rollingstone
New member
There is a place in south Alabama between the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers that we call "The Swamp". Until recently I had only had the priviledge of hunting it twice in my entire life,and I'm 57 years old. My best hunting buddy aquired some land down there a few years ago, and since he is 75 years old and doesn't like to hut by himself anymore I get the opportunity to hunt there fairly often now. 90% of the people in Alabama don't have a clue that "The Swamp" exists and the 10% that do are glad. This area is a wonderous place, abundant with deer,turkey,hogs,coyotes, bobcats,fox, and all the other critters that are indigenous to Alabama. Last Saturday afternoon, after 3 days of getting skunked turkey hunting, I asked my buddy if he wanted to try to call some coyotes. Being the avid turkey hunter that he is, he jumped at the chance to remove any varmints that might kill his beloved turkeys. In south Alabama, turkey hunting comes right behind church and college football. As we were traveling down the dirt road to the swamp, we saw several deer moving and I had a premonition that this was going to be a special afternoon. We proceeded of the dirt road down the trail to the green field with a shooting house on it and while I was gathering up all my equipment from the bed of the truck a 250 pound boar hog walked right past my friend on the other side of the creek where the green field is located. The game was definitly moving. We crossed the creek, got in the shooting house, and let things settle down a little bit. About ten minutes later the big hog that we saw at the creek shows up, feeds for about ten minutes and dissapears. It is now about a half hour before dark and the coyotes get cranked up in the woods about 200 yard behind the green field. We were truly in the "cat bird seat". When the coyotes quit howling I set the Fox Pro in the open window of the shooting house and hit the dying jackrabbit. About 30 seconds later another big hog shows up on the far end of the field. I don't know if he responded to the call or just showed up on his own. Then a large raccoon comes out of the woods on the far end of the field and comes straight to the shooting house like it was on a string. Wepassed on the hog and the coon because we wanted those coyotes we had heard earlier. When the hog and coon left the field, I turned the call of and waited about 2 minutes. Actually I was trying to find my readind glasses so I could read the small print on the side of the call so I could make my next move. Once I got my glasses on I found the female invitation and let out 2 howls. I imediately went back to the jackrabbit and cranked it up. What happened next was so exciting I can barely type it. I looked to my right about 75 yards up the green field and here comes a pair on a dead run straight across the field from right to left. I had the bushmaster pointed out the window of the shooting house and when they got to the middle of the field I barked and they stopped. The big male stopped dead in my crosshairs. I just flipped the safety off and sqeezed the trigger. He went about 10 feet and pilled up. I could not get on the female before she left the field. I have been a licensed guide for 15 years in Alabama and have called in a bunch of turkeys for myself and clients, but I can honesty say that calling in my first coyote was as big a thrill as calling in my first gobbler. On a side note, the bullet I was shooting was a Barnes 53 grain triple shock. It went in right behind the shoulder, couldn't hardley find the entrance hole, made a hole on the off side about the size of a dime. Very fur friendly. I want to thank all the members of this forum for the knowledge I have gained here. Ya'll deserve the credit for making this hunt a success. Sorry for such a long story, but I just didn't want to leave anything out. I never thought I could love any kind of hunting any more than turkey hunting, but I am now dually addicted.
