Make A Coyote Howler From A Piece of Antler
David Marshall
redator hunting in general is a very enjoyable sport. Not only does it require a great deal of patience and skill, but also an incredible amount of practice to bag a coyote. Whether you’re hunting at day or at night, you aren’t going to succeed unless you have worked for it. Coyote hunting isn’t something in which you can just “get lucky.” These animals are far too intelligent and cautious to be taken by a hunter who isn’t deserving of the accomplishment. Hunters go to great lengths to acquire the absolute best methods of calling coyotes, whether it’s an expensive FoxPro caller or a professional-grade open reed caller. However, for those hunters who are looking to enjoy the sport of coyote hunting, get their hands on a great call, and have an enjoyable learning experi- ence without spending large amounts of money, the information in this article is for you. This article provides step-by- step instructions on how to make your very own coyote howler out of an antler and everyday items around the house. The first thing you need to do af- ter you’ve gotten your section of antler and you are ready to begin is to make a few measurements. Place a mark at the half-way point of the antler. Then cut a third of the depth of the antler, which will meet up with a cut from the very end of the antler. At this point, cuts do not need to be precise and exact because
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With a saw, cut away a right-angled section of the antler.
there is still a great deal of shaping left to do. You are just making the general body of the call. The cutting can be done easily with a bone saw. At this point the piece of antler should look like the photo, with a quarter of the antler cut off.
Next, hollow out the other end of the antler using a drill, making a tunnel that continues all the way to the cut you made in the previous step. Depending on the size of your antler, you should be all right using a ¼-inch bit. This part is very easy because the marrow of the antler gives way to the drill and the drill will naturally follow the marrow because it is the path of least resistance. This ensures that the drill is going to end up where you want it.
After drilling this hole you need to
shape the soundboard of the call. This can be done with any type of sander or grinder. In shaping the call pictured above, I used a belt grinder and that worked perfectly. The angle at which you slope your sound board will vary, depending on the length of the antler and the antler’s size. You will need to do some guess-and-check when dealing with the end result of your call because of the variety of antler types, sizes, and age. (Differences in any of these categories will result in a difference in sound.) As long as your call somewhat resembles the call in the photos, you will be headed in the right direction. After curving the soundboard you will need to create the air channel. This step probably is the most important in the entire process. The air channel
Next, bore a hole through the antler until reaching the removed area.
Shape the mouth end of the call, which is where you will blow into it.
Creating the air channel can be done with a drill or a rat-tail file. The marrow is soft, making this step easy.
www.varminthunter.org Page 97
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