Kirsch
Active member
Long story so bear with me. I typically start hunting coyotes in Sep but it was August 31st, so I thought that is close enough. I was spending the weekend at relatives in pretty good coyote country. The forecast was hot on Sat and windy and cooler on Sunday with light winds.
I got up on Sat morning and the wind was blowing 20mph+. I almost went back to bed but thought I haven't killed a coyote since early Spring, so I better get at it. I left without a lot of optimism. First stand about 2 minutes in, I had a hard charger coming in. Barked at it, stopped it and my 6WOA did the rest. With one down, I hit the kiyis and the 2nd coyote showed up soon after. This one was only about 50 yards away, so coyote number 2 went down. First stand of the year and a double, taking out the alpha pair in the area.
Stand #2 was a blank but I saw a coyote pup slip into a sunflower field as I drove down the road, so where there is a pup, alpha coyotes must be close by. After starting to call by the sunflower field on stand 3, the alpha male let loose behind me and I knew it was bad news as that was the only direction the wind could be an issue. I got aggressive hoping the female was in a different location and she was. A minute or so later, she came in to find me instead of an intruder.
The wind kept getting stronger and now it was up to 30mph. I hated to quit but wanted to try some walleye fishing the rest of the day. I caught my limit of walleyes, got them cleaned up, and picked the kids up from Grandmas. I was recapping the day thinking 3 coyotes, and a limit of walleyes isn't too bad for how windy it was. It was almost dark and my girls were already in their pajamas, when I saw a field that looked too tempting to pass up. I asked my kids if they minded me making one quick stand. They said sure. A quick change of clothes and with almost no light left, I found the closest cover and went straight to aggressive calling. It was now or never as the last shooting light of the day was almost over. Less than 1 minute into the stand, another adult coyote came to visit. I went back to the truck and my 9 year old daughter decided she wanted to come out and take a look at the coyote. She found out adult coyotes can be very heavy.
Sunday morning was time for church but the weather was really nice. My wife and I drove 2 separate vehicles and she took the kids and I went calling after church. There was only time for 2 stands and on the 2nd stand, I was able to harvest #5. Sorry, no pictures as I didn't have the camera along on that stand.
After lunch and some time with the relatives, it was time to try it again. My Brother-in-law wanted to come along since the action had been very steady. Conditions were good, but we hit 3 blank stands in a row. Doesn't it always seem to work that way, when you really want to get some, then you can't call in a coyote. Finally on the 4th stand, after the first howl, the entire area lit up with howls. Things were looking up. They came in as you would like in singles and kept coming. A little while later, 3 coyotes were down, and things were looking up. We ran out of daylight without any more action, but in review of my weekend, 8 coyotes and a limit of walleyes was a great way to start the season out.
I got up on Sat morning and the wind was blowing 20mph+. I almost went back to bed but thought I haven't killed a coyote since early Spring, so I better get at it. I left without a lot of optimism. First stand about 2 minutes in, I had a hard charger coming in. Barked at it, stopped it and my 6WOA did the rest. With one down, I hit the kiyis and the 2nd coyote showed up soon after. This one was only about 50 yards away, so coyote number 2 went down. First stand of the year and a double, taking out the alpha pair in the area.
Stand #2 was a blank but I saw a coyote pup slip into a sunflower field as I drove down the road, so where there is a pup, alpha coyotes must be close by. After starting to call by the sunflower field on stand 3, the alpha male let loose behind me and I knew it was bad news as that was the only direction the wind could be an issue. I got aggressive hoping the female was in a different location and she was. A minute or so later, she came in to find me instead of an intruder.
The wind kept getting stronger and now it was up to 30mph. I hated to quit but wanted to try some walleye fishing the rest of the day. I caught my limit of walleyes, got them cleaned up, and picked the kids up from Grandmas. I was recapping the day thinking 3 coyotes, and a limit of walleyes isn't too bad for how windy it was. It was almost dark and my girls were already in their pajamas, when I saw a field that looked too tempting to pass up. I asked my kids if they minded me making one quick stand. They said sure. A quick change of clothes and with almost no light left, I found the closest cover and went straight to aggressive calling. It was now or never as the last shooting light of the day was almost over. Less than 1 minute into the stand, another adult coyote came to visit. I went back to the truck and my 9 year old daughter decided she wanted to come out and take a look at the coyote. She found out adult coyotes can be very heavy.
Sunday morning was time for church but the weather was really nice. My wife and I drove 2 separate vehicles and she took the kids and I went calling after church. There was only time for 2 stands and on the 2nd stand, I was able to harvest #5. Sorry, no pictures as I didn't have the camera along on that stand.
After lunch and some time with the relatives, it was time to try it again. My Brother-in-law wanted to come along since the action had been very steady. Conditions were good, but we hit 3 blank stands in a row. Doesn't it always seem to work that way, when you really want to get some, then you can't call in a coyote. Finally on the 4th stand, after the first howl, the entire area lit up with howls. Things were looking up. They came in as you would like in singles and kept coming. A little while later, 3 coyotes were down, and things were looking up. We ran out of daylight without any more action, but in review of my weekend, 8 coyotes and a limit of walleyes was a great way to start the season out.