NM_HighPlains
New member
Today was cold (upper teens), with < 10 mph wind so I did the logical thing and went hunting after church. Called one stand overlooking pure grassland just to see if anything was there and then moved on to the spot I really wanted to call. I parked at our windmill and walked 400-500 yards to a little rise overlooking a canyon where I'd seen coyotes. I sat in-between 2 yuccas so that I had one front and rear and put the NX3 out about 50-60 yards and started ravens/jackrabbit.
About 7-8 minutes in, I spotted a coyote coming upslope from the canyon. It was trotting in, not fast, not slow, just trotting. I eased over and the coyote stopped, then started again. He didn't look real confident and I had him in the crosshairs, so the next time he stopped, facing right at me, I cut loose. Down he went!
I sat still and a few minutes later, here comes a second coyote, trotting in from my right. This one was coming a lot faster, so as soon as I could, I moved the rifle on it and got it in the crosshairs. By then, the coyote was straight out from me. I barked once and twice, and the coyote turned and came directly for me! I barked again, but by now I was "seeing the whites of their eyes" in the scope and I figured I'd better shoot, so I did and bang-flop, DRT. A few more minutes and nothing else, so I went to check out my dogs.
As I moved, I saw the first dog flopping around a bit. I collected the FoxPro and Mojo woodpecker and the 'yote was still flopping. So, I went back to my pack and then eased up on the dog and took a rest. He got up and tried walking off and I put another 50 gr V-max behind his head. Upon checking him out, it looks like the first shot was a bit of a angle, entering the center chest but exiting on the far shoulder and taking most of that shoulder with it. There was blood everywhere but as we all know, coyotes are tough. I hit the 2nd coyote right in the nose and the bullet passed thru the side and into the thoracic cavity. She was dead as dead can be, no issues there.
I moved on to the rim and called 30 minutes for a cat, but no luck. Have never seen a bobcat there, was just "fishing."
The firsts? First major damage I've had with the 50 gr V-max out of my .223 (we've discussed this....) and the first double I've taken where the dogs didn't come in together.
Here's the terrain:
First dog is the red dot to the right, shot was 89 yards. Second dog is just off my gun barrel, shot was 15 yards.
Blood from first dog:
Second dog down:
Moderators though the picture of the first dog was okay, so for the sake of showing V-max damage, here it is. Personally, I wouldn't blame the V-max- it was just a bad angle that ended up exiting and taking the shoulder out, too. I think it's incredible that I had to put a second bullet in this dog. These are tough animals.:
About 7-8 minutes in, I spotted a coyote coming upslope from the canyon. It was trotting in, not fast, not slow, just trotting. I eased over and the coyote stopped, then started again. He didn't look real confident and I had him in the crosshairs, so the next time he stopped, facing right at me, I cut loose. Down he went!
I sat still and a few minutes later, here comes a second coyote, trotting in from my right. This one was coming a lot faster, so as soon as I could, I moved the rifle on it and got it in the crosshairs. By then, the coyote was straight out from me. I barked once and twice, and the coyote turned and came directly for me! I barked again, but by now I was "seeing the whites of their eyes" in the scope and I figured I'd better shoot, so I did and bang-flop, DRT. A few more minutes and nothing else, so I went to check out my dogs.
As I moved, I saw the first dog flopping around a bit. I collected the FoxPro and Mojo woodpecker and the 'yote was still flopping. So, I went back to my pack and then eased up on the dog and took a rest. He got up and tried walking off and I put another 50 gr V-max behind his head. Upon checking him out, it looks like the first shot was a bit of a angle, entering the center chest but exiting on the far shoulder and taking most of that shoulder with it. There was blood everywhere but as we all know, coyotes are tough. I hit the 2nd coyote right in the nose and the bullet passed thru the side and into the thoracic cavity. She was dead as dead can be, no issues there.
I moved on to the rim and called 30 minutes for a cat, but no luck. Have never seen a bobcat there, was just "fishing."
The firsts? First major damage I've had with the 50 gr V-max out of my .223 (we've discussed this....) and the first double I've taken where the dogs didn't come in together.
Here's the terrain:
First dog is the red dot to the right, shot was 89 yards. Second dog is just off my gun barrel, shot was 15 yards.
Blood from first dog:
Second dog down:
Moderators though the picture of the first dog was okay, so for the sake of showing V-max damage, here it is. Personally, I wouldn't blame the V-max- it was just a bad angle that ended up exiting and taking the shoulder out, too. I think it's incredible that I had to put a second bullet in this dog. These are tough animals.:
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