Well, I was supposed to go bear hunting on my days off but the unit me and my hunting buddy were going to hunt got shut down.
So we decided to go out and kill a couple of coyotes instead.
After a long night of anticipation and a short morning drive (about two hours) we got to a spot a friend had said he has seen a lot of coyote in , we couldnt wait any more and pulled off about 15 miles early at a likely looking spot and decided to make a "quick shakedown stand" , well it was alot quicker than we intended, the first kill of the day happened not 4 minutes into the stand. I hit her with spooky at about 15 paces. I cant think of a better way to start the day!
We went the rest of the way and hit another good looking stand and after about 10 minutes out of the corner of my eye to the right I spotted a tail flashing away from our stand, I thought for sure we were busted.
I was just goofing off at that point and hit the crow party for a minute and then the bluejay in distress, I had just leaned over and told my partner we were busted and got up to one knee when I saw ears poking over the ditch bank to the left, I froze with "thumper" up to my shoulder, my partner saw me and hunched and covered his ears, "thumper is a mossberg pump wit a 20" barrel . not even 15 second later I had the second dog of the day on the ground- I think it was the same one and she circled us trying to get to the jack in the box.
The next stand was dry and the stand after that I let my partner borrow thumper and I just took my .357, 15 minutes into the jackrabbit squall he dropped a nice female at about 30 paces. We hit another stand and I broke wind as a coyote was trying to come in on my partners side and the noise spooked it off, I swear I was just laying down some cover scent!!!
At the next stand we had the ultimate set, a large horseshoe shaped berm with a stock pond in the back of it and a few trees scattered across the mouth and a huge flood plane in front (75 maybe 100 yds across by 300 wide) with a road running to it. After 6 or 7 minutes of calling we could see dust a mile or so kicking up on the road , about 3 minutes later we could make out two coyotes racing to get to the call, they stopped at the flood plane and started to cut crossways but no closer, I was trying for that bragging rights shot and settled the crossshairs on the head of the lead dog , I missed! my partner said I hit it in the ear ( he was watching with the binos) they burned out at mach 10, and another coyote I hadnt seen came streaking out of a brush pile not 30 paces in front of us , I guess it snuck up the outside of the berm and was stalking in on the decoy - I think thats why the other two stopped, territory.
On the last stand of the day we set up and called another female in, but she sat down just out of shotgun range and just watched the decoy, after about 5 minutes she was looking realy bored and I was about to see how good of quickdraw artist I was (left spooky in the truck) when a big hawk decides the J.I.B. looks like dinner, when the hawk came swooping in the coyote decided she wanted it more and charged, chalk another one up for thumper.
After a rough night ( forgot my camp pad real freeking hard ground) we were off again it was windier and harder hunting, the wind kept changing right in the middle of the stands. After several dry stands and a couple of times being busted my buddy took one with his '06 and I managed to connect with one more with spooky, the the race was on decause I had gotten us into a spot that I did not want to try and drive out of after dark.
But I beat the sun set.
All in all a good couple of days!
Total count, 16 called 6 killed.
So we decided to go out and kill a couple of coyotes instead.
After a long night of anticipation and a short morning drive (about two hours) we got to a spot a friend had said he has seen a lot of coyote in , we couldnt wait any more and pulled off about 15 miles early at a likely looking spot and decided to make a "quick shakedown stand" , well it was alot quicker than we intended, the first kill of the day happened not 4 minutes into the stand. I hit her with spooky at about 15 paces. I cant think of a better way to start the day!
We went the rest of the way and hit another good looking stand and after about 10 minutes out of the corner of my eye to the right I spotted a tail flashing away from our stand, I thought for sure we were busted.
I was just goofing off at that point and hit the crow party for a minute and then the bluejay in distress, I had just leaned over and told my partner we were busted and got up to one knee when I saw ears poking over the ditch bank to the left, I froze with "thumper" up to my shoulder, my partner saw me and hunched and covered his ears, "thumper is a mossberg pump wit a 20" barrel . not even 15 second later I had the second dog of the day on the ground- I think it was the same one and she circled us trying to get to the jack in the box.
The next stand was dry and the stand after that I let my partner borrow thumper and I just took my .357, 15 minutes into the jackrabbit squall he dropped a nice female at about 30 paces. We hit another stand and I broke wind as a coyote was trying to come in on my partners side and the noise spooked it off, I swear I was just laying down some cover scent!!!
At the next stand we had the ultimate set, a large horseshoe shaped berm with a stock pond in the back of it and a few trees scattered across the mouth and a huge flood plane in front (75 maybe 100 yds across by 300 wide) with a road running to it. After 6 or 7 minutes of calling we could see dust a mile or so kicking up on the road , about 3 minutes later we could make out two coyotes racing to get to the call, they stopped at the flood plane and started to cut crossways but no closer, I was trying for that bragging rights shot and settled the crossshairs on the head of the lead dog , I missed! my partner said I hit it in the ear ( he was watching with the binos) they burned out at mach 10, and another coyote I hadnt seen came streaking out of a brush pile not 30 paces in front of us , I guess it snuck up the outside of the berm and was stalking in on the decoy - I think thats why the other two stopped, territory.
On the last stand of the day we set up and called another female in, but she sat down just out of shotgun range and just watched the decoy, after about 5 minutes she was looking realy bored and I was about to see how good of quickdraw artist I was (left spooky in the truck) when a big hawk decides the J.I.B. looks like dinner, when the hawk came swooping in the coyote decided she wanted it more and charged, chalk another one up for thumper.
After a rough night ( forgot my camp pad real freeking hard ground) we were off again it was windier and harder hunting, the wind kept changing right in the middle of the stands. After several dry stands and a couple of times being busted my buddy took one with his '06 and I managed to connect with one more with spooky, the the race was on decause I had gotten us into a spot that I did not want to try and drive out of after dark.
But I beat the sun set.
All in all a good couple of days!
Total count, 16 called 6 killed.
