Blew it on a wolf - Season 13

Chas

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And we're back.... Hard to believe I have been doing this for 13 years..

You may have seen my previous posts about our hunting experiences while wolf hunting since 2009 along the north shore of Lake Superior, and how it usually works out in the wolfs favour. We have 5 or 6 hunters that regularly get together to chase predators once the moose and deer seasons close. Well, here we go again for another season......

Started with an early morning phone call (at least for us retired folks). Seeing as I was up and it was a beautiful morning (-2C, no wind, skiff of snow on the ground), I decided to give the golf course behind my house a try for coyotes. Everyone else was working :rolleyes: We have an bylaw amendment allowing 10 of us to hunt in 3 different locations within the municipality for the purpose of controlling predators, as the town has a high coyote population.

Got to the golf course about 8:20 and walked down one of the fairways and set up at the 200 yard marker - gave a good view in both directions and across the driving range. River was behind me and running wide open so knew they couldnt cross from the other side. Packed light, only my caller, a hunters seat and my rifle. Set the FoxPro caller in a spruce tree about 25 yards away from me and set up at the base of another spruce. Sun was behind me.

Started with a female in heat call and no response. Waited 10 minutes and followed with a female interrogation howl. Nothing. Decided to move onto a prey in distress call about 10 minutes later when a helicopter spooled up and took off from the municipal airport. Not sure what he was doing behind me but was hovering in the air and making quite a racket for 7 or 8 minutes. Figured no use in calling with that racket so when he finally faded away, hit a new jackrabbit in distress call that lasts about 6 minutes. Ravens started flocking in and circling the tree with the caller in it. So I switched to another jackrabbit and attacking ravens call. The real ravens went nuts circling the tree and joining in the racket coming out of the caller.

I noticed movement coming out of the bush about 150 yards across the fairway in a treed strip and there is a coyote coming towards me. Get the scope on it, look down and flick the safety off, and look back and he is gone. He didnt come out in the open and was flitting among the spruce trees. I "woofed" at him and he stopped - behind a large spruce tree. I woofed again and he came around the tree and stood there looking directly at where I was sitting. He put his head down to the ground sniffing something and I put the crosshairs on the spine behind his head between his shoulder and pulled the trigger. He went down in a heap. I was using a .22-250 loaded with 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip handloads of mine. He fell within yards of where I dropped one last November hunting with Paddle2DaC and My72Jeep!

The Foxbang setting on the caller kicked in and started playing a pup in distress call. Another coyote started barking from the bush behind where I shot him. Tried a couple more pup distress calls but no response and nothing came out. We are limited to 2 wolf / coyote tags per calendar year and I had just filled my first one, my wife says she cant afford therapy for me if I tag out too early and have to wait till January for new tags.

Nicely furred male, well fed, an no exit wound. Invalidated my tag, and dragged him back to where I was sitting.

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Photo taken from where he fell, I was set up in the shade against one of the spruce in the middle of the picture. Best use I have ever seen for a golf course! Unfortunately I didnt take a picture from where I was sitting to make a Fratri type "how it played out" diagram.

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Loaded him up and decided to get my morning coffee. As I came out of Tim's drive through, saw hunting partner Wayne stopped at the entrance and waved him in. He asked me if I saw the coyote that had been standing on the road. We were looking at mine in the back of the truck when the coyote he had seen walked across in front of the truck. We stood there and I lip squeaked at him but be kept going across the parking lot. I ran and got my cell phone out of the cab as he was standing in the exit of the drive through. A truck rolled out and he took off at a run to the grass lawn between the parking lot and road, and stood there for a minute. Then he tried to become a road kill crossing the road causing the traffic to come to a halt

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Anyways, went to M72j's shop, hung him and skinned him out. Other than a small entrance hole, no damage to the pelt which is nice and prime. Lots of fat on him. Final fleshing and stretching will be done tomorrow.

So good first day predator hunting!
 
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nicely done.
I was over at a friends farm last night and they were lamenting the fact that coyotes were getting pretty brazen on their property. Lynx and wolf have been on their trail cams as well but the coyotes are hunting in day time in mornings and evenings.
They are hunters but they are too busy to be taking time out to actually hunt the coyotes that keep harrassing their livestock and birds.
So I was given full access and permission to hunt the farm. Heading into Lone Butte Sporting Goods to choose a proper rifle for the task ;)
I did need a good excuse to buy another rifle so there it is LOL
 
If they’re that docile, I think council should up your quota.

Wish we could but its the MNRF that requires us to hunt with tags in this wildlife management unit. Town council wants us to take more than we legally can. Unfortunately no options around it. There was talk of removing coyotes from the tag system as a part of the moose review a couple of years ago, but MNRF didnt implement it right away and all has gone silent.

Out tomorrow with M72J and P2DC to see if we can get them one to tag up on
 
Wish we could but its the MNRF that requires us to hunt with tags in this wildlife management unit. Town council wants us to take more than we legally can. Unfortunately no options around it. There was talk of removing coyotes from the tag system as a part of the moose review a couple of years ago, but MNRF didnt implement it right away and all has gone silent.

Out tomorrow with M72J and P2DC to see if we can get them one to tag up on

This shocks me as much now as the first time you told us. No wolves here but no limit on our coyotes either and some as as big as a small wolf
Love reading your stories
take care
 
Hit and a miss...

So the weather was supposed to crap out later this morning and both Paddle2DaC and My72Jeep were available to go and try the golf course this morning. We got there about 8:00 and walked in - P2DC sat in the same spot I shot the coyote out of and M72J set up on a fairway to our right to watch our flank and behind us.

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I sat in the middle and started calling when everyone was set up. Started with a 'coyote gathering" call and 30 seconds later BOOOMMM! Look down towards P2DC and big thumbs up from him. Hit a pup in distress call and texted M72J to hold tight, we would keep calling. Another couple of pup in distress calls, nothing shows.

Waited in silence for 5 or so minutes and tried a new call - coyote ##### in heat. BOOOMMM behind me. Hit the caller and set off a pup in distress call. Text from M72J saying that flipped the coyote and hobbled away.

Both shots in less than 20 minutes, but we are only allowed to hunt till 9:30 so P2DC and I went over to whee his coyote was laying. What a hell of a shot - close to 300 yards. Fell where it was hit on the treeline on the far side of the driving range. If you look through the gap to the conifers on the far side, thats were he was sitting. I took the picture from where the coyote was laying. P2DC stated was most fun he ever had on a golf course ;)

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Invalidated the tag and headed over to M72J's location. He was watching the direction behind us and saw a coyote the next fairway over. I will let him put the details in but he said after the shot the coyote flipped over and hobbled away. We checked where it was standing, no blood, no hair. Expanded our search area, nothing. M72J went back to where it was standing and called us over and showed us this

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I think its still spitting out bark.....

Off to Tims to our post hunt morning coffee where we met hunting partner Wayne. No coyotes in the drive through today!
 
Awesome!! Ontario needs to get it's head out of it's _ _ S though and get back to doing away with coyote and wolf tags and just put it back the way it used to be with allowing hunting them on a small game license with zero limits.

Unfortunately it seems they have to kill someone like they did here and then they make changes :(
 
Padle2DaC and I hit the golf course this morning as I have been getting complaints of coyotes and at least one wolf coming up from the golf course and up to houses on our street. I went by myself yesterday but nothing showed and no fresh tracks. Three otters had come up out of the river and crossed my tracks and had fun surfing through the snow.

We got to the golf course just before legal light and walked in and the first thing we noticed was some fresh canine tracks. P2DC headed down to where he shot his coyote and I set up the caller and started up the slope to the raised tee off where My72Jeep had shot at a coyote a couple of weeks ago. As I crested the rise there was a coyote standing in the treed strip between fairways about 70 yards away staring at me. I hadnt loaded my rifle yet and as soon as we locked eyes, he did a 180 and I was looking at the west end of an east bound coyote with afterburners ignited. I tried a couple of "woofs" to stop him but he was approaching light speed at that point.

Called on and off for an hour, hoping he would circle back but no joy. When we walked over to where he was. he had been following the fresh tracks of at least 2 other coyotes. No problem figuring where he was standing based on the torn up snow and arrow straight set of tracks heading for the far treeline.

Got some interesting pictures on my cell trail camera before i went out - if you look at the time stamps on the pictures its a wonder that the fox didnt become someones dinner..

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So P2DC's wife said good luck but I hope you dont get one as he was heading out to meet me, and I know my wife was happy I wasnt skinning one out in the garage on Christmas eve afternoon.

So with that - have a safe and Merry Christmas

Chas
 
Sigh

f:P: So following the title of the thread, check out the time stamps on todays photos...

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Had rain Christmas Eve, 8C Christmas and -14C this morning. I had decided to check some cameras and cut some brush - sounded like walking on corn flakes and he must have heard me coming a mile away..
 
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