The day stands should have been successful because all the factors for success were there. For instance, on Saturday we were rolling down this country highway with pastures on both sides of us. The pastures had trees, rolling hills, and better yet, what looked like streams running through bottom land. We wheeled over to the side of the road, parked and quietly got our gear together. We held the barbed wire fencing apart for each other and began to trek out (through cover) to what looked like a good area around some Aspen trees.
As we worked our way quietly through the bush, we stumbled on what appeared to be a den and some coyote scat. Mama Mia! Not just a few random turds but a crap load of them. I mean we were in the coyote turd capitol of the nation. And even more exciting, the turds were big and somewhat fresh. We looked at each other and smiled. This was definitely a hot zone and we stepped right into it.
We found a perfect place to call, set out a remote caller and a remote controlled furry bunny decoy, spread some coyote urine and bile scent around, hunkered down, waited about 10-minutes for birds to resume chirping and began to call softly.
In my mind I can already see the big coyotes charging in and falling to the blasts from our shotguns. Oh, and they are big ones too. My imagination is really running wild with anticipation. The setup was perfect, the terrain was perfect, the lighting and wind was in our favor, there were BIG piles of scat around and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that this was going to be a stand to remember. After 5-minutes passed, I upped the caller volume slightly and then backed it down. I turned the caller on and off as well as the decoy. I played this stand carefully because I knew our chances for success were excellent. All systems were go and this was a no-brainer kill fest for sure.
So much for the things dreams are made of. After 40-minutes, we packed it in and left……empty handed. So what happened? With everything so absolutely perfect, why didn’t my fantasy come true? Why weren’t we fending off the charges of 15 hungry coyotes, hot shotgun hulls flying through the air, #4 buck rolling coyote after coyote? It’s sad to say…….I don’t freaking know. They simply did not come. The dream slipped through our camo gloved fingers like water through a sieve. We trekked back to the truck, heads down in sadness. I felt like a kid that found no Christmas presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Seeing pile after pile of scat on our way back to the vehicle did nothing but depress us more.
If someone asked me the thing I hate most about predator calling it would have to be the “not knowing why” factor. When a stand does not bear critters, most times you’ll never know why. Then, without fail, the questions begin to swirl around my head. Did they bust us on the way in? Were they watching us all the time? Were they out hunting in another area? Did we break the stand too soon? Was my partner picking his nose, farting, moving, sleeping, etc.? The absolute worst part is we will never, ever know why any particular stand was not a success. The coyotes never tell. It sure would lessen the pain if we knew for sure what happened. Like most efforts, we can always learn from our mistakes. In the case of predator calling however, we are not afforded that benefit when things don’t pan out.
If your beginning to get interested in this sport and have tried calling without much success, don’t fret my friend because it happens to all of us. You just never know what will happen. Sometimes you’ll be calling an area that is not the perfect set-up by any means and ol’ Wiley will come a runnin’ right into the decoy. It is truly a roll of the dice each and every time. After all, a lot of factors are in play here.
For success to happen:
Animals have to be where you are calling
Animals have to be hungry, interested or curious
Animals have to get up and boldly answer the call
Animals have to be seen by you or your partner
Animals have to react within the timeframe you have set for your stand
You and your partner must have a good hide for the ambush
You can’t make any mistakes (busted)
Your partner can’t make any mistakes (busted)
Luck must be on your side too
I will say that perhaps it is the uncertainty of this sport that makes it so much fun. You have to stay positive at all times and always believe that the next stand will be “the one”. If you don’t, you can be sure that when things do happen, you won’t be ready. Oh, and that really hurts because I have been guilty of that mistake. The bottom line is stay ready. Follow the basic rules of the game and ALWAYS expect the unexpected. Most important of all, enjoy your time in the wilderness. Relax and enjoy being away from work, family pressures, computers, cell phones and everything else that crowds our lives these days. Oh….and always stipulate your field of fire with your partner. Don’t shoot each other. That’s a bad thing.
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