So I have been having absolutely NO luck calling coyotes for the last year or so. I think I educated a few of them in the area. So I decided I would start trying to pass hunt them a bit. I know some of their travel corridors, one of them being a river that has finally frozen over. A couple days ago I drove past and saw fresh tracks in the snow. Bingo, the dogs are using the river finally.
This morning right before shooting light I made it to the farm beside the river I can hunt, parked the car, grabbed my snow shoes, my gear and my mini pop blind/ chair thing. Walked about 7-800M down the river to a point where I can see about 500M down one way and back the other direction a bit, where lots of tracks always seem to cross.
I set up the blind, fired up my new mini propane heater and settled in for the long haul. Around 945 or so I thought I could hear some faint barks and maybe some female howls. I waited a bit and thought I heard them again, so I let out a couple soft howls then waited a few minutes and followed it up with a couple interrogation barks/ howls.
About 1040 or so there is a coyote standing about 60M from the blind, the wind has shifted a bit and I think she is pretty much down wind. She is staring right into the blind, I don't move, she starts to turn away, I grab the rifle and get it pointed at her, give her a few barks, she pauses for a brief second...... And I pulled the shot and completely missed. She engages the after burners and takes off into the woods. I am now sitting in my blind very very mad at myself for rushing what should have been a guaranteed dog, maybe 130M when she stopped. I am contemplating going to try and chase it, dunno why but that was my idea. About 45 seconds later another dog pops out to my left and starts running away from the blind, I bark it a few times and it slows down enough for me to shoot it in the rear hip, it hits the ground in a cloud of snow and I gave it another.
I go to get the coyote and realize the 1st dog literally walked right across the river in front of me at 100M but I was too busy smashing on my stupid phone to my buddy about how there were no dogs.
Any ways, Pretty healthy looking male, not huge, not small.
Big tuff of fur all over the snow from the fist sized exit from the 105 amax, the follow up shot came in just behind the ribs and exited behind the off side shoulder.
Exit
Back to the blind from the coyote 170M.
Skinned out before I strapped him to my backpack for the walk out.
This morning right before shooting light I made it to the farm beside the river I can hunt, parked the car, grabbed my snow shoes, my gear and my mini pop blind/ chair thing. Walked about 7-800M down the river to a point where I can see about 500M down one way and back the other direction a bit, where lots of tracks always seem to cross.
I set up the blind, fired up my new mini propane heater and settled in for the long haul. Around 945 or so I thought I could hear some faint barks and maybe some female howls. I waited a bit and thought I heard them again, so I let out a couple soft howls then waited a few minutes and followed it up with a couple interrogation barks/ howls.
About 1040 or so there is a coyote standing about 60M from the blind, the wind has shifted a bit and I think she is pretty much down wind. She is staring right into the blind, I don't move, she starts to turn away, I grab the rifle and get it pointed at her, give her a few barks, she pauses for a brief second...... And I pulled the shot and completely missed. She engages the after burners and takes off into the woods. I am now sitting in my blind very very mad at myself for rushing what should have been a guaranteed dog, maybe 130M when she stopped. I am contemplating going to try and chase it, dunno why but that was my idea. About 45 seconds later another dog pops out to my left and starts running away from the blind, I bark it a few times and it slows down enough for me to shoot it in the rear hip, it hits the ground in a cloud of snow and I gave it another.
I go to get the coyote and realize the 1st dog literally walked right across the river in front of me at 100M but I was too busy smashing on my stupid phone to my buddy about how there were no dogs.
Any ways, Pretty healthy looking male, not huge, not small.
Big tuff of fur all over the snow from the fist sized exit from the 105 amax, the follow up shot came in just behind the ribs and exited behind the off side shoulder.
Exit
Back to the blind from the coyote 170M.
Skinned out before I strapped him to my backpack for the walk out.
