How long should I stay on a coyote calling stand?

When my dad and I first started coyote calling over 50 years ago, we followed the advice of the Burnham Brothers religiously. Their recommendation was to stay on a stand for 15 minutes, and then move at least a quarter mile to your next stand. Although this is generally still good advise, there are some factors that may warrant some variations.

            The introduction of electronic calls has allowed higher volumes of sounds used to call coyotes. This might make it advisable to travel farther between stands, I usually try to go at least half a mile.

            The dramatic increase in coyote hunting pressure since the 1960s has also made it advisable to stay a little longer on stands.

            One exception might be calling contests. Many of the most successful contest winners literally run between stands and might not stay as long, hoping to harvest those dawgs that respond quickly and then move rapidly to a new stand.

Heavily hunted coyotes will be much more cautious in their approach to your call.

            Since I’m in no hurry to and want to enjoy the experience of the hunt as well as harvesting some coyotes, I usually stay on stand 20 to 30 minutes.

            Having said that, I have had coyotes respond in as little as 45 seconds and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I worked one old male for 45 minutes before getting a shot.

If a coyote can hear your calling from half a mile away and responds as soon as it hears the sound, it can easily cover that half mile in three or four minutes.  Any young or inexperienced dawgs will usually respond in the first few minutes of your stand.

            In my experience, there seems to be a breaking point at six, sixteen and 26 minutes. Probably 40% of my successful hunts end in the first six minutes another 40% will come in before the 16 minute mark and there will be a few stragglers that come in more cautiously or need a different sound to bring them in, usually before 26 minutes.

            According to FoxPro Fox Data, about 27 percent of coyotes will respond in the first ten minutes, 52% will come between 20 and 40 minutes and 12% after 40 minutes.

            What conditions might require a longer than normal stand?

            If I’ve walked a long way into a stand I will usually give it more time than one that is closer to the truck. If I’ve made the effort, I might as well give it a little more attention.

            Areas that have been hunted heavily usually have coyotes that will be more cautious or be looking for a different sound to peak their interest. I will give these areas a little extra time as well.

            Wide open country or areas with low coyote numbers. These locations might have coyotes traveling farther in response to your calling. Give them a little extra time to travel.

            Areas that just look really good.  I will usually stay a little longer on stands that look or feel like they should hold a coyote.

            My usual calling sequence and stand duration goes like this.

            I start with prey distress with the volume just high enough that I can barely hear it. I will gradually increase the volume over the first two or three minutes, pause and repeat for 12 – 16 minutes. At that point I usually go to two or three young coyote howls, wait three minutes and then switch to a pup fight or pup distress for the remainder of the stand.

During breeding season I will shorten the length of time with prey distress to 8-10 minutes and insert coyote social and breeding sounds between the howls and pup distress sounds. As a result, my stands will be longer in late January and February.