I went out Monday evening with the singular intent of killing a coyote that was getting to comfortable, close to the house. He had taken up residence in a 20 acre woodlot behind the house. I had heard him howling, close, a few times in the middle of the night. He was barking at us while we were trimming up some shooting paths for my son's deer blind and he saw it leaving the gut pile from his first deer just a couple hours after field dressing it. He said it was blue and looked like he had just swallowed a watermelon whole.
I left the backdoor and walked 250 yds. North to a hay meadow, just across the fence East of where the kid had field dressed 2 deer in the previous 2 days. I was arguing with myself about whether to use rabbit first or just go with vocals and fight since it had been feasting on gut piles. I sat down in front of a hay bale and opted to go ahead with rabbit. Very soon after I began he came in hard from the woodlot and at the 3 minute mark I was done.I called a few more minutes and nothing else showed.
As fast as this one responded I planned on calling another stand the next evening. It's rifle season and I save a few stands that hold coyotes but don't attract deer hunters. I drive past and around the stand area and if anyone is hunting within a mile I go on to he next.
This location has produced many coyotes over the years and more often than not, multiples. Anticipation was pretty high.
After 3 series of high pitch rabbit I had one coming straight in from the brush in the distance, and one 200 yards to my right. I muted the call and let them come. The one to the right sat down to watch and the one coming straight in ducked under the H brace in the fence and stopped 40 yards out. I tipped him over and swung my gun right but that one was already heading over the hill.
I played good old fashioned KIYI for a couple of minutes and had one coming up the fence from behind the hill. Maybe the same one. It stopped at that same H brace and was starting to act like it wanted to leave so I didn't give it a chance. Another mangy one.
This spot was good for another multiple and rapidly becoming a favorite.
Well, this is going well enough I decide to stay home the next morning and make a couple of stands.
The next stand is a little tricky to get into and I've bumped one before getting in. I walk in slow and quiet and when I peek over the hill before walking over, I see one leaving. I decide to call it anyway. I waited a few minutes for that coyote to clear out and started calling. I didn't want to mix up the sounds any, in case it was just hiding out and listening and I knew I would be back.
Play the rabbit. On a couple of minutes and off a couple. After tiring of this and deciding it was about time to leave I turned off the remote and sat watching for a few minutes. I was just about to get up and leave and made one more pass with my eyes. THOSE EARS weren't there, hard to my right, a couple of minutes ago. Ears were all I could see, 50 yds. hard right. Enough to know it was a bobcat. I keep my remote strapped to my left thigh and my fingers on the buttons until I stand up. I turned it back on and turned on baby cottontail with the volume very low and let it run. That was enough to get her to expose her head but she wasn't budging. I couldn't get the gun that far right without shifting my body and she wasn't breaking the stare. The stalemate went on for quite a while. Finally something caught her attention from behind and when she looked back my way a few seconds later, the crosshairs were resting right under the chin. I don't know anywhere else a 45 grain hollow point at 4000 fps won't make a mess of a cat. It worked out good.
I've got one more stand I can make safely. This one is on the backside of an abandoned railroad ROW with very dense brush in a pasture draw leading up to it. When I peek over it before walking over this is what I see. (sorry, phone pictures at a pretty good distance)
Where's a deer hunter when you need one?
I let them walk off before setting up to save the ruckus of a stampede and then start calling.
A few minutes later I could see the hair flash of one coming very slowly in the thickest part of the brush. This ones been called before. About 50 yards away it disappears into a thicket so I shut the caller off and watch, thinking it would probably bust out right at my feet. It came out a short time later on the other side of the draw, still very wary. It was trying to get to the top of the berm behind me to use the wind. I could see it much clearer but still had no shot. I had about decided It was going to get away without me firing a shot when I spied a 6 inch opening in the middle of a hedge tree that might be an opportunity if I could get it to stop. It ended up in that opening and I turned on the caller, it stopped, I double checked the crosshairs to make sure no limbs were going to interfere and pulled the trigger. DRT
This last day was very interesting. I won't soon forget it.
On a side note I visited with a fur buyer and a state control trapper today and they said there is a hair mite slowly moving South that is doing damage similar to mange in coyotes and also affecting bobcats. They didn't know much about it yet. Anyone else heard of this? They said it shows up first on the shoulders.
I left the backdoor and walked 250 yds. North to a hay meadow, just across the fence East of where the kid had field dressed 2 deer in the previous 2 days. I was arguing with myself about whether to use rabbit first or just go with vocals and fight since it had been feasting on gut piles. I sat down in front of a hay bale and opted to go ahead with rabbit. Very soon after I began he came in hard from the woodlot and at the 3 minute mark I was done.I called a few more minutes and nothing else showed.
As fast as this one responded I planned on calling another stand the next evening. It's rifle season and I save a few stands that hold coyotes but don't attract deer hunters. I drive past and around the stand area and if anyone is hunting within a mile I go on to he next.
This location has produced many coyotes over the years and more often than not, multiples. Anticipation was pretty high.
After 3 series of high pitch rabbit I had one coming straight in from the brush in the distance, and one 200 yards to my right. I muted the call and let them come. The one to the right sat down to watch and the one coming straight in ducked under the H brace in the fence and stopped 40 yards out. I tipped him over and swung my gun right but that one was already heading over the hill.
I played good old fashioned KIYI for a couple of minutes and had one coming up the fence from behind the hill. Maybe the same one. It stopped at that same H brace and was starting to act like it wanted to leave so I didn't give it a chance. Another mangy one.
This spot was good for another multiple and rapidly becoming a favorite.
Well, this is going well enough I decide to stay home the next morning and make a couple of stands.
The next stand is a little tricky to get into and I've bumped one before getting in. I walk in slow and quiet and when I peek over the hill before walking over, I see one leaving. I decide to call it anyway. I waited a few minutes for that coyote to clear out and started calling. I didn't want to mix up the sounds any, in case it was just hiding out and listening and I knew I would be back.
Play the rabbit. On a couple of minutes and off a couple. After tiring of this and deciding it was about time to leave I turned off the remote and sat watching for a few minutes. I was just about to get up and leave and made one more pass with my eyes. THOSE EARS weren't there, hard to my right, a couple of minutes ago. Ears were all I could see, 50 yds. hard right. Enough to know it was a bobcat. I keep my remote strapped to my left thigh and my fingers on the buttons until I stand up. I turned it back on and turned on baby cottontail with the volume very low and let it run. That was enough to get her to expose her head but she wasn't budging. I couldn't get the gun that far right without shifting my body and she wasn't breaking the stare. The stalemate went on for quite a while. Finally something caught her attention from behind and when she looked back my way a few seconds later, the crosshairs were resting right under the chin. I don't know anywhere else a 45 grain hollow point at 4000 fps won't make a mess of a cat. It worked out good.
I've got one more stand I can make safely. This one is on the backside of an abandoned railroad ROW with very dense brush in a pasture draw leading up to it. When I peek over it before walking over this is what I see. (sorry, phone pictures at a pretty good distance)
Where's a deer hunter when you need one?
I let them walk off before setting up to save the ruckus of a stampede and then start calling.
A few minutes later I could see the hair flash of one coming very slowly in the thickest part of the brush. This ones been called before. About 50 yards away it disappears into a thicket so I shut the caller off and watch, thinking it would probably bust out right at my feet. It came out a short time later on the other side of the draw, still very wary. It was trying to get to the top of the berm behind me to use the wind. I could see it much clearer but still had no shot. I had about decided It was going to get away without me firing a shot when I spied a 6 inch opening in the middle of a hedge tree that might be an opportunity if I could get it to stop. It ended up in that opening and I turned on the caller, it stopped, I double checked the crosshairs to make sure no limbs were going to interfere and pulled the trigger. DRT
This last day was very interesting. I won't soon forget it.
On a side note I visited with a fur buyer and a state control trapper today and they said there is a hair mite slowly moving South that is doing damage similar to mange in coyotes and also affecting bobcats. They didn't know much about it yet. Anyone else heard of this? They said it shows up first on the shoulders.
