Home/Coyote & Predator Hunting/Mapping & Stand Planning

Mapping & Stand Planning

Land & AccessLevel 2 — Intermediate

Prerequisites

Coyote Scouting & Location

What It Is

Stand planning converts scouting intelligence into a hunting schedule. The goal is to arrive at each stand knowing the approach route, the wind requirement, the coyote's likely position, and the shot geometry before leaving the truck — not figuring any of that out on the way in. OnX (or equivalent) is the planning tool; physical flagging is the execution tool; loop routes replace dead-ends; kill history turns individual stands into a documented asset database.

Correct Execution

Before any hunt, hunter opens an aerial map and pre-identifies stand locations based on terrain (pinch points, draws, pond dams, field-to-cover transitions), confirmed sign, and wind direction for the day. Approach routes are traced to avoid walking into the setup. Property boundaries are verified so access is confirmed before boots are on the ground. Stand positions are marked with GPS pins. On the ground, pre-scouted stand positions are flagged with Hunter Orange for night navigation — the flag eliminates any need to make noise or use a bright flashlight finding the spot in the dark. Routes are designed as loops rather than dead-ends: Al Morris explicitly builds his competition routes so every drive is forward progress. A dead-end road means all time spent going in is spent again coming out — dead roads equal half as many stands per day. Kill history is logged by GPS coordinate and date — after multiple visits, the hunter can identify stands that consistently replenish (good habitat, refills quickly) vs. one-time productive locations.

Progression Levels

Diagnostic Tree

Coaching Cues

  • "Mark exactly where you sit, where the caller goes, where you park — don't leave anything to chance." — Al Morris, scouting methodology (2021)
  • "Flag it in daylight, find it in the dark without a flashlight." — Al Morris
  • "Dead-end roads kill your stand count. Every loop makes you money." — Al Morris, competition strategy
  • "OnX tells you where the fences are — you don't find that out the hard way when the landowner shows up." — Tony Tebbe, interview (2022)
  • "Log the kills. A stand you hit six times this year without a log is a stand you can't optimize." — Al Morris

Common Errors

  1. Hunting without aerial pre-study: Missing terrain choke points, property boundary violations → spend 15 minutes on the map before every trip → all experts
  2. GPS pinning without physical flagging: Night navigation to a pin is still fumbling in the dark → flag the exact spot in daylight → Al Morris
  3. All dead-end routes: Out-and-back road pattern cuts stand count in half → redesign all routes as loops before arriving → Al Morris, Les Johnson
  4. No wind-alternative positions for productive stands: Skipping a good stand when the wind is wrong → flag A and B positions for every stand → all experts
  5. No kill history log: Treating every stand visit as if it's the first time → build a database; good stands are assets that compound over seasons → Al Morris

Edges

🔑 Hidden Causal Lever

Loop Routes Double Effective Stand Count

land-and-accessmapping-and-stand-planning →

Dead-end roads require driving in and back out — every minute spent retracing is a stand not made. A hunter on loop routes makes 40-50% more stands per day than a hunter on dead-end routes covering the same land, without calling a single stand better. Route architecture is a multiplier on everything else.

What most people do
Pick stand locations based on quality — "that's the best spot" — without regard for whether the route creates backtracking. Good stands on bad routes produce less than average stands on loop routes.
What the best do
Design every hunt route as a loop on OnX before leaving home. Identify connected roads, two-tracks, and field paths that allow forward progress. Where loops aren't possible, cluster dead-end stands into one dedicated out-and-back.
Why it's an edge: Stand count is the primary volume lever in coyote hunting. Route architecture is the hidden bottleneck on stand count that no amount of calling improvement can overcome.
How to exploit: Before your next hunt, trace your intended route on a map and count the backtracks. Convert each backtrack to a forward route by identifying connecting roads. Measure the stand-count difference.
Al Morris, competition strategy (2021) — "Dead-end roads kill your stand count. Every loop makes you money."

Sources

  • Al Morris, Coyote Hunting 101 (2021); Great Coyote Locating Technique (2021) — Flagging system (Hunter Orange), loop route design, kill history database, GPS + physical flagging, "mark exactly" principle
  • Randy Anderson, OnX / mapping tools (various) — Using mapping apps for stand planning, property boundary verification, approach route planning
  • Tony Tebbe, interview (2022) — OnX for night hunting (iPad in truck), marking stand locations, approach routes, property line management
  • Les Johnson, competition tips (2017) — Calling same stand morning and evening, return visit timing, dead-end vs. loop road strategy