Tracks???

[Frogman]

Hey guys I got out again last week on my hunting lease.  This area is so grown up that about the only place you could get a shot at a coyote is if you could get one to come out onto a road.  Here is where I set up . . . .



I drove down the main road you see here and parked about 200 yards behind this photo.  Do any of you guys have a feeling for what effect the sounds of the vehicle driving out the road would have on the coyotes?  I was very quiet closing doors.  I waited about 15 minutes before calling.   In the photo there is a side road coming in from the right.  I set up the Quiver Critter and the Scorpion in the open space to the left of the road here . . . .



This photo is from the decoy looking back at where I was set up . . . .



I was on a little knoll in the clear area between the trees just over the decoy's head.  I played distress sounds on the Scorpion starting out quiet then increasing the sound.  After about 20 minutes I started doing some lone howls.  I had no success.  After the stand I found these tracks in the wet places in the road . . . .







I'm still trying to learn how to distinguish coyote tracks from dog tracks as per my previous post.  Are these coyotes tracks or dog tracks???  I would also appreciate your input on the effects of vehicle sounds on the coyotes???  Thanks in advance for your help!!

Jim

[Rich]

Jim,

The fairly fresh tracks in the mud (photo  just below your decoy) are coyote alright.  Your choice of setup looks good if the wind was blowing from my right or left as I sit here looking at the decoy. If the wind was blowing in your face as you looked at the decoy, a coyote could come in from behind you and you are busted.  Beautiful country you are hunting.

[pitw]

I'd say coyote tracks as well.  I never worry about vehicle noise as most coyotes are more used to vehicles than people on foot.  I have called many coyotes right out of the truck.

[possumal]

I'd say definitely coyote tracks. Were you able to see the area where the coyote left the tracks from your perch? I always try to make them pay for the privilege of seeing where the sound is coming from. Try to set up where you are likely to see his approach to his "Look see" spot.

[Frogman]

possumal,
     Sorry, my post was not clear about the tracks.  Since I drove over the area where they were I did not see them til after the stand.  They could have been there for quite awhile.  They were in the main road you can see in the first photo.  I drove in on that road from the far distance in the photo then on past where I set up.  I did not want to leave any more of my scent in the road than was necessary to set up the Scorpion and the decoy.  So I did not check for tracks til after I had given up on the stand. 
By the way the wind was very slight and was from R to L in the first photo.  There is a holler to the R below the road that comes in from the R.  This whole area was cut over a few years ago and is now just a thicket with new growth pines about ten feet tall.  We have heard coyotes in the holler on the L and on out the road to the L. 
Thanks for all your comments.  I'm still learning and need all the help I can get!  Please keep them coming about the tracks and the vehicle sounds.

Jim

[Jeb]

Frog thats the same kind of terrain I have to hunt in , atleast 80% of it is. They can get with 15 yards of you and not see them here.
                      Jeb

[possumal]

Frogman:  I kind of thought that was the situation on when you discovered the tracks. As for the vehicle sounds, there is a lot of disagreement on that, but I prefer to slip in on foot for several reasons. I think I can be a lot more selective on my sneak in route, and I don't like the gasoline exhaust smells and all that goes with driving in too close. I don't even like to park an ATV right where my stand is going to be. Just my take, not written in stone. Any coyote can hear a vehicle approaching if he has normal hearing, and he can sure pick up on all those foreign odors.

[CCP]

I have to agree with possumal on this one.

Also its not the vehicles going through the area its when they hear it stop.