Snowshoes
Well-known member
My wife needed to go into Edmonton today and wanted me to come with her , so I booked the day off work to do just that. It was decided that I would have enough time for one quick stand.
I went a mile and half west of home to my favorite look out spot to see if there was any coyotes in the area. It was calm and fairly warm (37F) when I started my trek across the field. The first side hill I encountered had 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet of snow that had drifted on its downwind side. The snow was soft and it seemed like there was no bottom to it. This made each step a real struggle to cover that 75 yards to the hilltop. By the time I reached the hilltop, my hat was off, both coats were unzipped and the mitts were jammed into my jacket pockets(way over dressed),
From there I picked the windswept areas of the field to continue my westward journey.
After reaching my destination which was still a couple minutes before legal shooting light , I glass the sloughs and fields for any coyotes that might be in the area.
Over the next 15 minutes, I see a total of 5 coyotes that varied from 400 to 650 yards out and spread roughly 50 to 150 yards apart.
There seems to be no urgency to get back to their bedding grounds as I watch them wander haphazardly around the field.
I patiently wait for an additional half hour but its almost getting time to head home, so I give some yelps with the diaphragm reed to see if I can spark any interest.
I see two coyotes when I do the yelps, one in the field and the other trotting across the furthest slough. The one on the slough stops and the other one basically doesn’t do anything but look my way.
A half minute passes and I let out a few more yelps which gets the one on the slough trotting my direction while the other one watches. There is enough roll to the land that I would lose sight of the coyote a few times as it approached but each time it reappeared, I would try to get a range on it.
The yardage is dropping and on the last ridge the coyote stops to look things over, I get a range of 259 yards but before I get fur in the scope, its again on the move. I dare not let this coyote come much closer as I’m afraid it will catch my scent. Three barks finally stops the coyote and I waste no time getting a bullet headed its direction. The shot drops the coyote and I quickly chamber another round just in case I spook something else my direction. I do see three coyotes scattering out of the cattails but none towards my location. ( Coyote #37 ranged at 206 yards)
Dropped this coyote on the windswept part of the field.
Using the deer drag harness to pull the coyote back to the truck was a welcomed addition as there was no way of getting the truck into the field.
I went a mile and half west of home to my favorite look out spot to see if there was any coyotes in the area. It was calm and fairly warm (37F) when I started my trek across the field. The first side hill I encountered had 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet of snow that had drifted on its downwind side. The snow was soft and it seemed like there was no bottom to it. This made each step a real struggle to cover that 75 yards to the hilltop. By the time I reached the hilltop, my hat was off, both coats were unzipped and the mitts were jammed into my jacket pockets(way over dressed),
From there I picked the windswept areas of the field to continue my westward journey.
After reaching my destination which was still a couple minutes before legal shooting light , I glass the sloughs and fields for any coyotes that might be in the area.
Over the next 15 minutes, I see a total of 5 coyotes that varied from 400 to 650 yards out and spread roughly 50 to 150 yards apart.
There seems to be no urgency to get back to their bedding grounds as I watch them wander haphazardly around the field.
I patiently wait for an additional half hour but its almost getting time to head home, so I give some yelps with the diaphragm reed to see if I can spark any interest.
I see two coyotes when I do the yelps, one in the field and the other trotting across the furthest slough. The one on the slough stops and the other one basically doesn’t do anything but look my way.
A half minute passes and I let out a few more yelps which gets the one on the slough trotting my direction while the other one watches. There is enough roll to the land that I would lose sight of the coyote a few times as it approached but each time it reappeared, I would try to get a range on it.
The yardage is dropping and on the last ridge the coyote stops to look things over, I get a range of 259 yards but before I get fur in the scope, its again on the move. I dare not let this coyote come much closer as I’m afraid it will catch my scent. Three barks finally stops the coyote and I waste no time getting a bullet headed its direction. The shot drops the coyote and I quickly chamber another round just in case I spook something else my direction. I do see three coyotes scattering out of the cattails but none towards my location. ( Coyote #37 ranged at 206 yards)
Dropped this coyote on the windswept part of the field.
Using the deer drag harness to pull the coyote back to the truck was a welcomed addition as there was no way of getting the truck into the field.
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