2 cats and 2 reds down, and a black coyote missed.....

Yellowhammer

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My brother is in town for the holidays, and wanted me to take him out for some predator hunting. I took him for the first time last year while we were in Ozona on a deer hunt, and he missed a gray fox.

We put in 9 stands on the National Forest Tuesday night and never even seen a critter. Visibilities were not great, and we didn't even hear anything.

Venatic had been checking on some new spots about an hour north of me and had us come up and meet him. We met him at the WhatAburger at 6:30 pm and he already had a bobcat laying on top of the truck. Maybe we could do a little better tonight.

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We drove out to one of the properties, and after parking my truck and transferring some gear, we headed out to pick up David's caller where he had left it when he killed the cat.
We tried that spot again since we were there anyway, but nothing showed and we moved on.

At the next spot we had a red fox come charging up the fence line at about the 2 minute mark, and cut downwind and was over the hill before my brother could get off a shot. David tried some fox distress and pulled him back for a quick peak just over the top of the hill, but didn't show enough for a shot. An opposum or rabbit caught our attention for a second in the other direction, and then a few minutes later I caught the fox coming back at us on the run. I smooched him to a stop and my brother had his first predator down. A nice male red fox. The slightly quartering forward shot with the 60 gr. vmax was not fur friendly.


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Now it was my turn to be the shooter and David and my brother to run the lights. Next couple of stands were a zero, and then on the next one David picked up eyes at the 3 minute mark of lightning jack. It was a nice tom and this time the 60 vmax in the chest was perfect. Looked like he just died of a heart attack.

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This tom was 22.5 pounds on my digital scale. (David's female he got right before we got there was 18.5 if I remember right.)

David's turn in the rotation came around, and we moved on. I think it was the next stand and we had eyes on the edge of the thicket but could not be sure what it was. It might have been a coon playing peek a boo. We kept trying to figure it out, and at about the 13 minute mark another red fox came bounding in. David made a nice 130 yard shot with the Tac. 20 and we had more fur down.

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We tried anoter couple of stands without any luck, and the wind really started to blow. And, we were planning on hunting this morning too. So, after the hour drive home to take my brother back, I iced down the cats to skin later, grabbed about an hour of sleep and was back up and on the road to meet David at 5:30 am.

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I met David and 6:30 am and we drove out to another property to see what we could do. The wind was gusting, and wasn't exactly the direction we would have liked.

At the first spot we wanted to stop, we saw a big boar hog crossing the pasture. After we parked the truck, I slipped out to see if he had made the woods yet. He hadn't but he was a ways out there, and farther than I thought. After I apparently missed, we ranged it at 250 yards, so I probably shot under him.

We called several really good looking spots, but the wind didn't let up, and we were seeing nothing. On the last stand, we walked up onto a big hill on the pasture overlooking adjacent woods. The corner of the field was grown up in goat weeds, and again the wind wasn't how we would have liked, but we though we would try it before calling it a day as we had about run out of ground.

At the 13 minute mark I caught movement down the hill in the corner almost directly downwind. It was a solid black coyote!

He was over 200 yards and only momentarily visible in the tall goat weeds. I zoomed up the scope, but he cut from right to left to get even downwind of the caller which was about 40 yards to my left. This was taking it toward David, but dead down wind of me. I could see anything except goat weeds and was hoping David would get a shot.

Then I see the sucker back tracking the way he had came, and I'm sure he caught my wind has we was leaving. He stopped momentarily for that last look back and I settled the second crosshair on my Burris FFII balistic plex recticle since I was quessing him at 200 yards. I touched it off and after the recoil saw a big splash of red dust right where he had been! I never saw what happened to him, but the was right at the point where he was dropping over a little rise.

The only place we call all morning that the grass isn't ankle high and a black coyote come where you can't get a good shot. After 10 more minutes I pup distress and other sounds we gave it up. I'm still shaking my head.

David walked over, and we ranged it at 215 yards. David had seen him to, but never had any better shot than I did, and had lost sight of him right before I shot.

That black coyote sure would have been the nice end to the day. I guess I need to work on my long range shooting.
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Good story and those sure are some pretty red fox. Nice cats too you guys are on a role. Stay after the black coyote you will get him. They can't always get lucky. Lol Merry Christmas Seth
 
Sean, sorry to hear about the Black Coyote that would have been a real trophy. Next time you'll get him!
It sounds like you guys had a fun time
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I think David was going to try calling some of that same area again tonight. Maybe he will do better in the dark than we did today.

Yeah, it was pretty frustrating to finally see a black one and not have much of a shot, and to miss the one I had.

That is only the 3rd black one I have ever seen in person. The first was a road kill, the second crossed a farm market road in front of me 3 years ago in the adjacent county and just stood in the pasture looking at me.

Well, missing saved me some money anyway.
 
David went back, but no luck I guess. He did pick up another cat on his way home the next morning but on a different spot I think.

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LMAO... I know you're upset, but after 2 cats and two foxes? I would be happy just to kill a coyote that I called in. The only one's I've had come to the call were either spooked by someone else in my hunting group, or missed by someone else. Keep after him, you'll get a blackie, just like someday I might kill 2 cats and 2 foxes!
 
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