Jackalope,
"
once again, so nice to live 5 frickin hours away."
And thanks for your input too.
I just meant to point out that five hours isn't that bad, I'm sorry if it came out any other way.
It's too bad, you didn't have the time.
Houndhunter,
Nope, I kinda put the jinx on myself, I told a couple different taxidermists "sure I can get you a few of those", and then did really poorly this year (a far as "spectacular catches").
I didn't think Michelle would want the "bobcoon".
DeKuma,
I'd love to go calling with some real pro's myself. (*I certainly don't consider myself one)
Joe,
A game cam is a wonderous thing... I wish I had the ability to sit quietly, in the snow, for days on end.
If I had to guess, I'd say I shot the small female, in the top left corner corner of the Wildcam pic, but I dunno for sure.
And it was the worst looking live coyote I have ever personally laid eyes on, and if she weighed 15 pounds I'd be shocked, I am absolutely sure she was sick (*carrying her into the trees bothered me, and I cleaned my hands with an alcohol wipe afterwards).
All her guard hair was missing, save for a few scattered along her back, and what fur was left was matted and SMELLY!
If I hadn't seen her walk up, I'd have sworn she was dead for a week!
She was so small, that when I ranged her with my scope she was 300 yards out, but after the second shot (not held over) she lasered to only 150!
The bullet impacting beyond her, or the echo off the far canyon wall, sent her my way (20 yards or so), where she was stopped for the shot.
Oh, in case anyone's wondering... a Federal 150gr SP, in .308, is NOT fur friendly!
But it does make them dead, which was the whole point!
She had full up ADD, too, she would be coming, then she'd check up pounce for a mouse, look up and remember she was coming to the call.
It took nearly three minutes for her to close the last 100 yards (that she did), and come out of the deep grass.
She was really pissin' me off!
The up side is... she was just about to have her first birthday, and begin her career as a mother, welping some 30 to 40 pups (or more) over the next 5 or 6 years, that beats taking out an old dog coyote any time!
I sorta feel like we were playing against a stacked deck, here.
Right off, it was the Full Moon... the three days before and after are hard (coyotes use that time for night hunting).
Cold calling sparsely scouted ground is always tough, and the "verticality" of the land didn't help at all, and the weather joined in to make it durn near miserable.
The wind never did let up.
Sunday pushed us to the edge of exposure, we were all the way up top, back by the highest draw, past the electric fence line, and a freezing rain/sleet blew all the way back to the truck.
If the wind is blowing so hard you can't hold your rifle still... what happens to your bullet?
(*How far will a .222 drift, at 340 yards, in a 30 mph wind?
Answer... just a little too far!
)
There's not any active dens that we found on your place, but we found several in adjacent (or nearby) properties (with a range of over ten square miles, your coyotes aren't just yours), and a couple of last year's dens on or near you (there's one on the grassy knoll, just over the fence, on the first ridge above the end of the road. And another up by the highest draw).
We had one coyote display classic denning behavior, ignoring calling, fidgeting, and looking back, and generally non-committal.
She just wasn't buying it.
It's like trying to call Toms in July...
And an amazing amount of snow melted just this weekend, and this has pushed the coyotes up to the fields, mousing, and digging up rodents.
We never did make any stands down in the creek bottom, every time we called anywhere on the front side, the dogs down below went nuts.
Twelve barking dogs don't help at all.
700 acres seems like a big place, but considering a calling stand can cover a square mile (in optimal conditions), that doesn't afford much calling (though we did make hour long stands, hoping to see a 'cat).
We got "blown off" the top both days, or would have doubled the amount of stands called.
DESPITE ALL THAT:
I had a pretty good time!
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Jody & Joe, I found a nice fork muley shed (on the fence trail), I killed a coyote, and I didn't have to do chores or nothin' all weekend!
Thanks Joe!
Krusty
