Yotarunner
Custom Call Maker
Its great some of these hunts I missed on the other forum so it's good to see!
Big Lou’s 23/24 Calling Season
- Thread starter Big Lou
- Start date
Big Lou
Well-known member
5 Dog Day - 4 Fell to The Shotty
Morning began with coffee and finishing up cleaning a rifle. I wanted to be out early but, my daughter was home from school due to exams this week and I promised we would enjoy bacon and eggs when she rose. My days of being able to enjoy such things with her are growing less frequent by the month it would seem as she gets older so, seldom do I choose otherwise when opportunity presents. With the dishes licked up, I was off!
Set #1
This is one of my regular spots seasonally. It’s a good producer but hardly ever will it produce multiples. Still, it’s a good one to have in the pocket. Normally I set up on the side of a dugout mound where I have commanding view to the west and south. The sun was quite bright with little cloud cover, so I tucked into the north edge of an isolated clump of trees that was connected to a small slough bottom with lots of young, Red Willow. This is normally where the coyotes will appear from when calling from my normal hide. Shotgunning hopes were very high. Starting with coyote vocals, the silence was shattered. After a few minutes with no answers, I threw out some distress calls. 17 minutes in now, I was considering doing some pup distress when movement caught my eye to the left of me. I could see the head and neck of a coyote just above the young willow. I was well screened from it, so I readied the shotgun. Gave the decoy a flick and the coyote broke into kill mode. Covering the last 30’ or so quite quickly, my quarry was in front of my looking intently at the decoy. With the bead nestled on the coyotes neck at 18 yards, I gave a soft lip squeak. As soon as two yellow eyes and a black nose were in front of the barrel, 27 pellets of #4 buck found its mark. “Right on! Big male down!” I’m pretty sure I blew this coyote out a couple weeks ago leaving a stand about a mile away.
Set #2
I went back to a spot I killed a double on my 3-2-1 day. It had plenty of time to cool off from my last intrusion. Again, I’ve never been blanked here and usually it produces multiples. It just might be my favourite spot. I parked the truck and started down my normal route in. Again, with the sun being so bright, I opted for a slightly different hide so as not to be lit up like a Christmas tree and given how the coyotes came last time, this position not only provided shadows, but an excellent kill alley for the shotgun. Started once again with coyote vocals but different than the last time, I once again had no answers. Not overly concerned, I broke into a series of distress, again, different sounds than the last. 20 minutes into the set, I was starting to get concerned that this would be my first blank ever in this spot. I’m not overly familiar with what anxiety feels like, but I think I was feeling it. Movement! More movement but in a different spot. More! I’m pretty sure there are three. They are in the edge of some old willow and I still can’t confirm. I gave a couple coaxes on the caller and I’ll try to describe the next few moments in a manner it deserves. It was as if I was watching warriors on horseback, rallying in the trees before they charge onto a battlefield. It was absurd. They all did probably 3 or four circles with each other before two and then the third broke into the open. I had the caller only 20 yards away from me. Another squeak of a coax and they all started coming hard. “OH BOY!!!” At 50 yards I started lip squeaking which caused a shift in the two lead coyotes’ course of approach to DIRECTLY AT ME. There was about 30 yards of distance between them. “You guys are dead already. You just don’t know it.” This is going to be very up close. With the lead coyote only 10’ from me, death from the shadows descended upon them. In a smooth motion, I rose and shouldered the shotgun. The lead coyote got low and wheeled but my head had already found the chest of the follower. At the report of the shotgun, it crumpled at 30 yards. Finding the now fleeing lead coyote on the path it had approached from, a quick double tap stoned it only feet from the first. Seeing the third coyote now hauling for the trees, I was unable to get on it with the rifle before it made cover. Quickly firing up pup distress, I let the cadence echo through the trees and creek bottoms. What seemed like only seconds later, I caught streaking movement through the trees and the coyote materialized. It started closing on a bit of an angle and I followed it in the scope as it progressed. Coming to a stop behind a snow bank, I could clearly see its head and neck. I probably could have waited for a body shot, but, at 75 yards, it was all over but the crying. BOOM! CHOP! The 40gr Berger found its mark. “Triple Baby!”
This was how far apart the double died. Big Male and his b****.
Set #3
This spot, I bat around .500 from. It’s weird. Only once, have I ever had a coyote come really hard here. There’s some nuance to it that I just haven’t sorted out as of yet. I called it once about a month ago. No traffic had been down the road for days and abundant coyote tracks cross crossed every couple hundred feet it would seem. Hiding the truck in an old shelter belt and getting geared up, I was inbound. I wasn’t overly hot with my hide as I was blind to the south but, I needed to stay in the shadows. Placing the caller 20 yards away, I tucked into the edge of the trees and vanished. The songs I had been playing were garnishing dance partners so, more of the same. At about 11 minutes, I noticed a pair of Magpies bombing and chattering at something to the west of me. Seeing this many times before, I knew something was inbound. Watching intently in that direction, to my delight, I picked up a pointy set of ears moving just above the stubble about 200 yards away. Giving a coax, I now had a coyote standing head on about 150 yards from me. Pondering getting on the rifle and taking it there, I opted to be a pig and try to suck this one in close too. I brought my hand up and started squeaking as loud as I could muster. True to form in this spot, it started closing but, ever so slowly and I mean slow. There were a half dozen instances I almost got on the rifle but, it did continue closing the gap. At about the 50 yard mark, it looked to the south several times. I can only assume there was another coyote but I could not see that direction. At 22 yards, I couldn’t contain myself any longer and delivered another load of #4 Buck into a fuzzy face. My fourth shotgun coyote of the day.
I was really hoping to be able to share more but, my last two stands for the day were blanks. Work called and I am going in tomorrow, so I hope to be out again on Thursday but, we shall see. Anyway, hope you enjoy the read and pics once more. Happy calling.
Morning began with coffee and finishing up cleaning a rifle. I wanted to be out early but, my daughter was home from school due to exams this week and I promised we would enjoy bacon and eggs when she rose. My days of being able to enjoy such things with her are growing less frequent by the month it would seem as she gets older so, seldom do I choose otherwise when opportunity presents. With the dishes licked up, I was off!
Set #1
This is one of my regular spots seasonally. It’s a good producer but hardly ever will it produce multiples. Still, it’s a good one to have in the pocket. Normally I set up on the side of a dugout mound where I have commanding view to the west and south. The sun was quite bright with little cloud cover, so I tucked into the north edge of an isolated clump of trees that was connected to a small slough bottom with lots of young, Red Willow. This is normally where the coyotes will appear from when calling from my normal hide. Shotgunning hopes were very high. Starting with coyote vocals, the silence was shattered. After a few minutes with no answers, I threw out some distress calls. 17 minutes in now, I was considering doing some pup distress when movement caught my eye to the left of me. I could see the head and neck of a coyote just above the young willow. I was well screened from it, so I readied the shotgun. Gave the decoy a flick and the coyote broke into kill mode. Covering the last 30’ or so quite quickly, my quarry was in front of my looking intently at the decoy. With the bead nestled on the coyotes neck at 18 yards, I gave a soft lip squeak. As soon as two yellow eyes and a black nose were in front of the barrel, 27 pellets of #4 buck found its mark. “Right on! Big male down!” I’m pretty sure I blew this coyote out a couple weeks ago leaving a stand about a mile away.
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Set #2
I went back to a spot I killed a double on my 3-2-1 day. It had plenty of time to cool off from my last intrusion. Again, I’ve never been blanked here and usually it produces multiples. It just might be my favourite spot. I parked the truck and started down my normal route in. Again, with the sun being so bright, I opted for a slightly different hide so as not to be lit up like a Christmas tree and given how the coyotes came last time, this position not only provided shadows, but an excellent kill alley for the shotgun. Started once again with coyote vocals but different than the last time, I once again had no answers. Not overly concerned, I broke into a series of distress, again, different sounds than the last. 20 minutes into the set, I was starting to get concerned that this would be my first blank ever in this spot. I’m not overly familiar with what anxiety feels like, but I think I was feeling it. Movement! More movement but in a different spot. More! I’m pretty sure there are three. They are in the edge of some old willow and I still can’t confirm. I gave a couple coaxes on the caller and I’ll try to describe the next few moments in a manner it deserves. It was as if I was watching warriors on horseback, rallying in the trees before they charge onto a battlefield. It was absurd. They all did probably 3 or four circles with each other before two and then the third broke into the open. I had the caller only 20 yards away from me. Another squeak of a coax and they all started coming hard. “OH BOY!!!” At 50 yards I started lip squeaking which caused a shift in the two lead coyotes’ course of approach to DIRECTLY AT ME. There was about 30 yards of distance between them. “You guys are dead already. You just don’t know it.” This is going to be very up close. With the lead coyote only 10’ from me, death from the shadows descended upon them. In a smooth motion, I rose and shouldered the shotgun. The lead coyote got low and wheeled but my head had already found the chest of the follower. At the report of the shotgun, it crumpled at 30 yards. Finding the now fleeing lead coyote on the path it had approached from, a quick double tap stoned it only feet from the first. Seeing the third coyote now hauling for the trees, I was unable to get on it with the rifle before it made cover. Quickly firing up pup distress, I let the cadence echo through the trees and creek bottoms. What seemed like only seconds later, I caught streaking movement through the trees and the coyote materialized. It started closing on a bit of an angle and I followed it in the scope as it progressed. Coming to a stop behind a snow bank, I could clearly see its head and neck. I probably could have waited for a body shot, but, at 75 yards, it was all over but the crying. BOOM! CHOP! The 40gr Berger found its mark. “Triple Baby!”
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This was how far apart the double died. Big Male and his b****.
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| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 4032x3024. |
Set #3
This spot, I bat around .500 from. It’s weird. Only once, have I ever had a coyote come really hard here. There’s some nuance to it that I just haven’t sorted out as of yet. I called it once about a month ago. No traffic had been down the road for days and abundant coyote tracks cross crossed every couple hundred feet it would seem. Hiding the truck in an old shelter belt and getting geared up, I was inbound. I wasn’t overly hot with my hide as I was blind to the south but, I needed to stay in the shadows. Placing the caller 20 yards away, I tucked into the edge of the trees and vanished. The songs I had been playing were garnishing dance partners so, more of the same. At about 11 minutes, I noticed a pair of Magpies bombing and chattering at something to the west of me. Seeing this many times before, I knew something was inbound. Watching intently in that direction, to my delight, I picked up a pointy set of ears moving just above the stubble about 200 yards away. Giving a coax, I now had a coyote standing head on about 150 yards from me. Pondering getting on the rifle and taking it there, I opted to be a pig and try to suck this one in close too. I brought my hand up and started squeaking as loud as I could muster. True to form in this spot, it started closing but, ever so slowly and I mean slow. There were a half dozen instances I almost got on the rifle but, it did continue closing the gap. At about the 50 yard mark, it looked to the south several times. I can only assume there was another coyote but I could not see that direction. At 22 yards, I couldn’t contain myself any longer and delivered another load of #4 Buck into a fuzzy face. My fourth shotgun coyote of the day.
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| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 4032x3024. |
I was really hoping to be able to share more but, my last two stands for the day were blanks. Work called and I am going in tomorrow, so I hope to be out again on Thursday but, we shall see. Anyway, hope you enjoy the read and pics once more. Happy calling.
Big Lou
Well-known member
The Last Stand
Not meaning to give those boys a shameless plug but, there you go Geoff & Rick. The title is fitting.
I started today with high hopes. Post storm. Fresh snow. Calm winds. Cool but not cold. They should be on.
After getting blanked my first stand, I made a second. Completely misread the contour of the land and ended up with a big low spot directly downwind of me. I got to watch one lope away from me. It probably got sub 100 yards before winding me for crying out loud. “Right on. You’re really playing to win today hey.” I figured I’d switch it up and moved about 8 miles west. A spot I had called earlier in the season was ready for another go and the wind was perfect. I hiked the mile in and got settled.
Not enjoying any earlier success with the caller, I let wail with the mouth calls. 9-10 minutes in, I saw about 30 whitetails blow out of a slough bottom to the north of me. “Something is inbound” I thought and readied myself for the impending action. A pair of coyotes came into view about 250-275 yards away. It was at this time, the one started acting a touch nervous and I heard the loud, low drone of a big diesel. Looking east, I could see a testing crew of some sort coming up the half mile line. “You’re kidding me”!! Looking back to the pair, I saw one make the trees, then the other. They started yapping in the trees but the stand was shot. They didn’t make me, so I’ll get back to them later in the week. I was sour with the crew, but they didn’t know any better and are just out earning a buck. I hoped they were having a better day than myself. Okay, we’re switching areas again. 10miles north.
I hadn’t called this spot yet this year. Another blank. Well, let’s hit another spot. Blanked even though at least 5 coyotes answered my howls in the set. It was 4:18 when I got back to the truck. Time for one more stand. 70mph to my entry point, I hurriedly gathered my gear after parking in a hidden location and started high stepping in.
The Last Stand
After getting the caller situated and myself, atop a little mound; I let rip with a single howl. It was immediately answered by one, then another and another until I lost count. No joke, there was at least a dozen howling but it sounded like there was 50. The closest being sub 400 yards. I was set up nicely for some shotgun action so I started singing with the mouth call. Nothing. Tried again. Nothing. Again. Same result. Maybe venison as deer trails abound around my hide. Fawn distress on the caller produced nothing. Light was fading fast. “Guess we’ll try some pup distress and hope to evoke a pack response.” I got a hand on the grip of the shotgun and let fly. Maybe 30 seconds after letting loose with the sounds of a crying pup, flashes of movement in the trees caught my eyes. Lots of movement - multiples. Mute the caller.
A pair broke from the trees initially, then a single and finally another pair. There are 5. I need to play this smart. The first pair were the closest to me and I needed them to get further away from the trees so that when I shot, it wasn’t in the direction of the other three. With all 5 coyotes now within 100 yards, things were going to happen fast.
I swung into motion on one of the first pair and it came to a stop at about 45 yards. The shotgun barked and a load of 4 Buck found the head and neck of my target, folding it instantly. Getting on the second coyote of the first pair, I ripped twice and saw it roll, or so I thought. Dropping the shotgun and mounting the rifle, it was chaos in front of me. The crosshairs settled on the arse of a fleeing coyote. BOOM! CHOP! The air was filled with the cry’s of the coyote I had just struck. Cycling another round in, I was unable to get on the other two. A quick glance back towards the coyote I had just shot showed it streaking for the trees. I fell into a nice lead after a quick adjustment on the bipod. BOOM! CHOP! And I saw a big spray of snow. I quickly switched to dying coyote on the caller and saw more streaking in the trees. A silver ghost appeared in a small window through the branches and stopped. I settled the crosshairs on the base of the neck and sent the 40gr Berger. BOOM! CHOP! I watched it hunch up and fold in the scope. With the caller still wailing, movement once more caught my eye as another coyote materialized from the timber. My rifle was not in the correct position at this moment and the coyote was staring intently in my direction. Thinking I already had 4 down, “let’s risk it for the biscuit” and I made my move. The coyote wheeled immediately and made for the trees. It stopped just inside the tree line when I woofed at it. As a head, neck and shoulder appeared in the crosshairs whilst peeking back from behind a big poplar, the trigger broke once more. BOOM! CHOP! “Is that 5! Did I just get 5”? Looking back out to where the shotgunning had occurred, I saw just a single laying there. I walked out to investigate and the second one had indeed gotten up and peaced out. “Damn.” On my stroll to collect the other three, I looked over and saw tines poking up through the snow. “NO WAY! A shed too!” Thinking it was a big whitetail shed, I was slightly let down when it turned out to be a mule deer. First quad of the year and it was darn near five.
It was a bit of a tough day overall but, I’m glad I stuck with it. Really wish I would have got that 5th too but it wasn’t to be I suppose. I hope you enjoy the read and pics. It wasn’t a big numbers day like I had hoped but, that was a hell of a last stand.
Not meaning to give those boys a shameless plug but, there you go Geoff & Rick. The title is fitting.
I started today with high hopes. Post storm. Fresh snow. Calm winds. Cool but not cold. They should be on.
After getting blanked my first stand, I made a second. Completely misread the contour of the land and ended up with a big low spot directly downwind of me. I got to watch one lope away from me. It probably got sub 100 yards before winding me for crying out loud. “Right on. You’re really playing to win today hey.” I figured I’d switch it up and moved about 8 miles west. A spot I had called earlier in the season was ready for another go and the wind was perfect. I hiked the mile in and got settled.
Not enjoying any earlier success with the caller, I let wail with the mouth calls. 9-10 minutes in, I saw about 30 whitetails blow out of a slough bottom to the north of me. “Something is inbound” I thought and readied myself for the impending action. A pair of coyotes came into view about 250-275 yards away. It was at this time, the one started acting a touch nervous and I heard the loud, low drone of a big diesel. Looking east, I could see a testing crew of some sort coming up the half mile line. “You’re kidding me”!! Looking back to the pair, I saw one make the trees, then the other. They started yapping in the trees but the stand was shot. They didn’t make me, so I’ll get back to them later in the week. I was sour with the crew, but they didn’t know any better and are just out earning a buck. I hoped they were having a better day than myself. Okay, we’re switching areas again. 10miles north.
I hadn’t called this spot yet this year. Another blank. Well, let’s hit another spot. Blanked even though at least 5 coyotes answered my howls in the set. It was 4:18 when I got back to the truck. Time for one more stand. 70mph to my entry point, I hurriedly gathered my gear after parking in a hidden location and started high stepping in.
The Last Stand
After getting the caller situated and myself, atop a little mound; I let rip with a single howl. It was immediately answered by one, then another and another until I lost count. No joke, there was at least a dozen howling but it sounded like there was 50. The closest being sub 400 yards. I was set up nicely for some shotgun action so I started singing with the mouth call. Nothing. Tried again. Nothing. Again. Same result. Maybe venison as deer trails abound around my hide. Fawn distress on the caller produced nothing. Light was fading fast. “Guess we’ll try some pup distress and hope to evoke a pack response.” I got a hand on the grip of the shotgun and let fly. Maybe 30 seconds after letting loose with the sounds of a crying pup, flashes of movement in the trees caught my eyes. Lots of movement - multiples. Mute the caller.
A pair broke from the trees initially, then a single and finally another pair. There are 5. I need to play this smart. The first pair were the closest to me and I needed them to get further away from the trees so that when I shot, it wasn’t in the direction of the other three. With all 5 coyotes now within 100 yards, things were going to happen fast.
I swung into motion on one of the first pair and it came to a stop at about 45 yards. The shotgun barked and a load of 4 Buck found the head and neck of my target, folding it instantly. Getting on the second coyote of the first pair, I ripped twice and saw it roll, or so I thought. Dropping the shotgun and mounting the rifle, it was chaos in front of me. The crosshairs settled on the arse of a fleeing coyote. BOOM! CHOP! The air was filled with the cry’s of the coyote I had just struck. Cycling another round in, I was unable to get on the other two. A quick glance back towards the coyote I had just shot showed it streaking for the trees. I fell into a nice lead after a quick adjustment on the bipod. BOOM! CHOP! And I saw a big spray of snow. I quickly switched to dying coyote on the caller and saw more streaking in the trees. A silver ghost appeared in a small window through the branches and stopped. I settled the crosshairs on the base of the neck and sent the 40gr Berger. BOOM! CHOP! I watched it hunch up and fold in the scope. With the caller still wailing, movement once more caught my eye as another coyote materialized from the timber. My rifle was not in the correct position at this moment and the coyote was staring intently in my direction. Thinking I already had 4 down, “let’s risk it for the biscuit” and I made my move. The coyote wheeled immediately and made for the trees. It stopped just inside the tree line when I woofed at it. As a head, neck and shoulder appeared in the crosshairs whilst peeking back from behind a big poplar, the trigger broke once more. BOOM! CHOP! “Is that 5! Did I just get 5”? Looking back out to where the shotgunning had occurred, I saw just a single laying there. I walked out to investigate and the second one had indeed gotten up and peaced out. “Damn.” On my stroll to collect the other three, I looked over and saw tines poking up through the snow. “NO WAY! A shed too!” Thinking it was a big whitetail shed, I was slightly let down when it turned out to be a mule deer. First quad of the year and it was darn near five.
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| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 3024x4032. |
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| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 4032x3024. |
It was a bit of a tough day overall but, I’m glad I stuck with it. Really wish I would have got that 5th too but it wasn’t to be I suppose. I hope you enjoy the read and pics. It wasn’t a big numbers day like I had hoped but, that was a hell of a last stand.