Well like everyone around our areas it seems there is some type of flu/cold sickness going around. I have been up and down for the last two weeks and finally thought I had shaken it. Weather and days off from work and even the full moon shaped up to give us a two day window of what we were hoping to be a good coyote killing trip. So last wed night we head out at about 7pm for a few quick stands around home before getting to bed for the trip. Made 3 spots with a few howling but no takers. Oh well we head west in the morning.
4:00am hits and I am on the road to my cousin's, twenty min later we are on the road, but due to a few inches of new snow we can't put the hammer down for the first half hour, thankfully soon after the roads clear and we are west bound and down. 2.5 hours later after some gas and a heart attack gas station breakfast we are closing in on our intended area.
We discuss our plan of attack and get situated on a high bean stubble hill over watching a huge rolling cornfield with deer scattered about. Nice looking draw to our NW and old building site filled with deer to the NE. One of those places that screams coyote or coyotes at first light. Just as it gets good light I hit the call and scan the area for coyotes only to turn my head to where we walked in from and notice a coyote coming on a good lope thinking he is in for an easy meal. He hits a low spot and I get spun around to welcome as his crests the hill. At 90yds he is all but in the truck until I squeeze the trigger and the get nothing. Rotate the bolt up and down and try again, still nothing. As I get ready rechamber a shell, my cousin's 204 lets out a bark puts him down. Keep calling for another ten but nothing more shows up.
Part of our plan this trip was to cover some new area and extend our calling area so we can spend a solid two days of calling without blowing out the area. So we headed north in search of new grounds.
Was not long and we found some new stuff that should be holding some coyotes, got some permission and tried a spot right behind the guys house which he figured should have one. Walking in we cross a couple sets of fresh tracks.
Get set up overlooking a cattail pond and start calling and within a nice mangy ratty looking coyote comes bouncing out looking for an easy meal. Gets to about 120yds and I figure that is close enough and attempt to stop him. As the trip wore on these coyotes just don't stop as nice as our Mn coyotes so I take a normally easy trotting shot and blow it. Then he proceeds to hide in the treeline before heading back to were he came from. I get one standing crack just as he was about back in the cattails at around 300yds, but as close as the shot was still didn't kill him. Glad it was a mangy mutt, but sure the landowner wanted them all dead.
Next spot is just on the other end of the property where all the deer are, but we were not allowed "in" the area, but could call the coyotes off of it, so we set up a quarter mile away and call with nothing to show for our efforts.
Move to the other corner on an old fence line that has several prime cattail sloughs to the east and north, get all snuck in and call for 15min without any action. Both my cousin look at each other and just can't believe there is no action, so I switch sounds and within thirty seconds a pretty pale female comes prancing in to 50 yds to meet a 35gr berger to the chest.
By this time its almost noon and we got 3 dogs in the truck, got one bonus driving between spots.
We locate this huge cattails slough that looks all but unhuntable but figure what the heck. Slip out to the corner and set up a mere 60yds from the cattails, but that was just how we had to sit with the wind and the hills. Cousin sits downwind on hill and was told to shoot what he could as I got the last one and missed the one before.
I start out quietly with the foxpro and slowly get louder, but before to long I see a nice looking coyote sneaking in the grass about 40yds form my cousin. But I notice he is looking with the binocs and has no clue the coyote is there. The coyote gets about sixty yards out from me and maybe forty from the caller and I had my shot and put him down before he spots anything he didn't like. Was a nice big pale male puts #4 in the truck for the day.
Thats where the action all but stops for the day. We try another half dozen spots and get permission from a couple more farmers but strike out on seeing any coyotes, but it being about 25 degrees with little to no wind makes for a nice day.
We eventually make to to familiar grounds, get our hotel room booked have a bite to eat and by 7pm we are out under the moonlight walking to our first spot for the night. Conditions were far from perfect with spotty snow, but we came to hunt.
This spot we waited for under the moon, as we tried it about two weeks ago when we were out and had several coyotes giving us the statue look and not coming in, being it was close to state land we figured they have heard a few tunes.
Started off with a few lone howls and went to some quiet distress, within a few minutes I see a coyote in the binocs about 500yds slowly walking my way. Then take the statue pose for several minutes. Finally stands up and starts coming on a slow trot, but looks to be taking a severe downwind approach in which I smiled knowing it was going to be right in my cousins lap. Before I got that thought out of my head a see a blur coming at me at about 100yds as another coyote came out of nowhere, which nowhere really was a slight lowspot that came out of a wooden ravine. By the time I shouldered my gun and turned on him he must of seen me move and thought I was the biggest meal ever as he angled right to me and picked up the pace. He would not stop for me so I took a trotting 35yd shot and rolled him up. My cousin took one shot at the first coyote but missed at about 200yds a shot he figured he should of made.
Next spot was the backside of a cattle yard with terrible snow conditions and now the wind was 15 mph. I blasted a few howls and went to some loud distress and within 5 min a coyote pops over the hill and makes it downwind for my cousin to make a 100yd shot, he asks why I didn't shoot at the second one and I reply with what second one? I must of focused on the first one and never did pick up the trailer which with the conditions it was no wise to take your eye off whatever you saw.
3rd spot was finally a nice white bean stubble for the downwind and huge rolling crp hills to the east and north, but the wind was howling and all I heard on the way up the hill was on how we wouldn't see any here. But after maybe 3 minutes of calling the faint shadow of a coyote came trotting in, but this coyote had no intention of coming up the hill we sat on. He instead dug around on something in the field at about 250yds, I gave my cousin the option if he wanted the shot or not and he gave me the greenlight. Layed the crosshairs on his head for windage and touched one off. The familiar thump and the coyote laid dead.
By this time the sickness that I thought I had kicked started to come back. The coyote which was a large male only got bigger by the time I drug him the quarter mile back to the truck. I was ready to throw in the towel but my cousin pushed me on. We checked on more spot, but was no snow at all. He then spoke of this lake spot we had eyeballed last time we were out, I got him in the area and said it was up to him to find it as I was really feeling now. He managed to find it and for some reason the wind was had died down so we hoofed in our to the corner.
I told him that I was going to turn the call on and shut my eyes and it was up to him to shoot. Started with some howls that were met with some challenge howls, but sounded pretty far off and downwind. I started the distress and within a minute he was nudging me that we had a coyote on its way. The coyote was coming hard but straight downwind and made it to about 150yds before a second one came blasting out of the cattails and stood at 75yds. My cousin drills him and I take a poke and the other one and roll him up. I go right to some yelping and before I have time to look arond a third on comes charging in and stands right on top of the dead one at 75yds, my cousin plants him and I look back to see a 4th dog turning tail. He only made it to 250yds before figuring this is not where he wanted to be. I took one long poke at him but no dice. I then try to work my bolt, but something is wrong and I can't close my bolt. We collect our triple and get them back to the truck.
I am now with a broken rifle and on deaths door. Somehow on the ride back to the hotel my bolt decides to work again. Yet to figure out what the problem was but I had my Dtech Tac 20 for backup.
Day 2 starts at 6am with what I would of considered the worst hangover feeling I have every had, guess a guy don't need to drink anymore to have a hangover.
We get a quick breakfast and some aleve and I am feeling alive to some degree. We march out to cut beanfield with a big chunk of crp and a few cattail ponds mixed in. Two weeks ago we killed a big male here and my farmer buddy has been seeing plenty around. Start off with a few howls and then to some distress and after 15 min I was really thinking we were striking out, howled a few more times and hit the pup distress and out pops a coyote at 100yds in the grass. He stands almost downwind and decides to start barking and howling at us. I let him get it out of his system and give my cousin the nod to shut him up.
Try several more spots and nothing except one bonus coyote my cousin shot. By now its about 2pm and I am really struggling, but we have one more spot that needs to be tried.
Its another big slough that someone had dumped some deer carcasses near and my farmer buddy said its solid tracks as they had walked it for pheasants not quite a week prior.
We can posted up on a pretty bare hill overlooking the slough, I went right to pup distress on pretty loud just hoping to get this last spot called, about fifteen seconds into it 3 coyote heads pop out of the crp grass at about 400yds. They sit on their hind ends and two of them yawn and stretch before making a very lazy approach which takes them ten minutes to get to about 175yds. At that time one posts up like a statue and one slowly makes his way to about 100yds. I count to three and we both touch off and two coyotes hit the dirt. Number three hops into the weeds and is gone.
Got get a pic of the Tac 20 in here.
We get the coyotes in the truck and I sleep the ride home and the next two days. Never felt so tough in my life, but we had a good time. Killed 14 coyotes.
4:00am hits and I am on the road to my cousin's, twenty min later we are on the road, but due to a few inches of new snow we can't put the hammer down for the first half hour, thankfully soon after the roads clear and we are west bound and down. 2.5 hours later after some gas and a heart attack gas station breakfast we are closing in on our intended area.
We discuss our plan of attack and get situated on a high bean stubble hill over watching a huge rolling cornfield with deer scattered about. Nice looking draw to our NW and old building site filled with deer to the NE. One of those places that screams coyote or coyotes at first light. Just as it gets good light I hit the call and scan the area for coyotes only to turn my head to where we walked in from and notice a coyote coming on a good lope thinking he is in for an easy meal. He hits a low spot and I get spun around to welcome as his crests the hill. At 90yds he is all but in the truck until I squeeze the trigger and the get nothing. Rotate the bolt up and down and try again, still nothing. As I get ready rechamber a shell, my cousin's 204 lets out a bark puts him down. Keep calling for another ten but nothing more shows up.
Part of our plan this trip was to cover some new area and extend our calling area so we can spend a solid two days of calling without blowing out the area. So we headed north in search of new grounds.
Was not long and we found some new stuff that should be holding some coyotes, got some permission and tried a spot right behind the guys house which he figured should have one. Walking in we cross a couple sets of fresh tracks.
Get set up overlooking a cattail pond and start calling and within a nice mangy ratty looking coyote comes bouncing out looking for an easy meal. Gets to about 120yds and I figure that is close enough and attempt to stop him. As the trip wore on these coyotes just don't stop as nice as our Mn coyotes so I take a normally easy trotting shot and blow it. Then he proceeds to hide in the treeline before heading back to were he came from. I get one standing crack just as he was about back in the cattails at around 300yds, but as close as the shot was still didn't kill him. Glad it was a mangy mutt, but sure the landowner wanted them all dead.
Next spot is just on the other end of the property where all the deer are, but we were not allowed "in" the area, but could call the coyotes off of it, so we set up a quarter mile away and call with nothing to show for our efforts.
Move to the other corner on an old fence line that has several prime cattail sloughs to the east and north, get all snuck in and call for 15min without any action. Both my cousin look at each other and just can't believe there is no action, so I switch sounds and within thirty seconds a pretty pale female comes prancing in to 50 yds to meet a 35gr berger to the chest.
By this time its almost noon and we got 3 dogs in the truck, got one bonus driving between spots.
We locate this huge cattails slough that looks all but unhuntable but figure what the heck. Slip out to the corner and set up a mere 60yds from the cattails, but that was just how we had to sit with the wind and the hills. Cousin sits downwind on hill and was told to shoot what he could as I got the last one and missed the one before.
I start out quietly with the foxpro and slowly get louder, but before to long I see a nice looking coyote sneaking in the grass about 40yds form my cousin. But I notice he is looking with the binocs and has no clue the coyote is there. The coyote gets about sixty yards out from me and maybe forty from the caller and I had my shot and put him down before he spots anything he didn't like. Was a nice big pale male puts #4 in the truck for the day.
Thats where the action all but stops for the day. We try another half dozen spots and get permission from a couple more farmers but strike out on seeing any coyotes, but it being about 25 degrees with little to no wind makes for a nice day.
We eventually make to to familiar grounds, get our hotel room booked have a bite to eat and by 7pm we are out under the moonlight walking to our first spot for the night. Conditions were far from perfect with spotty snow, but we came to hunt.
This spot we waited for under the moon, as we tried it about two weeks ago when we were out and had several coyotes giving us the statue look and not coming in, being it was close to state land we figured they have heard a few tunes.
Started off with a few lone howls and went to some quiet distress, within a few minutes I see a coyote in the binocs about 500yds slowly walking my way. Then take the statue pose for several minutes. Finally stands up and starts coming on a slow trot, but looks to be taking a severe downwind approach in which I smiled knowing it was going to be right in my cousins lap. Before I got that thought out of my head a see a blur coming at me at about 100yds as another coyote came out of nowhere, which nowhere really was a slight lowspot that came out of a wooden ravine. By the time I shouldered my gun and turned on him he must of seen me move and thought I was the biggest meal ever as he angled right to me and picked up the pace. He would not stop for me so I took a trotting 35yd shot and rolled him up. My cousin took one shot at the first coyote but missed at about 200yds a shot he figured he should of made.
Next spot was the backside of a cattle yard with terrible snow conditions and now the wind was 15 mph. I blasted a few howls and went to some loud distress and within 5 min a coyote pops over the hill and makes it downwind for my cousin to make a 100yd shot, he asks why I didn't shoot at the second one and I reply with what second one? I must of focused on the first one and never did pick up the trailer which with the conditions it was no wise to take your eye off whatever you saw.
3rd spot was finally a nice white bean stubble for the downwind and huge rolling crp hills to the east and north, but the wind was howling and all I heard on the way up the hill was on how we wouldn't see any here. But after maybe 3 minutes of calling the faint shadow of a coyote came trotting in, but this coyote had no intention of coming up the hill we sat on. He instead dug around on something in the field at about 250yds, I gave my cousin the option if he wanted the shot or not and he gave me the greenlight. Layed the crosshairs on his head for windage and touched one off. The familiar thump and the coyote laid dead.
By this time the sickness that I thought I had kicked started to come back. The coyote which was a large male only got bigger by the time I drug him the quarter mile back to the truck. I was ready to throw in the towel but my cousin pushed me on. We checked on more spot, but was no snow at all. He then spoke of this lake spot we had eyeballed last time we were out, I got him in the area and said it was up to him to find it as I was really feeling now. He managed to find it and for some reason the wind was had died down so we hoofed in our to the corner.
I told him that I was going to turn the call on and shut my eyes and it was up to him to shoot. Started with some howls that were met with some challenge howls, but sounded pretty far off and downwind. I started the distress and within a minute he was nudging me that we had a coyote on its way. The coyote was coming hard but straight downwind and made it to about 150yds before a second one came blasting out of the cattails and stood at 75yds. My cousin drills him and I take a poke and the other one and roll him up. I go right to some yelping and before I have time to look arond a third on comes charging in and stands right on top of the dead one at 75yds, my cousin plants him and I look back to see a 4th dog turning tail. He only made it to 250yds before figuring this is not where he wanted to be. I took one long poke at him but no dice. I then try to work my bolt, but something is wrong and I can't close my bolt. We collect our triple and get them back to the truck.
I am now with a broken rifle and on deaths door. Somehow on the ride back to the hotel my bolt decides to work again. Yet to figure out what the problem was but I had my Dtech Tac 20 for backup.
Day 2 starts at 6am with what I would of considered the worst hangover feeling I have every had, guess a guy don't need to drink anymore to have a hangover.
We get a quick breakfast and some aleve and I am feeling alive to some degree. We march out to cut beanfield with a big chunk of crp and a few cattail ponds mixed in. Two weeks ago we killed a big male here and my farmer buddy has been seeing plenty around. Start off with a few howls and then to some distress and after 15 min I was really thinking we were striking out, howled a few more times and hit the pup distress and out pops a coyote at 100yds in the grass. He stands almost downwind and decides to start barking and howling at us. I let him get it out of his system and give my cousin the nod to shut him up.
Try several more spots and nothing except one bonus coyote my cousin shot. By now its about 2pm and I am really struggling, but we have one more spot that needs to be tried.
Its another big slough that someone had dumped some deer carcasses near and my farmer buddy said its solid tracks as they had walked it for pheasants not quite a week prior.
We can posted up on a pretty bare hill overlooking the slough, I went right to pup distress on pretty loud just hoping to get this last spot called, about fifteen seconds into it 3 coyote heads pop out of the crp grass at about 400yds. They sit on their hind ends and two of them yawn and stretch before making a very lazy approach which takes them ten minutes to get to about 175yds. At that time one posts up like a statue and one slowly makes his way to about 100yds. I count to three and we both touch off and two coyotes hit the dirt. Number three hops into the weeds and is gone.
Got get a pic of the Tac 20 in here.
We get the coyotes in the truck and I sleep the ride home and the next two days. Never felt so tough in my life, but we had a good time. Killed 14 coyotes.
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