204 AR
Well-known member
All week I've been watching the forecast, thinking Black Friday was going to be perfect weather for calling. I told my partner Larry I thought we'd have pretty good luck, but I didn't know it would be as good as it was.
Started out and we wanted to try a stand that has always looked good with sign but never produced. Sitting in the shadows of large sand hills I started with vole squeaks for a couple minutes, then jackrabbit distress till the 10 minute mark, then pup distress. I thought it would be another zero for that stand when at the 14 minute mark I see one headed our way from about 375 yds. He held up at 300 or so and I switched back to vole squeaks and he committed. As he disappeared behind a knoll I re-positioned and got ready. He popped up at 150, just over a knoll out of sight of Larry so I held and squeezed off. Bang! Number one down for the 264!
Set number two was a new spot we wanted to try just because we thought "why not". Kind of close-in compared to the view on some sets, but it paid off. After 7 minutes of jack rabbit this one tried the back door. Believe it or not I didn't see it, I heard it running through the grass. Turning just in time to see it drop in the bottom then climb the hill on the other side, I woofed, it stopped, then it got dead. Number 2 for the 264 in the books!
Fairly glowing after going two-for=two, we headed for set three. On the way I spotted one on the meadow. We watched it mosey along for a few minutes while putting together a game plan. Larry concocted the idea of dropping me off with the call and rifle, and he would drive on. After he got down the trail a ways I would try calling that coyote back across the meadow. "That's never going to work, but I'll try it" I told him. Well at the start of jack rabbit distress this little guy headed back my way, and when he held up at 150, a 100 gr Amax hammered him.
So if you're keeping track that's three for three so far. Set four was back in the hills a bit, just on the opposite side of the trail from the meadow I shot the last coyote on. Using the same basic sequence of jack rabbit for 10 mins, then pup distress for 5 or so, this stand looked like a blank. On the way out as we walked back through a saddle in the hills I spotted one running through a small open spot ahead of us. He was trying to back door us, must have come across the meadow, past the truck to the call. No shot opportunity on this one.
Just then Larry spots another coyote out on the meadow. We decided to just sit and call, see if he'd finish coming in. He came in on a line, right past the parked truck and headed our way. I'm pretty sure some glare from the sun spooked him at 200 yds or so, and he held up. I had a good shot but was waiting for Larry as I'd been doing all the shooting so far. He wasn't steady and missed, then I missed at 268, which I guessed was 300 at the time, so thinking I shot over by a hair. Oh well, gotta leave a few.
At that point we decided to eat lunch, and move on down the line a fair bit, because there couldn't be any more in this small area, right? Well as we were going through a gate, I spotted one more, that came from the same general area as the last 3! We watched him trot out around a big slough and get maybe 1/2 mile or more away. We walked to a stack yard and tried calling him back the way he had come from, but after 15 minutes no luck. Moving on we decided to get into the hills, hoping we would get more-or-less ahead of him.
That set worked exactly as planned, I love it when that happens. Bay Bee cottontail playing on the music box, I spotted him at maybe 4 minutes. The only problem, I didn't take the shot at the first good opportunity. I had him dead to rights more than once from 200 up to maybe 150 yards. As he was still coming good I got greedy and wanted some "insurance yards". At that point he caught a glare or a whif and wheeled and started heading out. A "woof" didn't stop him and I blew the shot. That one hurt, I was already counting number 4, but it wasn't meant to be. The remaining 3 stands were blanks and we headed back to town very pleased with a hunt we will remember for a long time.
If anyone is wondering the load was 100 gr amax over plenty of cfe223. I may change that as the first 2 coyotes ran a bit, that bullet doesn't seem to expand much unless you hit bone. Exits weren't bad though on any of them, and blood trails were good. They didn't go too far. But I think I will be going to the 85 Sierra, which shoots as good but has a terrible bc. I really wish someone would make a nice 75 or 80 gr tipped varmint bullet for the small 6.5 rounds. Would make a great coyote bullet doing 3000 fps from the shorter barreled AR's like mine. Maybe someday....
Sorry for the long read, and not-so-great pics!
Started out and we wanted to try a stand that has always looked good with sign but never produced. Sitting in the shadows of large sand hills I started with vole squeaks for a couple minutes, then jackrabbit distress till the 10 minute mark, then pup distress. I thought it would be another zero for that stand when at the 14 minute mark I see one headed our way from about 375 yds. He held up at 300 or so and I switched back to vole squeaks and he committed. As he disappeared behind a knoll I re-positioned and got ready. He popped up at 150, just over a knoll out of sight of Larry so I held and squeezed off. Bang! Number one down for the 264!
Set number two was a new spot we wanted to try just because we thought "why not". Kind of close-in compared to the view on some sets, but it paid off. After 7 minutes of jack rabbit this one tried the back door. Believe it or not I didn't see it, I heard it running through the grass. Turning just in time to see it drop in the bottom then climb the hill on the other side, I woofed, it stopped, then it got dead. Number 2 for the 264 in the books!
Fairly glowing after going two-for=two, we headed for set three. On the way I spotted one on the meadow. We watched it mosey along for a few minutes while putting together a game plan. Larry concocted the idea of dropping me off with the call and rifle, and he would drive on. After he got down the trail a ways I would try calling that coyote back across the meadow. "That's never going to work, but I'll try it" I told him. Well at the start of jack rabbit distress this little guy headed back my way, and when he held up at 150, a 100 gr Amax hammered him.
So if you're keeping track that's three for three so far. Set four was back in the hills a bit, just on the opposite side of the trail from the meadow I shot the last coyote on. Using the same basic sequence of jack rabbit for 10 mins, then pup distress for 5 or so, this stand looked like a blank. On the way out as we walked back through a saddle in the hills I spotted one running through a small open spot ahead of us. He was trying to back door us, must have come across the meadow, past the truck to the call. No shot opportunity on this one.
Just then Larry spots another coyote out on the meadow. We decided to just sit and call, see if he'd finish coming in. He came in on a line, right past the parked truck and headed our way. I'm pretty sure some glare from the sun spooked him at 200 yds or so, and he held up. I had a good shot but was waiting for Larry as I'd been doing all the shooting so far. He wasn't steady and missed, then I missed at 268, which I guessed was 300 at the time, so thinking I shot over by a hair. Oh well, gotta leave a few.
At that point we decided to eat lunch, and move on down the line a fair bit, because there couldn't be any more in this small area, right? Well as we were going through a gate, I spotted one more, that came from the same general area as the last 3! We watched him trot out around a big slough and get maybe 1/2 mile or more away. We walked to a stack yard and tried calling him back the way he had come from, but after 15 minutes no luck. Moving on we decided to get into the hills, hoping we would get more-or-less ahead of him.
That set worked exactly as planned, I love it when that happens. Bay Bee cottontail playing on the music box, I spotted him at maybe 4 minutes. The only problem, I didn't take the shot at the first good opportunity. I had him dead to rights more than once from 200 up to maybe 150 yards. As he was still coming good I got greedy and wanted some "insurance yards". At that point he caught a glare or a whif and wheeled and started heading out. A "woof" didn't stop him and I blew the shot. That one hurt, I was already counting number 4, but it wasn't meant to be. The remaining 3 stands were blanks and we headed back to town very pleased with a hunt we will remember for a long time.
If anyone is wondering the load was 100 gr amax over plenty of cfe223. I may change that as the first 2 coyotes ran a bit, that bullet doesn't seem to expand much unless you hit bone. Exits weren't bad though on any of them, and blood trails were good. They didn't go too far. But I think I will be going to the 85 Sierra, which shoots as good but has a terrible bc. I really wish someone would make a nice 75 or 80 gr tipped varmint bullet for the small 6.5 rounds. Would make a great coyote bullet doing 3000 fps from the shorter barreled AR's like mine. Maybe someday....
Sorry for the long read, and not-so-great pics!
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