I am a beginner, have done deer, squirrel, and trout. A friend asked me to do his coyote... for a decoy and didn't want to spend much $. Any suggestions without buying a form? Carve the head? Wood wool for the body? What about legs? Or am I crazy for trying? Any suggestions would help.
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would make a better decoy. It makes the coyote focus on the decoy and not on the electronic or human caller.
IN MY AREA WE MAINLEY FOCUS ON THIER PREDATORY INSTINCT.(MN) THE MAIN USE OF A DECOY IN PREDATOR HUNTING IS EXACTLY WHAT SCOTT SAID TO DRAW THE DOGS ATTENTION AWAY FROM YOU. IT WILL ALSO BE MUCH MORE COST EFFECTIVE,EASEIR TO TRANSPORT AND MORE LIFELIKE THAN A HAND WRAPPED BODY UNDER A COYOTE SKIN.
HOPE THIS HELPS,BULL MOOSE
les,
The use of an actual coyote deek can be beneficial, but only under limited circumstances and at specific times of the year. Currently, with coyotes denning and whelping, a coyote decoy used in conjunction with howling and other coyote vocalizations can be very effective. But, and this is a big BUT, you must have a fairly comprehensive understanding of coyote vocabulary and social structure for it to be consistently effective. On the flip side, a realistic looking coyote decoy should only be used in such a place where you can be assured that the decoy will not become the target of road hunters, etc.. Just a couple weeks ago, I was on a depredation complaint, calling while overlooking a denning area well back in the river bends and away from any roads. Out of no where, a truck came charging across the open field right at my deek. "Leroy" did just as I trained him to do and never so much as flinched.
At most other times of the year, with coyotes being essentially non-confrontational in nature, the presence of a strange "coyote" will often only cause approaching coyotes to make their approach in thick cover where they'll often remain unseen, and it'll cause bobcats to skidaddle as well. Not much money in calling critters you never see.
Tell your buddy one way that is much cheaper than a full lifesize mount is to assemble a frame tripod from 1/2-inch aluminum tubing and drape a tanned coyote hide over it to resemble a sitting coyote. Coyotes aren't bright enough to distinguish the difference and this set up work quite well.
Another even better decoy is Fox Pro's new Jack-In-the-Box animatronic unit. I've got one and it's the best decoy out there. On top of that, they're getting ready to make a turkey decoy to go on it that is second to none. All for a hundred bucks. You can't buy the supplies for a good coyote fullsize for that kinda money, let alone adding a fee for labor.
thanks for all the advice. I like the frame tripod idea a lot. Hopefully I can convince him this will be just as effective and much easier to transport.
that Trapper & Predator Caller magazine is prepping their next Predator Hunting Special Edition for this upcoming Fall. If he's a subscriber, there will be lotsa info in T&PC about its release. If not, I'll be plugging it at Predator Masters online. I've got a piece in that issue about decoys. What a coincidence!