Which Coyote do you shoot when a double or more come in?

Which coyote do you shoot when a double—or more—comes in? Do you take the closest coyote, the farthest one, or maybe the one in the middle? And why?

These are questions that run through my mind, and I’m not even sure it really matters in the grand scheme of things. But what if there is a higher-percentage way of doing things—especially when it comes to personal goals, tournaments, or hunt-offs? I think if there were a guaranteed way to stack double- and triple-digit stands, someone would have figured it out by now.

Fox Bang and a suppressor have greatly increased my double and triple percentages, but is there something I could change in my hunting strategy to get more coyotes down? Or is it all just luck and the shooter’s ability?

Moving forward, in my calling efforts, I’m going to start going after the farther-back coyote when a double comes in. Once that back coyote is within a specific range I’m confident in, I’m going to take it first, then immediately direct my attention to the closest coyote—hoping the Fox Bang lays that closer coyote up for short work. The one thing I worry about is the closer coyote getting spooked by the shot or getting downwind of me and busting my setup.

Now listen, I don’t know if what I’ve written in the previous paragraphs will work the way I think it will—that’s why I try my own things out. I like to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. Regardless, I’ll report back with my results.

For example: one coyote comes in—self-explanatory. Two coyotes come into the call, I’ll try to stick to the method discussed earlier. Same thing for three, four, or more coyotes. After this little experiment is done, I’ll either implement it into my hunting strategy and into the way my hunting partner and I hunt together—which is quite often.

One last thing for now: I’ve noticed coyotes staying paired up, or even running in multiples, more often than being lone coyotes. Some guys say this is due to breeding season, but that hasn’t been my experience. Yes, they’ll definitely be paired up during this time of year, but I called coyotes all year long in 2025, and more often than not, coyotes were coming in as pairs or groups.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that there are a lot more coyotes in an area than most folks think—but that’s a topic for another day.