![]() Barnard says they just won’t come across wide-open areas in the daytime. Both he and Barnard avoid calling areas in the middle of the day where predators have to cross open fields or walk on ridges or exposed hillsides in order to approach their positions. It’s made a huge difference in his mid-day hunting success. He’ll even make the extra effort by walking a long way to get on the opposite side of a bedded predator, anything it takes to put that dog at ease. Now Higgins does everything he can to call as far away from roads and other areas that might put a coyote on alert in the middle of the day. He didn’t bother to stay and give it a try. The spot appealed not only to him, but also to other hunters. Higgins recalls numerous occasions where he found the perfect vantage point for a calling session only to find several empty shell casings from a. ![]() In other words, nothing signals trouble to a coyote more than roads, buildings and specific places that are popular with varmint hunters. “It’s amazing how much more that matters in the daytime than it does early and late in the day, especially in areas where they’ve been hunted or shot at by ranchers,” says Higgins. What matters most, they agree, is making predators feel safe and comfortable about approaching your position. With that in mind, Higgins and Barnard pay careful attention to where they set up when they prepare to call. However, in places with lots of predator or deer hunters, coyotes seem to vanish, burrowing down into thick cover until a blanket of darkness allows them the freedom to move without fear. The snow cover is softer, and catching mice under that snow is much easier. John Shivac, research biologist with USDA’s Wildlife Research Center in Logan, Utah, says coyotes in harsh winter environments prefer to hunt in the daytime. In areas with little or no hunting pressure – whether direct pressure by predator hunters or indirect pressure from bird or deer hunters – coyotes are just as likely to be up and around at noon as they are at midnight. Higgins, who has on occasion worked closely with biologists, says daytime activity by coyotes has more to do with human activity than anything else. In some situations, however, they’ll gladly cruise open pastures and other sparse cover in search of mice, rabbits and other meals in the middle of the day. Understanding Coyote BehaviorĬoyotes, like most predators, are nocturnal, preferring to hunt under the cover of darkness. Coyotes are a little tougher to bring into gun range when the sun is high, admit both hunters, but with a few adjustments, midday hunting can be just as effective as an early morning hunt. More often than not, they eat on the run, never wasting a valuable minute, even if it falls in the middle of the day. They hunt hard, often calling from first light to the very last minutes of the day. Higgins and South Dakota hunter Matt Barnard spend countless days on the road in pursuit of predators. That was the last time Higgins and his son made that mistake, but close and sudden encounters are part of the action when you hunt coyotes in the middle of the day. Instead, four hunters were left scratching their heads and wondering where they went wrong as two predators vanished over a hill in a cloud of dust. In a matter of seconds, two coyotes raced in so fast, no one was prepared for what could have been a sure double. ![]() ![]() “We didn’t think anything of it because he just made one quick, quiet note on each call.” “We sat down and my son started softly blowing on his different calls to find the right one,” recalls Higgins, a dedicated varmint hunter from Phoenix. Everything was just right, so Higgins’ son got ready to call. With that many hunters, it’s tough to get into position without blowing every coyote out of the country, but they eased into their stand with the wind in their face, settled in without so much as a whisper, and pulled camouflage down over their heads and hands. Rich Higgins and his three partners did everything right.
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