204 AR
Well-known member
Well, I went out this morning to try again at a place where I got busted setting up last time. Instead of going in where I did last time, I thought I'd set up on the opposite side of the pasture, and call back to the cover where they were last time. I called quite a while, with no luck. I was set up on the side of a hill, facing north, with a wsw wind. The property fence line was about 100 yards behind me to the south. I was keeping a pretty close eye on the downwind side and over my right shoulder, back towards the southeast.
I left that stand, and decided to go back in another mile to the east and try it again. As I neared the fence, I noticed tracks in the fresh dusting of snow we got last nite. It looked like a yote was goofing around there for a little, that's when I noticed the dead mouse, laying on the snow, right by the hole the yote dragged it out of! This was all probably 100 or so yards from my stand. Then the tracks went north a little ways, then I lost them.
So I continued east along the fence, and the coyote tracks came back to the fence and were headed east also. I followed them for a good mile, before they veered off back north. I continued on for a ways, then set up and tried another stand with no luck.
So what do you think? I thought of 3 possibilities,
1) the tracks were made last nite, and they killed the mouse for fun and left it.
2)They caught the mouse as I was walking in to the first set, and they heard me over the hill and bugged out, forgetting their breakfast.
3)They were answering my calling, and caught a mouse on the way in. Then they busted me somehow, saw me or the wind swirled back to them. Forgot the mouse and left.
The tracks I followed were not running, looked like a normal walking pace. And there were two sets of tracks.
After all of this I left down the road scouting and figuring out what to try next time, driving north. Turned around to go home, and I stopped to look out over the pasture I had been watching from the first stand, there is a pdog town there. And there were those two coyotes, running away over the hill about 5-600 yards away. I think they made a big 2 mile loop, and came back to where they were headed in the first place.
Those two have evaded me too much, next time it's personal!
Hopefully I explained this so it makes sense. Tell me what you think.
I left that stand, and decided to go back in another mile to the east and try it again. As I neared the fence, I noticed tracks in the fresh dusting of snow we got last nite. It looked like a yote was goofing around there for a little, that's when I noticed the dead mouse, laying on the snow, right by the hole the yote dragged it out of! This was all probably 100 or so yards from my stand. Then the tracks went north a little ways, then I lost them.
So I continued east along the fence, and the coyote tracks came back to the fence and were headed east also. I followed them for a good mile, before they veered off back north. I continued on for a ways, then set up and tried another stand with no luck.
So what do you think? I thought of 3 possibilities,
1) the tracks were made last nite, and they killed the mouse for fun and left it.
2)They caught the mouse as I was walking in to the first set, and they heard me over the hill and bugged out, forgetting their breakfast.
3)They were answering my calling, and caught a mouse on the way in. Then they busted me somehow, saw me or the wind swirled back to them. Forgot the mouse and left.
The tracks I followed were not running, looked like a normal walking pace. And there were two sets of tracks.
After all of this I left down the road scouting and figuring out what to try next time, driving north. Turned around to go home, and I stopped to look out over the pasture I had been watching from the first stand, there is a pdog town there. And there were those two coyotes, running away over the hill about 5-600 yards away. I think they made a big 2 mile loop, and came back to where they were headed in the first place.
Those two have evaded me too much, next time it's personal!
Hopefully I explained this so it makes sense. Tell me what you think.