mikegranger
Active member
The hound and I left on December 10th for what we thought was another coyote hunting expedition. Since I fight wildfires during the summer, my vacations are in the off season. This suites the coyote hunter in me well! We took off late in the afternoon and was setup by dark.
I decided “Whitey” was missing something and needed a face lift. Here’s her new look.
The NWS was forecasting dramatic drops in temperatures
An Alberta Clipper was headed our way on December 13. Not a problem as Bubba and I have spent many -20 F days chasing coyotes. The trick to hunting in cold weather is having the right gear. Unfortunately, as we say in the firefighting world “Lows Suck”. Meaning a low pressure system sucks in air and strong winds usually precede and follow the frontal passage. The wind blew all night Wednesday and hadn’t let up any come morning. Wind is a constant companion here in eastern Montana, at least the sun was shining!
I don’t know about you guys, but it takes me two or three stands to get the funk off! What do I mean by funk? Well, the first stand found me wondering around looking for the right knob to call from and once found, discovered my binoculars and timing piece were back at the truck. Second stand I managed to grab the binocs but forgot the watch. Third stand I had everything but didn’t pick a very good calling spot. By the forth stand winds were blowing 15 mph with gusts up to 20. My confidence was rapidly melting away, or better yet, blowing in the wind!
Wind speed 2 minutes before the following coyote was killed.
I was just about to bag it when off to my east come two coyotes. They’re charging hard, Bubba's locked on and they’re veering south to catch our scent. A quick look with the binocs reveal a very mangy, almost hairless male in the lead. The female had stopped and was looking straight at us at 200 yards. Not a high percentage shot in windy conditions. I hold off, hoping they’ll either come to Bubba or she’ll turn sideways. Of course, being it’s coyotes, they do neither. The male continues on his southerly vector, catches my scent and bolts. The female sees him leaving, takes a few steps and turns sideways to look at the barking hound that’s coming to greet her. Bad mistake!
As you might have guessed, she had mange too. Not as bad as the male, but enough on her lower legs to preclude skinning.
As we were walking to the next stand, Bubba stumbles onto this.
As you can see, one bone is prominently sticking out of the ground and a badger had dislodged the others. I dug around a little myself, took these pictures then covered it back up. I’m sure there’s a bison skull just below the surface. I’m on a roll. Found a bison horn sheath on the last hunt and now a skeleton. I can’t wait to see what’s next?
The wind was blowing so hard that I figured calling was futile, so we went from calling to scouting. I’m not much of a scouter, in fact, it’s very difficult for me to drive by good looking country without jumping out and giving it a try. So it was; by 1300 hrs I’d had enough of scouting and we were hunting again. About 10 minutes into a very windy stand, I spot a coyote coming our way then disappear behind a hill. Prone I go and Bubba begins his dance. Eventually the coyote pops out at 200 yards. Bubba sees him and is running out to meet a new friend. They close the gap rapidly and stop with less than 20 yards separating the two. Another frontal shot presents itself, but due to the wind, I hesitant. My mind says “what the heck, you can make this”, and I pull the trigger. The coyote spins and takes off. Bubba absolutely loves these situations. He lives and breaths running down coyotes. I watch as he and the coyote rapidly eat up ground. Yikes, the coyote still had some pretty good legs under him! Eventually the Wonder Dog catches up and bays. Once bayed, a coyote will not turn his back on Bubba. I gather up the gear and head to the show. On the way over I see another coyote looking intently at what’s making all the racket. It sees me too but isn’t scared at all. I continue to walk to a high spot then flop down for a steady prone shot. It’s about 300 yards away, I have all the time in the world to slowly squeeze, and miss right over it’s back! The coyote runs another 40 yards and turns broadside, and this time I shoot low!! The streak was broken, fifteen coyotes without a miss.
Bubba still has the large male bayed and I quickly dispose of him. For a windy day, things are looking pretty good. One coyote on a windy day is fantastic, two divine!
By 3 pm the full moon is up in the eastern horizon and we’re hoping to get lucky one more time.
The last stand is wide open, nothing but rolling hills. We’ve called 15 minutes and I’m glassing for the final time. I be, a coyote is way out there slowly coming our way. Obviously it’s a female as they seldom charge in without a male. We wait, call, wait, call some more, and wait. Finally she pops out on a hill at 476 yards and sits there for 15 minutes, just staring. Both Bubba and I are losing patience when she begins to slowly walk our way. I’m ranging the whole time and have decided to shoot at anything less than 300 yards. She starts mousing at 326 yards and quits coming. Bubba made one run to her but she wouldn’t be enticed. It was time to drop the hammer. At the shot, she leaps into the air and piles up. Nice, three coyotes on a windy day! Who says they can’t be called in the wind?
December 12.
Winds have died down since yesterday but now it’s overcast, the front is moving in. Our first stand is a mile from the trailer. My howls echoed across the open plains and were answered by quiet a serenade to the north. I just love hearing a pack of coyotes respond. Their howls many times get others howling and before you know it, coyotes in every direction are announcing their prescence and position!
I spotted a coyote in the reeds alongside a wetland about 600 yards away and focused all of my attention on it. It sat there the entire time I called, not moving an inch. The coyotes that howled to the north were a no show too. It’s always a crap shoot what to do in these situations. Sit there and hope the coyote comes in or move to another stand. My patience wears very thin after 15 minutes on a stand, I was about to call it quits when the coyote began walking in our direction. Having blown everything in the arsenal the previous 15 minutes, all I had left were lip squeaks. Well, when I lip squeak Bubba goes absolutely nuts. True to form, he was running around in circles, barking in no particular direction (he hadn’t seen the coyote) and being rather obnoxious! It worked! Not with the coyote slowly coming in but with the pair from the north. While we were focusing on the slow mover, they snuck in to within 150 and were standing on a hillside. Bubba saw them first and took off. The female stood her ground while the male circled Bubba, offering a perfect broadside shot. Normally I’ll shoot the female as most often the male will stand it’s ground. I couldn’t resist a gimme and took him instead. I know, I’m weak..... Oh, the shot came at minute 25!
The rest of the day was rather odd. Coyotes would howl back but would not respond. We had a pair howling at 300 yards, just over a hill, but they would not come. Heck, they didn’t even care to walk to the top of the hill and look! Go figure.
The last stand of the day found us in a spot where I’ve been very unlucky. Not that coyotes haven’t presented opportunities, but the lay of the land allows them to get in and out without a shot. I’ve learned my lessons and set up on a different knoll. Shortly I spot a coyote sky lined. It’s back towards the truck and I’m sure it has us pegged. No matter the enticement, it stood their. Hey, sounds like this morning! Being the quick learner, I hand squeaked. Again, true to form, Bubba goes nuts. Actually, he sounded pretty darn good. I figured every coyote within a mile could hear him and thought he might just call some in. Every time I squeaked, he would bawl and bark. Before long we had quiet a chorus going. Believe it or not, 15 or so minutes into our game, I spot a coyote coming off to my NW. She’s several hundred yards away but coming. Another squeak and she’s coming hard. Suddenly Bubba takes off to the NE and I look over my shoulder to see him closing in on another coyote. Gotta love that dog! I switched directions and thump the coyote in front of Bubba. The NW coyote bolts, but instead of running away, heads downwind and disappears behind a hill. I take off and when the Wonder Dog sees me, gives hot pursuit. He catches up as we top the hill and there’s the coyote at 250 yards. Instead of it running off, she stands broadside and watches as I walk to high spot for a prone shot. Bubba sees her too and gives chase. She runs a few more yards and turns broadside. That’s my cue and at the bark of the .204 she leaps into the air, runs 30 yards and somersaults, dead on her feet!
Now that’s the way to end a day of coyote hunting! We take hero shots and after the skinning is done, I call my lovely wife. We chat about a lot of stuff and almost as an afterthought I ask her to check the weather. She read the NWS forecast and I was in shock! Instead of it just getting cold (-30), 6-12 inches of snow with winds upwards of 50 mph were forecast to hit after midnight! OMG!! I’m tough, but not stupid! My response was “Honey, I’m coming home tonight, gotta go!” We got home late but beat the storm. Poor old Bubba, he bawled like a baby when I put him in the kennel. He just knew we would be hunting for a few days! Oh well, I hear Monday the winds will subside and it will only be -8 F. Sounds like a wonderful day to me!
I decided “Whitey” was missing something and needed a face lift. Here’s her new look.
The NWS was forecasting dramatic drops in temperatures
An Alberta Clipper was headed our way on December 13. Not a problem as Bubba and I have spent many -20 F days chasing coyotes. The trick to hunting in cold weather is having the right gear. Unfortunately, as we say in the firefighting world “Lows Suck”. Meaning a low pressure system sucks in air and strong winds usually precede and follow the frontal passage. The wind blew all night Wednesday and hadn’t let up any come morning. Wind is a constant companion here in eastern Montana, at least the sun was shining!
I don’t know about you guys, but it takes me two or three stands to get the funk off! What do I mean by funk? Well, the first stand found me wondering around looking for the right knob to call from and once found, discovered my binoculars and timing piece were back at the truck. Second stand I managed to grab the binocs but forgot the watch. Third stand I had everything but didn’t pick a very good calling spot. By the forth stand winds were blowing 15 mph with gusts up to 20. My confidence was rapidly melting away, or better yet, blowing in the wind!
Wind speed 2 minutes before the following coyote was killed.
I was just about to bag it when off to my east come two coyotes. They’re charging hard, Bubba's locked on and they’re veering south to catch our scent. A quick look with the binocs reveal a very mangy, almost hairless male in the lead. The female had stopped and was looking straight at us at 200 yards. Not a high percentage shot in windy conditions. I hold off, hoping they’ll either come to Bubba or she’ll turn sideways. Of course, being it’s coyotes, they do neither. The male continues on his southerly vector, catches my scent and bolts. The female sees him leaving, takes a few steps and turns sideways to look at the barking hound that’s coming to greet her. Bad mistake!
As you might have guessed, she had mange too. Not as bad as the male, but enough on her lower legs to preclude skinning.
As we were walking to the next stand, Bubba stumbles onto this.
As you can see, one bone is prominently sticking out of the ground and a badger had dislodged the others. I dug around a little myself, took these pictures then covered it back up. I’m sure there’s a bison skull just below the surface. I’m on a roll. Found a bison horn sheath on the last hunt and now a skeleton. I can’t wait to see what’s next?
The wind was blowing so hard that I figured calling was futile, so we went from calling to scouting. I’m not much of a scouter, in fact, it’s very difficult for me to drive by good looking country without jumping out and giving it a try. So it was; by 1300 hrs I’d had enough of scouting and we were hunting again. About 10 minutes into a very windy stand, I spot a coyote coming our way then disappear behind a hill. Prone I go and Bubba begins his dance. Eventually the coyote pops out at 200 yards. Bubba sees him and is running out to meet a new friend. They close the gap rapidly and stop with less than 20 yards separating the two. Another frontal shot presents itself, but due to the wind, I hesitant. My mind says “what the heck, you can make this”, and I pull the trigger. The coyote spins and takes off. Bubba absolutely loves these situations. He lives and breaths running down coyotes. I watch as he and the coyote rapidly eat up ground. Yikes, the coyote still had some pretty good legs under him! Eventually the Wonder Dog catches up and bays. Once bayed, a coyote will not turn his back on Bubba. I gather up the gear and head to the show. On the way over I see another coyote looking intently at what’s making all the racket. It sees me too but isn’t scared at all. I continue to walk to a high spot then flop down for a steady prone shot. It’s about 300 yards away, I have all the time in the world to slowly squeeze, and miss right over it’s back! The coyote runs another 40 yards and turns broadside, and this time I shoot low!! The streak was broken, fifteen coyotes without a miss.
Bubba still has the large male bayed and I quickly dispose of him. For a windy day, things are looking pretty good. One coyote on a windy day is fantastic, two divine!
By 3 pm the full moon is up in the eastern horizon and we’re hoping to get lucky one more time.
The last stand is wide open, nothing but rolling hills. We’ve called 15 minutes and I’m glassing for the final time. I be, a coyote is way out there slowly coming our way. Obviously it’s a female as they seldom charge in without a male. We wait, call, wait, call some more, and wait. Finally she pops out on a hill at 476 yards and sits there for 15 minutes, just staring. Both Bubba and I are losing patience when she begins to slowly walk our way. I’m ranging the whole time and have decided to shoot at anything less than 300 yards. She starts mousing at 326 yards and quits coming. Bubba made one run to her but she wouldn’t be enticed. It was time to drop the hammer. At the shot, she leaps into the air and piles up. Nice, three coyotes on a windy day! Who says they can’t be called in the wind?
December 12.
Winds have died down since yesterday but now it’s overcast, the front is moving in. Our first stand is a mile from the trailer. My howls echoed across the open plains and were answered by quiet a serenade to the north. I just love hearing a pack of coyotes respond. Their howls many times get others howling and before you know it, coyotes in every direction are announcing their prescence and position!
I spotted a coyote in the reeds alongside a wetland about 600 yards away and focused all of my attention on it. It sat there the entire time I called, not moving an inch. The coyotes that howled to the north were a no show too. It’s always a crap shoot what to do in these situations. Sit there and hope the coyote comes in or move to another stand. My patience wears very thin after 15 minutes on a stand, I was about to call it quits when the coyote began walking in our direction. Having blown everything in the arsenal the previous 15 minutes, all I had left were lip squeaks. Well, when I lip squeak Bubba goes absolutely nuts. True to form, he was running around in circles, barking in no particular direction (he hadn’t seen the coyote) and being rather obnoxious! It worked! Not with the coyote slowly coming in but with the pair from the north. While we were focusing on the slow mover, they snuck in to within 150 and were standing on a hillside. Bubba saw them first and took off. The female stood her ground while the male circled Bubba, offering a perfect broadside shot. Normally I’ll shoot the female as most often the male will stand it’s ground. I couldn’t resist a gimme and took him instead. I know, I’m weak..... Oh, the shot came at minute 25!
The rest of the day was rather odd. Coyotes would howl back but would not respond. We had a pair howling at 300 yards, just over a hill, but they would not come. Heck, they didn’t even care to walk to the top of the hill and look! Go figure.
The last stand of the day found us in a spot where I’ve been very unlucky. Not that coyotes haven’t presented opportunities, but the lay of the land allows them to get in and out without a shot. I’ve learned my lessons and set up on a different knoll. Shortly I spot a coyote sky lined. It’s back towards the truck and I’m sure it has us pegged. No matter the enticement, it stood their. Hey, sounds like this morning! Being the quick learner, I hand squeaked. Again, true to form, Bubba goes nuts. Actually, he sounded pretty darn good. I figured every coyote within a mile could hear him and thought he might just call some in. Every time I squeaked, he would bawl and bark. Before long we had quiet a chorus going. Believe it or not, 15 or so minutes into our game, I spot a coyote coming off to my NW. She’s several hundred yards away but coming. Another squeak and she’s coming hard. Suddenly Bubba takes off to the NE and I look over my shoulder to see him closing in on another coyote. Gotta love that dog! I switched directions and thump the coyote in front of Bubba. The NW coyote bolts, but instead of running away, heads downwind and disappears behind a hill. I take off and when the Wonder Dog sees me, gives hot pursuit. He catches up as we top the hill and there’s the coyote at 250 yards. Instead of it running off, she stands broadside and watches as I walk to high spot for a prone shot. Bubba sees her too and gives chase. She runs a few more yards and turns broadside. That’s my cue and at the bark of the .204 she leaps into the air, runs 30 yards and somersaults, dead on her feet!
Now that’s the way to end a day of coyote hunting! We take hero shots and after the skinning is done, I call my lovely wife. We chat about a lot of stuff and almost as an afterthought I ask her to check the weather. She read the NWS forecast and I was in shock! Instead of it just getting cold (-30), 6-12 inches of snow with winds upwards of 50 mph were forecast to hit after midnight! OMG!! I’m tough, but not stupid! My response was “Honey, I’m coming home tonight, gotta go!” We got home late but beat the storm. Poor old Bubba, he bawled like a baby when I put him in the kennel. He just knew we would be hunting for a few days! Oh well, I hear Monday the winds will subside and it will only be -8 F. Sounds like a wonderful day to me!
