Well one of my dad's buddies loaned us an electric varmint call, so we decided to take a crack at it over the weekend. We went out and set up against some trees overlooking a good sized field. We were both camo'd up pretty good, even laid some camo netting out to make sure we were well concealed.

We let the call blast for a while with the jackrabbit in distress since we have seen so many jack's on the 650 acre ranch we are on. Nothing.

Changed over to the cottontail in distress since we have a bunch of those too. Nothing.

After about 30 minutes we switched to a different part of the ranch and had the same results.

Now I have never seen any yotes around here (Burnet County), but I have seen alot of foxes and a few bobcats over the years. I figured for sure we would atleast get a couple foxes coming in to check it out, but nothing.

Any ideas? Is this a normal thing to get completely skunked when trying to call in varmints?

try sitting in the middle of the field and calling to the tree lines for one.... second, it's pretty early in the year to call in varmints. i've had much better luck when it's cold outside.

What time during the day are you calling? We usually only call in the mornings and evenings... however, my dad has shot 4-5 this yr between noon and 3pm... It's hit or miss, i would sit at each stand for 35-45 minutes... Keep movement to a bare minimum. As for foxes, nothing better than going at night with red headlights and a shotgun with turkey load. NOW that is fun!!

Ok we just figured it would be better to use the treeline for concealment and use the field to draw them out in the open.


It was in the evening, from about 5:30 to pretty much dark. We kept movement to a bare minimum, but just nothing poked it's head out for a peek. As far as guns we had a .22 mag and a .243, I would like to use the shotgun method but I figure we gotta get them coming out first.

You win some you lose some. Did you have the call on full blast? Was the wind blowing into your face? Did you try any bird noises like maybe a woodpecker? Send me a pm if you want and I can give you some tips on how we do it. We have pretty good success, not professional by any means but we have hunted varmints many many times.

Some times it's good, other times it's not. Like ffread said, you didn't mention which way the wind was blowing. That makes a BIG difference. They could have smelled you coming in. You'll get better the more times you go, cause you learn something each time you go out.

like above middle of the field, watch the wind. i try to hunt at night i kill way more fox at night. use a fresh dead skunk as a cover scent.keep your call volume on the mid to low range not full blst. dont cll in one spot too long.move 1/8 of a mile between stands

pm to ffread

you have to play the wind everytime. You might fool a yotes eyes but never his nose. They just about go downwind everytime. Best thing you can have is patience.

some days (depending on the moon) I call just as many in during the day as moring or evening, don't give up, as the other post said, wind is a big factor, slamming a car doors ect.

Looking back on my FEW succesful hunts, I have noticed it all depends on the little things.
Make sure you know predators are there.
Take the time to set up properly(wind,sun,etc.)
Park several hundred yards away and walk to your setup.
Expect the unexpected.
Dont expect to call in something every stand.
If you still dont have any luck, turn on the raccoon sounds and get ready!

dk5265 is right. Little things go a long way. Parking far away and being quite is key. Keep your head on a swivel but keep in mind you need to stay very still. Slow movements. Often times, coyotes will come to the treeline and stop. You have to be able to spot them before they spot you. This is esp. true for bobcats, where they rarely come running full steam. Be patient and do not get discouraged. Good luck.

Thanks for all the good advice guys, I have already learned a few things in this thread already. (Parking further away, getting in the middle of the field, not blasting the volume on the call)

one more thing you gotta try and picture where the they will come from and setup accordingly. then try to call them out of there. with cats it will be hard to get them to come out in the open field so keep a good watch on the edge of the wooods as they can be sitting there looking and they can be hard to spot in the edge of the woods.

I may have missed it, but what e-caller were you using?

Also, a decoy can help alot during the day. Play the wind.

It is fun calling them in during the day, but to be honest with you, i have killed alot more critters at night under a spotlight,

I have found my success rate goes up a lot when I use some sort of decoy for them to associate the sound with. Doesn't have to be a fancy decoy - I've had great success w/ a rag tied to a sharp wooden dowel (3/8", about 2' long) stuck in the ground.

As others have said, the wind is everything! Early on I got busted a lot because I kept trying to set-up about 40 yards from the caller. Often you wouldn't see the coyote till he walked within 10' of you! Exciting for sure, but not real productive.

Find an area that's open enough to have the wind in your face and the caller at least 80-100 yards away. Typically, the coyotes will come circling in about 40-60 yards downwind from the call with all of their attention focused on the rag on the stick (away from you). Have rifles scopes set to the lowest magnification, most shots will be close and you will need to find the target quickly, farther shots will usually give you enough time to turn the magnification up if needed.

Woodpecker in distress has always been more productive for me than any of the rabbit in distress calls - probably just my area, but worth a try in yours. Varmint Al has some cool calls to download on his site - the 16 minute call and the red fox woodpecker in distress calls have been productive for me. I have noticed that I often get interest from the mexican eagles in the area for calls that seem productive w/ other predators.

If a coyote comes in to your call running give him a second - they will usually check up. If they don't, don't whistle to stop him (like is often effective for deer) - this will just make them hit the afterburner and disappear! A mouth squeak is what you need in this situation - purse your lips like your kissing and suck - it's the same sound that lots of people make to get their dog to come.

Call for 30 minutes or so and walk about 4-600 yards and set-up in another spot. If a coyote (or whatever) comes to the call and you shoot it, don't move. Give yourself another 10 minutes at this spot - have picked up several stragglers like this! Keep trying! Just like any other kind of hunting, you will spend many days in the field w/ no success, particularly when you are inexperienced. I still get skunked regularly, then next time you go you might shoot 3 or 4 - never can tell...

David