I had an exciting, if short, morning of coyote hunting today. I arrived at a cattle ranch I have permission to hunt a little after dawn. As I schlepped my gear to the first stand, only 1/8 mile from the ranch house, I was "busted" by a coyote on a slope about 400 yards away, beyond an empty feed lot. My path along the farm road dipped from his view, and I "came up" carefully behind a stack of creosoted timbers (perhaps fenceposts) about 4 ft high and 10 ft square.
I peeked ever-so-carefully around the edge to observe the wily coyote, 250 yds away and still looking right at my direction. He was near a gully where the rancher disposes of cattle carcasses, so I suspected he would stay around. I sat behind the wood pile about 5 minutes and contemplated my next move.
When I peeked out next, the coyote wasn't looking at me, had moved into the gully where he was seen to be accompanied by another coyote! I brought my rifle up, resting it on the woodpile. It was a stable base, but I had an awkward stance, squatting behind it. There was no other place to move to, without alerting these dogs, so I took my best shot.
I didn't hear the satisfying ka-whump, one expects at a solid hit, but the yote yelped and spun around, chasing his wound, then dipping behind a dirt hummock, out of sight. I scanned for the other yote, and found him running away at about 400 yds. He stopped, and I shot, using Kentucky windage. No joy.
When I was tracking the second coyote away from the scene, he was alone, which led me to believe my first one was DRT. Guess I was wrong.
I walked to the site of the hit, and didn't even find a blood trail. At that distance, about 250 yds, I've had bullets come out the other side. I scoured several acres (mostly open ground) and couldn't find the critter. Big disappointment to a rookie like me.
On my second stand, on the other side of the ranch, let out a greeting howl and waited. About 5 minutes later, as I was fixing to start my squalling, I heard a distant alarm bark. Not close. I was wondering. Would you assume that any alarm bark would be do to your own presence, even if distant? I had a hard time believing that a critter that far away, and so disconnected to my calling, could be "talking about me". You think? Nothing ever came to that stand.
The wind had picked up during my second stand, and was now pushing tumbleweeds briskly across the plain. That has got to be 25 to 30 mph, I think. I was thinking it may be too brisk to hunt effectively, but there were cattle in the sagebrush nearby, so I went to set up my third stand in the freezing wind.
I had only gotten 200 ft from my car, and a coyote came busting out of the sage 100 yds away, heading out. I dropped to the ground set up the sticks quickly and yelped at the critter, but he wasn't having anything of it. He disappeared into the distant sage, never to be seen again.
I called, to no avail, and called it a day at 9:30AM. I had seen three coyotes, shot at two, hit one, and heard another. Not a bad morning's hunt.
I may be back there at dawn again tomorrow, if the wind lets up and the snow doesn't show up (who knows).
Ivar
PS It pays to go to church once in a while. I got permission to hunt this ranch through a friend made at my wife's church (I am not a member, but I go to the potlucks!)
