motivation

[vayotehowler]

I dont have any.  Any ideas??? I own 47 acres of my own and have seen two yotes there, I can hunt 300 acres in another co but feels so far away. My wife tells me to go all the time but just feel bad going, partly because i have been so many times and never kill anything. I went to the 300 ACRES IN THE SNOW AND SAW PLENTY OF TRACKS. I know what areas look good and where the signs are, just cant convert . I am sure once i get one it  will be diff , HEEEEELP

[JohnP]

The greatest skill a coyote hunter needs is --- patience.  It may take a while to call in your first but you will if you have patience.  There sure is nothing bad about sittting out in the woods enjoying whatever is out there and is sure as hell beats laying on the couch. 

[HaMeR]

The greatest skill a coyote hunter needs is --- patience.  It may take a while to call in your first but you will if you have patience.  There sure is nothing bad about sittting out in the woods enjoying whatever is out there and is sure as hell beats laying on the couch. 

Yep!! I bet this about ends this thread. Well put Mr John. 

I know if I would gave up I wouldn't have shot any. It took 5 years of having them come to the call & not being able to get the shot here in the East before I got it done.

[Okanagan]

I dont have any.  Any ideas??? I own 47 acres of my own and have seen two yotes there, I can hunt 300 acres in another co but feels so far away. My wife tells me to go all the time but just feel bad going, partly because i have been so many times and never kill anything. I went to the 300 ACRES IN THE SNOW AND SAW PLENTY OF TRACKS. I know what areas look good and where the signs are, just cant convert . I am sure once i get one it  will be diff , HEEEEELP

You sound more discouraged than lacking motivation.  If that's the case, then success will pick up the motivation.     I wish I could go out with you a time or two,  just to encourage you and maybe pick up an idea or two from each other on how we go about it. 

On the other hand, if you really don't enjoy calling predators, try golf or fishing.  Seriously.  If it gets to the place where you know you don't enjoy it, then start doing something you do enjoy.  That is wisdom, not failure.  Motivation is the why you hunt, not the how, though motivation fuels how hard we try.   Why are you hunting predators?

Some people hunt because they enjoy it, some few hunt to kill as many critters as they can, some do it to impress others (or validate themselves), some to brag on the internet, some make it into a business.  For me, hunting predators is a personal pleasure, one of the few enjoyments I've stuck with my whole life.

All the best to you in working through this.

[vayotehowler]

My coyote hunting started by mistake.Okanagan u bring some good points to the table. I have been hunting since thirteen. Shot a rabbit with a bb gun and cried( no comments here). One of my 1st memories as a child was walking into my grannies house and her fixing a bolgna sand. I asked where PaPa was and she said cleaning a deer out back. Bologna sand in  :sleep:hand I went out back jsut intime to see him stab the heart of the deer with the blood pouring out the nose. He finished , was hooked on hunting. Use to hunt as a teenager and some of the best times with my grandpa were coon hunting with his elkhound pitbull mix(Peanut). turn her loose and lay in the field and talk and look at the stars(he was a minister and travled some on missions). Hunting is in my blood and hopefully my children Hunter and Tanner(no Joke). I am the only one of the grandkids of four that hunts.
I started with coyotes by accident, I had a trail cam pic that I thought looked liek a yote(wasnt real clear). The next deer season 1st light I had a small deer hot foot past me and reached for my bow. she ran past, sat back down, then two yotes trotted in from 80 or so yds( hunt with bow  from the ground, quite well) reached for the bow and the back dog saw the movement and bolted,  lead dog froze and lip sqeaked to thirty and he disappeared . New about where he stopped when barked at him(tryign to get downwind) shot in the general vicinty, and afterburner. More adrenaline than I have had from a deer in a long time.
I think some of the lack is stress I work for a bank that has been in a merger, the two boys , honey do. all adds up. I think I struggle with guilt of leaving my wife with the boys and not showing anything when come home. i am a devoted husband and my wife is my best friend. I am home almost every night with the fam. almost went sat but was recovering from the stomach funk. she says always feels bad when i say i am going and them change my mind.. I have done tons of reaerch and know what to look for and how to do most of what have read here

[Okanagan]

I think some of the lack is stress I work for a bank that has been in a merger, the two boys , honey do. all adds up. I think I struggle with guilt of leaving my wife with the boys and not showing anything when come home. i am a devoted husband and my wife is my best friend. I am home almost every night with the fam. almost went sat but was recovering from the stomach funk. she says always feels bad when i say i am going and them change my mind.. I have done tons of reaerch and know what to look for and how to do most of what have read here

Your relaxing time has turned into another stress builder.  Been there.  You are right that something deeper is cooking in your life.

Since it is April almost, I think I'd bag it for this season on coyotes.  Stop on your terms.  Instead of hunting coyotes, take a walk in the woods, maybe take the wife or boys along.  You can note sign, nuances of terrain and cover, think about places for future good stands in different wind and light conditions, etc.

Regarding technique, there is a LOT of misinformation and baloney on the web as to how to hunt anything, especially coyotes.  It is hard to sift good from bad till you know enough not to need most of it.  Hunting with a friend, even if he is not an expert, would help the enjoyment/motivation.  Finding someone who successfully calls coyotes in your part of the world would be too much to hope for I suppose.  Wishing the best for you, more in your life and family than for calling coyotes.

How old are your boys?  Any chance that you could "teach' the older how to call coyotes, and learn it together?

[Okanagan]

I think I struggle with guilt of leaving my wife with the boys and not showing anything when come home.

Here's some more Dear Abby kind of reply:   Change your goals when you go out.  I.e. if bringing home a called coyote is the only acceptable goal each time you go out, in your part of the world you will not fulfill that goal often enough to keep from being discouraged.  Bring home other things, from stories of what a bird did to a flower for your wife.

I live what I am preaching.  I rarely shoot predators and would get discouraged and embarrassed by lack of numbers if killing a cougar each stand was my only goal that would keep me encouraged.  Tagging a lion is my bonus overarching goal, but learning something each time out is more doable, as is simply enjoying whatever critters and tracks and flowers I run across.  It is enjoyable to learn the lay of the land, learn animal behavior, see something interesting.  I photograph things that interest me and inflict those on folks here as part of my enjoyment.    

As a sample, on Sat. a cougar came within 100 yards and called to me with a sound I've never heard before.  I can be discouraged that I failed to seal the deal and let that make me not want to go out again.  Or I can be encouraged to have played hide and seek up close with a cougar and learned some new sounds.  My mind is still enjoying replays and analyzing what that cat taught me about how to set up a better ambush.

As you know from your posts, your mind and attitude is what makes it enjoyable and something you want to do.

[Jimmie in Ky]

Many of us can understand where your coming from. The uncertanty of the world we live in today has us all on edge.And fear of failure is more of a reality than ever before. You feel as though you are risking family safetey and finances for every trip out there.

Here is some therapy for you. Use what ground you have for a class room. Set some areas up that will be in line for animal travel to hold a few tracks for you. Learn to age thoise tracks by daily walks. No pressure just enjoy that little piece of ground that is yours. Take the boys along as well. Good for all of you to learn what is out there on your place. The only thing stopping me from doing this is an all day rain or illness. I do this each day with my dogs. I walk a diferent trail each day and check things over. Day before yesterday I discovered a new inhabitant, A two year old gobbler and he has spent more than just a few days here from sign. He might even be here for turkey season. If he has a hen or two I have the beginings of what I have been working toward for a long time, a diversity of habitat for all animals here on my own place.

This has several benefits besides keeping my skills sharp. Excercise and fresh air are part off it. I can forget about cutting more lumber and fence post for a while. Jimmie

[vvarmitr]

You are far from alone in this. 
There are several of us here who know your pain. 
It took 10yrs before I got my first coyote.    Pathetic huh.
And the way I'm going at it, it might be 10yrs before I get another.  

On the other hand, if you only have the two places to hunt it's a good thing you don't go out much.  They get call wise real quick.

One thing I tell myself is I can't get 'em unless I'm out there!

[pitw]

The advice on this thread is outstanding  .  Having more than our fair share of coyotes up here can make us look like we know what we are doing but failure to connect is still disappointing, but like the others have said, just the being out and enjoying is our first goal.  Yesterday Bob and his friend Lance saw an elk bull with only one antler on our new land so rest assured we will be enjoying a hundred mile hike looking for the one that fell off and while doing that we all learn just a little more about the lay of the land.  Knowing escape routes, gathering points and travel paths is just as much fun to me as shooting something.

[vayotehowler]

The advice here is outstanding . I appreciate it all. Hunter is 4 and Tanner is two. hunter can do animal sounds since 18 months. knew buck and doe diff, turkey:gobblr gobble, Tanner now does a deer snort everywhere we go. taught him friday. I live about 45 min from my property, and the 300 acres is about an hour and fifteen minutes away, I drive alot of places traveling with the familyand look and think about field edges and runs and all  and constantly thinking of places for yotes.    I tok Hunter on his 1st squirrel hunt this fall and we saw some , but no kill, we brought home a rock some turkey feathers and a spent 22 shell as souveniers, half way home he says, I guess our supper got away(from LITTLE BEAR BOOK HE's 3) I laughed all the way home and have the memories. I am not about the kill always. a couple of years ago got a late start on a deer hunt, day light getting in and I heard a sound in briar patch tangle, and a red fox busted into the fieldand planted front feet like good morning world here I am. stood like five seconds. I lip squeaked to 15 yds , lowered the bow and free pass. I told someone on another chat, "sometimes having the authority to kill is about letting something go "  For me right now the 1st yote is a goal i would like to achieve not my life blood, that is my family.  I appreciate every body encouragement and ideas. I will end with I can track well. I can find the one piece of deer poop on 50 acres. I see sign most people miss. Just have to get more persistent. And I guess , to an extent I can blame myself for not spending enuff time scouting, the world of instant gratification. but hey shared knowledge is sometime uncommon knowledge, Apreciate all ya

[COYOTE INC]

Getting out into the woods for me is where I can clear my head and be out in Nature.  I love all of the wildlife that Maine provides me.  Every time I go in the woods something different happens and the more you learn your land the more you feel a part of it.  Calling Coyotes is my favorite thing to do, and when it all comes together you are in for one of the best feelings in the World!  Can't describe how great it feels when you call in a coyote and beat all of their keen senses and harvest them......Unbelievable!  Even if you don't get a Coyote at least you had a great time on your land!
Tyson