Montana 2017. Kinda Live. Final Update!

Collin

New member
Well we are making it happen. A buddy and I are headed to central Montana for a coyote/shed hunting spring break. We bounced around with the idea of doing it and finally decided that we are young now and it's worth the experience. I'll be trying to keep you guys up to date on our hunts when we get done each day. That's the plan at least.

Stuck in traffic in Chicago, so I'll start by telling you our guns of choice for this hunt. Lucas (my hunting partner) is bring along two rifles. His primary is a Ruger American .22-250 shooting a 55 grain V-max. And a Savage .223 running 50 grain FMJ HP. I'm running a Remington 788 in .222 shooting a 50 grain V-max and a Ruger American .243 shooting 75 grain V-max. All of which we've been shooting for a long time and can get the job done.

I'm bringing along lots of howlers and my Foxpro Fusion. I'm definitely expecting some tough calling but it's not NY so who can complain. I hope to have a safe and exciting trip and hope you guys enjoy following along! There will be plenty of pictures and stories I'm sure.

Collin


All of Collin's adventures in the replies to this post are
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Snowing this week but, next week is supposed to be in the 60's. It will make for a muddy mess so be careful and stay on graveled county roads. Walking will be your best bet. Good luck !!! Enjoy the scenery and the country. Rudy
 
Good luck boys. I second watching where you attempt to travel. Spring snow and mud can get a a guy in a bad way pretty quick. Shoot strait..
 
Originally Posted By: huntschoolNY is not as big as MT but where are ya from and where are you going to school. Old Jersey guy wants to know.

I'm from western New York and am a junior at SUNY ESF (Environmental Science and Forestry). Had to stop in at the worlds largest truck stop in Iowa before I take the night shift for driving! Should be in Montana by midday tomorrow.
 
where ya hunting? Central Montana suggests maybe the CM Russell or the Missouri Breaks. A lotta beautiful country there. I don't think it got hit by too much snow this year. Good luck an stay safe.
 
Big Sky Country! Headed to Cabelas in Billings for a couple of things I don't need. The drive today went great, lots of mulies, anteope and three coyotes as we crossed into MT. Tonight we are settling an hour out of Billings and tomorrow we will do some scouting and maybe a couple sets but just want to get familiar with the country. Thanks everyone for the good luck wishes.
 
Settled in for the night in Roberts, MT. What an amazing evening ride into our first nights stay at Lucas's long lost cousins house. Fog covered most of our hour long ride from Billings to Roberts. We still saw a tremendous amount of deer and even one coyote. Just as sun was setting, the fog lifted and gave us one of the best views I've ever been lucky enough to see. Unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure how to post pictures on here via iPhone so I may have to wait until I get to a computer. Another thing that I learned this past September in Colorado, is that pictures never do the actual thing an ounce of justice.

Tomorrow I could potentially kill my first Montana coyote, and I think that is pretty [beeep] cool.

Collin
 
Well got it done on our first walk today!!!

We walked afield around 9 am. Within 15 minutes I glassed up some mile deer about 400 yards from us across a draw. They were very sketched out looking up the hill from them for quite sometime. I finally spotted why, a nice light colored coyote was zig zagging the hill towards them. Unsure of what to do, we sat down where we were at (on an open hill side) and watched what she was going to do. The coyote didn't have us or the deer on her mind as she worked down the hill towards us. She finally sat down about 300 yards from where we sat and stared right in our direction for a few minutes. Well then she stood up and kept working her way down the hill and crossed a fence into some pasture where she proceeded to catch several mice as I watched her through my scope. My buddy tells me 220 yards as she looks like she was going to cross another fence and that's all I needed. Squeezed one off and the meat report, as well as the pile of fur laying in the sunny pasture let me know I had just killed my first Montana coyote. A beautiful light female who wasn't rubbed at all. No calling, no bait, just the right time and the right place. I'm feeling extremely blessed.

I tucked her between two snowbanks and covered her with an extra coat I was carrying and it was on to more country. We made our way to a huge lot of prairie dog towns where I proceeded to shoot my first ever prairie dog that flew about ten feet in the air. After we had five or six smoked, a coyote appeared under us at only 125 yards! Lucas then missed him and we gave him several shots on the way out to no avail. A couple more prairie dogs and I had to go investigate where the coyote came from. I walked down to discover a large drift of snow next to a little creek that ran the length of the hill, with a small patch of dry grass under it. That coyote was bedded right there, probably between his meals. On a side note, if you ever get the opportunity to shoot prairie dogs, do it. Not only does it help the ranchers but it is tons of fun and really gives you confidence in your rifle.

After prairie dogs, we decided to call to one area which we received no responses and head out. On our way out the coyotes gave us a goodbye serenade which provides us with some good information for tomorrow's hunt. In the morning, we will be shed hunting. But tomorrow evening we will be ready to roll another coyote. And don't worry I will not forget to post pictures! I know the saying, pics or it didn't happen. Thanks guys.

Collin
 
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