Let me preface this with a definition of rain. On coastal WA where I moved from if they predicted 25% chance of rain it meant that it will rain hard for 25% of the day and the rest of the day will be just drizzle. Here in NM if they predict 25% chance of rain it means if you have 100 square miles a shower might pass over 25 square miles of it.
Yesterday I needed to sight in a couple of rifles so I ran up to the range about 50 miles away because they have covered shooting lanes. The elevation is a few hundred feet higher than where I live so instead of rain we got a heavy snow shower, heavy enough that I could barely make out the target at 200 yards and couldn't see the bullet holes with the spotting scope. I did get them dialed in enough to kill coyotes.
As I returned home I noticed that the wind was perfect for a spot I've looked at for years, a stand just a few hundred yards off the highway on a corner piece of state land projecting out into private. I pulled off the highway and loaded up my gear including a piece of mat to throw over the fence and a T-post stepper, very tight 4 strand barb wire with spreaders between posts so no way through or under. The snow had changed to rain at this lower elevation. It was a large pasture with a strip of brush running through the center a couple hundred yards out from where I set up. Being pasture it was pretty well grazed so my stand was just being backed up to a yucca bush and my caller set at the base of another.
I lit up the pasture with a distressed snowshoe (thought it would be appropriate) 20 minutes later here come Mister Soggy coyotes, one of the largest coyotes I've killed down here, batteries were dead on the camera, sorry no pics. A WOOF at about 50 yards and a 40 grain NBT ended his day. After dragging him back to the truck I thought this might turn out to be a good day.
Next stop along the highway at a side road next to the river (unlike the PNW, rivers here rarely have water in them) accessing a large flat of mesquite. I was surprised to find three dead coyotes from much earlier (not mine) int the ditch. I did call one but could never clear the brush enough for a shot. By then the wind had come up and the rain stopped and the next stop along the highway was a zero. Temps were dropping and the wind howling so I drug my wet butt home.
The one branch I found to skin him from broke so ended up skinning him on a gate post.
Fun day in NM and a lot different than the usual weather.
Yesterday I needed to sight in a couple of rifles so I ran up to the range about 50 miles away because they have covered shooting lanes. The elevation is a few hundred feet higher than where I live so instead of rain we got a heavy snow shower, heavy enough that I could barely make out the target at 200 yards and couldn't see the bullet holes with the spotting scope. I did get them dialed in enough to kill coyotes.
As I returned home I noticed that the wind was perfect for a spot I've looked at for years, a stand just a few hundred yards off the highway on a corner piece of state land projecting out into private. I pulled off the highway and loaded up my gear including a piece of mat to throw over the fence and a T-post stepper, very tight 4 strand barb wire with spreaders between posts so no way through or under. The snow had changed to rain at this lower elevation. It was a large pasture with a strip of brush running through the center a couple hundred yards out from where I set up. Being pasture it was pretty well grazed so my stand was just being backed up to a yucca bush and my caller set at the base of another.
I lit up the pasture with a distressed snowshoe (thought it would be appropriate) 20 minutes later here come Mister Soggy coyotes, one of the largest coyotes I've killed down here, batteries were dead on the camera, sorry no pics. A WOOF at about 50 yards and a 40 grain NBT ended his day. After dragging him back to the truck I thought this might turn out to be a good day.
Next stop along the highway at a side road next to the river (unlike the PNW, rivers here rarely have water in them) accessing a large flat of mesquite. I was surprised to find three dead coyotes from much earlier (not mine) int the ditch. I did call one but could never clear the brush enough for a shot. By then the wind had come up and the rain stopped and the next stop along the highway was a zero. Temps were dropping and the wind howling so I drug my wet butt home.
The one branch I found to skin him from broke so ended up skinning him on a gate post.
Fun day in NM and a lot different than the usual weather.
