Last fall I took a week long coyote hunting trip to Nevada with the intention of calling and killing a lot of coyotes. I went with my long time hunting partner. We also had another hunter join us on the second day. We setup a wall tent as a base camp and started calling in areas we had never previously been before. It was early October and our hopes were high to call in multiple coyotes. For whatever reason, calling was slow and we weren’t having the luck that we would have liked. After four days of calling we had called in 12 coyotes and of those 12 I had only called in three.
What Was I Doing Wrong?
My partner and I have been calling coyotes together now for more than 15 years and over the past few years I have noticed a trend that wasn’t setting very well with me on this trip. What was it? It was the lack of coyotes responding when I call versus my partner! We take turns by alternating between calling and being the shooter. What was different, why were they responding better to his call than mine? What was I doing wrong? It couldn’t just be the fact the coyotes were in the area every time it was his turn to call.
Asking For Advice
I asked the other hunter that had joined us on this trip what was different between my calling and my partners calling. I figured he could be of great help since he could sit and listen do both of our calling styles. He said, “You are not as loud and your pitch is deeper.” He also made a comment saying, “Your screams seem to run together more without much of a break.”
How Loud Should I Call?
Over the last two days of the hunt I put the advice to the test. I increased the volume of my calls and slid my mouth out further on the reed to give it a higher pitch. I also slowed down and was more deliberate with my screams. The adjustment worked and the last two days were much better. I called in six coyotes in the last two days after only calling in three coyotes in the first four days. So how loud should you call? Dr. Ed Sceery of Sceery Game Calls recorded the screams of live rabbits to be 115 decibels. Just how loud is 115 decibels? Here is a list of other sounds in that range:
107 dB – Lawn Mower at 3′
110 dB – Power Saw at 3′
115 dB – Sandblasting
115 dB – Loud Rock Concert
125 dB – Pain begins in human ears
140 dB – Jet Engine at 100′
165 dB – Shotgun Blast
As you can see a rabbit screams very LOUD. It is like having a rock concert in the brush. I learned a valuable lesson on this hunt and that is to increase my volume for more success. What more fun could a guy have than jamming out to his favorite coyote call and killing dogs?
