So I've been out hunting yotes almost every weekend all winter. I haven't gotten one until this morning. I've seen 15 or more, they either pop up on a property I can't hunt, or I've jumped a few on a river I hunt. They always manage to see me before I see them, and I just see them as they light the afterburners and take off at mach 12.
Been a frustrating season.
I did manage to shoot one with a 115 berger, was unable to recover it, as it stopped bleeding after 600m of tracking it. Pretty sure it was bad bullet performance. Or a terrible shot.
Any ways. This morning I was finally able to connect. To make a long story short I was going into a field and I spotted a coyote at the other end of the field, pretty sure it spotted me at the same time, I snuck down a fence line (by snuck I mean I slugged through 3 ft of snow because I didn't want to take the time to put my snow shoes on.) I got to a clump of trees on the fence line but the dog had ducked into the forest at the end of the field.
I sat down and started to bark and give a couple a short howls into the forest. After a couple minutes I look to my right and catch movement, another dog, I watch it spring over the fence into the field beside me. Its at least 300m out. Its caught the track and scent of the first dog and has stopped coming towards me and is following the other scent trail.
I decide I want to go prone for the shot. I am now engaged in what felt like an epic 30 minute battle with my frozen fully extended 27" harris. I'm trying to hold down the release button and smack the leg shut and push it closed. It eventually closes, I'm sure it was only 10 seconds but felt like forever.
I get prone, take a look at the dog, figure its about 250m or so away, dial up my 1.5 moa, give a sharp "hey" it stops and looks in my direction, I let er rip, big cloud of snow from the muzzle blast. I start looking, make sure I didn't miss, sure enough it was piled up right where it was standing. I called for a few minutes longer, couldn't get the first dog to come out.
Entrance wound in the chest centered, no exit.
I recently switched to 105 Amax's in my 243AI after I ran out of the Bergers. The amax doing 3150fps from the 22" barrel did the job. Very little blood around the entrance, some blood from its mouth, and no exit.
This is what I ended up with, I figure it was 35-40 lbs, male.
I'm off for the week so I'm going to get out there a bunch this week and try to do some spot and stalks or pass shooting, I've only had one dog come to a call this year, and my esteemed colleague proceeded to miss.
Been a frustrating season.
I did manage to shoot one with a 115 berger, was unable to recover it, as it stopped bleeding after 600m of tracking it. Pretty sure it was bad bullet performance. Or a terrible shot.
Any ways. This morning I was finally able to connect. To make a long story short I was going into a field and I spotted a coyote at the other end of the field, pretty sure it spotted me at the same time, I snuck down a fence line (by snuck I mean I slugged through 3 ft of snow because I didn't want to take the time to put my snow shoes on.) I got to a clump of trees on the fence line but the dog had ducked into the forest at the end of the field.
I sat down and started to bark and give a couple a short howls into the forest. After a couple minutes I look to my right and catch movement, another dog, I watch it spring over the fence into the field beside me. Its at least 300m out. Its caught the track and scent of the first dog and has stopped coming towards me and is following the other scent trail.
I decide I want to go prone for the shot. I am now engaged in what felt like an epic 30 minute battle with my frozen fully extended 27" harris. I'm trying to hold down the release button and smack the leg shut and push it closed. It eventually closes, I'm sure it was only 10 seconds but felt like forever.
I get prone, take a look at the dog, figure its about 250m or so away, dial up my 1.5 moa, give a sharp "hey" it stops and looks in my direction, I let er rip, big cloud of snow from the muzzle blast. I start looking, make sure I didn't miss, sure enough it was piled up right where it was standing. I called for a few minutes longer, couldn't get the first dog to come out.
Entrance wound in the chest centered, no exit.
I recently switched to 105 Amax's in my 243AI after I ran out of the Bergers. The amax doing 3150fps from the 22" barrel did the job. Very little blood around the entrance, some blood from its mouth, and no exit.
This is what I ended up with, I figure it was 35-40 lbs, male.
I'm off for the week so I'm going to get out there a bunch this week and try to do some spot and stalks or pass shooting, I've only had one dog come to a call this year, and my esteemed colleague proceeded to miss.
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