switch
12-27-2006, 09:50 PM
Soreloser, Augnmike and I headed out to the desert today to spread the holiday cheer to the predator community. We met up at first light and were on the first stand at about sun up. The caller was out at about 80-yards and had been running for about 2-minutes when coyote number one came ripping in from my left headed for the caller. Tim muted the caller and the animal stopped. I put a .204 bullet behind it's shoulder, a little further back than I like. The coyote did the spin and took off. I followed up with another shot and broke it's back leg, but it turned out that he piled up about 20-yards from where I first hit him.
As we got up, Tim spots one out at 210-yards and gets him to stop. Seconds later he pounds the animal with a nice shot from the 22-250. Not a bad way to start the day with a double at the first stand.
At the second stand we set up and started the caller. At about the 6-minute mark a coyote comes in and starts to leave immediately. Tim takes a quick shot and knocks it down, but he gets up and takes off. We track sign for about 250-yards and never find the animal. It was just too brushy to see.
Our spirits were high after calling animals in on the first two stands, but we ended up blanking until about 2:00 PM when things started to move again.
We set up on a drainage and begin calling. After about 5-minutes I see movement way out at 400-yards. the coyote closes to within 300-yards and then checks up and won't come any closer. As I hold the animal in the scope I watch as it turns to look behind it. I figure he has a friend. And sure enough, in comes another, more enthusiastic coyote. This one runs down the drainage and disappears until he's just on the back side of the caller. The first one is still way out and not budging. Finally we see the second one pop up out of the drainage just behind the caller. Mike drops the hammer on his .204 at 105-yards and drops coyote number 3.
At the very next stand we set up on slight hill and start calling. At the 5-minute mark a happy coyote comes in to get dinner. However, as soon as it gets to the caller, it's attitude changes from joy to trouble and it starts heading out. We stop it out at about 90-yards, but it stops behind a bush. All I see is two eyes and a nose through the brush, so threaded the needle and dropped it with a head shot. Coyote number 4 gets tied to the furbucket.
Two stands later and running out of daylight, we set up in a canyon and start calling. Ten minutes into the calling a coyote comes in hot off the to left and Tim, Mike and I all watch him through our scope. The coyote was on Tim's side so as soon as it stopped to find dinner, Tim dropped it with a nice head shot at about 100-yards.
We called to a couple of challenge coyotes just before sundown, but we couldn't get them to come in.
We called in seven, shot six and recovered five. I've never laughed so much in my life. A great day with a couple of great guys.
Here's a photo of the crew at the end of a hard day of hunting. Good times!
As we got up, Tim spots one out at 210-yards and gets him to stop. Seconds later he pounds the animal with a nice shot from the 22-250. Not a bad way to start the day with a double at the first stand.
At the second stand we set up and started the caller. At about the 6-minute mark a coyote comes in and starts to leave immediately. Tim takes a quick shot and knocks it down, but he gets up and takes off. We track sign for about 250-yards and never find the animal. It was just too brushy to see.
Our spirits were high after calling animals in on the first two stands, but we ended up blanking until about 2:00 PM when things started to move again.
We set up on a drainage and begin calling. After about 5-minutes I see movement way out at 400-yards. the coyote closes to within 300-yards and then checks up and won't come any closer. As I hold the animal in the scope I watch as it turns to look behind it. I figure he has a friend. And sure enough, in comes another, more enthusiastic coyote. This one runs down the drainage and disappears until he's just on the back side of the caller. The first one is still way out and not budging. Finally we see the second one pop up out of the drainage just behind the caller. Mike drops the hammer on his .204 at 105-yards and drops coyote number 3.
At the very next stand we set up on slight hill and start calling. At the 5-minute mark a happy coyote comes in to get dinner. However, as soon as it gets to the caller, it's attitude changes from joy to trouble and it starts heading out. We stop it out at about 90-yards, but it stops behind a bush. All I see is two eyes and a nose through the brush, so threaded the needle and dropped it with a head shot. Coyote number 4 gets tied to the furbucket.
Two stands later and running out of daylight, we set up in a canyon and start calling. Ten minutes into the calling a coyote comes in hot off the to left and Tim, Mike and I all watch him through our scope. The coyote was on Tim's side so as soon as it stopped to find dinner, Tim dropped it with a nice head shot at about 100-yards.
We called to a couple of challenge coyotes just before sundown, but we couldn't get them to come in.
We called in seven, shot six and recovered five. I've never laughed so much in my life. A great day with a couple of great guys.
Here's a photo of the crew at the end of a hard day of hunting. Good times!