3 Years Trying - My First Coyote - On a New Year's Eve! (Photos and Video)

Crimson Raptor

New member
First of all, Happy New Year to all of the Predator Master members and their families. I hope that your 2014 is a blessed one.

I hope that you all have a couple of minutes to allow me to share and savor the moment that I took my first coyote at close range with my shotgun this New Years Eve. Pull up a chair and a cup of coffee cause I can get long-winded when I’m excited. (If you want to skip my calling history and narrative, you can scroll to the good stuff at the bottom.)

To understand what this moment means to me, you need an understanding of how much time, energy, and money I have put into my pursuit of calling Florida predators since discovering and becoming a calling addict.

The first season that I called, I thought I was some immediately some kind of calling god. Within moments of my first live calling stand, I brought a big tom bobcat to within 15 feet of me. What a rush! Within 2 months, I had called crows, multiple bobcats, nearly a dozen raccoons, and lots of curious raptors. I thought I was quite the predator calling stud after taking my first bobcat.

Remember, this is all on public land, too. At the rate I was calling critters, I figured that my becoming a coyote calling and killing machine was a given.

Boy, did my local coyotes have a thing or two or ten to teach me.

The amount of determination, patience, and learning curve required to call, discover, and shoot a coyote in close eastern cover ended up being a lot harder in reality than it sounded on paper. It took me late into my second season just to see one that I called. And when I finally saw it, it was standing 20 feet behind me as I was breaking stand with shotgun slung away. I laughed out loud and he laughed at me back. I could see it in his smile.

Upon reflection, that was the worst calling setup I’ve ever made and it cost me my first coyote in my first season. It was right around that time that I found Predator Masters. I was welcomed into the forum by many of you and with lots of reading, questions, advice, and encouragement from many Predator Masters members, I kept at it. And kept at it. And kept at it.

For the record, until last night, the record was Coyotes 6, Crimson Raptor 0!! I’m finally on the board, but I don’t think that the scoring ratio will ever change! I don’t want to think about the damage that my calling addiction has made to my wallet as it’s more than I would like to admit.

However, after last night, I think it’s all been worth it.

First, this particular area is loaded with coyotes. We’ve been talking to them for two years, me and my Foxpro, and I always find fresh sign. Second, there are lots of cattle. I like cattle and so do the coyotes. After 3 seasons of calling and trying to be in the right place at the right time under the right conditions, I stumbled onto a stand location during my walk that I felt even I couldn’t screw up.

I set up in what I can best describe as a semi-circular shallow bowl with the wind out of the northeast at 4-6. A long drainage ditch or canal had been dredged out creating a grassy, earth berm that ran east and west for a long distance, curving down due south just east of my south-facing location on the downwind side of the berm. For anyone or thing to get to my calling location from upwind to the north, there was only one land bridge across the creek. Anything approaching from the east, west, or southeast would have to use the contour of the creek and anything coming from my south could utilized the pine hammock to the front of me as cover while approaching the call. And my scent would be drifting harmlessly into “no-yote’s land” into the open pasture to my southwest. I was laying on the downwind side of the berm on my back, with a great 180 degree panorama to my east, west, and south. I knew anything following the contour of the berm behind me couldn’t see me and would hopefully break cover before I ever got busted.

I set the Foxpro about 15 yards away to my east and started with mouse squeaks, then to Wailin’ Woodpecker, then DSG Cottontail, and then Kid Goat Distress. After that, to Kitten Cries.

This was over a period of about 30-35 minutes. I was not going to break stand as I knew I was in hot coyote country and was just hoping to keep enough ears pointed my direction so that as the sun set, I could get some calling love. Just as the sun dipped below the horizon and the wind started to lay down a bit, I did a group locator howl, waited 20 seconds and answered my own group howl with a gruff male challenge howl. About another 45 seconds to a minute, I flipped on coyote pup distress. About 45 seconds into pup distress, this beautiful reddish coyote flashed past me from my upwind straight towards the call.

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As luck would have it, I was actually scanning to my east over my left shoulder when she flashed into view.

I don’t remember raising my gun or pressing the safety off. I just remember her jerking her head over over her right shoulder at me when I moved and she hit the jets. I shot and cartwheeled her before she got into the tall stuff. I put one more security shot in her general vicinity, but she was already prone and I hit nothing but pasture grass.

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I looked around for any of her friends, but only half-heartedly. I was too excited to sit still and keep calling. I turned off the call and found her down and out. It turns out that my shot was a little high as only one of my 00 buck pellets went through and through her neck. But it was enough. I had #4 buck loaded, but had forgotten to cycle out my 00 buck on stand. The 00 is in case of flushing pigs on my walk in through the tall pasture grass. Either way, it worked out.



In honor of this, my first coyote, I skinned her out last night and after rinsing the pelt prior to storing in the freezer, I realized that it’s going to be a really good looking pelt for a southeastern coyote. Reddish with streaks of black and silver tipped guard hairs.



I can’t emphasize enough how much the advice, recommendations, and encouragement I’ve received on Predator Masters has kept me focused and returning to the woods to keep calling for what has to be one of the wiliest of God’s creatures.

Thanks to each and every one of you and thank you for allowing me to share this with you.



 
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CONGRATS!!!!!!! It sure doesn't get any better than that. Isn't it amazing the feeling you get/got from that. The smile says it all. That's one big monkey off your back as well. It will only get better from here on out. Truly enjoyed reading your story, congrats again...
 
Good work Raptor, I hunt a plethra of private land, but your story reminds me that I have scouted a few "walk in" public areas I've been meaning to hit up... Thanks, I know what I'm doin in the morning! Nice ginger pup!
 
Congrats Raptor! I really enjoyed reading your story! Now that the monkey is off of your back, hopefully you'll be downing them one after the other from here on out! Happy New Year to you as well!
 
Thank you all for your kind words. It's this community plus my own hard headedness that has kept me plugging. I admit to days where it would be easier to stay home than go through a series of dry stands, but it will pay
off with patience and persistence. You just have to keep getting out there, learning and getting burned on occasion.

And I promise my next dead coyote post will have a much shorter storyline.
 
WooHoo. Ya did it!

Congrats buddy.
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