SE Washington Coyote Hunting...

[rainshadow1]

I'm gonna be in the Tri's soon for one PM, one day, and one AM (29,30, & 1) to hunt Coyotes before the rush of 206'ers swarms over there on the 11th, and sends them all underground! I like taking the Family, so we are camped in a Motel across from the Mall. I'll be based out of there and running out to here and there to walk loops and make stands and peel hides if they're worth taking home yet.  (If they're not, I don't care, I've just gotta get outta this brush for a few days!!!)

Anybody in that area want to get together for a few stands? I'm going to hunt with Bigswede Monday evening hopefully, but it looks like Tue all day, and Wed AM are open.

I have a bag of giveaway calls!   

Send me a PM...

[DeKuma]

I am not in the area, and it looks like I won't be, but you could dig into your bag for me........

Going to try and get over to the property in the next week or so to try for the dogs again. Maybe a bear too, but my luck with bear has really sucked this year.

[rainshadow1]

Where is your property at, DeKuma? Maybe sometime later in the year!

[DeKuma]

Above Kettle Falls.  Nearest town is Rice.  There are dogs all over, I just have not gotten them to commit yet.  Make for a fun thing to do this winter.  Especially if I can get some of the farmers in the area to let us hunt there land.

[rainshadow1]

Had a great time... 35+ mpg on the highway. 31+ while hunting!  Was a little rough on the lil' civic, had to replace the tires! I planned to anyway, but hate it when I'm forced!

I met up with Bigswedegml on Monday and we hunted a spot he found for about 3 hours. Turns out we were on the wrong side of the river, we got several howling right at dark on the opposite side. Had a good time.

The next day I drove for over 280 miles scouting spots, found some, didn't find others. Ended up only doing 4 stands, all in the afternoon, called 2, missed one, and didn't get a shot at one.
.     The one I missed I was set up in a real steep little chute watching the draw below me. I was hand calling and had switched to my LOUD open reed call after about 15 minutes with an echo chamber enclosed reed. This Coyote came in from a country mile away, high along the edge of a crop field, on the ridge across the draw. I had to pull way up and had the shooting sticks about 2" from the trigger guard. I got him in to about 110 yards across the ravine when he spotted me. I tried a frontal quartering shot and missed. Shifted him into high gear with another shot and that was that.
.     The one I didn't get a shot at was a stand in the sage where I could see about 40 yards of downwind. I called for a long time, probably 25+ mins, and decided to bag it, stood up without a gun and there was one, downwind, staring at me! I dropped back down, grabbed my gun, and popped back up... afterburners. No shot.

The next day I went to a spot I'd located the day before to hunt the morning. I ended up doing a 4.5 stand loop in that spot, and called in 2 for sure. I had smoking fresh tracks downwind of another stand, so I might have had one I didn't see there too. (5th stand got cut short by a ringing cell phone that was supposed to be on vibrate!) I ended up doing the exact same thing, missing one and not getting a shot at another.
.     The first stand I had hoofed pretty hard, probably 1/2 mile from the car, and set up, then I realized I had forgotten my shooting sticks!!! Too far to go back, I started calling. One came in hard from the right, quartering into the wind. He disappeared behing some sage at about 100 yards, but he was committed, so I pulled up with the shotgun. When he came back out into view he was hopping, looking at the decoy. Then he stopped at about 75 yards, too far to risk a poke. I wasn't sure what to do, when he wheeled and took off. I switched to the rifle, but he was gone.
.     The the 4th stand I called a long time again, well over 20 mins when one came in on the run from upwind. He stopped at about 110 directly over the call from me. He stood for several seconds. I was steading the crosshairs, and slowing my breathing down, resting my elbows on my knees. Just about to shoot right over the call when he spotted me and took off to the left. I WOOF'd at him and he stopped at about 120. I hurried a shot, well, hurried for elbows on the knees, and missed. He bailed down and right into a draw and blasted out of the area entirely out of sight.

Wife had a good time in town, and I learned alot about the Tri's and had a good time with good percentages for the time spent calling. Thanks BigSwede!

[DeKuma]

Sounds Great Steve!  Too bad you did not connect, but it sounds worth every minute.  Misses suck, but at least you put it out there.

[rainshadow1]

Yeah, talk about a comedy of errors! I feel like a total greenhorn! (I've always been a pretty good shot!) Just rusty I guess.

Here's some pics...



 
Nice spot bigswede knows about.




 
First miss, set up for the draw, and had the Coyote come in through the plowed field above. Shot at about the left side of the image just into the furrows.




 
Downwind of my stand, where I got busted with empty hands!




 
The hopping dog, out of shotgun range, from the lumps on the right.




 
Second miss, over the call, sitting elbows on the knees.

[DeKuma]

Looks like a great area.  Cannot wait to get out and give it a shot for myself!

[deaddog]

sounds like you had a great time rain, next time your in the area i hope we can meet up, yotes are my fav thing to hunt and the tri,s offer up alot of great areas. would realy like to meet you anyway, your from my neck of the woods , born and raised in P.A. my mom and older sis live in carlsburg. I miss it up there badly, but the dogs down here make it a little more bareble. next time im up i would like to meet you and check out some of the *censored* knifes you build. maybe even get a hunt together up there.

[rainshadow1]

That'd be cool, deaddog. Let me know when you are coming this way!





I had a real good time, but I'm starting to get flustered about it now.... remember Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman.... I can hear my self now...

    "... I'm really a very excellent shot..."


 

[Bigswedegml]

Thanks for letting me show you one of my spots Steve.  Next time you come up hopefully I can get out there for more stands with you.  Also hopefully I will have some more land to hunt.  Those pics from the other spots you hunted look really good, I will have to check them out later in the season.