First coyote.

heavyBullet

heavyBullet

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Just off the island of MTL
Well, not my first coyote, but the first coyote I ever called in.

Went to my buddies farm this morning, got into the woods around 7:50am. Left my snowshoes in the car( BIG mistake, 70cm snowstorm a week earlier) so I had a challenging hike to get to my spot. I was not there five minutes, and this little doe walked up to me.
Deeryotehunt.jpg


She walked to within five feet of me, but as I was slowly fishing for my camera in my pocket she started to back off, so I did not get an up close pic.

So I start calling with this distress call I bought the other day, not all that sure what I was doing, and after 10 minutes I look up and see two crow's circling just above me. It was at this moment I learned my first coyote hunting lesson. Do Not take your eyes off the woods after making silly sounding distress calls. As I was staring up at the birds, I heard panting, huffing and puffing from behind me. I turn around just in time to see a coyote coming up the hill straight at me full speed ahead, only about ten feet away. With no chance to even swing my rifle at him, I just yelled, and she put on the brakes and did a 360 at about four feet from me.

She bolted back down the hill, but hesitated for one second to look back at me, giving me a shot.

CoyotehuntMarch2011012.jpg


I did not see any other coyotes other than her, but in the same spot later in the afternoon, this doe walked up to me also.

CoyotehuntMarch2011013.jpg
 
Lots to learn, that's for sure. Nothing like a yote coming at you full speed to get your blood pumping.
I wonder what would have happened if I would not have yelled at it ?? Surly she had no idea I was a person, but if I would not have yelled I am sure she would have run into me.
I think I was more amazed on how she was able to zero in on me at what must have been quite a distance from the way she was huffin and puffin.
 
That's why a lot of guys use shotguns for dogs :) It's a lot easier to shoot at 5 yards :) What were you shooting?

Nice looking coyote! Fur still looks great! Planning on keeping it? There are a bunch of good videos on how to case skin and tan your own hide :)
 
mwjones said:
That's why a lot of guys use shotguns for dogs :) It's a lot easier to shoot at 5 yards :) What were you shooting?

Nice looking coyote! Fur still looks great! Planning on keeping it? There are a bunch of good videos on how to case skin and tan your own hide :)
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I definitely was not using a correct rig for yotes, I used one of my deer rifles, a Marlin 30-06 with a Burris 3x9x40 scope. It was a challenge to get my crosshairs on her at such a short distance, I would have been better off with my SKS lol, but now that I have tried calling, and hunting them, I will be looking into getting a dedicated coyote riffle.

As for the fur, I think you can imagine the exit hole my 165gr bullet left at such a short distance. My intention was to get a head shot, and try to skin and tan the hide myself, but I seriously did not think these dogs would run up on me so quickly. In any case, my buddy was very happy that's there is one less coyote hanging around his farm.
 
you can sew the hole shut from the inside while the hide is still geen :) With a little luck, it might not be too bad.
 
Looks like I managed to get this Friday off, so I am thinking of going back to the woods and try my luck again, but I have a small dilemma, which firearm to bring ? When hunting dogs in the woods, is it common for the dog to come running right at you after calling like this one did ???

My lowest power scope on any of my rifles is 3x9x40, which made this shot a bit challenging. My only non scoped options would be a shotgun, SKS, .22 or 45-70. With any of these I could have probably shot as the dog was running at me instead of yelling and then shooting it as it ran off.

Shotgun would have been ideal since the dog was so close to me, but I am guessing I could also get a dog that will creep up on me and not just run in, in which case I would want a rifle.
 
heavyBullet said:
Looks like I managed to get this Friday off, so I am thinking of going back to the woods and try my luck again, but I have a small dilemma, which firearm to bring ? When hunting dogs in the woods, is it common for the dog to come running right at you after calling like this one did ???

My lowest power scope on any of my rifles is 3x9x40, which made this shot a bit challenging. My only non scoped options would be a shotgun, SKS, .22 or 45-70. With any of these I could have probably shot as the dog was running at me instead of yelling and then shooting it as it ran off.

Shotgun would have been ideal since the dog was so close to me, but I am guessing I could also get a dog that will creep up on me and not just run in, in which case I would want a rifle.
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I am a big fan of going small and while I would not hesitate to shoot a coyote with a .22LR, I wouldn't go out looking for one.
If I had to choose from your list. Can you hit with the SKS at 100yds? I'd take the SKS and the shotgun.
 
rookie wildcat said:
I am a big fan of going small and while I would not hesitate to shoot a coyote with a .22LR, I wouldn't go out looking for one.
If I had to choose from your list. Can you hit with the SKS at 100yds? I'd take the SKS and the shotgun.
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I was thinking the SKS may be the way to go also, especially since the max distance would be no more than 50yards in the woods I am in, and my SKS is dead on at that distance.
 
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