Well about 5 years ago I learned of a lottery predator hunt in a public WMA in minnesota near my house.the park is approximately 3000 acres. it is used for winter recreation by cross country skiers and hikers so the department of natural resources restricted the firearm used in the hunt to shotgun with shot bb or smaller .over the years i have patterned the coyotes to some areas where they liked to hold up and it was surprising some of the areas I found them were the last place i would of thought to call.a farmhouse backyard, next to a off leash dog park and a small strip of woods behind a house. I have had several successful hunts but none that ended in a kill which i was ok with. The interactions I have had with the coyote have taught me valuable lessons about calling strategy and setup and coyote behavior. Saturday I was out for a ride with my wife and i notice a coyote out in a field bordering the park so the next morning i set up on a small ravine as close to the coyote I had seen in the field the day before. The ravine had trails beat down in the snow from the coyotes . Being that its February I used the breeding card . My first call from the shockwave was coyote duet which was immediately cutoff by the resident coyotes within 300 yards away I muted the shockwave and watched in the direction of the responding coyotes.as i watched over the small ravine through the brush a large male in prime fur came at a good pace toward the clearing which was my shot. Right as he was about to clear the brush I didn't squeeze the safety and a loud click from the safety froze him in his tracks he turned and headed back in the direction he came i was very disappointed in my rookie mistake on a beautiful dog .five minutes passed nothing I played several distress sounds nothing. In this park the coyotes do not respond to the old reliable cottontail or any rabbit for that matter.kid goat distress or vocals are go to for me .What i always read was don't leave without trying the pup distress so in a last effort i played pup distress 3 and to my amazement i couldn't believe my eyes a yote came charging through the ravine i raised my 12 gauge loaded with winchester varmint x BB and pulled the trigger the coyote rolled and didn't make another move i was shaking at the adrenaline from that encounter.it turned out to be a respectable male not the large coyote i seen originally but I'm ok with that.the memories of the hunt will stick with me and i give the coyote all the respect its due to being a fantastic predator built for survival and a beautiful creature that has its place in the north woods and is almost a mystical animal when the howls come from the wood at night
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