Snowshoes
Well-known member
A northeast breeze this morning would be well suited for sitting in the valley and watching some coyote trails. With over a half mile walk required to reach my destination, the lighter 223 Rem was the gun of choice once again. Set up on a small knoll with a familiar tree as a backrest, then began glassing the far hills near the dead pit. First see a pair working their way west through the trees, which are soon followed by a group of six. These coyotes are almost a half mile away and by the looks of it, not coming any closer either. Takes roughly 15 minutes for the 8 coyotes to work their way westward through the trees and eventually out of sight. Another 15 minutes of glassing before seeing a coyote coming my way which is in no big hurry as it stops numerous times to sniff around. This coyote is taxing my patience but does finally come into an open area and stops once again. A shot to the chest has the first coyote down ( 132 yards straight north of my location)
Quickly glass the hills to see if anything was on the move but that proved uneventful. Five minutes pass without seeing any other coyotes and I’m fighting the urge to leave. Past experiences tell me to wait a little longer which I do. A couple minutes pass before being rewarded with the sight of a coyote coming my way. This one is to the northeast of me and looks to pass to the east. It works its way through various patches of buckbrush and I pick an open spot ahead of the coyote and get myself ready for its arrival. Once the coyote hits the open area, I give a bark which stops the coyote, a 52 grain Berger to the chest drops coyote number two. (139 yards)
With the second coyote down, its back to glassing the far hills and once again nothing else appears. Sit for another 5 minutes before standing up to stretch the legs. As I stand there looking across the valley I see a coyote on a fast trot across the valley to the west of me, then two running down the far hills to the north. Not sure what spooked these coyotes but this may work in my favor, so I sit back down and wait. The coyote to the west is in no danger as its a long ways off but maybe one of the others will venture by. Not sure if a half minute had passed when I see a single coming the same route as the last one shot. Its making tracks and my vocal barks don’t even slow it down. The coyote passes within a few feet of the dead coyote, which causes it to hit the brakes and turn back around. Walks slowly up to the downed coyote and when it stops, I send another 52 grain bullet on its way. The impact of the bullet sends the coyote into some high speed spins before it bolts for the trees to the south. Expecting the coyote to drop at any moment never happens as I watched it make the trees. The shot looked good but just in case, I wasn’t about to push this coyote, so another few minutes of sitting. After a few minutes, I walked over to where the second coyote laid & found the blood trail of the third coyote. A blind man could have followed the blood trail and I knew it was just a matter of time before finding the third coyote. You could tell it was running dead but it did manage to make the heavier brush before expiring. Inspected the coyote which showed a heart shot and yet, it still made 125 yards further after being hit.
Drug the coyote to a spot where I could get to and was about to start my journey back to the truck when I notice a coyote on the side hill to the north. This coyote is almost a half mile away but looks to be bedded. I glass it for a minute and talk myself into making a stalk on it. Use trees, knolls, draws and the creek channel to sneak closer and closer. Many stops to glass the coyote proved it to be still curled up and unaware as I worked my way further north. Used the creek channel to get to a spot where a grove of trees would have me mostly hid on my way to a high ridge where I hoped to shoot from. As careful as I tried to be, I did manage to step on some old crusted snow which got the coyotes attention. I froze, then sat down and waited to see what the coyote was going to do. I could just make it out though the tree branches but it too had me pegged. Its head bobbed up, down, side to side, trying to see me better but curiosity got the better of it.
It stands up and walks a few feet which gives me a clear view of it. The coyote sits down and I take two quick ranges which come back at 221 yards both times. I can tell the coyote is still unsure of what I am and as I ready myself for a shot I hear it start barking at me. Steady the crosshairs, take a deep breath and touch off the shot. I can see in the scope, a coyote who does a couple spins and then slides down the hill a few feet. Chamber another round but it’s not needed. Of the four coyotes, this last one was by far the most rewarding as it took some work & time to harvest it!
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.
Quickly glass the hills to see if anything was on the move but that proved uneventful. Five minutes pass without seeing any other coyotes and I’m fighting the urge to leave. Past experiences tell me to wait a little longer which I do. A couple minutes pass before being rewarded with the sight of a coyote coming my way. This one is to the northeast of me and looks to pass to the east. It works its way through various patches of buckbrush and I pick an open spot ahead of the coyote and get myself ready for its arrival. Once the coyote hits the open area, I give a bark which stops the coyote, a 52 grain Berger to the chest drops coyote number two. (139 yards)
With the second coyote down, its back to glassing the far hills and once again nothing else appears. Sit for another 5 minutes before standing up to stretch the legs. As I stand there looking across the valley I see a coyote on a fast trot across the valley to the west of me, then two running down the far hills to the north. Not sure what spooked these coyotes but this may work in my favor, so I sit back down and wait. The coyote to the west is in no danger as its a long ways off but maybe one of the others will venture by. Not sure if a half minute had passed when I see a single coming the same route as the last one shot. Its making tracks and my vocal barks don’t even slow it down. The coyote passes within a few feet of the dead coyote, which causes it to hit the brakes and turn back around. Walks slowly up to the downed coyote and when it stops, I send another 52 grain bullet on its way. The impact of the bullet sends the coyote into some high speed spins before it bolts for the trees to the south. Expecting the coyote to drop at any moment never happens as I watched it make the trees. The shot looked good but just in case, I wasn’t about to push this coyote, so another few minutes of sitting. After a few minutes, I walked over to where the second coyote laid & found the blood trail of the third coyote. A blind man could have followed the blood trail and I knew it was just a matter of time before finding the third coyote. You could tell it was running dead but it did manage to make the heavier brush before expiring. Inspected the coyote which showed a heart shot and yet, it still made 125 yards further after being hit.
Drug the coyote to a spot where I could get to and was about to start my journey back to the truck when I notice a coyote on the side hill to the north. This coyote is almost a half mile away but looks to be bedded. I glass it for a minute and talk myself into making a stalk on it. Use trees, knolls, draws and the creek channel to sneak closer and closer. Many stops to glass the coyote proved it to be still curled up and unaware as I worked my way further north. Used the creek channel to get to a spot where a grove of trees would have me mostly hid on my way to a high ridge where I hoped to shoot from. As careful as I tried to be, I did manage to step on some old crusted snow which got the coyotes attention. I froze, then sat down and waited to see what the coyote was going to do. I could just make it out though the tree branches but it too had me pegged. Its head bobbed up, down, side to side, trying to see me better but curiosity got the better of it.
It stands up and walks a few feet which gives me a clear view of it. The coyote sits down and I take two quick ranges which come back at 221 yards both times. I can tell the coyote is still unsure of what I am and as I ready myself for a shot I hear it start barking at me. Steady the crosshairs, take a deep breath and touch off the shot. I can see in the scope, a coyote who does a couple spins and then slides down the hill a few feet. Chamber another round but it’s not needed. Of the four coyotes, this last one was by far the most rewarding as it took some work & time to harvest it!
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.
