Did u guys ever see the article that was in Fur,Fish,Game couple years ago about coyote stalker Greg Rice who also lives in Iowa? Talked about his long-range Savage 308 he uses. I thought that was kinda neat.
I also spot and stalk coyotes these days since it's more exciting for me than calling. But i'm out here in the Rocky Mtn. region and hunt them a little differently. I park my vehicle and just walk sometimes for half a day and typically cover many miles during that time. Sometimes i'll glass ridges coming off of bluffs for sleeping dogs with a set of Big Eyes from the truck. This year they're in more trouble than they have been in the past as i just got ahold of some Kowa Highlanders with 32X oculars. Of course, the unit is so heavy that they could never be packed in.
For walking hunting during fur season i use a 17 Fireball XP-100, and/or a 20 BR XP-100 that is new to me this year. I like the portability and challenge of the specialty pistols these days. Post fur season i use a 6.5 WSM XP-100 now and the 140 A-Max. It has the 8.5-25X Leup. with TMR reticle and is a long-ranger.
I use a sling of my own design, that allows me to tighten it up close to my body for crawling, versatility (over the opposite shoulder), and easy to get into position from prone. It's simply a std. K/Wal-Mart sling with 1" webbing that i installed a Fastex snap into, so it can be used exactly the same way a backpack waist buckle is used.
I use a soft-sided stadium seat that doubles as a shooting mat. It's customized by reattaching the female end of the side strap snaps closer to the seat itself for extremely enhanced back support to allow for extremely steady SP shooting from the sitting position with a tall Harris bipod attached. I also attached an addtl. Fastex snap at the end of the side strap webbing so it can be carried around my waist hands-free. The whole works goes into a burlap bag which is the best camo-pattern ever developed for prairie hunting, IMO. Cut holes for the seat attachments, insert seat then sew back up--the perfect portable seat system for hunting, IMO.
I ALWAYS CARRY A HOWLER OF SOME SORT--1 high pitched and 1 low pitched, that r used as locators most of the time, but once used i note where the responses came from and stay seated for 10-15 minutes in case the spot i howled from becomes a calling stand.
I use military BDU-style pants so i can carry everything i need in the side leg pockets without having to carry a backpack most of the time. For ancillary gear i carry an old super-wide camera strap i use to haul dogs to the closest skinning location, and a couple bags, knife and 2 short rope loops for skinning. I carry a nice portable digital camera for pics, and oftentimes i carry my 10-20X Leupold spotting scope too. I just got rid of my leg-pocket laser the Leica 1200 CRF, for a pair of 10X42 Leica BRF's so i don't need to carry a binoc and a laser. Expensive (and heavy) but worth it IMO.
I also use knee pads that are "stowed away" around my ankles in case i need to crawl some.
I always use the tall Harris bipod on my rigs for the maximum verstaility in the field (tho i've never seen the perfect front and rear feld setup yet).
1 of the most important things i do is to get well-hydrated before i leave the vehicle as that usually gets me through till the early afternoon from 1 location. I also carry a very small bottle of water in my leg pocket in case i need to rehydrate a little before i get back to the vehicle. Sometimes i'll take a very small backpack if i feel i'll need it. If u get dehydrated out there a mile or so from the vehicle hunting is no fun anymore as u struggle (usually just a little) to get back to the truck.
That's my system.
...BTW Tony, i remember u posting that pic awhile back--what an amazing stalk.