Ethan Ruby

Hunting the Coyote Rut

During February, coyotes are actively breeding. Males and females alike are more active during daytime periods as they cruise the landscape looking to pair up with a mate. Understanding the language of love with these song dogs will dramatically increase your success rate in locating dogs, and hopefully harvesting them.

Here are some surefire calls to help you put more fur on the ground this month.

Lone Howl

This howl will alert coyotes in the area of your presence. Essentially you’re calling out that your lonely, and looking for some company. This call can be done electronically but works better with a standard hand call for more variation in sound. While using this strategy don’t expect a reply, as most often a male coyote will come in silent to see who’s on his turf. A simplistic approach, this call is not to be overdone. A howl every 5-10 minutes is more than enough, with no more than a few per set.

Female Whimper

Not a howl or a bark, this whiny vocalization can be found on many electronic callers and can have coyotes from all around encroaching on your set. What this call is doing is advertising a female that is ready and actively looking to breed. This sound will entice all age groups of male coyotes still actively looking for a mate. Once again don’t overcall as a coyote will quickly realize what he’s already thinking: It sounds too good to be true.

Female Invitation Howl

This high pitched howl will more than likely have the best results this time of year. Just as it sounds your inviting other coyotes to your location, but it won’t always be males. Females in the surrounding area won’t like that your intruding on them or their mate, and will often come in blazing. Alpha and sub males on the other hand will come in slow, and unaggressive, sometimes leading to an easy harvest.

Male Challenge Barks

Get aggressive with it. A male challenge bark/howl may just stir up enough aggression to bring in a dog. What your saying is ‘Hey, I’m here now and this spot is mine”. You’re trying to pick a fight and establish dominance. Other Males in the area won’t take kindly to this as they’re also searching for mates. Make sure your sharp during these calls, as coyotes will come in quickly and aggressively.

If you’ve never called for coyotes, now is the time to get out there and experience the adrenaline rush that comes with this hunt.