204 AR
Well-known member
What are vacation days good for besides hunting? No need to answer, it's a trick question...
So I watch the forecast, and try to pick nice days. We get to take vacation 1 day at a time with very little notice, so that is nice. Yesterday was breezy and it snowed during the night, and it showed the highest wind today would be about 7 mph. They weren't lying for a change.
I picked up my partner and we left town in the dark. I thought today could be special but the first two stands left us doubting. Stand three was a great area but not a great set-up. Too much to watch, too many choppy hills and approach possibilities. We went for it anyway. After 16 minutes I pulled the plug and started scanning with the Swaro rangefinder like I always do before getting up. I had about 270 degrees to scan which is very difficult but back behind me I spotted a group of deer silhouetted on a hill, and they were staring down something. This is about 600 yds away. Scanning the way they were looking revealed a coyote, in about the only place I could have possibly spotted him with the way the hills lie. I resumed pup distress and it started my way, but disappearing for the longest time. After maybe 5 minutes (it seemed) it popped up on a rise at what turned out to be 190 yds away. The 6 Predator's 70 gr NBT found it's mark, bang/flop.
I found out that my partner had one at under 100 yds earlier in the stand but didn't see it approach and it made him trying to turn and get on it. It boogeyed out over a ridge. He was bummed for sure.
Next stand looked unreal awesome but was blank.
Next stand was almost a repeat of the successful one, spotted one on a ridge while scanning after muting the call, about 18 minutes. 434 yds, and resuming the call didn't work. He got down behind a ridge and never saw him again, though we sat till the 40 minute mark. Even howled and threw out a challenge. Should have tried the long poke when I had the chance....
Stand 6 looked ok, and at the 4 minute mark caught movement to my right, 15 yds away. He made me and went back down the ridge. I jumped up and got on him. Dumb coyote, he looked back and stopped. I missed the offhand shot with him standing so I got a chance to practice the running shot and put him down.
First 2 hanging off the RZR:
Sorry I'm getting too lazy to take the pics at the scene lol.
We were at the end of that property so made our way out. Loaded up and Larry talked me into walking into another spot for a quick stand. I really wanted to get him on one, they always seem to come my way. His eyes aren't the greatest anymore and things have to line up pretty right for him to have success it seems. But his coyote knowledge is invaluable.
So we picked our spots, he took the best looking area and I took the spot with limited visibility. I said "you know he will come around this hill right to me", and my words were prophetic. Actually, he came over the hill, lol, at about 6 minutes. 70 NBT bang/flop on the facing shot. Another 10 minutes of pup distress yielded nothing else. I almost left this one lay, the bullet made a mess and blew out a softball size hole on one side. Never had a frontal shot do that before. Maybe I was a little off center.
Went to another area for 2 last stands. The area is dynamite but not today. Loaded up as the sun was setting.
Here's the final tally:
Dropped the partner off in the dark, got home, exhausted! Need to go back to work tomorrow so I can rest up!
This post is nominated for Hunter of the Month. Sorry, the nifty little .gif isn't rotating, so all you see is "Nominated" for now.
So I watch the forecast, and try to pick nice days. We get to take vacation 1 day at a time with very little notice, so that is nice. Yesterday was breezy and it snowed during the night, and it showed the highest wind today would be about 7 mph. They weren't lying for a change.
I picked up my partner and we left town in the dark. I thought today could be special but the first two stands left us doubting. Stand three was a great area but not a great set-up. Too much to watch, too many choppy hills and approach possibilities. We went for it anyway. After 16 minutes I pulled the plug and started scanning with the Swaro rangefinder like I always do before getting up. I had about 270 degrees to scan which is very difficult but back behind me I spotted a group of deer silhouetted on a hill, and they were staring down something. This is about 600 yds away. Scanning the way they were looking revealed a coyote, in about the only place I could have possibly spotted him with the way the hills lie. I resumed pup distress and it started my way, but disappearing for the longest time. After maybe 5 minutes (it seemed) it popped up on a rise at what turned out to be 190 yds away. The 6 Predator's 70 gr NBT found it's mark, bang/flop.
I found out that my partner had one at under 100 yds earlier in the stand but didn't see it approach and it made him trying to turn and get on it. It boogeyed out over a ridge. He was bummed for sure.
Next stand looked unreal awesome but was blank.
Next stand was almost a repeat of the successful one, spotted one on a ridge while scanning after muting the call, about 18 minutes. 434 yds, and resuming the call didn't work. He got down behind a ridge and never saw him again, though we sat till the 40 minute mark. Even howled and threw out a challenge. Should have tried the long poke when I had the chance....
Stand 6 looked ok, and at the 4 minute mark caught movement to my right, 15 yds away. He made me and went back down the ridge. I jumped up and got on him. Dumb coyote, he looked back and stopped. I missed the offhand shot with him standing so I got a chance to practice the running shot and put him down.
First 2 hanging off the RZR:
Sorry I'm getting too lazy to take the pics at the scene lol.
We were at the end of that property so made our way out. Loaded up and Larry talked me into walking into another spot for a quick stand. I really wanted to get him on one, they always seem to come my way. His eyes aren't the greatest anymore and things have to line up pretty right for him to have success it seems. But his coyote knowledge is invaluable.
So we picked our spots, he took the best looking area and I took the spot with limited visibility. I said "you know he will come around this hill right to me", and my words were prophetic. Actually, he came over the hill, lol, at about 6 minutes. 70 NBT bang/flop on the facing shot. Another 10 minutes of pup distress yielded nothing else. I almost left this one lay, the bullet made a mess and blew out a softball size hole on one side. Never had a frontal shot do that before. Maybe I was a little off center.
Went to another area for 2 last stands. The area is dynamite but not today. Loaded up as the sun was setting.
Here's the final tally:
Dropped the partner off in the dark, got home, exhausted! Need to go back to work tomorrow so I can rest up!
This post is nominated for Hunter of the Month. Sorry, the nifty little .gif isn't rotating, so all you see is "Nominated" for now.
