mbaysinger89
Active member
It was 3 weekends ago my coyote season started with an excited call to my dad that the weather was going to drop over the weekend enough to be able to comfortably, make a few stands. We headed out and made a few stands in some country that was unknown and unscouted. The first stand of the morning and season we called in a lone pup, but the rust had grown on our skills and our setup wasn't quite right. After our lesson the noon stand produced a hard charging coyote killed with dads shotgun, and the last stand of the day produced another dropped with my 204 at 50 yards....
The itch had grown.
The following weekend I was driving home from visiting a friend, on a road I had never followed, and kept thinking "this ground looks good, really really good, I need to find ground to hunt here." Well it just so happened I came across some, enough to last a day. I called my dad and said "how do you feel about travelling a little to do some hunting?" It also just so happened that I "overslept" my alarm later that week. I took the opportunity to go scout this new ground.
There was scat, tracks, everything a coyote needs to survive, and everything a hunter needs to be successful. Brushy draws, a lack of heavily travelled roads, scrub in most places to sit, everywhere else the stand would have to be timed to where the sun was our cover.
I was excited even more, the itch had gotten worse.
When we left the air was cool, and there was a gentle NE breeze. The conditions were the same when we pulled into our first stand. We walked onto a knob overlooking a hay meadow to the south and west, and a brushy draw and scrub to our east. About three minutes after we start to calling a smaller coyote charges the caller. It meets a 50 gr. Vmax. Fox bang turns on we let it play for a couple minutes and are about to get up as I see the cows in the pasture to the east looking at something. I whisper "STOP! its a coyote." Its not coming any closer so I shoot, Bang, Crack, the sound of a berger contacting the shoulder it drops. There's another running further out I shoot, it drops, gets back up and is trying to spin but can't use its hind end, and I'm out of ammo. Dad finishes it off with another vmax. Another coyote appears, but we never got a shot.
On the next stand, on a pond dam overlooking a draw with a nice patch of scrub at the end we see a coyote where we are supposed to sit, go over the hill and try to call him to no avail.
The temperature starts to rise and the coyotes didn't respond until a cloud bank rolls in.
We have time for two more stands and we know 2 stands where there are for sure coyotes. Pretty obvious decision. We go to the stand with the pond dam but hit it from a different angle and with mouthcalls instead of an ecaller. About 3 seconds into my first series on my HSB I hear a rustle behind me. 2 pups had been napping 20 yards from where we sit. The 204 is all I have with me. So I shoot the coyote in the rear of the two first. I don't get a shot on the second.
We get out with half the time we wanted for the final stand. She responds, we know she's close, we just run out of light, before she pops her head out.
Fast forward to the next morning. Dew on the grass, cool cloudy, another new to us stand over a hay meadow. One charges and gets rolled by dads 250. I spot another at what I believe is 300 yards. It won't come closer, and is challenging as I target it in my scope. ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS IVE EVER SEEN! THAT COYOTE WAS MAD. I miss. One inch high. 2 more coyotes come out of the woodwork, but never give an opportunity for a solid shot. 1 coyote down and a P.O.ed me for misjudging the distance.
Our next stand we sit on an abandoned RR right of way looking west with the sun behind us. As I'm scanning with the shotgun in hand I see another charging coyote I swing, and am about to pull the trigger when I hear dads rifle fire. Coyote down. I notice on on the hill directly behind the one he just shot at about 350. I quickly switch to my rifle, aim at the ears and squeeze. THWAP, the coyote drops out of the bottom of my scope, and the moan of the the air getting knocked out of the coyote fills my ears. I go to retrieve it and the grass is head high. The coyotes are responding, so we leave it and head for the next stand.
The sun is now out and its getting hot so after a couple dry stands we call it quits.
EDIT: we make a noon stand overlooking a hay meadow, we know there are other callers in this area. A coyote appears at a distance and is very shy. It starts running off. I take a long shot at the running coyote, and don't connect.
For the weekend we are sitting at 13 called coyotes, 6 in the truck, and one unrecovered.
Last night I head out for a quick stand after work alone and call this male.
Its been a good three days, spending time with one [beeep] of a hunting partner. Couldnt ask for more, accept keep 'em coming in, and let that itch keep growing.
The itch had grown.
The following weekend I was driving home from visiting a friend, on a road I had never followed, and kept thinking "this ground looks good, really really good, I need to find ground to hunt here." Well it just so happened I came across some, enough to last a day. I called my dad and said "how do you feel about travelling a little to do some hunting?" It also just so happened that I "overslept" my alarm later that week. I took the opportunity to go scout this new ground.
There was scat, tracks, everything a coyote needs to survive, and everything a hunter needs to be successful. Brushy draws, a lack of heavily travelled roads, scrub in most places to sit, everywhere else the stand would have to be timed to where the sun was our cover.
I was excited even more, the itch had gotten worse.
When we left the air was cool, and there was a gentle NE breeze. The conditions were the same when we pulled into our first stand. We walked onto a knob overlooking a hay meadow to the south and west, and a brushy draw and scrub to our east. About three minutes after we start to calling a smaller coyote charges the caller. It meets a 50 gr. Vmax. Fox bang turns on we let it play for a couple minutes and are about to get up as I see the cows in the pasture to the east looking at something. I whisper "STOP! its a coyote." Its not coming any closer so I shoot, Bang, Crack, the sound of a berger contacting the shoulder it drops. There's another running further out I shoot, it drops, gets back up and is trying to spin but can't use its hind end, and I'm out of ammo. Dad finishes it off with another vmax. Another coyote appears, but we never got a shot.
On the next stand, on a pond dam overlooking a draw with a nice patch of scrub at the end we see a coyote where we are supposed to sit, go over the hill and try to call him to no avail.
The temperature starts to rise and the coyotes didn't respond until a cloud bank rolls in.
We have time for two more stands and we know 2 stands where there are for sure coyotes. Pretty obvious decision. We go to the stand with the pond dam but hit it from a different angle and with mouthcalls instead of an ecaller. About 3 seconds into my first series on my HSB I hear a rustle behind me. 2 pups had been napping 20 yards from where we sit. The 204 is all I have with me. So I shoot the coyote in the rear of the two first. I don't get a shot on the second.
We get out with half the time we wanted for the final stand. She responds, we know she's close, we just run out of light, before she pops her head out.
Fast forward to the next morning. Dew on the grass, cool cloudy, another new to us stand over a hay meadow. One charges and gets rolled by dads 250. I spot another at what I believe is 300 yards. It won't come closer, and is challenging as I target it in my scope. ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS IVE EVER SEEN! THAT COYOTE WAS MAD. I miss. One inch high. 2 more coyotes come out of the woodwork, but never give an opportunity for a solid shot. 1 coyote down and a P.O.ed me for misjudging the distance.
Our next stand we sit on an abandoned RR right of way looking west with the sun behind us. As I'm scanning with the shotgun in hand I see another charging coyote I swing, and am about to pull the trigger when I hear dads rifle fire. Coyote down. I notice on on the hill directly behind the one he just shot at about 350. I quickly switch to my rifle, aim at the ears and squeeze. THWAP, the coyote drops out of the bottom of my scope, and the moan of the the air getting knocked out of the coyote fills my ears. I go to retrieve it and the grass is head high. The coyotes are responding, so we leave it and head for the next stand.
The sun is now out and its getting hot so after a couple dry stands we call it quits.
EDIT: we make a noon stand overlooking a hay meadow, we know there are other callers in this area. A coyote appears at a distance and is very shy. It starts running off. I take a long shot at the running coyote, and don't connect.
For the weekend we are sitting at 13 called coyotes, 6 in the truck, and one unrecovered. Last night I head out for a quick stand after work alone and call this male.
Its been a good three days, spending time with one [beeep] of a hunting partner. Couldnt ask for more, accept keep 'em coming in, and let that itch keep growing.
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