Four Football Fields Away...

Ursus21

Active member
Yesterday morning a landowner told me she had coyotes wake her up that morning by her house. She was hoping I would come out and try to shut'em up. As they say, a tough job but somebody has to do it.
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Anyway I set up about 800 yards North of her house and let off with a few howls. I'm expecting a reply or two to the North of where I'm set up. At first the only response were her dogs barking in her yard, then I heard what I thought was a coyote bark or two. Then sure enough a challenge howl. The dang thing was way behind me and near her house. I break out the bino's and spot the coyote on top of a large round hay bale. She's standing there howling and barking her fool head off and really raising cane with the dogs. Hmmm, I think to myself...I wonder if I can get off this open hillside un-notice while she's yapping at those dogs. I slip off the hill, and just before I drop out of sight, I check to see if she's still there with my binoculars. Yup she's still there, but has laid down. Game on! I quickly hike towards her keeping a hill between us. When I crest the hill she's still there but a long dang ways away. I get out my rangefinder and she's 400 yards. That's 4 football fields away and coyotes just aren't that big. However there is no wind and I can get a good prone rest. So I settle in. It takes me a little while to get crazy steady, but I finally get a good sight picture and squeeze the trigger.

Here is what the view looked like from the hay bale to where I was. The green dot represents where I first saw the coyote from 800+ yards. The red dot is where I was when I took the shot.
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I hear the report of a hit and at the same time see the coyote fly off the hay bale. She starts spinning and then runs into the thick brush behind the bale before I can get another shot in her. So I hike back up to my truck which is near the green dot. I put all my gear away and head down to the field with the coyote. The nice thing is I'm able to drive right to the bale. I get there and sure enough there is blood. I track her and she only made it 5 feet into the bushes. I'm one happy camper. Time for a "hero" shot.
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I'm not only happy about hitting her at 400 yards but the shot placement was excellent. Just before I took the shot I howled at her so she would stand up. She did and was 3/4 towards me. If you look closely at the photo below you can see where the bullet entered low on the point of her shoulder. It angled back and took out her heart. The more I shoot my .243 with Hornday's Superformance varmit loads, the more I like it! Little tiny entry and 50 cent size exit. Check out the fur on this thing. Pretty darn nice for a September coyote!
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I saw the land owner at work this morning. She was very happy with the news that there is one less yappy coyote outside her window.

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Ursus,
That is a nice looking coyote. All fured up in Sept. BTW she looks very big. Did you happen to weigh her? I know they look bigger in the chest when you hold them upside down like the one I got in my avatar but she looks very big. Mine was a big male and weighed 41.7 lbs. on a taxi's digital scale.
 
peterjc, I did not weigh her, but she is as big as she looks. When I walked up to her I was full well expecting it to be a decent sized male. I was more than a little surprised when it turned out to be a big female. I've killed a few other females this size, but as a rule they are usually quite a bit smaller. The big males around here get down right huge. Here's an example from last winter of a big male. I'm six foot tall to give you perspective.
TroyCoyote1Jan19.jpg
 
Congratulations on a well played stand! Having the confidence to even try a 400 yard shot on a coyote is commendable. Pulling it off perfectly is awesome.
 
Great shooting! "Nice for a September yote"...heck, I would lose my mind for January yote like that down here. Our fur NEVER gets that pretty. I hate you.
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Kizmo, you do have one up on me (soon to be two). You have hunted with Tony Tebbe and it appears you'll be doing it again soon. I'd really like to make a hunt with him someday, but there just gets to be too many other things pulling at my money these days.
 
You need to forego a toy and head to NM. Hunting with Tony is truly Coyote Valhalla. My whole family loved it, and we're heading back in October. Last time I went my scope mount worked itself loose from all the shooting.

OK, maybe it had something to do with the baggage handlers.
 
Originally Posted By: HidenseekproCongratulations on a well played stand! Having the confidence to even try a 400 yard shot on a coyote is commendable. Pulling it off perfectly is awesome.

I totally agree - Outstanding!
 
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