Coyote a day for a year . 430 coyotes

clayreid

clayreid

New member
Haven't been on here and awhile but I figured I'd get on here and tell the story of a hardheaded man .
On January 1 2022 I decided I'd try and kill a Coyote a day for a whole year .
Now this sounded like one helluva an idea on day one but I can guarantee you on day 365 it did not .
That was the most grueling idiotic thing I've ever attempted and I can assure you it will never happen again.
It didn't help that we were in the middle of a terrible drought here at the ranch so I was terribly busy and stressed to the max .
The spring the wind didn't stop for four months and the summer had 57 days of 100 or better temperatures.
I never dreamed the mental factor would be so dang hard . You just can't imagine what it took to work all day , then walk in the door grab a snack and your gun and go hunt EVERYDAY.
The pressure of each shot knowing it might be the difference in sleeping or not sleeping wax terrible and after awhile you felt the nerves hit you like a kid getting his first kiss .
I also got well acquainted with the spot and stalk game . Calling when it's a 100 pls degrees at night was not real productive so I'd have to walk around bug plowed fields and spot and stalk . One night I walked 13 miles then got done just in time to go to work .
Through it all I ended up killing 430 coyotes . At the start I was just killing one thinking sooner or later I'd run thin on coyotes . I was wrong . About November I started killing multiples and trying to see how many I could get before the end of the year . Even killed 8 on one stand and woulda been 10 but I didn't bring enough bullets . 😂
I had 4 days where I got a zero . Three of those days were gun related trouble not coyotes .
So many stories of stupid as well as intelligence during this journey and it oughta make for good literature when I get done .
Anyway I just thought I'd share my story with you guys . I've done a couple of podcasts telling about it and my next one will be the FoxPro podcast with Jon boy Collins . Have a great day .
 
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The last coyote was pretty indicative on how the whole deal works .
My bosses wife is a photographer so I decided she needed to go with me a document the last day of the Coyote quest .
.
We hit the ground at daylight on a beautiful morning in a pasture I had rarely been into in the last year , so I figured with virgin country I'd be done early and get to watching my Cowboys play football .
We made stand after stand without seeing a coyote one . Finally about 2pm one came in hard to my right and was headed straight to the call . However the click click click of the camera tipped him off before I could get a shot and he was gone.
This brought out the pout in me and I quit and went to watch the game .
At dark I called my boys to go with me so I could include them in on the momentous occasion .
Again we made stand after stand and nothing but finally at about 11pm with an hour to go I spotted one coming from way across a 1000 acre wheat field of mine .
This coyote must have knew I was on a deadline because he was taking his own sweet time as he slowly walked to me . He stopped at every rock to piss on and stood and watched every jackrabbit that looked his way . The whole time I'm sweating the whole deal . Please don't miss !! God help me don't let me miss !!
Finally he got to about 75 yards and I was shaking like a leaf . The pressure of it all was indeed working on me and I don't do that kinda thing . But after a year solid of freezing, sweating , fatigue and mental anguish it was something crazy going on in me .
I finally shot and the coyote dropped and oh my God the weight that was lifted off of my shoulders knowing it was finally over .
As we got to the Coyote my boy said "Good shot dad , right between the eyes " . Little did he know I was aiming for the chest 😂
 
Holy, crap...

That is so, impressive, amazing, awesome, all those things! The mental toughness required alone, is epic.

But the part I relate to most, is that after all that, after all those coyotes and all that success and all that killing - you STILL got the fever at the very end! That, is what it's still about, for me.

There are so many lessons to be learned in this. I hope we end up with many pages of unpacking it all.

Thanks!

- DAA
 
Ugh, sounds like work. I like to hunt when I want to when the the conditions are in my favor and sometimes comfortable. I couldn’t have done that.I don’t think there’s anything I want to do that I like every day if u know what I mean. Takes the fun out of it. Had to be tough to force yourself out there. I’ll bet your percentages went up after a few months, you had to be thinking like a coyote by then. Take some time off you deserve it.
 
Man, I can't imagine the discipline it took just to hunt every day for a year and the pressure generated during that year.

Having shot HP rifle competition for some quarter century, I can appreciate the pressure of "that last shot in a string", but I only shot weekly, plus a lot of 3 day matches, not every day!

Quite a journey, thanks for taking us along. Enjoyed the ride.

Regards,
hm
 
Lot of pressure with a goal like that. Nice work for sure.

No wonder your a "Field Staff" member. 430 is a serious number.
 
It was fun following along on your Facebook page all year long. Unbelievable feat... Never ever be done again.

Listened to a couple of the podcasts you did along the way with some crazy stories lol.

See you in a couple weeks at the Shotgun, should be a good time. You sure found a good partner for this one. We will be gunning for ya.

Brennan
 
That is an impressive accomplishment and a full time job. Trying to hunt coyotes when it is hot during the summer isn't something I even attempt. I'm sure you learned a lot from the experience.
 
Heck yeah . Be sure and hit me up when I get there Brennan. When ol Rusty called and asked if I wanted to hunt with him I was like DUH! 😂
Gonna be a good time regardless if we win or lose . Looking forward to meeting a bunch of you guys .
See ya then . Good luck
 
Awesome man congrats. With that mental fortitude you could accomplish anything you want.


Question is, do you still have any fun calling after all that? I think that would ruin me
 
I heard you talking about that on The Big Honker Podcast. That's impressive you killed that many. More impressive to me that you had the want to when it would have been just as easy to say to [beeep] with it and went to sleep instead of chasing coyotes.

I predator hunt pretty hard during the Winter. When Spring rolls around I start catchin rattlesnakes every day until the end of April. By Summer I'm not huntin for nothin but food to eat and a pillow to lay on. Hats off to you for having the drive to get it done. Makes me tired just thinkin about it.

 
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That's amazing and something I could never imagine having the desire to try lol. I'm a hobbyist lol.Big Kudos to you Sir!
 
I can't fathom the fortitude it took to grind that out for a full year, let alone accomplish your goal.

Congratulations hardly feels adequate.
 


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