Coyotehunter.net

With tournament season just around the corner i thought this might be a good topic.

What is the difference in the way you hunt for a tournament vs just out calling for the day for fun or fur? Time on stand, howling no howling, shooting techiques, handling multiples different, taking longer shots or not taking longer shots, stands in a day, space between stands, dealing with other callers in the area ect ect.

pretty much hunt the same, tournaments you really dont get to pick the ideal weather vs hunting for fun. Tournaments its not as funny if you miss, as it might be just hunting for fun. The calls I use are the same just depends on the year.

Everything is the same for me.

i think for me is the only difference is since i started hunting this spring, i ended up working coyotes closer to me just to see diffent reactions. i won't do that in a tourney. if its 200 yards and stopped, i'm shooting i should add that i had LOTS of coyotes to work with this spring/summer so i did'nt mind so much if i screwed up. i do feel though like i gained a lot of different veiws of how to do things better from know on. and i know i got lots to learn yet

Well If I miss a coyote out calling for fun, Its hard for me to express how angry I get... If I miss a coyote in a tournament, Well the stare I get from Marty Is unbearable... My lesson learned... Dont miss.. I HATE missing a coyote under 350 yards.. I get sick to my stomach.

As far as calling differently?.. I would say We just move much faster and talk alot less then if we were out for fur.. Also Get more stand in I think.

When i was still hunting tournaments i did a few things different but time of year of the tournament did dictate some things.

Time on Stand: If the weather was good i cut my stands down to 20 minutes. I was looking for the Cream off of the top and didn't care about getting the long in the tooth veteran i wanted to shoot the easy pups and move on. If the weather was bad i did fairly well hanging in there 25-30 minutes and shooting 3 or 4 coyotes in a day when that was as good as the other teams could match (nice weather a lot of the times it took 5-8 to be in the money)

Howling or No howling: Again good weather i simply stuck to distress sounds for the most part and shot the ones that came running in. I didn't want them coming in slow or cautious i wanted them there quick and move on. Bad weather i would throw everything at them knowing that i had to kill the coyotes that i was on due to the weather and availability of stands with the wind and weather.

Shooting Techniques, Handling Multiples: In tournaments i would let them get right on top of me and try to shotgun them keeping the noise level down for other coyotes still coming and the importance of mulitple kills. Not that i didn't want multiple kills when hunting for fun or fur but it was more important in a tournament. The risk of them spooking was worth the chance at mulitples

Taking Longer Shots: In some of my fur areas that i "farmed" knowing i would be back to the same area to call later i wouldn't take that long shot at a hung up one thinking of the education factor and coming back and killing him later. In tournaments i took the long shot on the thought process of "what if" every coyote counts and if there's lead in the air there's danger.

Stands in a day: I pushed myself harder getting as many stands as possible if the weather was good. No stop for lunch no BSing just get out there and blow on the call and get back to the pick up spot to get to the next stand. Bad weather I would be picky about stands and make sure everyone had the highest percentage of holding a coyote. Five good long stands in bad weather is better than 15 mediocore ones.

Other Callers: In tournaments if i was seeing other teams i just tried to beat them to the best spots and worked around it. While calling for fun if i seen other people out calling in the area i would move on to another spot having the luxury of time. Not knowing where they had been that morning it was just easier to move on.

Space between stands: In a tournament to maximise stands i would call closer covering the ground very well. While out for fun and fur i would bounce around more just hitting the best spots most of the time it was stands i had been calling for years and I knew right where i was going for the next stand.

Locating: I was always trying to do more locating during tournaments as to up the odds knowing that there was coyotes that could hear me on every stand.

A lot of the things that dictated how I hunted for tournaments vs fun is because they were new areas that i hadn't hunted before vs the stuff i hunted year after year. This is just food for thought and the way that I hunted the tournaments. I didn't do near as well as say Les Johnson or the Heid Bros but i was able to take home some money and trophies from time to time

Like Mitch said, moving faster and not on stands as long, or if a coyote is spotted while in a tourny I'll work it or go after it, for fun I'll save it for another day, very rarely howl...either time, IF a shot presents its self I shoot..tournaments are just more pressure on yourself, and somtimes the speed limit is broken If other callers are in an area, I just make them duck (jaybic) and /or get to the sweet spots 1st But I do save some spots just for tourny's

Pretty much exactly the same thing Levi said in his post is what I do.
And I guess we dont take our time walking back to the pickup on tournament hunts.

I meant the "pickup spot" ( the place where it was prearranged for my partner to pick me up) Just to claify

Good thread.

I pretty much hunt the same way in a tournament vs. fun/fur. The big difference is in a tournament I would plan ahead more for my route to minimize "in vehicle" time and be more leisurely on a regular hunt. Also if I was far from home hunting a tournament and I had a really good spot that I know I wouldn't hit again I would hunt that even if the wind direction/condition was wrong. You never know if the coyote will make a mistake or come from another area. If it is one of my fur hunting spots I would save it for another day later in the season, when the conditions are better or more favorable.

I've only done a few contests but I go after them the same as if I was after fur.. If I have coyotes out there I will keep after them till I get one or more and if it takes longer than 15 min.'s so be it. Piont is I would rather try for whats there than go on and hope the next couple of stands produce... Sometimes it also takes the coyotes a little longer to come in but when they do there are a few extras running along...

Prairie Ghost wrote:
Taking Longer Shots: In some of my fur areas that i "farmed" knowing i would be back to the same area to call later i wouldn't take that long shot at a hung up one thinking of the education factor and coming back and killing him later. In tournaments i took the long shot on the thought process of "what if" every coyote counts and if there's lead in the air there's danger.

+1

Im not one for those "educating hail mary" type shooters. But in a tournament, that pooch stalled at 450 with the 25 mph wind gusts might be the difference between money or none. Gotta throw one (or four) at him.

If its a tournament not in one of my "regular" areas, I spend less time moving in. When im calling for fun in a new area, im usually easing in to the stand looking for better approach routes to a stand, or better stand sites for future reference. In a tournament, especially if I have no plans to hunt the area much in the future, im usually at a double quick to get in, get it done, and get on to the next spot.

Oh yeah, and when im in a tournament, I ALWAYS make sure to have extra gas for the snowmobiles and ultralight!