November & snow

Snowshoes

Well-known member
November 2 2018,Yesterday was 38F and no snow, today its 30F and it’s a white out.... how things can change in just a few hours.
Strong winds and heavy snow wouldn’t make for great coyote hunting but a guy has to try anyways.
Needing an area protected from the winds would lead me to the treed hills at the creek valley. A spot near a denning area is where I planned on calling but on my walk- in, I noticed cows and lots of them! The landowner must have moved them closer to home yesterday or the day before. Snow stung my eyes as I ventured closer & closer to the dening area but the sight of more cows made the journey seem pointless. The cows had taken up residence in the shelter of the trees and I could see this hunt was a bust!
Turned around and worked my way back to the truck, stopping numerous times to glass the valley floor and the field on top. As I got closer to the truck, I noticed the visibility was getting terrible and to top things off, me and all my gear was covered in layer of snow & ice.
The southeast wind which is uncommon in these parts, had me scrambling to come up with another spot which was fairly close by. I then remember about a phone call from a few weeks back. An elderly lady phoned and was asking if I would come and shoot some coyotes on their home quarter.
The couples place was roughly 4 miles away, so off I went. They have a 30 acre block of bush near their yard site and lots of apple trees in the yard. The fallen apples attract coyotes into their yard every fall which in-turn, freaks her out to this day! She then chuckled and said, her husband was a lousy shot and wasn’t thinning out the coyotes to her liking.
I park on a approach where the the truck is hid by a thick row of spruce trees. From there, I walk eastward across the field to a slough bottom. I go to set up but discover I must have forgot my BogGear bi-pod in the truck. A stick with a fork in it was collected from the nearby willow bush and that became my new shooting sticks! Covered the “Y” of the stick with my toque as to not scratch the rifle stock.

Wipe the snow off the binocular and take some ranges. With the snow falling heavily, my judgement of distance was a bit off, the trees looked further away than they actually were. Start off with a howl using the diaphragm reed and I get a response almost immediately. Wait for 3 or 4 minutes but nothing shows, so switch to cottontail distress. That doesn’t produce anything either and I’m thinking I need a call that sounds like apples falling to the ground.
Not having an Apple call, I take the diaphragm reed and give some yelps which soon produces a magpie at the edge of the trees. Although only a 100 yards away, the blinding snow hampered my eyesight enough that I couldn’t make out the coyote which the magpie was traveling with. I only noticed the coyote as it slowly walked back into the trees followed by the magpie.
Some more yelps echoed through the trees but it didn’t bring the coyote back. I could hear the magpie further into the bush and figured the coyote wouldn’t be far away.
I figured I had nothing to lose, so I give some challenge howls and within a few seconds I have the coyote standing at the edge of the trees. A 64 gr Berger from the 223AI puts the coyote down. (Ranged at 108 yards) medium sized male.


After taking a picture of the coyote, I tried walking back to the truck on the same trail as I came in on. Even though I wasn’t gone long, the steady snow had filled my tracks. I had a feeling that I had the bi-pod when I left the truck but not 100% sure. The first thing I do is check for the bi-pod in the truck but it wasn’t there. Did a second search in the field but never found them. Picked the coyote up and decided to drive back to the valley and check where I crossed the fence but didn’t find them there either. Not sure if I set them down or dropped them but this heavy snowfall wasn’t helping my search efforts.
Played my whole morning hunt through my head as I drove home and I was now confident I had them when I left the truck on the last stand. Got home & grabbed a pair of homemade shooting sticks which were promptly put in the truck. Next order of business was to order a new bi-pod.


This whole thread is
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November 3 2018, Cloudy skies and 23F with a southwesterly breeze greeted me as I stepped out of the truck this morning. The hi-way was snow covered but drivable as I drove a couple miles west of home. Pulled off on a lease road and then parked on an approach by a big slough. First thing I hear is thousands of snow geese as they lift off the nearby sloughs and head for fields to feed. As I walked to my look out point of a large field and numerous sloughs, I watch flock after flock going overhead within easy shotgun range.
No shotgun today so I best get my skyward eyes back to surrounding lands for coyotes.
Have a couple hundred yards to my look out point when I see a coyote cutting across the field in my general direction. There is a pretty good dip in the land straight ahead of me and when the coyote is out of sight I hurry into the lowland and work my way to good spot to shoot from.
Get set up and within a few seconds I see the coyote who is now cutting towards the bush where I just happen to be set up. At roughly 125 yards, I bark the coyote to a stop, which is followed with a 64 gr Berger being sent the direction of the coyote. The coyote hits the turf but gets back up and runs hard for another 10 feet before skidding to a stop. I knew this was not a good coyote but hopeful there will be some good ones in the area.


I get to my look out spot and within 5 minutes I do see a nice looking coyote but its travel route was not where I hoped it to be.
Glassed the area for another 15 minutes before heading back to the truck.

I tried calling in one more spot with no results and with it being the first Saturday of Deer season, there was a fair bit of activity throughout the countryside so I decided to call it a morning. My spots to hunt coyotes gets somewhat limited during deer season and I need not use them all up on the first weekend of November. Tomorrow is another day.
 
November 4 2018, A very calm morning with a slight breeze from the southwest, the snow was disappearing quickly with a morning temperature of 36F and to top it off, a few rain showers.
Drove down to the creek valley and within a couple minutes of leaving the truck I see one, then two coyotes. The first coyote is working its way towards the valley and the other is feeding on something to the west of me. I swing behind a black dirt pile and use it to get closer which works but I can’t get a decent shot from this spot. I then use some tall grass along a fence to hide my approach and set up by a post. The coyote looks back my direction as I am putting the rifle onto the shooting sticks and it picks me out. Not overly concerned but not too brave either, the coyote trots off. Well there was a missed opportunity.
Glass the valley and see a pair to the south and a single to the southwest. I can use a panel fence to the south of me to hide my approach and once to the fence that should put me within shooting range. Everything was going along as planned but well laid plans sometimes take a turn, and a turn they did take. I watch the three trotting to the south and a single trotting to the west along a barbwire fence. This single along the fence is close enough but I hold off shooting as its not a nice looking coyote.
Standing there, scratching my head of what just happened is soon solved when I notice the breeze on the back of my neck. Sure enough the breeze switched and now was coming from the northeast. Well I just flooded the valley floor with my scent. Hmmmm, now to come up with a new plan.
Walk a quarter mile west to a north-south fence line and while in the process of setting up, I notice a coyote standing on the hillside to the northwest of me. I quickly try getting the rifle on the shooting sticks but the coyote starts to walk away before I get lined up. ( I’m missing my Bi-Pod) The coyote is now obscured by branches of a nearby tree. Another missed opportunity!
The bush patch to the west usually holds coyotes so I wasn’t too discouraged yet. Get focused back onto calling and I start off with pup yelps. Thirty seconds hadn’t passed before I have a coyote barreling down the hill and its bearings are set directly for me. The coyote passes within a few feet of me before swinging to the southeast but catches movement as I try to get the crosshairs onto it. It then cuts to the southwest and I bark it to a stop which surprises me a little. I guess the coyote must not have caught my scent. A 58 yard shot lets the air out of that coyote and I notice another one cutting back up the hill to the northwest. I bark and it too stops but doesn’t stop long enough for me to get a shot off. Another case of missing my old bi-pod and another missed opportunity!
After another short series of pup distress and seeing no more coyotes, I get up and step off the distance the one had passed by me, eight and a half steps.
The close encounter coyote

The fence line where I sat in the background and a not so good looking coyote in the foreground.

Of the coyotes seen, only one would have been worth keeping. I best cull those scruffy ones asap.

A ¾ mile walk to the truck and from there I drive a mile and half west and a mile north. ( Same landowner). Drove into the field and parked the truck behind a round bale. From there I walk north to another bale that is near a large block of bush. Set up in front of the bale with the bush to the northwest of me.


Took some ranges before opening up with pup yelps using the cow horn howler. Almost immediately there was a coyote standing atop the brush pile!
It had to be very close by in order to show up that fast. Crosshairs on the chest, a 64 gr. Berger sent on its way and down goes the coyote. Ranged the shot at 84 yards.
As I found it. A nice male!


After loading the coyote up, I drive over to where I figured I lost my BogGear bi-pod as I had narrowed down to one spot. The tangles of branches through the spruce tree wind break was the likely culprit. The snow had melted enough that maybe they would show up. Sure enough, I found them!!!!
What a great way to finish the morning!!
I guess I will have a spare set now. I expect the ones I ordered to show up in few days.
 
Originally Posted By: YotarunnerAwesome! Looks like a good start to the season. To bad about all the dogs with mites.
Thank you Yotarunner, Hope you have another successful year. You do have some very nice looking coyotes in your area!
 
You are starting things off great. Got ride of some bad ones, got some good one and found your B- Pod. And a spare for the little hunter to use.. Congrats
 
Originally Posted By: SnowshoesOriginally Posted By: YotarunnerAwesome! Looks like a good start to the season. To bad about all the dogs with mites.
Thank you Yotarunner, Hope you have another successful year. You do have some very nice looking coyotes in your area!
thanks. though like you im getting a lot of mites in my area. i hope to make a few trips south this year and try to get some of the real big white open country coyotes.
 
Originally Posted By: lockrotorYou are starting things off great. Got ride of some bad ones, got some good one and found your B- Pod. And a spare for the little hunter to use.. Congrats
It was like the stars were all line up
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Originally Posted By: Yotarunner
Snowshoes said:
Yotarunner said:
thanks. though like you im getting a lot of mites in my area. i hope to make a few trips south this year and try to get some of the real big white open country coyotes.
Nice coyotes to the south, I'm lucky to see one or two white colored coyotes a year in this area.
 
Originally Posted By: luderLooking forward to another winter reading about your hunts. Thanks for taking the time to write these up.
Thank you luder, I still enjoy reliving the hunt on paper
 
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