Saw my first coyote

[j.galloway]

After work I decided to take a cruise up to an area I found months before. This time I parked about a mile away. I was more or less in the mood of testing my pack I had got months before. Anyway packed up all my calls in a pocket on the pack(and other stuff I could just stuff in there to add bulk and weight) and started walk in.

Since I'm by myself and was walking on a road in the woods before getting to the clear-cut, I had some 150 grain accubonds in the mag. So I emerge in the clear-cut area and still walking on the gravel, not really stealthy like and I saw movement on the road up ahead about 40 yards. Just a bit of brown between the brush where the road block was. I stop wait and listen and finally I see a coyote trotting quartering away from me, he gets to about 60 yards when he turns and looks back broadside to me.

Everything was all nice and good, but this is where it went downhill from there, put the 150 grain under it and it scooted and probably didn't stop running until it hit Oregon.

Found the tracks and the point where it stopped... but no sign of a hit, no blood, hair or anything.

Kinda (more) annoyed at myself now. Somewhat same thing happened on ND, though it was at a running deer going full-boogy at around 40-60 yards. 3 rounds right over the back every time, just above the shoulder-blades at that time I could have swore the scope was off, but afterward could place a round right on that pop-can. whenever I go to a paper target, I can hit a 8.5"x11" target at 100 yards consistently.    adrenaline I guess.

[wraithen]

[quote author=j.galloway
Kinda (more) annoyed at myself now. Somewhat same thing happened on ND, though it was at a running deer going full-boogy at around 40-60 yards. 3 rounds right over the back every time, just above the shoulder-blades at that time I could have swore the scope was off, but afterward could place a round right on that pop-can. whenever I go to a paper target, I can hit a 8.5"x11" target at 100 yards consistently.    adrenaline I guess.
[/quote]

Is this a joke? I can understand the adrenaline but... or is this a pistol?

[j.galloway]

joke? No its a rifle 30-06. Never shot a pistol and don't plan to, I just don't feel like enough control on where its pointing.

ND hunts with my family and their buddy's are deer drive hunts through shelter-belts. Deer as far as my dad has ever seen them where always moving. I only have been on 2 ND hunts before and the deer where always running then too.

The major difference between targets was the popcan wasn't moving, and I had all day to take the shot.

[wraithen]

I'm not trying to be a d-bag but you should be a little better with a scoped rifle than just hitting 8 1/2 x 11" paper. If that were iron sights I wouldn't say anything. I understand the whole moving target part of the equation and I wouldn't judge someone for a miss on that necessarily.

[seth30]

J,

I keep a POS bipod on my main coyote gun just to keep my muzzel straight and shake free during those intense few seconds that a yote shows himself.  Give it a try and see if that will help your aim when you really need it.  Like you said shooting a can is different

Seth

[seth30]

Heres what it looks like, and this gun has killed a lot of dogs.

[j.galloway]

I'm not trying to be a d-bag but you should be a little better with a scoped rifle than just hitting 8 1/2 x 11" paper. If that were iron sights I wouldn't say anything. I understand the whole moving target part of the equation and I wouldn't judge someone for a miss on that necessarily.

no I understand, I am 'relatively' a new shooter, with maybe 200 rounds .30-06, 300 rounds .223 and probably 700 ish of .22LR.

I am practicing more or less every week, with my goal to be able to hit inside 1" at 100 standing up. I'm sure I can do it, its just technique and practice.

On this target;
www.mytargets.com/Target2.pdf

this was from 8/30/2007
20 rounds 22LR fired standing 100 yards, less than 20 seconds (plus time for reloading mag);
2 bullseye
1 black
10 1st white ring
6 2nd white ring
1 outside

the 1 outside is just about .5" out of the line for 3.5" from center at worst. If it isn't raining tomorrow I wanna go out and try 'score' again see how its comparing.

Actually here's a more recent target practice for you;


ignore the top row, that was 'sighting in.'
1" targets (though from 25-40yards? I think) Edit: eh standing or sitting against rock, can't remember that either.
bottom left, hit the rock that was holding it up. Rock exploded on impact.
This was Feb 5th of 2012

[wraithen]

That's not too bad for standing. I just found a new way to find cheap targets 

[AWS]

I've been calling coyotes and fox for a long time, and deer hunting was a subsistance thing in our family.  Some years I could shoot four deer a season back in WI.

So two years ago I missed the first two coyotes of the season, both chip shots under 50yrd standing.  I swore it was the scope and stopped hunting and went to the range and the rifle was dead on.  After mulling the two shots through my head for awhile I realised that in the excitement I was just getting the coyote in the scope and forgeting to place the crosshairs.

Think about the shots you missed, do you remember exactly where you placed the crosshairs or do you just remember the animals in the scope.

[FALFire]

I've been calling coyotes and fox for a long time, and deer hunting was a subsistance thing in our family.  Some years I could shoot four deer a season back in WI.

So two years ago I missed the first two coyotes of the season, both chip shots under 50yrd standing.  I swore it was the scope and stopped hunting and went to the range and the rifle was dead on.  After mulling the two shots through my head for awhile I realised that in the excitement I was just getting the coyote in the scope and forgeting to place the crosshairs.

Think about the shots you missed, do you remember exactly where you placed the crosshairs or do you just remember the animals in the scope.

Amen to that! I have picked off starlings on posts at over 300 yards with a 223 but missed several coyotes at 50 yards, of course I blame it on the coffee 

[j.galloway]

Think about the shots you missed, do you remember exactly where you placed the crosshairs or do you just remember the animals in the scope.

Yeah thinking back I remember looking at the coyote through the scope, but touched off when my eye looked at the intended target (chest area) I actually had to think back to remember where the crosshairs where.

I have got to work on a rhythm for finding target, getting stance, getting breath, pulling up, finding target and trigger control.

I have worked on trigger control and against flinching that its something I don't even have to think about. But finding target and actually aiming...  Another excuse to go to the range and unload a few hundred brass.