How to Take Coyotes and Other Predators
Mix Sounds for More Coyotes with Gerald Stewart
 Editor’s
Note: Gerald Stewart of Waco, Texas, doesn’t remember
a time when he hasn’t called, hunted and taken
predators. Predator hunting has been his life’s
work for most of his life, and each year, he tries to
learn more effective ways to find, call and take predators.
Question: Gerald, what’s your opinion of the
new remote-control version of the Hunter’s Specialties’
Preymaster?
Stewart: The new remote Preymaster holds three different
sound cards instead of just one like the old Preymaster
did. It also has a range of 100 to 150 yards.
Question: With more hunters moving toward using the
remote-control callers, what do you feel is the real
advantage to using these callers?
Stewart: Some people want remote-control callers that
allow the hunter to get further away from the caller.
Question: What’s your opinion of the remote callers?
Stewart: The biggest advantage to the remote caller
is when the animal comes in, its attent ion
is focused on the caller and not on the hunter. Therefore,
the hunter has a better chance of spotting the animal
before the animal sees the hunter and taking the animal
without the animal seeing him. If you’re trying
to get your gun into position to take a shot or your
camera in position to take a picture, many times the
animal will see you before you can get off the shot.
However, having a remote caller that you can set up
further away from you is not always best. There are
some remote callers on the market that boast having
a much-longer range between the caller and the remote
than I think is absolutely necessary. Why would someone
want to use a caller that had a 1/2- to a 1-mile range
between the hunter and the caller? That type of caller
seems to be self-defeating. The purpose of any caller
is to get the animal within shooting range, not to be
able to call the animal from 1/2- to 1-mile away. If
you have the right wind with the caller set up at 100
yards, and the animal tries to circle downwind of the
caller, the animal is more than likely going to walk
right in front of you while it’s looking at where
the sound is coming from, instead of looking at where
you’re sitting. So, if you’re knowledgeable
about how to use the wind and the terrain, you can get
that animal in close enough to photograph it or shoot
it if you’ll use the remote caller.
Question: What sounds do you feel are most effective
when you’re trying to call in a coyote?
Stewart: I use a combination of different sounds instead
of relying just on one sound. I like to use a coyote
and a gray fox alternately. I also like to use a rabbit
squeal and a coyote howl. I’m trying to create
believable scenarios of a predator’s attacking
its prey in that coyote’s mind. I think when you
use different sounds, you can add an element of believability
to your calling that you don’t get when you just
use one
sound. Another tandem call I like to use is a dying-rabbit
call followed by a crow call. I’ll even put crow
decoys up in a tree. The crow decoys with the dying-rabbit
sound and the crow sound give the predator a visual
clue to what its ears are telling it. Any time you can
touch more than one sense of a predator, you’ll
have a much greater chance of calling it in, especially
when the predator’s eyes confirm what its ears
are telling it. Then the predator has twice as much
reason to come in than if it only hears the sound of
its prey. Many times, if you’ll notice, when you
start calling predators, crows will start coming in
too. So, it’s natural to see and hear crows when
animals are in distress. When a coyote, a fox or a bobcat
sees and hears crows at the same time or in the same
area where it’s heard a rabbit squeal or another
type of animal in distress, the predator has more reason
to believe that when it reaches the spot where it hears
the animal in distress, it will find something to eat.
By using decoys and more than one sound, you can call
in more predators.
Question: What other combinations of sounds are you
using on the new Preymaster?
Stewart: I use raccoon and coyote sounds together and
coyote pup distress with a dominant co yote
sound, especially during the mating season of coyotes.
During the mating season, coyotes seem to be really
susceptible to the sounds of other coyotes moving into
their area. They’ll usually come to investigate
a new coyote in the region and come in very aggressively.
I’ll often use a barking or a howling sound first
and then use a rabbit-in-distress sound. Or, I’ll
start off with the rabbit in distress and then use the
coyote bark after it. The very-aggressive coyotes in
the area will respond best to the sound of a coyote
first and then the sound of the dying rabbit, because
the predator’s hearing another coyote in its area;
then suddenly that intruder coyote has killed and is
eating one of its rabbits. But when you have satellite
coyotes that aren’t very aggressive, they seem
to like the rabbit squeal first, and then either the
coyote bark or the coyote howl. These coyotes are thinking,
“We’ll come in after that coyote kills the
rabbit and eats part of it and see if there are any
morsels left for us.” So, I believe that the new
Preymaster with the three card slots gives you a lot
more sounds to choose from and allows you to mix more
sounds to create more-realistic scenarios.
To learn more, visit www.johnnystewart.com
Tomorrow: What I’ve Learned
Hunting in February with Al Morris
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