Hello all. I'm glad to find this forum and I hope I can contribute. My background - I started hunting in 1970. Then Uncle Sam and a couple jobs sent me from Alaska to Maine to Florida to California and a few places in between. Made my way back to Pa. I started reloading last year and I do some groundhog and deer hunting on a friends farm on the Ohio border. But my question is:

What coyote calls do you recommend for a coyote novice for the hills and farms of South Western Pennsylvania?

My friend has a growing coyote population on his farm he would like to remove. I have heard them howling on the next hill and found one turkey nest with 9 eggs left unattended and several dozen large feathers in a couple piles (it looked like mom put up a good fight) but no yote sightings. (The feathers are being used by dry fly tiers this winter.) There is enough people presence on the nearby farms for any human noise to be normal. I am looking at a small hill as a set up spot that looks out over 300 plus yards of cut hay fields for a 180 degree field of fire. At the far end of the field from the maybe set up spot is the area where I found the turkey nest and beyond is the woods I think the yotes live in. There are several farm cats and some "wild" cats in the area. I saw what looked like a bobcat but with a long bushy tail. It was so big I thought it was a dog until it turned and looked at me. Sorry, no Big Foot Sightings........

I have read some of the posts on coyote calls and hunting here and some other fourms but any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you for your time.

Mush

P.S. I use a CZ 527 American in 223 and a Howa 6.5 x 55 so far.

This the time of year is when Yotes are mating and denning up. They are very territorial now and howling should be very productive. Distress calls will work as well. Make the dominant yote think that someone has moved into their territory and be ready for some action.
Yotebuster [b]

Mush... welcome to Hunting Nut.

You will find there are several predator hunters on board that are always willing to share their experience. Good folks here!

Quote::

What coyote calls do you recommend for a coyote novice for the hills and farms of South Western Pennsylvania?

Today there are so many predator calls available (both production and custom) that it can be almost mind boggling.

I agree with yotebuster, howlers do work well (at times). Elk's “Power Howler“ is one example but like most open reed howlers can take a bit of practice to master. I would shy away from closed reed howlers, I've not found one yet that sounds really decent.
One online source of calls is Game Calls.net. They carry a large assortment of products for the predator caller and are good folks to deal with.
www.gamecalls.net

For the novice I would recommend a good closed reed or bite type hand call (distress) to start out with (easy to use).
Haydel’s Game Calls is good choice in closed reed calls for both novice and experienced caller alike.
I've had good success using their Government Hunter line. www.haydels.com/index.html

Another good call is the Model PC-3...Pitch Controlled Predator Call by Johnny Stewart. I’ve called in many a coyote and bobcat with this call.
johnnystewart.com/Upda...egoryID=15


Custom calls can be a little more expensive than over the counter "production" calls but being custom made, you can get the sound and call body you want. Rest assured they all have been time tested and predator approved.
Below are only a few of the custom makers that produce excellent calls:

Al Woodland, THO Game Calls, (Custom Calls, Lanyards & Call Making Supplies): www.thogamecalls.com

Brent Saxton, Kee’s custom calls www.keescalls.com/

Brad Holzer, Holzer Howlers and predator calls Email: callsrebl70 @ midrivers.com

Aaron Glenn, Red River Calls: WWW.PREDATORHUNTING.NET

Aaron Sparrow, A.W.Sparrow's Custom Game Calls Email: slsaws2004 @ netzero.net

Joe (Arkyyoter): www.arkyyoter.net/

KO Predator Solutions: www.kopredatorsolutions.com/



I hope you find predator calling to be a very challenging and rewarding experience, as I have. I wish you the best of luck.

Chet

Welcome..Mush.. I should be out yote hunting tonight, full moon, snow on the ground, just like daylight out there. You guys ever hunt at night?

Welcome aboard Mush


It's against the law to hunt at night here........ but when i was a teeny bopper (long ago) we used to shoot jackrabbits at night. It was fun.

We can hunt at night here for predators, but not small game. OH ya Coons with dogs too.

Two weeks left in night hunting here in the land of Lincoln. I took a guy out to show him how I can howl up a coyote, no gun, no lights, just the howler, Within a coupole of minutes of the howl, I had three different groups of coyotes singin back at me from less than a half mile away. It gave the newbie the creeps so we had to leave.

An inexpensive electronic call like the Cass creek and a closed reed squealer like the Circe distress call make a good starter set. You can listen to the recording and make yours sound similar. Lock Stock and Barrel in Nebraska and Randy Andersons CallingCoyotes.com have a gfood selection of calls and instructional tapes too. Once you get some success and practice the open reed calls are very versatile and can make all kinds of coyote enticing noises...

Welcome to the world of coyote calling, I will warn you ,it will get in your blood.

Thank you all for the good information. It gives me something to start with. I'll let you know how I do.

It is 6 degrees outside now. I think I'll wait untill it gets back up to freezing before I try any calling. I don't think the coyotes will go any where.....

Mush

bundle up and get out there! They get really hungry when it gets this cold. They have to eat often to keep warm.