Man this coyote hunting gig is TOUGH! I've only been out about 5 times and have never hunted for anything before, so I'm very - very - green and learning a bit every time I go out. Plus I am a little impatient but holy crap I was not expecting it to be so challenging! I'm also a little obsessive compulsive so I've been buying anything and everything that has "coyote" in the name! No rangefinder yet but I've bought camo gear, mouth calls, electronic calls, a new scope, decoys, scent cover, rabbit urine, bipod, binoculars, atlas/gazeteer, GPS, dvd's and shoot I'm sure there is other stuff I've forgot to name! I even bought this DVD about ugly coyotes but it turned out to be some movie about drunk chicks dancing on a bar!
heheheh... anyway...
I was in the Tri-Cities over Memorial Day weekend and I went to a spot that BIGINNER set me up with - thanks again for that by the way dude!
There was signs of coyotes EVERYWHERE! There was tracks & scat and all kinds of dens & holes dug all over the place and they looked fresh! I went out there 3 times over 4 days and every time I saw fresh signs, new tracks and super fresh poo, I mean it was still warm!
But I could never get one to come in to where I could see him. Granted, the grass was really tall in most areas, like 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall and the wind was blowing like crazy every time. So I dont know if they came in and I didnt see them??
I did see 5 mule deer though.... But the wind was blowing across from where I parked right towards the canyon areas where all the dens were and where I wanted to hunt, so I tried to circle around and come form the downwind side but then ended up right on top of them, maybe too close? And I dont know if they were holed up mid-morning or what but I didnt see any roaming around.
But I went out like from 7am-10am on 2 days and one evening from about 6-9pm. I was mostly using pup & rabbit distress in both mouth & e-calls. In the evening stand I heard one howl across the street as I was walking in so I howled back with the Hot Dog and he answered me right away, so I barked & howled again to try & get a better idea of where he was at but he didnt answer and I never did see him. That was a pretty cool feeling thinking he was communicating with me on the mouth caller! Same thing happened when I was leaving, I heard one howl so I howled but then he stopped and one howled even further away.
It was great to get out but kind of frustrating knowing they were out there. I dont know what I was doing wrong but I'm sure the wind, grass, and my impatience all played a big part.
During one of the mid-morning hunts I was sneaking up to a mini-canyon from the downwind side and jumped a mule deer laying down in the tall grass. I was only about 20-30 feet from when he popped up from the grass and took of running - scared the absolute $h!t outta me - and I'm the one with the gun!
Funny thing is with me buying all this gear; I'm sure there's a handful of guys out there killing all kinds of dogs in jeans, Nike's, and iron sights with their Grandpa's old lever action 22LR!!
Son of a biscuit eater! I dont think I'll get one unless they come in and lay down in front of my rifle - unless I can get a permit to hunt at the zoo or something! Anyway, I'll just keep on trying and hopefully I'll get lucky here soon! I'm heading over to the east side to hunt with 'predatorpro' later this month on the 25th so hopefully he'll set me up straight!
(probably that is - until he reads all this!!)
Anyway, just wanted to rant and share my slightly frustrating story. Honestly I'm not too frustrated cuz I know it takes time, effort, & experience to be successful and it really was cool to get out and get more time under my belt. Boy, I sure have a lot of respect for you guys that get these 'yotes and show the pics on a regular basis!
I guess maybe its time to start buying everything with 'predator' in the title!?!?
