JTPinTX
Custom Call Maker
I got a surprise call on Friday, my final form-4 had been approved. That makes 6 cans in the stable, and 3 that have come in within the last 8 weeks. I really wanted to go call Saturday morning, conditions were perfect. But honestly I needed to run up to Amarillo to grab that can, since I don't need to take off work during the week right now if I don't have to. So I got up and rolled to the city with the CZ-527 and Specwar 556 K to keep me company in case a target of opportunity presented itself on some of the family land along the way. I went straight to my dealer, grabbed the can, and headed right back home. I still haven't decided if having no more stamps pending is a good feeling or a bad one...
I got back home and took the Harvester off my 243, and installed the Omega in its place. I had a little time so I went ahead and ran out to my range to make sure it was dialed in. You know, just in case. I had to come up .4 Mil on my zero, but it was still shooting nice and tight with the 87 VMAX. The rest of the day got filled up with other things, no chance to go call.
The next day I started early smoking some pork butts for pulled pork sandwiches and taking care of some other various chores I had been neglecting. After lunch I took my daughter shooting for a little while. She can hit pretty good with that little CZ, especially for just being 9 years old. We have been going out at night some shooting skunks and jackrabbits to help her get the feel of getting a rifle on target quick.
On the way back to the house she asked me if we could go calling that evening. She is ready to kill her own coyote, and not just watch dad shoot them. I told her I had some things to finish up but we probably could later on as long as the wind didn't get up.
This is my baby girl with her CZ last fall while we were out deer hunting.
About 4:30 I got all done and we loaded up to head out. On the way I told her I would try and set up where she could get a shot, but that there just aren't guarantees on coyote hunting, you just have to take it the way it happens. She has been enough times she understands that.
As we got to the first stand it got a little overcast, with about a 5 mph wind. Pretty much perfect. Not hot, not cold, nice shirt sleeve weather. We set up in the edge of a shelterbelt looking back south, which was cross-sun and downwind. The set is a large open bowl, dotted with clumps of grass, sagebrush, and "bear grass." The lip of the bowl varied anywhere from 125-200 yards from where we were sitting. It is a nice looking set and from previous scouting I knew there were plenty of coyotes in the area.
I started out with a yodel howl, and gave that a couple of minutes. Then I swapped to Wacky Woodpecker, and gave that several series. About 12 minutes in I went to coyote pup screams. My daughter had gotten distracted with a worm she had dug out of the sand, and was sitting there playing with it. About the time I finished the second series of pup screams I saw a head and ears sticking out of the grass around 160 yards out.
I whispered "Don't move, there's a coyote" to my daughter. She slowly raised her head and whispered back, "Where at?" I told her where, and she saw it. We both got our rifles up and on it. I tried several things to coax it on out. But, it was hung up there and wouldn't come any closer, or present a better shot. Finally it started getting antsy, and acted like it was going to bug out. My daughter whispered to me, "You shoot it, I can't see him good enough and I don't want it to get away!" About all you could see through the grass was a head and neck, but I knew where his body was from how he had been moving. It was still pretty much a frontal facing shot, but quartering just a bit. I let the 243 rip right through the grass and that satisfying "whop" came drifting back to us. After we took the requisite picture, we rolled on to the next stand 4 miles away.
This was a place we had gone out shooting jacks a couple weeks ago, and we knew there were lots of coyotes out there as well. In fact I had called that set back last fall and totally screwed up what should have been a double, so I was needing some payback there.
I got us to the place I wanted to call and got us set up. The problem was there was a fence about 30 yards in front of my daughter, and she was scared she would cut a fence wire with her rifle and make her uncle mad. So, as often happens hunting with kids, we had to improvise. I moved the caller back further south, and put us on the SW corner of a big fallen tree we were using for cover. I was fairly concerned about getting back-doored from the direction I had wanted her to be shooting, but there just really wasn't much to be done about it at that point.
Once again I opened up with yodel howl, and then after a few minutes went to Lil Rabbit. After a series of that, the sound just wasn't carrying as well as I wanted it to, so I swapped to DAA's good old jackrabbit. About the 12-13 minute mark I went to coyote pup screams. The whole time I had to really keep my head on a swivel, because a coyote could have come from anywhere.
My daughter though she saw something over to our right, and was looking back that way. That was when she heard footsteps behind her on her left side, and the sound made her swing her head fast that direction. She saw the coyote, and it saw her about the same time. It was within 10-15 feet when that happened, and coming from exactly the direction she would have been facing if we had kept the set the way I had originally planned it.
The coyote flared and made a 90 degree turn, as my daughter in a not-so-stage-whisper says "Dad, coyote!" I swing my head to see a full blown rodeo in progress. My daughter is trying to swing her rifle, on the bipod, 90 degrees to get on the coyote. The coyote, not knowing what was happening, and having got itself boxed in with us among the bulldozed trees. It was looking for a way out, zig-zagging kind of back the direction it came. The coyote, and my daughter, were to my left, and I shoot left handed.
I rolled to my left dropping my sticks, and took 2 steps to the side to clear my field of fire and make sure my daughter is in a safe position. I am smooching at the coyote trying to get it to stop. It has ducked back under the fence and is out about 40 yards when it stops. By that time my daughter is on it with her rifle, but a fence wire is right in the way. She says, "Shoot it dad!." From my vantage up a little higher than her I have a clean shot right between the wires and knocked that young, light colored female flat.
I look over at my daughter. That is when the adrenaline dump happens, and the words just start rolling out of her mouth like a river. She is rattling on, telling me how it all happened, and inside I am just smiling and laughing. She has seen me kill plenty of coyotes before, and several fairly close. But this time is the first time it has happened like this. Folks that haven't been there before, just don't understand.
I asked her if she wanted her picture with it, and she said "No, I didn't shoot it, You did!" Which is exactly what her grandpa would have said if he was still with us. He was a dedicated killer of coyotes, I sure wish he was still here to see his granddaughter out calling and shooting and hunting the way she is. Those two were sure a pair when he was alive. She loved her grandpa, and he loved her.
Anyways, as far as I am concerned, knocking down 2 coyotes with a new can within 30 hours of picking it up is the right way to break one in. Especially when you get to make good memories with family.
I got back home and took the Harvester off my 243, and installed the Omega in its place. I had a little time so I went ahead and ran out to my range to make sure it was dialed in. You know, just in case. I had to come up .4 Mil on my zero, but it was still shooting nice and tight with the 87 VMAX. The rest of the day got filled up with other things, no chance to go call.
The next day I started early smoking some pork butts for pulled pork sandwiches and taking care of some other various chores I had been neglecting. After lunch I took my daughter shooting for a little while. She can hit pretty good with that little CZ, especially for just being 9 years old. We have been going out at night some shooting skunks and jackrabbits to help her get the feel of getting a rifle on target quick.
On the way back to the house she asked me if we could go calling that evening. She is ready to kill her own coyote, and not just watch dad shoot them. I told her I had some things to finish up but we probably could later on as long as the wind didn't get up.
This is my baby girl with her CZ last fall while we were out deer hunting.
About 4:30 I got all done and we loaded up to head out. On the way I told her I would try and set up where she could get a shot, but that there just aren't guarantees on coyote hunting, you just have to take it the way it happens. She has been enough times she understands that.
As we got to the first stand it got a little overcast, with about a 5 mph wind. Pretty much perfect. Not hot, not cold, nice shirt sleeve weather. We set up in the edge of a shelterbelt looking back south, which was cross-sun and downwind. The set is a large open bowl, dotted with clumps of grass, sagebrush, and "bear grass." The lip of the bowl varied anywhere from 125-200 yards from where we were sitting. It is a nice looking set and from previous scouting I knew there were plenty of coyotes in the area.
I started out with a yodel howl, and gave that a couple of minutes. Then I swapped to Wacky Woodpecker, and gave that several series. About 12 minutes in I went to coyote pup screams. My daughter had gotten distracted with a worm she had dug out of the sand, and was sitting there playing with it. About the time I finished the second series of pup screams I saw a head and ears sticking out of the grass around 160 yards out.
I whispered "Don't move, there's a coyote" to my daughter. She slowly raised her head and whispered back, "Where at?" I told her where, and she saw it. We both got our rifles up and on it. I tried several things to coax it on out. But, it was hung up there and wouldn't come any closer, or present a better shot. Finally it started getting antsy, and acted like it was going to bug out. My daughter whispered to me, "You shoot it, I can't see him good enough and I don't want it to get away!" About all you could see through the grass was a head and neck, but I knew where his body was from how he had been moving. It was still pretty much a frontal facing shot, but quartering just a bit. I let the 243 rip right through the grass and that satisfying "whop" came drifting back to us. After we took the requisite picture, we rolled on to the next stand 4 miles away.
This was a place we had gone out shooting jacks a couple weeks ago, and we knew there were lots of coyotes out there as well. In fact I had called that set back last fall and totally screwed up what should have been a double, so I was needing some payback there.
I got us to the place I wanted to call and got us set up. The problem was there was a fence about 30 yards in front of my daughter, and she was scared she would cut a fence wire with her rifle and make her uncle mad. So, as often happens hunting with kids, we had to improvise. I moved the caller back further south, and put us on the SW corner of a big fallen tree we were using for cover. I was fairly concerned about getting back-doored from the direction I had wanted her to be shooting, but there just really wasn't much to be done about it at that point.
Once again I opened up with yodel howl, and then after a few minutes went to Lil Rabbit. After a series of that, the sound just wasn't carrying as well as I wanted it to, so I swapped to DAA's good old jackrabbit. About the 12-13 minute mark I went to coyote pup screams. The whole time I had to really keep my head on a swivel, because a coyote could have come from anywhere.
My daughter though she saw something over to our right, and was looking back that way. That was when she heard footsteps behind her on her left side, and the sound made her swing her head fast that direction. She saw the coyote, and it saw her about the same time. It was within 10-15 feet when that happened, and coming from exactly the direction she would have been facing if we had kept the set the way I had originally planned it.
The coyote flared and made a 90 degree turn, as my daughter in a not-so-stage-whisper says "Dad, coyote!" I swing my head to see a full blown rodeo in progress. My daughter is trying to swing her rifle, on the bipod, 90 degrees to get on the coyote. The coyote, not knowing what was happening, and having got itself boxed in with us among the bulldozed trees. It was looking for a way out, zig-zagging kind of back the direction it came. The coyote, and my daughter, were to my left, and I shoot left handed.
I rolled to my left dropping my sticks, and took 2 steps to the side to clear my field of fire and make sure my daughter is in a safe position. I am smooching at the coyote trying to get it to stop. It has ducked back under the fence and is out about 40 yards when it stops. By that time my daughter is on it with her rifle, but a fence wire is right in the way. She says, "Shoot it dad!." From my vantage up a little higher than her I have a clean shot right between the wires and knocked that young, light colored female flat.
I look over at my daughter. That is when the adrenaline dump happens, and the words just start rolling out of her mouth like a river. She is rattling on, telling me how it all happened, and inside I am just smiling and laughing. She has seen me kill plenty of coyotes before, and several fairly close. But this time is the first time it has happened like this. Folks that haven't been there before, just don't understand.
I asked her if she wanted her picture with it, and she said "No, I didn't shoot it, You did!" Which is exactly what her grandpa would have said if he was still with us. He was a dedicated killer of coyotes, I sure wish he was still here to see his granddaughter out calling and shooting and hunting the way she is. Those two were sure a pair when he was alive. She loved her grandpa, and he loved her.
Anyways, as far as I am concerned, knocking down 2 coyotes with a new can within 30 hours of picking it up is the right way to break one in. Especially when you get to make good memories with family.
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