Grunt Up a Buck

You might have missed this chance, but with a
well-placed call, you stopped him dead-in-his-tracks
and in your sights.

The 8-pointer was slowly making his way along the edge of a thick tag alder run, and was crosswind to me. I gave one short, and one slightly longer grunt. Both were rather obnoxious sounding.

Not to the buck, though. He stopped in his tracks, swiveled his head in my direction, and slowly turned in my direction. There is only one big-time rule to follow when using a grunt call for deer.

If the buck heads in your direction, don't call again. If the animal comes 50 or 100 yards, stops and looks around, turn your head away from the deer, and give one soft and muffled call. The buck is looking for a direction, and you can say "Over Here" with one grunt. Put the call away and get ready for a shot.

On came the deer, and he swaggered to within eight yards, and stopped. He milled around for a minute or so, snuffling the air, and then turned broadside. My First Cut 90-grain broadhead took him behind the front shoulder and exited the brisket. He went 40 yards and folded up.

I've used calls on coyotes, deer, ducks, elk, foxes, geese and wild turkeys. If any one thing holds true, it is that animals and birds can determine almost exactly where the call is coming from.

I've used many calls from a tree until three years ago. I've used all types of deer calls including those made by A-Way, Knight & Hale, Primos, Stratton Game Calls, Woods-Wise and many others.

One problem I've always had is that I know deer and other critters can pinpoint a call's location. Who has ever seen a deer calling from an elevation position. I haven't.

H&M Archery Products of Willis, Michigan. has a novel call that I've been using for three years. Their philosophy is that deer don't climb trees so why should a hunter call from a tree.

They produce a call with a 14-foot length of coil-kink resistant rubber latex tubing that another 12-foot length of tubing can be attached to, and a hunter can sit 15 feet up a tree and lay out the other 11 feet of rubber tubing, and call from a tree but the grunt comes from ground level where it sounds most natural.

Any condensation occurs in the tubing, not in the call. This helps eliminate freeze-up in cold weather.

I began with the 14-foot length but soon added another 12-foot length that allows the call to be places off to one side of the tree where an investigating buck will be properly positioned for a shot.

The nice thing is this tubing arrangement will fit most tube-type calls. It puts the sound at ground level where it is most effective.

Many hunters blow a sequence of grunts that is much too long. I keep my grunts short, pause and grunt again for several seconds, and then stop. Ten minutes later try calling again.

There are many different types of deer vocalizations but the grunt call works well. I've had no success with a fawn bleat, and only minimal success with a doe bleat.

One thing that works is to grunt if you see a buck. I've called in numerous bucks that were unseen, but calling works well on visible bucks. It gives hunters a chance to judge the deer's reaction to the call, but if they stop coming, muffle the call and grunt softly one more time. If they keep coming, do nothing but get ready to draw and shoot.

One of the most exciting things about deer hunting is grunting in a good buck. The noises that come out of an inhale, exhale or inhale-exhale call may sound like your hunting buddy in camp after a plate of refried beans, but the grunt call works.

As is true with everything else about bow hunting whitetail bucks, nothing is 100 percent except for Uncle Sam tapping you for a yearly donation and that someday you will pass on to your just rewards. That said, grunt in a good buck and if he charges in with his neck hairs standing up, you will be a convert.

Trust me, it works ... on a fairly regular basis.

Location is KEY

Big gobblers, like the left one, must be played carefully

Big tom turkey's don't get old or big by being easily fooled. Timeing and location play key roles in turkey hunting success.
photo Dave Richey ©2012

There's an old real estate adage that almost everyone knows. The key thing to remember is  location, location, location. Where the land or home is located means almost everything.

This old saying also holds true for turkey hunters. Location means everything, and if a hunter is going to have any kind of success with a big gobbler, he must be in the right spot at the right time.

So far, I've talked to just two people with a first-season turkey tag, and neither man has found gobblers yet. Both cite high winds, rain and on again, off again cold weather and snow as various excuses.

We had some snow on the ground yesterday

One guy was looking for birds near home, and his brother was scouting a nearby area. My buddy checked where he'd seen a gobbler fly up to roost the night before, and estimated he was 150 yards away.

He waited for dawn, listened to the bird gobble once from the roost tree at about 6:30 a.m., and called twice, and that was all it took.

That bird might have come to him if he'd called, but the season is still about two weeks away," he said. "The bird flew down from the tree, and shut up."

His brother, who had not seen or heard a bird, and had traveled to what would be a new hunting location when their season opened. They walked into the area, sat down with their backs to adjacent trees, and began to listen for birds.

"I soon heard a bird that wasn't very far away," he said. "I listened to him for 40 minutes. He seemed to have a couple of hens and lesser gobblers with him. We sat still and never spooked the birds.

That's one way to play the pre-season scouting game

"At first we thought there was just one bird but it turned out to be two adult gobblers traveling together. Finally, one split away from the other, and came our way only to be spooked by a roaming coyote. Those birds should still be around when the next season opens."

Well, that just might be a bit of wishful thinking. All scouting does right now is show and tell you where the birds are today. They could be, and quite likely will be, two miles away when the season opens. The birds often do return to an area eventually if they are not badly spooked.
I've heard it mentioned many times by turkey hunters that they believe gobblers and hens may be spooking from decoys. If there is no wind, and the decoy doesn't move, the bird won't come in. Obvious, this isn't an across-the-board belief, but some birds seem definitely afraid of one or more decoys, and a scouting hunters should never put out decoys before the season opens.

More and more people are using decoys now than ever before. It stands to reason that some birds are spooked by the fakes.

Being in the right spot at the right time is crucial to success. I don't consider myself a great caller, but I know enough not to call too much once my season opens. Finesse the birds a little, don't call too loud so the bird gets spooky, and chances are good you can close the deal on a gobbler. The trick is to be patient, and don't call too loud or too often.

Years ago, my wife and I drew first-season hunting tags, and we got set up early, and she wanted to take her gobbler with a bow. I had her sitting inside a hunting coop. I had three decoys -- two hens and a jake -- positioned in front of her with the jake only 15 yards away.

I sat outside with my back to a big tree and waited for the first gobbler to sound off. A few crows called, and then he tuned up the volume and rattled the trees in that woodlot. I gave a soft tree yelp, and he gobbled again and again while I remained silent. It's part of the teasing process.

Here's a bit of good advice to try on a solitary gobbler

As a southern buddy used to tell me: "Tell 'em what you think they want to hear, but give them a pack of lies. Make your calls sound too good to be true, be patient and they may come."

Five minutes passed, and the longbeard gobbled again, and I gave a soft tree yelp, waited until he quit gobbling, slapped my pant legs a few quick times to simulate a bird flying down, and could hear that bird busting branches as he flew to the ground.

He gobbled again on the ground, came walking through the woods, walked within three feet of my boots and strutted out to whup on that jake decoy. I could hear him drumming and spitting, and he gobbled out a challenge to the jake decoy, and walked in to smack the fake bird around.

The gobbler offered Kay a good shot, and that was the end of that bird. It wasn't the largest gobbler she has killed, but doing it with a bow was a major accomplishment.

A year earlier, much the same thing played out as I called in a nice gobbler for her, and she took it with a shotgun. In fact, I've called in most of her gobblers over the past twenty years.

A person can be the best caller in the world, but if he is in the wrong spot, there will be no birds racing in his direction. Personally, I'd rather know where the bird is roosted, and be a mediocre caller, than to be in the wrong spot with championship calling skills on my side.

Location to a turkey hunter, as it is to a real estate agent, is the most important part of the hunting equation. It's what can put a tasty bird on a turkey platter this spring.

Just make certain your scouting efforts don't spook birds out of the area, and for Heaven's sake, be smart enough to leave your calls at home while scouting before the season opener. The birds don't need more of an education than they already have, and it pays to scout with binoculars or a spotting scope. Find the birds, drive away, and know where a few birds may be when your turkey season opens.

Location, Location, Location

A majestic gobbler lit up by the early sun. Shoot straight!

There's an old real estate adage. Everyone preaches ... Location, Location Location!  Where the land or home is located means almost everything.

This old saying also holds true for turkey hunters. Location means everything, and if a hunter is going to have any kind of success with a big gobbler, he must be in the right spot at the right time.

So far, I've talked to just two hunters with a first-season turkey tag, and neither man has found gobblers yet. Both cite high winds, rain and on-again, off-again cold weather and snow as excuses.

Hunting has been slow during the first turkey season. Blame it on the weather.

One was checking for birds near home, and his brother was hunting in a nearby area. My buddy checked where he'd seen a gobbler fly up to roost the night before, and estimated he was 150 yards away.

He waited for dawn, listened to the bird gobble once from the roost tree at about 6:30 a.m., and called twice, and that was all it took.
"That bird came to me, got to within 25 yards, and then turned and ran off," he said. "The bird flew down from the tree, came on a direct line to me, and then spooked as if frightened by my decoys."

I'm more inclined to think he was spooked by the presence of a hunter toodling on his turkey call. Guys who educate birds by calling outdoors before the season opens deserves to have all his calls taken away.

His brother, who had not seen or heard a bird, and had traveled to what would be a new hunting location when their season opened. They walked into the area, sat down with their backs to adjacent trees, and began to listen for birds.

"I soon heard a bird that didn't wasn't far away," he said. "I listened to him for 40 minutes. He seened to have a couple of hens and lesser gobblers with him. We sat still and never spooked the birds.

At first he thought there was just one bird but it turned out to be two adult gobblers traveling together. Finally, one split away from the other, and came our way only to be spooked vy a roaming coyote. Those birds should still be around when the next season opens."

Turkeys in some hunting areas may be spooked by decoys.

I've heard it mentioned many times by many hunters that they believe gobblers and hens may be spooking from decoys. If there is no wind, and the decoy doesn't move, the bird won't come in. Obvious, this isn't an across-the-board belief, but some birds seem definitely afraid of one or more decoys, and scouting hunters should never put out decoys before the season opens.

Being in the right spot at the right time is crucial to success. I don't consider myself a great caller, but I know enough not to call too much once my season opens. Finesse the birds a little, don't call too loud so the bird gets spooky, and chances are good you can close the deal on a gobbler. The trick is to be patient, and don't call too loud.

Years ago, my wife and I drew a first-season hunt, and we got set up early, and she wanted to take her gobbler with a bow. I had her sitting inside a hunting coop. I had three decoys -- two hens and a jake -- positioned in front of her with the jake only 15 yards away.

I sat outside with my back to a big tree and waited for the first gobbler to sound off. A few crows called, and then he tuned up the volumn and rattled the trees in that woodlot. I gave a soft tree yelp, and he gobbled again and again while I remained silent. It's part of the teasing process.

Five minutes passed, and he gobbled again, and I gave a soft tree yelp, waited until he quit gobbling, slapped my pant legs a few quick times to simulate a bird flying down, and could hear that bird busting branches as he flew to the ground.

Be patient while waiting for a gobbler to close the distance.

He gobbled again on the ground, came walking through the woods, walked within three feet of my boots and strutted out to whup on that jake decoy. I could hear him drumming and spitting, and he gobbled out a challenge to the jake decoy, and walked in to smack the fake bird around.

The gobbler offered Kay a good shot, and that was the end of that bird. It wasn't the largest gobbler she has killed, but doing it with a bow was a major accomplishment.

A year earlier, much the same thing played out as I called in a nice gobbler for her, and she took it with a shotgun. In fact, I've called in most of her gobblers over the past decade.

A person can be the best caller in the world, but if he is in the wrong spot, there will be no birds racing in his direction. Personally, I'd rather know where the bird is roosted, and be a mediocre caller, than to be in the wrong spot with championship calling skills on my side.

Location to a turkey hunter, as it is to a real estate agent, is the most important part of the hunting equation. It's what can put a tasty bird on a turkey platter this spring.

Just make certain your scouting efforts don't spook birds out of the area, and for Heaven's sake, be smart enough to leave the calls at home while scouting. The birds don't need more of an edge than they already have, and it pays to scout with binoculars or a spotting scope.

Find the birds, drive away, and know where a few birds are when your turkey season opens.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Cleaning my turkey calls

The vest hangs where I can't see it from my desk, but I had to go over that way today, and I was a goner. It may as well have had a Pick Me Up sign hanging off it.

Oh well, the turkey bug bit me bad this morning. Each one of my calls came out, and each one was carefully inspected and cleaned. My favorite diaphragms were washed in warm water and allowed to air dry.

All mouth calls work best when kept cool, and there's nothing wrong with keeping your clean diaphragm calls in the refrigerator. Cool temps keep the latex reeds in better condition.

It's time to work on your turkey calls before hunting season begins.

My vest is cool, and when I'm not hunting, I wash the latex reeds and insert a flat (not round) toothpick between the reeds to clean and separate the latex. A few callers I know store their diaphragm calls in the cool and dry basement when not in use, but I don't go that far. Mine never hit the fridge but I keep them away from heat in my vest.

I don't do too much to my box calls. I dust them off, including the paddle and lips of the sound chamber, and make certain there are no twigs or anything else inside them from last season.

A light sanding of the paddle and the edges of the sound chamber will remove chalk residue. It may need a bit of tuning after a light sanding. Just don't use any force when sanding. Keep it light and gentle.

Keep all-wood calls dry and remove excess chalk and any dirt.

Many of my calls require the use of chalk although I also use chalk-free calls ,and I try to lightly remove as much old chalk as possible. Once they are cleaned and dusted off, I allow them to sit on a shelf near my desk. They are thoroughly dry when the time comes to use them, and I try not to let them get damp or wet. Too many wood box or push-pull calls have been ruined by using them in rain or snowy conditions.

My aluminum, crystal, glass or slate calls require little care. I clean the surface with a soft, slightly dampened cloth, and then they are wiped completely dry moments later. The peg or striker is another story.

It took me some time to learn, because I like to experiment with pegs, but gradually it dawned on me that certain pegs perform best with certain calls. I've used wood, plastic, glass and graphite pegs or strikers, and they all work ... on certain calls.

I've yet to find that one peg works on all calls. Use the wrong striker, and you'll sound more like a ruptured duck than an amorous hen.

Clean calls work better, produce truer sounds, and can make gobbler go nuts.

A major problem for some people is they keep all the strikers together, and invariably try to use the wrong peg on the wrong call. The sounds that come forth are not those of any turkey any of us has ever seen.

My trick, if that's what it is, is to keep the peg with the proper call. I try to wrap each call (including my box calls) in an old soft dark colored washcloth. A thick rubber-band is used to keep everything tight so it doesn't rattle or make an odd sound while walking to a spring hunting location in the darkness.

Many hunters have learned to put a layer of dry washcloth across the top of a box call, and then wrap the paddle in another layer of cloth. Rubber-band it tight, and you won't have those telltale squeaks or raspy noises coming out of your vest if your arm bumps the call.

One tip on using a wash cloth. Use an old one that has been washed many times, and choose a dark color. Do not use a blue, red or white wash cloth for obvious safety reasons. A dark brown cloth works well for me. and dark green is my second choice for cloth colors.

A cagey old gobbler, who has made it to three or four years of age, may not hear human footsteps in soft soil or pine needles, but they will hear an untimely squawk if the box call or push-pull call makes a noise at the wrong time. Sometimes the sound may not spook the bird, but why take any chances?

Now is the time to sew up holes in your vest after all of your calls have been made ready for the hunt. Barbed wire or sharp tree stubs have a habit of ripping holes in a hunting vest. If a favorite call falls out, and is lost, you'll never forgive yourself for not doing it when time permitted.

All of this can be done at home in an hour or two. Use that time wisely, make certain all decoys and stakes are ready to go, and when the season opens, grab a bag of decoys, the hunting vest and shotgun (don't forget the shotgun shells and license) and it's off to the woods you go. Double-check that the shotgun shells are No. 4, 5 or 6 and nothing larger or smaller in shot size.

And best of all, your equipment will be in perfect working order when you need it to be that way.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Avoid these turkey-hunting mistakes

Dave Richey aims at a big gobbler

It’s still two months until the 2011 spring turkey season opens, but with luck, a few preparatory articles may make the difference between success and failure. Trust me on this: I’ve made many mistakes over the years of hunting gobblers, and have learned from my mistakes.

If I can help sportsmen avoid some of those mistakes with this column, I’ll feel as if I’ve done my job of properly informing hunters.

If a wild turkey could smell, few hunters would ever shoot a spring gobbler. These birds have superb hearing and eagle-sharp vision, and if a hunter makes just one small mistake when a bird is nearby, the hunt will end quickly without a shot.

It's easy to write this piece because at one time or another over my lengthy turkey-hunting career, I've made some mistakes or watched others make them. I know how to avoid them because making a simple mistake has cost me more than one gobbler.

10 turkey tips to avoid and a “gimme” tip to remember at the end.

Here are 10 common turkey-hunting errors. Also included are some solutions that work some of the time. Nothing about turkey hunting is ever 100 percent.

[1] Being too concealed -- Every turkey hunter knows they must be dressed in quality camouflage clothing that matches the foliage at that time of year. They also must sit still and blend into their surroundings. What some people forget is that one cannot be so buried in thick brush, that they can’t move. I once watched a guy burrow into heavy undergrowth near an abandoned orchard, and the gobbler flew down at dawn and walked to within 20 yards of the guy. He couldn't raise his shotgun, and while struggling with old berry briers, he became so entangled he couldn't mount his shotgun, aim and shoot. The longbeard spotted the odd movements back in the briars and was more than 200 yards away before the guy could work his shotgun free.

• Solution -- Sit with your back to a big tree, draw your knees up and your heels back to your butt, tuck the shotgun buttstock into your shoulder, and wait for the bird to walk in front of the shotgun. Shoot when his head comes up to look around.

[2] Calling too much -- Turkey hunters usually know that too much calling is much worse than too little. However, they toodle away on a diaphragm call, switch to a sweet-talkin' box call, pick up a slate and yelp with it, and start over. The constant calling can and will spook some birds. It just doesn’t sound natural.

• Solution -- Use a call sparingly. If a gobbler keeps calling, wait him out. After he gobbles two or three times without an answer, muffle the call, and make it soft and sweet. He may come on a dead run so be ready at all times.

[3] Decoy placement -- It takes some willpower to curb the constant use of decoys. Don't hasten to set out decoys if a hot gobbler is coming. Don't hide decoys in thick cover where a gobbler can't see them, and forget the dekes when hunting near water. Placing too many decoys too close together will make them look like a flock of frighten birds.

• Solution -- Two or three decoys work best for me. Have a jake decoy face the hunter, and keep it between you and the hen decoys. Don't place the hens more than 30-35 yards out to avoid having a gobbler do an end-run on the jake decoy. The jake is the major object of concern for an adult gobbler so keep him in the open and visible from nearby heavy wooded cover.

Choose your camouflage wisely. Stick with black, brown or gray.

[4] Improper camouflage use -- Camouflage is camo, right? I've watched hunters dress in green camo when everything in the woods is still tan and brown, and bleached out from the winter snow. Dark-colored camo will stick out early in the season. Avoid anything that is colored red, white or blue, the color of a gobbler's head during the spring mating season. Match camo to existing conditions.

• Solution -- Know the terrain, and if the woods are brown, wear brown camo. If it has greened up, switch to green camo. Make sure that boot eyelets are spray-painted black or brown, and check to see that no white socks show when you sit down with your knees up, and beware of that white undershirt peeking out. Wear dark Jersey gloves. Make certain your glasses or watch doesn’t glint.

[5] Making unwanted noises -- You roosted one or two gobblers the night before, and are walking through the woods before dawn. A tree branch is bumped, and the box call squawks like a ruptured duck in your vest. Or, you are carrying two decoys with metal stakes and a shotgun, and you are almost to where you'll sit, and the stakes and shotgun clink together. Such noises aren’t good but the squeak of a rusty old farm-lane gate will often make roosted birds gobble..

• Solution -- Wrap box calls in a soft and dark washcloth, and fasten the lid and box together with stout rubber bands. Carry the decoys and stakes in the back of a hunting vest. Do everything possible to avoid noise once you are close to the roosting area. Stay at least 100 yards from the roost trees when you set up.

Movement saves the lives of more gobblers than anythinng else.

[6] Moving too much -- Movement spooks more gobblers and hens than anything
else. Hunters forget to clear a suitable area at the base of a large tree, and after 15 minutes and a gobbler is on the move toward you, hunters begin to fidget and move to relieve the pain of a tree root under their butt or a broken tree stub gouging their back. Tough it out and sit still. Play with pain or fix it first.

• Solution -- Scrape all leaves away from your sitting position so there will be no noise made if it becomes necessary to move slightly. Carry a rubber butt pad to sit on, and pick a spot where the tree trunk is bare. Remove any object that will make you uncomfortable.

[7] Not having the shotgun to your shoulder -- I've seen this one happen far too often to understand why hunters do it. The sportsman becomes very uncomfortable sitting with his knees bent and his boot heels against his butt. They stretch out their legs, and the muzzle is pointed at the ground when a gobbler walks out in front of them and gobbles his brains out. Any movement will spook the bird.

Three gobblers (one with beard visible) head for call

• Solution -- If a hunter is gunning for a wild gobbler, they must be ready for a shot at any time. Keep the shotgun resting across your upraised knees with the buttstock against your shoulder. It is impossible to raise a shotgun up, aim at the bird and shoot before the bird flies or runs away. Gut it out, and sit still and be prepared for a shot at any time.

[8] Not patterning a shotgun -- Yeah, it's OK. It was dead-on last season. I don't have to mess around with it this year. Stuff ol' Betsy full of shotgun shells and let’s go hunting. This is a mistake I made a few years ago.

• Solution -- Sights get knocked out of kilter for one reason or another. Pattern the shotgun with No. 4, 5 or 6 shot, and shoot whichever provides the most pellets to the head-neck area of a target. Make certain it is on, and don't forget to do this. It cost me a gobbler once, and  I’ve never forgotten it.

[9] Setting up in the wrong spot -- There are right and wrong spots to sit, and only preseason scouting and experience can tell you which place is best. Forget to scout, and start calling to birds on the other side of a big water puddle, flowing stream or lake, and turkeys will usually hang up at the water. Know where the gobblers are in the morning, afternoon and before shooting time ends.

• Solution -- Do the scouting, spend time at it, and know where the birds will be during the morning, at noon and in the early evening. Turkeys usually (not always because I called a gobbler across a river in South Dakota once) hang up at water and at some fences. If you know their travel route, it's easy to avoid such places. Chances are good the birds will come right to you.

[10] Taking long shots -- Many hunters have no clue what the effective range of their shotgun is. Make the mistake of spotting a big gobbler at 60 yards, and try to shoot that bird, is a lesson in futility. If anything, the bird is wounded and gets away to die or be eaten by coyotes. The shotgun may shoot that far, but responsible hunters prefer the bird to 20 to 35 yards away.

• Solution -- Know your distances, and if necessary, put a small branch on the ground at 30 yards. If the bird is coming, let him come and wait until he gets inside of the range marker. Granted, the big 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge or 10-gauge magnum shotguns can kill a gobbler past 40 yards, but why take the chance. Let him come within 35 yards and then shoot. The closer they come, the more fun it is, and remember this: the shot is anticlimactic to calling an adult gobbler within range.

And, last but not least: The Lagniappe:

• Follow the wisdom of longtime turkey hunters.
• Follow the old adage that states -- don’t make the mistake, take the jake.

A turkey call for coyotes

Coyotes run dry ground or snow in the winter. February is the breeding season.

HONOR, Mich. -- You've heard fingernails being dragged down a blackboard. Or chair legs scraping across a tile floor. Right?

The sound seems to rip through your ears and produces an instant headache. It wouldn't be any fun coyote hunting with Roger Kerby of Honor unless you wear ear plugs. His predator call will set your nerves teeth on edge. Just writing about it makes my skin crawl.

He uses a diaphragm call made for turkey hunting. Used in the manner for which it was designed, the call sounds like a turkey. Used how Kerby does it, it sounds like a rabbit being eaten alive by fire ants.

A nasty sound that many coyotes cannot ignore.

He and his wife, Nancy, were cruising the back roads near home recently. They came to a spot, and both jumped out of the car and quietly eased the car doors shut after he grabbed his .308 bolt-action rifle, and they walked silently into an area he had hunted many times before.

The wind was right for this location because downwind was fairly open. Coyotes, when coming to the call, often circle to the downwind side to check for danger.

They sat down, Roger with the rifle across his lap, and inserted the diaphragm call in his mouth. He moved it around to lubricate the latex reed with saliva, took a deep breath, and began calling.

He uses a great deal of force, and leans hard on the reed with his breath. It is pinned hard by his tongue  to the roof of his mouth, and air is forced hard over the reed. The resulting sound will make your ears hurt and keep your eyes moving in search of a coyote.

It is a high-pitched "e-e-e-e-e-ah" sound and was quickly followed by another ear-splitting call. He called steadily for a minute, lowered the volume by reducing the force of his breath over the reed, and then stopped and sat motionless.

His .308 was topped with a scope, and Kerby has excellent vision. He waited for several minutes, and ran through a shorter version of the same call with it ending in a blood-chilling gurgle.

Getting ready for a shot that can come at any time.

A second later he nudged Nancy, and they spotted a coyote a quarter-mile away streaking in their direction. He knew the animal would stop, but kept the scope on the big animal. It stopped about 100 yards away, and the crosshairs settled on its shoulder, and he gently squeezed the trigger.

The coyote swapped ends in mid-air, landed, thrashed once and died.

"I've been using a turkey call for many years," he said. "I have a Stewart electronic caller, and other commercially made hard plastic predator calls, and they work fine. Some days I used the electronic unit if I don't have to carry it far. If I have a long haul over rough terrain, I just carry my turkey diaphragm and my rifle."

A soft huff of air will produce a cluck or yelp like it is supposed to do but that doesn't work for him. It's when he leans heavily on the call, and forces the air hard over the reed that the grating noise comes out.

"Once I shoot," he said, "I keep calling because often other coyotes are around. I've shot three coyotes while hunting from one spot.

"Experience has taught me that too many hunters call a few times, get up and move to another area. Often an unseen coyote is coming, and is then spooked by the moving hunter. Give each spot a little bit of time, and then give it a few more minutes. Some coyotes come running on the first call, some move on the last call, and some coyotes never come.”

Keep moving and trying other locations.

They moved on to another spot where Kerby had killed a coyote the previous week, and tried it. It didn't produce, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work the next time.

"Some coyotes show an unusual amount of caution, and the next one comes running in like it hasn't eaten in a week," he said. "Each coyote acts differently, and the trick is to be positioned so you can see a coyote coming before he picks up your scent."

Coyote hunting is a passion for Roger Kerby. He spent years guiding deer and turkey hunters, but when snow covers the ground, he gathers up his rifle and diaphragm or electronic call, and heads for the woods and open fields.

The screeching that comes from his diaphragm call will give you the heebie jeebies, but it sounds like the dinner bell ringing to a coyote. He admits that learning how to put the screech into the call and the other little nuances he uses when calling can only be learned by trial and error.

"I don't even remember why I first tried the diaphragm call, but it works just fine," he said. "Whenever I can call a coyote into rifle range, it is a good day. They are one of the most exciting animals there is to hunt on winter snow, and their caution level is always on red alert."

That caution has to be respected by the hunter, and they must make every attempt to avoid being winded. Kerby takes about 10-12 coyotes every year, and considers them one of the most difficult animals to hunt. That's why he likes to call these predators. in as close as possible.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors