Merdit
Active member
Tuesday's forecast was for a south breeze and 85 degrees, but by the time my son was on the bus to school and I got out of the house, there was a pretty thick fog and no breeze at all. That type of weather ALWAYS puts a calling stand on my mind. We seem to have a bumper crop of coyotes around this year, so I had asked several of my neighbors for permission to call on their properties. All of which gave me the go ahead, and I had scouted out a couple good looking spots close to the road. There was no point in checking cattle until I could see further, so it was a perfect time to hit one of my new spots. I drove a few miles from the house through thick fog to the back of one of our pastures. I parked the pickup in a low spot up in some rocky bluffs, and gathered up the gear I needed for my stand. I decided with the low visibility it would be a good day to test out my new-to-me Foxpro Scorpion. Maybe I could keep the attention away from me if something came in close before I saw it. I put a diaphragm call in my mouth, threw my calling seat and sticks over my shoulder, picked up my AR, and headed West to the neighbor's.
It was only a couple hundred yards to where I wanted to set up on a point where the bluffs broke off. As I walked in, a slight Southeast breeze was coming in. A little sunshine popped out directly above me and made the strangest fog-shrouded rainbow. The colors were muted by the fog and it didn't seem to stretch very far out in front of me. I wish I had stopped to try to catch a picture of it, but I didn't think to with calling on my mind. I did my best not to make the wires creak as I crossed the barb-wire fence in to my neighbor's pasture, and the moisture on the ground from the fog kept the dry grass from crunching much so I felt like I was making a fairly quiet approach. I found a boulder sticking up that made a nice perch for my e-call, then went on another 60-70 yards where I set up.
This was the view from my stand to the West. Fog rolling out in the distance.
I sat down and pointed my Rock down the bottom of the gully I hoped something would travel up. Then I let the Foxpro open up with a couple lone howls. It was less than a minute that a group answered not far to the Southwest. Then a group not too far to the Nothwest. Then a couple more way out to the West and some more to the Nothwest! That has to be the most responses I have ever had from a howl on stand!
After the opening howl, the mule deer on these two ridges in the picture above stood up and started paying attention. Things were shaping up nicely as the fog was slowly drifting out. Now I had some extra eyes to help me find a coyote if one came in. However, I didn't bank on all the assistance these muley does would wind up providing.
I waited a couple minutes after the howl and switched to cottontail distress. This sent the deer on the closest ridge on over it and out of sight. I played the tune intermittently for about five minutes when I saw a coyote coming up the gully right where I had hoped one would. It was about 300 yards out and taking its time coming in easy and looking around, mostly to the South. I didn't think it looked particularly nervous or suspicious, but I should have known better the way it had it's head on a swivel. It came in to about 250, just behind a small stock tank with a cedar next to it(center of picture above). Then it just veered North up a cut and went out of sight. I prepared to swing my AR a bit in the direction it went. Then the reasons the coyote veered North came bouncing over the closest ridge. Several pairs of muley does and their mostly grown fawns decided it was time to check out the dying rabbit before the coyote finished it. I was glad I had the call up on the point of that rock because they were sure making a lot of noise pounding around behind me. I wanted to turn 180 to watch what they were doing, but was still hoping the coyote would pop up on the ridge to the North. So I just sat there imagining one of the deer bumping the call off the boulder and playing a game of stomp-it as it bounced and shattered down the rocks.
I went ahead running the call, switching between several different cottontail sounds to try to draw the coyote back out where I could see it. After a several minutes, maybe five or six, the muleys left the way they came. At about the 22 minute mark another group of muleys came over the further ridge. This time I decided if they came on in I was going to get out my phone and video them. Then I would at least have something to show for my efforts. It was about that time the deer stopped coming and started doing the looky-loo to the closer ridge to my South. I looked back over my shoulder(picture above). Nothing there. I let the call go another series and checked my back door again. There was a coyote trotting half way to the bottom of the gully! I was about to be busted back door style. From where the coyote was I was skylined and I needed to make a full u-turn. Lucky for me it never took it's eyes off the call and I made the move just in time for it to go out of site below my call. I waited for the coyote to reappear where it had disappeared, probably moving mach2 because it had just found the scent from my appproach. I waited......then glanced to my call. There was the coyote craning its neck towards the top of the rock! It was standing broadside exactly where I had stood to set the call up there. For a split second I thought that would make an awesome picture. I thought derbyacresbob would have been proud of me. I wished I had a witness. I wished I could feeze time. I wished I had a RRA loaded with 50 grain v-maxes. Oh ya! I did! Blammo! It was a magic moment. Not preserved with Kodak, but I won't soon forget it.
The coyote spun and went out of sight. I knew I had hit it solid and didn't expect it to make the bottom of the gully, but readied for a follow-up just in case. It never came out so I hit my preset number 4 which was pup distress. I let it play for about a half a minute. Then I sat and waited for a few minutes to see if anything else showed up. I didn't see anything so I packed up and took a few pics.
I dragged the little female back up to where she was shot and shot her again.......digital style.
Here's a shot of the fog rolling out back on my side of the fence. Time to get back to making the big bucks.
It was only a couple hundred yards to where I wanted to set up on a point where the bluffs broke off. As I walked in, a slight Southeast breeze was coming in. A little sunshine popped out directly above me and made the strangest fog-shrouded rainbow. The colors were muted by the fog and it didn't seem to stretch very far out in front of me. I wish I had stopped to try to catch a picture of it, but I didn't think to with calling on my mind. I did my best not to make the wires creak as I crossed the barb-wire fence in to my neighbor's pasture, and the moisture on the ground from the fog kept the dry grass from crunching much so I felt like I was making a fairly quiet approach. I found a boulder sticking up that made a nice perch for my e-call, then went on another 60-70 yards where I set up.
This was the view from my stand to the West. Fog rolling out in the distance.
I sat down and pointed my Rock down the bottom of the gully I hoped something would travel up. Then I let the Foxpro open up with a couple lone howls. It was less than a minute that a group answered not far to the Southwest. Then a group not too far to the Nothwest. Then a couple more way out to the West and some more to the Nothwest! That has to be the most responses I have ever had from a howl on stand!
After the opening howl, the mule deer on these two ridges in the picture above stood up and started paying attention. Things were shaping up nicely as the fog was slowly drifting out. Now I had some extra eyes to help me find a coyote if one came in. However, I didn't bank on all the assistance these muley does would wind up providing.
I waited a couple minutes after the howl and switched to cottontail distress. This sent the deer on the closest ridge on over it and out of sight. I played the tune intermittently for about five minutes when I saw a coyote coming up the gully right where I had hoped one would. It was about 300 yards out and taking its time coming in easy and looking around, mostly to the South. I didn't think it looked particularly nervous or suspicious, but I should have known better the way it had it's head on a swivel. It came in to about 250, just behind a small stock tank with a cedar next to it(center of picture above). Then it just veered North up a cut and went out of sight. I prepared to swing my AR a bit in the direction it went. Then the reasons the coyote veered North came bouncing over the closest ridge. Several pairs of muley does and their mostly grown fawns decided it was time to check out the dying rabbit before the coyote finished it. I was glad I had the call up on the point of that rock because they were sure making a lot of noise pounding around behind me. I wanted to turn 180 to watch what they were doing, but was still hoping the coyote would pop up on the ridge to the North. So I just sat there imagining one of the deer bumping the call off the boulder and playing a game of stomp-it as it bounced and shattered down the rocks.
I went ahead running the call, switching between several different cottontail sounds to try to draw the coyote back out where I could see it. After a several minutes, maybe five or six, the muleys left the way they came. At about the 22 minute mark another group of muleys came over the further ridge. This time I decided if they came on in I was going to get out my phone and video them. Then I would at least have something to show for my efforts. It was about that time the deer stopped coming and started doing the looky-loo to the closer ridge to my South. I looked back over my shoulder(picture above). Nothing there. I let the call go another series and checked my back door again. There was a coyote trotting half way to the bottom of the gully! I was about to be busted back door style. From where the coyote was I was skylined and I needed to make a full u-turn. Lucky for me it never took it's eyes off the call and I made the move just in time for it to go out of site below my call. I waited for the coyote to reappear where it had disappeared, probably moving mach2 because it had just found the scent from my appproach. I waited......then glanced to my call. There was the coyote craning its neck towards the top of the rock! It was standing broadside exactly where I had stood to set the call up there. For a split second I thought that would make an awesome picture. I thought derbyacresbob would have been proud of me. I wished I had a witness. I wished I could feeze time. I wished I had a RRA loaded with 50 grain v-maxes. Oh ya! I did! Blammo! It was a magic moment. Not preserved with Kodak, but I won't soon forget it.
The coyote spun and went out of sight. I knew I had hit it solid and didn't expect it to make the bottom of the gully, but readied for a follow-up just in case. It never came out so I hit my preset number 4 which was pup distress. I let it play for about a half a minute. Then I sat and waited for a few minutes to see if anything else showed up. I didn't see anything so I packed up and took a few pics.
I dragged the little female back up to where she was shot and shot her again.......digital style.
Here's a shot of the fog rolling out back on my side of the fence. Time to get back to making the big bucks.
