin, including your face. Human skin is highly reflective and coyotes will pick up on this. Test this out for yourself by having a friend dress in full camouflage except for a face mask, and then have him conceal himself as if he were hunting. Now, step back several yards and see how easily he is to pick out. Now try the same experiment with your friend wearing a facemask. I bet you will be surprised at the difference. Another important component of camouflaging yourself is to limit movement when on stand. Coyotes have keen eyesight and will pick up on the slightest movement. If you must move, do so slow and deliberately.

Last but certainly not least, is the actual act of calling itself. Many of you may be surprised that I saved this for last. Don’t get me wrong, making the right sound is very important and you could be producing the most mournful distressed rabbit sound the coyote has ever heard, but unless you do all the above items correctly your chance of bagging it are greatly reduced. Learning how to use a mouth blown rabbit in distress call is a relatively simple task. Any of the calls on the market today are likely to work for you. If you don’t know the correct sound to make, I suggest buying one of the many videos on coyote calling that are on the market or buy a CD or cassette tape with a live rabbit in distress sound on it and practice along with it. Many beginners make the mistake of thinking they have to sound perfect in order to call a coyote. The truth of the matter is the coyote doesn’t care. As long as you sound like an animal in distress, you’re likely to get the attention of a coyote. The interesting thing about calling coyotes is that no two people sound exactly alike when using a particular call, but the sounds are all effective, and yours likely will be too. One other topic that hasn’t been mentioned is how long to call at each location. This depends on a lot of factors, but I typically stay 30 minutes on each stand, especially when calling open area. If you live in an area that is heavily wooded, you may only stay on stand 10-15 minutes because the sound won’t travel as far. When you are calling you will want to call for short intervals. For example, call for 20-30 seconds, wait 2 minutes, and repeat. Do this for the duration your on the stand.

These are the basics you will need to become a successful coyote caller. Study them closely and then get out in the field and call some coyotes. Once you do, I am sure you will be hooked for life just as I am. I wish you the best of luck.

Mark Petersen is an avid hunter and has been hunting coyotes successfully for over 10 years. If you enjoyed this article on coyote hunting and would like to learn more about it, please visit http://www.thehuntingdirectory.com There you will not only find more information on coyote hunting, but will also experience a complete directory of hunting related information and resources on nearly all types of hunting.

Tags: coyote, coyote calling, coyote hunting, hunting, outdoors, predator, predator calling, sportcoyote, coyote calling, coyote hunting, hunting, outdoors, predator, predator calling, sport

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Any guesses on what the #1 sport is in the United States? Some might guess baseball. At this time of year with the big game at hand, many would say football. How about NASCAR? Tennis? Golf? If you guessed any of these, you’re wrong. The top sport not only in the United States, but around the world is Bird Watching. That’s right. Not even soccer tops bird watching worldwide. Let’s take a look at my list of top reasons why birding is the SUPER sport.

-Anyone - regardless of age or conditioning - can enjoy Bird Watching
-Bird Watching reduces stress as it helps us to slow down
-You can watch birds virtually anywhere
-Bird Watching connects us with friends, family and nature
-Great memories are made from Bird Watching with others
-There is always something new in Bird Watching
-Bird Watching is a lifetime activity
-You’ll end up in new places when Bird Watching

Whether you are competitive or not, bird watching is a sport that will provide you with an unlimited supply of thrills and pure enjoyment. The tools and time needed to watch birds are minimal, unless you catch the fever. Once you feel the adrenaline-charged excitement of seeing birds in their natural habitat you’ll ask yourself - “Have these birds been here all along? Why didn’t I try this before?”

Next time the big game is on, take a peek out the nearest window; and when you spot a bird you’ll understand why bird watching really is the SUPER sport! For the time of your life, slow down and watch the birds. Get Outdoors!

Chuck Fitzgerald, The Outdoor Guy, has written a beginner’s guide to bird watching call “Learning to Bird.” Visit http://www.birdwatchingebook.com to see just how easy and how much fun Bird Watching really is. Chuck is the owner of Arizona based BackCountry Toys, an online store helping you to have fun in the great outdoors. To get maximum enjoyment out of your outdoor life, visit http://www.BackCountryToys.com where you’ll find great gear and the Tips & Tales e-newsletter, “FreshAir.” (800) 316-9055.

Tags: backcountry, binoculars, bird watching, birding, Camping, fishing, fun, geocaching, Hiking, hunting, outdoorsbackcountry, binoculars, bird watching, birding, Camping, fishing, fun, geocaching, Hiking, hunting, outdoors

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Hiking and backpacking have long been two of my greatest passions in life.

As a student in Baltimore, a buddy of mine and I made a ritual of spending our entire spring break hiking the Appalachian Trail, which runs the entire length of the east coast.

Our spring break was a week and, in that time, we would traverse an average of forty miles or so of it, covering a stretch of it that went from Pennsylvania down into Shenandoah, by the time we graduated. It was, without a doubt, some of the finest times of my life and we saw some great historic Civil War sites such as Harper’s Ferry.

After graduation, I kept my hobby up, next taking on the Grand Canyon with another friend.

A year or so back, I joined up with a hiking club, based here in southern California. In the brief time that I have been with this club, I have tackled a number of local mountain peaks; Mt. Baldy, San Gregornio, Cucamonga Peak and Black Rock, to name a few.

Prior to all this, as a boy, I hiked the hills and mountains of the San Gabriels quite a bit, as I grew up in southern California and only went to college back east.
These mountains were my back yard. The same is true, I suppose, of a great many people who go up into these mountains on a regular basis, so it’s easy to understand that the change in hiking conditions, during certain times of the year, could catch people by surprise.

During the last five years or so, from about the end of October through about March, I’d say, conditions in these mountains are not just snowy but also icy. This ice shows up in un-expected places as large, hard packed sheets that literally form ice chutes that stretch down the side of a mountain.

I had first hand experience with this a few years back;

I had decided to take a solo hike up to the IceHouse Saddle. The IceHouse Saddle is a ridge that you pass through on the way to Mt. Baldy or some of the other peaks in this area. I took the IceHouse Canyon Trail that begins just outside of Mt. Baldy Village.

This is a picturesque trail that runs by a stream with small waterfalls and large pine trees. You ascend through a canyon, so all around you are the beautiful mountain peaks covered with fur trees and the deep blue sky above.

I knew that the Saddle was much cooler than the base of the climb and that there would likely be patchy snow. I made it there for lunch and to enjoy the excellent view.

It was windy and cold, with patches of snow around just as I had anticipated.

Just before one reaches the Saddle, there is a fork in the trail where another trail takes you back to the same trail head at Mt. Baldy Village but via a route that travels the upper ridge of the mountains and then descends during the last bit, into the trail head where you started.
I elected to take this ‘upper’ trail back. Things were fine until I came to a huge sheet of ice! Fortunately, I recognized the danger before I attempted to trudge across.

Luckily, I had a walking stick with me, so I used it to carve footholds in the ice. This was, by no means, a flat walking surface you understand, but a steeply slanted plane of solid ice, probably a hundred yards or more wide!

It took me more than an hour to cross, slowly digging out holes to step in, knowing that if I made one misstep, I would go shooting down the mountain slope like a human bobsled until I smashed into a tree or a rock. It was very stressful and not fun at all.

I was lucky to make it back and, by then, it was getting dark. I was so stressed-out and exhausted that I tripped and fell on my face just before getting back to the parking lot!

At least I didn’t go sliding down the mountain and I landed on the hardest part of my body; my head, so I wasn’t hurt substantially.

Obviously, some factors took me by surprise, but obviously as well, I did a few dumb things, one of which was hiking alone.

Joining a hiking club has remedied this. It’s good to have the judgment of other experienced hikers no matter how experienced you yourself are. With all those people around you are not likely to get hurt or lost and there’s always someone there who has been there or experienced certain conditions before.

Besides that, hiking with others is much more fun and I have made many new friends.

We don’t go up into the San Gabriels during the winter months, by the way.

Brian Beshore is webmaster for the Adventurer’s Mountain Club, a southern California based hiking group. If you would like to see some really beautiful photos from their past hikes and learn more about this club, drop by our website at; http://www.hikingclub.us

Tags: Backpacking, climbing, clubs, Hiking, mountaineering, nature, outdoors, recreation, sports, wildernessBackpacking, climbing, clubs, Hiking, mountaineering, nature, outdoors, recreation, sports, wilderness

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