Tactics differ greatly among expert coyote hunters. Some prefer to crank up their electric boxes (where legal) and let pre-recorded cassette tapes do the work for them, broadcasting the sounds of everything from howling or dueling coyotes to bleating fawns to rabbits screeching in distress. Most coyote hunters do things the old-fashioned way, blowing mouth calls that imitate many of those same sounds.

If you've got such an electronic caller and it's legal to use, the only other limitation is the weight of the equipment. Some come with battery packs so that you can carry them to a calling location. Others are so big that they're best used from a vehicle. These are typically high-tech approaches that cost lots of money.

Mouth-blown calls, from howlers to animal distress signals, are relatively inexpensive, and hunters can easily carry a variety of them on a single hunt. Calls can be such personal items that it would be presumptuous of me to suggest specific brands or models. The best way to find the right calls for you is to hang around with other coyote hunters and see what they use and how they use them. You'll quickly figure out what you're comfortable with, and ordering online is easy. (Do a Google search for the type of call you're looking for.)

A good howler is used much like a locator turkey call. A "greet" howl -- two or three short barks followed by a howl up to three seconds in duration -- tells coyotes in the area where you are and invites them to come check you out. Once a coyote responds, I like to sit still for a few minutes, and then start hitting some type of distress call or challenge howling.

The challenge howl has a lot more growling than yips mixed in with aggressive howling. The downside to this type of calling is that it may intimidate young coyotes, which will then shut up and shy away. Get your challenge to sound like a young male, and you're likely to attract the interest of a mature male dog. Give the impression that they'll be competing for a small animal in distress, and you could call in two, three, or even four coyotes at once!

The distress call is just that: an imitation of an injured small animal. This should be your bread-and-butter call; how it sounds to an approaching coyote makes all the difference in your success.

A rabbit caught in a fence or wounded from the talons of a hawk makes lots of high-pitched and ear-piercing noise. But the important thing to remember is, your lungs are much larger than a rabbit's. It doesn't make sense to give long, wailing appeals. More realistic are loud, short blasts. Instead of making a noise like "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," try making it sound more like this: "Waaaaaaa, waaaaaaaa, waaaaaaa."

And, finally, I like to employ what I affectionately call the kiss of death. Put your lips together and make a prolonged kissing sound. Congratula-tions! You've just imitated the sound of a startled or distressed field mouse. It's killer when you're well concealed and can see a coyote working his way in that last 100 yards to your shooting position.

DOG VS. DOG
One of the most recent trends in coyote hunting is using domestic dogs to hunt wild dogs. Ranchers have learned that their ranch dogs develop a knack for attracting coyotes and getting the wild dogs to follow them back to a hunter.

It's true! There's even a set of videos offered by ELK Inc., a Gardiner, Mont., company. Featuring Merv Griswold and Murphy Love, the first of that line is called "Dogging Coyotes." Order one online for $19.95 at www.elkinc.com/VIDEOS_vdc.aspx, or by calling toll-free 800-272-4355.

Love gets the best results by using two dogs simultaneously, since they seem to complement one another when working a coyote. The dogs are especially useful when a coyote comes only so close with traditional calling, then turns to leave the area without committing. Love turns his dogs loose, and in just a few minutes, they've grabbed the coyote's attention and it's chasing them. The dogs then turn back toward the hunter.