Big Lou
Well-known member
The morning started off grand. Free of all adulting in every capacity, I had the whole day to call. Decided to hit up an area I’d largely been ignoring this year. Well, not so much ignoring. Every time I had winds I needed I was engaged in…. Adulting. Not so today.
After six blank sets, my mood was sullied. Coyotes were there. They’d answer howls like clock work. Prey, invitational type vocals, fights, breeding sounds. None of it was jamming. I couldn’t get anything to poke its nose out of a bush or peek over a rise. Maybe someone else had been calling around there. I don’t know. What I did know, it wasn’t happening.
I decided to completely relocate. The dead end road in had not seen a vehicle for days. Most likely weeks. Coyote tracks abounded on my slow crawl in and I started to get that feeling. I parked the truck well back from where I intended to call. As soon as I got out, the serenade of several groups of coyotes greeted me. The soft snow is so delightful right now. It was like walking on feathers as I made my way. Selecting a hide, I surveyed briefly and like my chances. I was right on a fence line that stretched way out into a sea of tall grass, willow bluffs and scrubby poplar.
Deploying the caller 25 yards away, I lit up with a howl. “No prey on this one. Let’s try straight coyote vocals”. I was working my way through a sequence of different sounds. Trying to sell the ruse of 3 coyotes that were getting some things sorted out in the game of love. I had received numerous answers throughout but, one pair was noticeably closer and closing. I had been playing Stanky Leg for close to a minute when I saw two darker objects moving towards me against the snowy back drop.
I dialled the sound way down and they kept closing on a trot. As they broke 100 yards, the lead coyote came to a stop, then the mate. I was confused. “There’s no way they could see me. Why did they stop?” The ball was in their court. I had them in the wide open and at least one of them was about to die. The darker of the two turned first and retreated maybe 50 yards. The more pale coyote was still standing where it had halted its approach. When it decided to turn, I moved into the rifle. I wasn’t sure which one of the two was the bitch. They were both big coyotes. As the dark one stopped broadside at 155 yards. I settled the crosshairs. BOOM! CHOP! Folding like a lawn chair at impact, the pale coyote was in road gear immediately. I switched to Pup Screams and got on target. It was terrible. It would be on hard pack and streaking, then break through and lose stride; rinse and repeat. I couldn’t get a good lead at all. “Well, you’ll just be wasting ammo. Let’s hope it stops”. As I followed with the scope, the stride started to change a bit and the retreat slowed. Watching the coyote slow to a walk, it then turned 90 degrees and got its front legs up an a drift, looking back for the mate. “That’s got to be 425. 450? It’s the same hold dummy. Just shoot”. BOOOOOM!…. CHOP! It did darn near a complete flip as it jumped and then lay motionless. “OH YEAH! That was an earned double!!!”
I collected for a picture and getting to the second coyote, which turned out to be the bitch; I ranged back and saw 407 on the rangefinder. Pretty sure that’s my longest poke of the season.
My next stand was a blank and just as well. I took a nasty spill going up a grader bank off of the road. Came down on top of my 6mm AI. Right on the scope. I haven’t played hockey for decades but one thing hasn’t changed at all. Ice is still very hard and a body made of flesh loses that battle every time.
I had my 223 with me as a spare. This would mark the first time I’ve ever rotated a spare into action throughout a day. My next stand, there were two coyotes just exiting the bush on my way in. I don’t think that they saw me but, I figured discretion was the better part of valour and I’d try for them another day. Went home and papered my 6mm. It was 6” right and 1” low from my normal zero but, she’s back on zero again.
Walked just shy of 10km today and after my fight with frozen water, I’m not only sore but getting stiff to boot. Regardless, still better than being at work and added another two to the tally. It’s supposed to be pretty warm tomorrow but, haven’t heard from work yet so, may as well do it all again. Maybe this time with a few more victims.
After six blank sets, my mood was sullied. Coyotes were there. They’d answer howls like clock work. Prey, invitational type vocals, fights, breeding sounds. None of it was jamming. I couldn’t get anything to poke its nose out of a bush or peek over a rise. Maybe someone else had been calling around there. I don’t know. What I did know, it wasn’t happening.
I decided to completely relocate. The dead end road in had not seen a vehicle for days. Most likely weeks. Coyote tracks abounded on my slow crawl in and I started to get that feeling. I parked the truck well back from where I intended to call. As soon as I got out, the serenade of several groups of coyotes greeted me. The soft snow is so delightful right now. It was like walking on feathers as I made my way. Selecting a hide, I surveyed briefly and like my chances. I was right on a fence line that stretched way out into a sea of tall grass, willow bluffs and scrubby poplar.
Deploying the caller 25 yards away, I lit up with a howl. “No prey on this one. Let’s try straight coyote vocals”. I was working my way through a sequence of different sounds. Trying to sell the ruse of 3 coyotes that were getting some things sorted out in the game of love. I had received numerous answers throughout but, one pair was noticeably closer and closing. I had been playing Stanky Leg for close to a minute when I saw two darker objects moving towards me against the snowy back drop.
I dialled the sound way down and they kept closing on a trot. As they broke 100 yards, the lead coyote came to a stop, then the mate. I was confused. “There’s no way they could see me. Why did they stop?” The ball was in their court. I had them in the wide open and at least one of them was about to die. The darker of the two turned first and retreated maybe 50 yards. The more pale coyote was still standing where it had halted its approach. When it decided to turn, I moved into the rifle. I wasn’t sure which one of the two was the bitch. They were both big coyotes. As the dark one stopped broadside at 155 yards. I settled the crosshairs. BOOM! CHOP! Folding like a lawn chair at impact, the pale coyote was in road gear immediately. I switched to Pup Screams and got on target. It was terrible. It would be on hard pack and streaking, then break through and lose stride; rinse and repeat. I couldn’t get a good lead at all. “Well, you’ll just be wasting ammo. Let’s hope it stops”. As I followed with the scope, the stride started to change a bit and the retreat slowed. Watching the coyote slow to a walk, it then turned 90 degrees and got its front legs up an a drift, looking back for the mate. “That’s got to be 425. 450? It’s the same hold dummy. Just shoot”. BOOOOOM!…. CHOP! It did darn near a complete flip as it jumped and then lay motionless. “OH YEAH! That was an earned double!!!”
I collected for a picture and getting to the second coyote, which turned out to be the bitch; I ranged back and saw 407 on the rangefinder. Pretty sure that’s my longest poke of the season.
My next stand was a blank and just as well. I took a nasty spill going up a grader bank off of the road. Came down on top of my 6mm AI. Right on the scope. I haven’t played hockey for decades but one thing hasn’t changed at all. Ice is still very hard and a body made of flesh loses that battle every time.
I had my 223 with me as a spare. This would mark the first time I’ve ever rotated a spare into action throughout a day. My next stand, there were two coyotes just exiting the bush on my way in. I don’t think that they saw me but, I figured discretion was the better part of valour and I’d try for them another day. Went home and papered my 6mm. It was 6” right and 1” low from my normal zero but, she’s back on zero again.
Walked just shy of 10km today and after my fight with frozen water, I’m not only sore but getting stiff to boot. Regardless, still better than being at work and added another two to the tally. It’s supposed to be pretty warm tomorrow but, haven’t heard from work yet so, may as well do it all again. Maybe this time with a few more victims.
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I wasn’t all that bent out of shape over the outcome. We had our chances. Several of them actually and they just couldn’t close it out. Ran into a hot goalie. It happens. I give a lot of credit to doing the skate around with Johnny Hockey’s jersey too. Despite my bitter hatred of Tkachuk, that was a very nice touch.
