DARKSIDE OF THE MOON

Infidel 762

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New Year's eve, I set out for my final hunt of the year... A few dry stands with near perfect weather conditions on good sets... Some earthlings believe the moon can affect hunting... I was beginning to wonder if the moon was behind these dry stands... Regardless, I kept moving... I set up on a funnel of timber that dissolves into thick river accretion... Open pasture on the left, green wheat on the right, with the river flowing down it's back.

I let off a couple lone howls… then toyed with low volumes of vole squeaks for over 5 minutes… next, it was one series of rabbit… my thumb slid across the remote feeling for the recall button… aside from blinking, my eyes never broke contact with the wood line… however all at once he was just sitting there…



After, while walking back to my truck with a cat over my shoulder, I observed the moon… Waxing Gibbous that ascends from the east… welcomed with coyote vocals… as the sun descends into the west… thinking about stupid things… like the concept behind Daylight Savings or New Year’s eve and how the moon is not restrained by any human calendar, much like the coyote…



The moon’s orbit, now furthest from the sun in our sky... sets in the wee hours after midnight… shortly thereafter I set out… I set out for this year’s first and it produced, it produced a junk yard coyote...

I set up… I sat in the cold… until first shooting light, over a mud hole they used to dump junk into... Old washing machines, burnt out farm equipment with metal gears and broken glass from all the bottles I used to shoot as a kid... This was always a good place to hunt rabbits... Made sense to broadcast rabbit distress there...

I hit him low and the shot broke both front legs... He made it into thick tamaracks with me in chase... It's amazing how fast they can still go with only 2 legs... There was a blood trail, yet I could hear him crashing through the brush ahead, as I am sure he could hear me crashing through the brush behind him... I would catch a glimpse of him and fire shots... The brush was so thick and I was breathing so heavy from running through the thick [beeep] with so many layers of clothing... I would miss and he would disappear... I would stand still and listen for him crashing, then run towards it... It was organized chaos at best, yet exciting, when I finally put finishing shots into him, I walked up on him and knelt down in exhaustion... Catching my breath as he drew his last...



Did you know there is a term for people with a passion for the moon? They are called lunatics…

Even though I observe the moon, I have never let it be a deciding factor as to when I hunt, for coyote is a lunatic...



Right around noon I set up on a sand ridge overlooking a fence line... Behind the fence is thick river accretion... A few minutes into the set, I watch a coyote come out of the thick brush... Next I watched a puff of coyote fur settle gentle in crosswind... I was sitting against the cedar in the back ground...



I followed the same sand ridge that parallels the accretion less than a half mile... I set up again with the same tactics...I called for 25 minutes, nothing... I let the call play continuos for a few minutes just loud enough to barely hear it with coaxer sounds... I called the stand and started to collapse the legs on my bog pod... I look up and there is a bobcat on a cow trail right in front of me walking away;



Hey, diddle, diddle... The cat and the fiddle…

I am re-enforcing my belief that you can call predators under all shades of moon phases;



This is the first cross eyed coyote I have ever seen... Proof that I am only able to kill the dumb ones;



My start to the new year;



I think lunatics are people who can see past the moon and into the sun.

“… and if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon”

Roger Waters

"There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark.".

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Wow, you're getting right after them, Infidel! That Chase Coyote is an old dude. I somehow doubt that it's only the dumb ones you're killing. It was so old that the only excuse could be senility....
 
Infidel 762--FANTASTIC POST!!! You definitely "wax poetic" and I always enjoy reading your stories. That was certainly a great way to end 2014 and an even better way to start 2015!!! I hope your success continues to hold for the rest of 2015.

Thanks for the great write-up and the fantastic photos.
 
Infidel is that handguard from a Fred Eichler rifle or did you find one someplace, and put it on. Or am I wrong and the whole gun is Fred Eichler just dipped for color?
 
Thanks for the invite to accompany you on your New Year's eve and NYD hunt, Jeremy. Two cats in one 24 hr. period...outstanding. Really enjoyed the trip, as usual.

Regards,
hm
 
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