wolftrapper
New member
Went out at dawn this morning, with about three inches of snow on the ground. Spotting coyotes is so much easier with a white background!
I headed toward an alfalfa field, pushing out mule deer as I went. I wasn't more than a few hundred yards from my pickup, when I saw a coyote on the run, going over a ridge to my right....well out of range. Well the alfalfa was to the left, so I continued on.
I traveled probably a little over a quarter mile, picked out a spot to call from, and about then a coyote started yapping several hundred yards away. I decided to ignore it, and called for a while. A ton of deer came out of the alfalfa, and headed away, and I called for about fifteen minutes, with no takers. This is very open country and I could see a long ways, and with the snow, I figured it was a bust.
By then the yapper had quieted, so I decided to amble over that way, staying behind a convenient hill so he couldn't see me approach.
After a while I was about to top out on the hill, I peeked over, and there was a pair of coyotes out about 200 to 250 yards away. They were totally relaxed, nosing around, so I sank down and watched. They started walking up a hill and away from me. I was prone in the snow, so decided to try for the lead animal. My problem was that I had a slight possibility of weeds deflecting my bullet. Even though I was on the crest of a hill, it dropped gradually in front of me, so for about twenty feet in front of me were some thinly spaced weeds. I had cranked the variable scope up to nine power, the lead animal stopped and turned broadside. I fired, and the coyote never flinched! The other coyote bolted for a few feet, then they both just looked around like, what was that?
Now I'm thinking is it the rifle, did I hit weed, what? Lead coyote trotted off then began running. The other coyote started trotting my way, which means he went out of my sight for a moment. I raised up so that I could see him, and he was hunting mice! I ducked back down, and wormed my way forward for a few feet, then lay still, thinking that he would eventually go after the other coyote, and I would be ready. After a few minutes of waiting and no coyote, I raised up for a look....no coyote, I raised higher....no coyote. I think he vanished, because I never saw him again.
Now I'm wondering about my scope, so I headed around the face of the hill, planning to skirt it and go back to the pickup. I went about a quarter mile, when three mule deer stood up about fifty yards in front of me. As they bounced away, I sat down and extended my bipod, knowing that any coyotes in the vicinity would focus on them. Almost immediately, a coyote trotted out of a small draw, about 150 yards beyond the deer, stopping to watch the deer. I settled the crosshairs on her, and hit right where I aimed. I guess the former shot hit weed.
I concluded that I probably would never have seen a single coyote, without the snow background. The picture is right where she fell.
I headed toward an alfalfa field, pushing out mule deer as I went. I wasn't more than a few hundred yards from my pickup, when I saw a coyote on the run, going over a ridge to my right....well out of range. Well the alfalfa was to the left, so I continued on.
I traveled probably a little over a quarter mile, picked out a spot to call from, and about then a coyote started yapping several hundred yards away. I decided to ignore it, and called for a while. A ton of deer came out of the alfalfa, and headed away, and I called for about fifteen minutes, with no takers. This is very open country and I could see a long ways, and with the snow, I figured it was a bust.
By then the yapper had quieted, so I decided to amble over that way, staying behind a convenient hill so he couldn't see me approach.
After a while I was about to top out on the hill, I peeked over, and there was a pair of coyotes out about 200 to 250 yards away. They were totally relaxed, nosing around, so I sank down and watched. They started walking up a hill and away from me. I was prone in the snow, so decided to try for the lead animal. My problem was that I had a slight possibility of weeds deflecting my bullet. Even though I was on the crest of a hill, it dropped gradually in front of me, so for about twenty feet in front of me were some thinly spaced weeds. I had cranked the variable scope up to nine power, the lead animal stopped and turned broadside. I fired, and the coyote never flinched! The other coyote bolted for a few feet, then they both just looked around like, what was that?
Now I'm thinking is it the rifle, did I hit weed, what? Lead coyote trotted off then began running. The other coyote started trotting my way, which means he went out of my sight for a moment. I raised up so that I could see him, and he was hunting mice! I ducked back down, and wormed my way forward for a few feet, then lay still, thinking that he would eventually go after the other coyote, and I would be ready. After a few minutes of waiting and no coyote, I raised up for a look....no coyote, I raised higher....no coyote. I think he vanished, because I never saw him again.
Now I'm wondering about my scope, so I headed around the face of the hill, planning to skirt it and go back to the pickup. I went about a quarter mile, when three mule deer stood up about fifty yards in front of me. As they bounced away, I sat down and extended my bipod, knowing that any coyotes in the vicinity would focus on them. Almost immediately, a coyote trotted out of a small draw, about 150 yards beyond the deer, stopping to watch the deer. I settled the crosshairs on her, and hit right where I aimed. I guess the former shot hit weed.
I concluded that I probably would never have seen a single coyote, without the snow background. The picture is right where she fell.
