Fieldcraft: Three Tips for Predator Hunting

Many of you already know predator hunting is my passion. After 19 years of doing it, I've made a lot of mistakes. I don't claim to be the ultimate expert on predator hunting, but I've had plenty of successes and probably just as many failures. One of the things I enjoy most about hunting is sharing those experiences and passing along knowledge so someone else can enter the same space with a little more success than I had when I started.

Predator hunting has an incredible learning curve. You can do almost everything correctly and still get beat by an animal that knows its environment considerably better than you do. With that in mind, here are the three most important things I would tell someone getting into predator hunting. I'll also throw in a bonus at the end that's become one of my favorite tricks.

1. Wind Is Everything

People say this about almost every type of hunting. They're usually right. Humans have noses on our faces, but we don't rely on them the way animals do. We've evolved into a world of refrigerators, expiration dates, grocery stores, and other creature comforts that let us survive without constantly asking our nose whether something is safe.

Predators don't have that luxury. Their nose is one of their most important tools. It tells them what's around, where food might be, and most importantly, whether an area is safe to enter or whether it's time to leave. That's why one of the simplest predator-hunting rules is sun at your back, wind in your face.

I'll come back to the sun in a minute. The wind portion of that saying is a great baseline, although the reality is slightly more complicated. Wind blowing directly into your face prevents your scent from traveling toward the area you're calling. That's good. But I've actually found that a crosswind can sometimes be even more useful.

Understand What the Coyote Is Trying to Do

A predator is initially coming because of the sound. If you're using an electronic caller with a decoy on top, movement may provide another visual attraction as the animal gets closer. But an experienced coyote doesn't necessarily run straight into the call. He wants more information. Often, he'll begin circling downwind to verify with his nose what his ears and eyes are already telling him.

Young coyotes may come charging straight in. Older, more experienced dogs frequently aren't that cooperative. They circle. Sometimes they circle five yards. Sometimes they circle 200 yards. That's where understanding the wind becomes considerably more important than simply knowing which direction it's blowing.

I want my call positioned either into the wind or slightly into it, while placing myself where I can monitor both possibilities. I want to see the young, aggressive coyote that comes straight to the sound. But I also want to control the area where the older, more experienced coyote is likely to circle downwind. That allows me to intercept him before he reaches the point where his nose tells him something isn't right.

I've learned this lesson the hard way plenty of times. I've finished stands believing nothing came in, only to realize a predator had worked around behind me, caught my scent, and disappeared without me ever knowing he was there. That's predator hunting. Sometimes you didn't fail to call a coyote. You successfully called him. You just never saw him.

2. Use Nature's Biggest Flashlight

The second lesson is the other half of that saying: sun at your back. The sun is nature's biggest flashlight. That sounds ridiculously obvious, but think about what happens around your own house at sunset. Stand with the setting sun behind you and look at a house across the street. You can see incredible detail. Now turn around and look toward the sun. Try seeing that same level of detail. You can't. You're fighting one of the brightest objects imaginable.

Now apply that to a small, extremely well-camouflaged predator quietly moving through brush. This becomes a huge advantage. If the sun is behind me, it's illuminating the terrain I'm watching. That little patch of white on a coyote's chest becomes easier to see. Movement becomes easier to detect. The animal's outline becomes easier to separate from the surrounding vegetation.

Now reverse the situation. You're staring into the sun while a perfectly camouflaged coyote quietly works toward the call. You might have successfully called an animal and never know it was there. I think this probably happens to new predator hunters considerably more often than they realize. They'll say, "Nothing came in." Maybe. Or maybe something came in, and you never saw it.

Using the sun correctly helps stack that deck in your favor. Unlike the wind, which I might intentionally use as a crosswind depending on the terrain and how I expect the animal to approach, I almost always want the sun working for me whenever possible. Sun at your back. Wind generally in your face. That's an excellent place to start.

3. Work the Shadows

The third lesson works directly with the second. Find shadows. If I can tuck myself underneath a tree or into the shadow of some brush without skylighting myself, I'm going to do it.

Obviously, the goal is to remain still. But we're human. Eventually your face is going to itch. You might need something out of your bino bag. You're going to turn your head while scanning. And if a coyote comes in from an unexpected direction, you'll eventually have to move the rifle.

Being in the shadows buys you a little forgiveness. It doesn't make you invisible. It doesn't mean you can wave your arms around. But it makes those small movements less obvious. That's especially important because predators are looking for movement.

Sometimes this means choosing a slightly less comfortable position. Maybe it's cold outside and sitting in the sun would feel fantastic. Too bad. I'll take the shadow. Maybe the most comfortable place to sit gives me a beautiful view but leaves my entire silhouette exposed. I'll move. Comfort matters. Concealment matters more. Find a tree. Find a bush. Find a shadow. Get inside it.

Bonus Tip: Stop Playing the Same Rabbit Sound Everyone Else Uses

Here's one I've learned over time that isn't nearly as universal. When I started predator hunting, I did what everybody else did. Rabbit in distress. And it works. The basic theory makes perfect sense. I often simplify an animal's decision-making process into a few questions: Can I eat it? Can I mate with it? Can it hurt me?

A rabbit screaming in distress provides a pretty obvious answer to the first question. So I played rabbit distress. Bird distress. Food sounds. And I killed coyotes. But especially later in the season, those coyotes may have heard the same trick before. That's when I started having success with something more indirect.

Give Them a Confidence Call

One of my favorites is ravens fighting. Think about the message that sends to a coyote. Ravens frequently gather around carrion or leftover meat. If a coyote hears ravens fighting, his previous experience may tell him several things. There are birds on the ground. If birds are comfortably on the ground, the area is probably safe. And if those birds are fighting over something, they're probably fighting over food.

That's a very different message from an injured rabbit screaming nearby. An injured rabbit might mean food, but it could also mean another predator got there first. And after enough hunting pressure, maybe that coyote has learned that screaming rabbits sometimes come with humans carrying rifles.

Ravens fighting is more indirect. I'm not screaming, "COME HERE, THERE'S FOOD!" I'm giving the coyote environmental information that allows him to reach that conclusion himself. That's why I think of raven fights as a confidence call. It sounds like something naturally occurring in his environment. And that sound has brought home a lot of coyotes for me.

Stack the Odds in Your Favor

That's really what predator hunting becomes after enough years. You're stacking small advantages. You can't control where the coyote is. You can't control exactly when he'll arrive. You can't control whether he's young and stupid or an old dog who has already survived three hunters this season. But you can control your setup.

Work the wind. Understand that an experienced coyote may try to circle downwind rather than come directly to your call. Keep the sun behind you whenever possible. Make nature's biggest flashlight illuminate the animal instead of blinding you. Work the shadows. Give yourself some forgiveness for the small movements every hunter eventually has to make. And once you've done all of that, consider giving that educated coyote something different to listen to.

After 19 years, I've learned that predator hunting isn't usually about one giant secret. It's about doing a hundred little things correctly while trying to outsmart an animal that uses its eyes, ears, and nose better than you ever will. Wind, sun, and shadows are three of the easiest places to start stacking those odds in your favor.

About the Author

Rob Orgel enlisted in the USMC in 2004 as an Infantry Rifleman (0311), serving with 3rd Bn 1st Marines in Iraq, including roles as a point man in OIF-3 & team leader in OIF-6. Later, he joined the 1st Marine Regiment, achieved the rank of Sergeant in 2010, & continued service in Afghanistan. Upon returning, he became a Combat Instructor at the School of Infantry West. Transitioning to private military contracting with Securing Our Country (SOC), he instructed at the American Embassy in Iraq. In 2018, Rob became Chief Instructor at GPS Defense Sniper School, revamping their program. Now, as owner & lead instructor at Emergency Response Tactical, he focuses on training novice to advanced shooters on the range over 300 days a year. Rob also hosts the Silencer Analytics channel on YouTube.