weather conditions

[DANNY-L]

Is it better in the winter to call on a cold day or warmer day. Never called before so may try this year. Any other advice would be appreciated.

[montveil]

Can't say but I would think critters need more food when it's cold.. But you wil be colder also--

[DANNY-L]

Thats what I was thinking also,Brrr

[Glanceblamm]

but I would think critters need more food when it's cold

Exactly. Even a Sparrow needs to eat up to five times it's normal amount of food in the cold.

[DANNY-L]

I had also bought one of those screaming sqaullers years ago but have never used it,(I think that is what it was called) it's plastic on the end with a long flexible tube that you squeeze or push and it pushes air through,make one wierd screaming noise. Do they work?

[Ron 1]

i have had yotes come in to a turkey call.  i think any sound that mimiks a animal in distress works on the young ones
the old educated /smart ones, well might just be too smart to come in to a call that doze not sound right.
my thought is that any animal needs more food to get by in the winter months.
one of my hunting videos it says that when the temp. drops the yote will gorge its self  to make it thru the winter
thus making calling more effective. the snow makes them stand out a lil better to me.
snow on the ground cold temps and a full moon = a good time calling and shootin.
i think the key thing is to go try and try often. happy hunting
     rw

[ironglow]

  OK...but we have to stay warm...and this old man feels the cold now, more than ever`...any tips for staying warm ?

[dieselman]

Unlike deer hunting when you set up to call yotes I wait 10 min to let the noise settle down, run the call (of any type) off on on for 30-45 min and within an hour if nothin shows I make a slow exit of the woods watching all around cause they might be there and you didn't know it. From what I have found (and read) they will take the easy path, I have called them on the edge of the woods / feild thinkin I could see them in the feild and hear them in the woods, well they came in down the middle of the main road behind me 50yds off. I have also found when its raining they are not out until it stops, they will move when it starts snowing and I have shot them in as cold as -5 F. Hope this helps. 

[Glanceblamm]

  OK...but we have to stay warm...and this old man feels the cold now, more than ever`...any tips for staying warm ?

Depending on ones climate, a lot, like myself have been pre-conditioned to the cold from Deer hunting.

When it becomes time to hunt predators a full layer of clothing that was used for deer hunting can be left at home. Cold is not really a consideration because of the very short duration of time on the stand as compared to deer hunting.

Warmup is achived by walking in, walking out, or walking to a different stand location. Wind and wind chill are the big enemys but the shelterbelt of hills and woods are often enough to prevent this. (Read stay out of the wind when you can)

If I am going out for two to three hours, It is absolutely nothing compared to being on a deer stand for 11 hrs.

[DANNY-L]

Thanks I'm going to give some of these idea's a try.

[ironglow]

  Thanks guys..all input helps..  Ironglow

[calling4life]

I wear UA cold gear, the leggings, shirt, hoodie, and liner gloves.  I put cabelas extreme cold base layer over it.  I use a thin polypro sock for moisture wicking with an extreme cold thick wool sock over it. The UA hoodie is surprisingly nice, I used to use a thick fleece neck gaiter, then found the cold gear hoodie to be equally as warm, with nowhere near the bulk.  I just bought another in white for winter hunting.

I'm a hand caller, so I don't like having a huge glove on my hands, the cold gear liner glove is tight fitting, but nowhere near warm enough for my temps, so I put a wool glove over it, these have the fingertips cutout to allow me better feel on my calls and trigger.  I will also wear a hand muff hand warmer to put my hands in when not calling, and also to store and keep extra calls warm so they wont freeze up. 

I don't use pac boots, thought about it, but they are stiff, and if a guy has to walk a good distance in to his stand they wouldn't be fun.  So I bought Cabelas 1400 still hunters, still a very warm boot, but a hunting boot, meaning they wont have that super thick sole, they will be a better boot for walking, plenty warm, as you aren't sitting on stand for that long anyways. I am usually sitting for longer than most, I like to sit on stands for an hour+

I really believe in having a good base layer, if for nothing else, it is for its moisture wicking abilities, fact is, you are walking, then sitting, if you sweat while you walk and that moisture sits on your skin, you will freeze when you're sitting.  A good base layer, or in my case, two base layers, can help solve that. 

I was out sighting in my new gun the past few days, at times it was -10F and colder, you gotta dress smart, deciding to stack old T's and old sweaters on for warmth may save you some dough, but it adds a lot of bulk, making shooting more difficult, it also holds moisture. 

Do things right, spend the $$ now, be comfortable, and you'll want to hunt more, go the other route and you may find yourself quickly deciding winter hunting isn't for you, and with coyotes moving more, you're missing out on what many consider to be the best time to hunt coyotes. 

[ironglow]

  calling4life;
            Thank you for your post. I can see by it that I obviously have not been dressing warm enough and will need to invest in some newer, hi tech clothing if I want to continue in winter calling. I haven't been choosy about specific clothes...just putting on layers, so long as I finished with an appropriate camo. Guess I'll have to get more scientific or get out of the woods on the really cold days.   I have never tried the gloves with fingers cut off, figuring my fingers are what really gets cold on my hands anyway...do the open finger gloves really work ?    
                      

        Your post was well written and very informative...  The moderator should perhaps consider it for a sticky !



     BTW: I started wondering where you are located...we've been cold here in rural NY State...but not quite  -10 F so far this year.
                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                             again, thanks....Ironglow
        

[Ron 1]

  dang it all i called in a yote yesterday mornin to less then 40 yrds and i thought the closer the better and as it had no clue i was there in the huntin house 22 ' up i set the cross hairs right between its eyes and squeezed one off.the 22-250 barked and that lil sucker was gone in a flash. shot right over him. the gun is dead on at 100 yrds or was i will try it on paper before i go back out again
i did something wrong. but thats huntin and a bad shot. my heart was racing and i tryed to be steady(thought i was)
hope that is its only warning shot it gets this year.
     rw

[ironglow]

Yup ! That's hunting, Ron...  Better success next time.

[calling4life]

I'm in Grand Forks, ND.

I didn't mean for my post to sound like a "have to have" statement.  It really comes down to what is comfortable for you, I was just merely trying to provide some input on what I use to help keep me warm in the cold conditions I face, less bulk is important to me, and so is moisture wicking, some may not mind having bulkier clothing, that is personal...

I just know that buying cheaper gear for me, just ended up in more $$ spent, you end up buying the cheap stuff, then the good stuff, realizing things just aren't as good as they need to be, or, like I've seen many do, they just give up figuring they can't keep warm.

But, as I like to say, different strokes for different folks, I hunt ND and MN, so I can't say what would work in Alaska or Florida and anywhere in between, it is just what works for me, so far. 

I'm hoping to get out tomorrow on my way back home for christmas, supposed to be a balmy 14 degrees out

[Curtis]

I just bought Cabella's Standhunter Extreme parka and bibs from a member here.  I haven't tried them out yet, but when I put them on in the house for trial fit I started sweating after just a bit.  I'm in Texas, so if I get cold in these things something's wrong.  I am sure I'll have to keep them open on the way to the stand and then zip up once I start cooling down.

Just an aside, I didn't learn how to dress for cold until my first snow ski trip about ten years ago.  I did a lot of reading on the Patagonia web site, mostly about the wicking underlayers thing.  I learned a lot.  Growing up in the 60s and 70s, my long johns were 50% polyester/cotton.  No wonder I froze half the time!!

Ironglow:  On the cold hands and fingers I have learned that if I keep my core nice and warm then my body sends blood to the extremeties (hands and feet) in order to shed heat and the fingers and toes warm themselves.  However if your core is cold and your body is conserving its heat by restricting blood flow to the hands, then all the gloves in the world won't keep them warm.  It's tricky to stay in that perfect zone though because it's easy to sweat from there if you're not careful.

Curtis

[ironglow]

Thanks Curtis..you guys are being helpful..