I told Lucas I would go back the next morning before day light with my rifle and watch the creek bottom and maybe get a shot at a coyote and then go look for his deer. Just as it was getting light enough to see, I saw a couple doe cross the bottom about 350 yards to the south and a little fork horn buck crossing in the field up on top across from me.
A little while later I heard a squirrel carrying on in the woods across from me so I figured it saw either a deer or coyote. They make good alarms for approaching deer and coyotes. About a minute or so later I heard a deer grunt and heard something running in the leaves. We haven’t had a good soaking ran around here since back in September and the leaves are really noisy. This section of woods is where we last saw sign of Lucas’s deer the night before.
A minute or two later, a coyote came out into the chisel plowed field in front of me and started digging at 246 yards. I was sitting with my back to a tree along the creek on the opposite side of the field and had my shooting sticks so I felt good about making the shot. The coyote was hunched down digging so I put the cross hairs on it and touched off a round. With the mild recoil of the .204, I watched the coyote drop through the scope. The 39 grain Sierra Blitz King hit the coyote in the shoulder bone, penetrated it, and broke the other shoulder but did not exit. The only movement from the coyote was a couple head raises and then went still. I was shooting my CZ 527 American.
The coyote is the tiny speck left of the dark spot at the edge of the field. 246 yards.
Here is a closer look zoomed in.
Here's the way it was when I walked up to it, taking a dirt nap.
Here is a look back to where I was sitting next to the creek.
About 10-12 minutes later, I saw another coyote come out of the same patch of woods at the north end but it wouldn’t come to some distress sounds I threw at it and it went up through the hay field to the north. I thought about taking a 350-360 yard shot but I thought I could call it my way but that didn’t work.
I sat for about 25-30 minutes (I don’t usually wear a watch) and kept watching the bottom when I spotted another coyote crossing the bottom to the north of me across a drainage ditch in another field. I swung around but couldn’t get a clear shot due to weeds along the ditch. Ahead of the coyote was a crossing into the field so I got on that spot and just as the coyote approached it, I howled with my voice. The coyote stopped too quick and had some weeds between us. It turned back and started walking again so I howled again but it only looked back and didn’t stop.
I had to make a quick shot or not get one at all before it got behind some more weeds so I lead it and squeezed the trigger at 308 yards. The coyote started spinning and was trying to run but was having a hard time of it. I saw it disappear and thought it went into a low spot in the field and didn’t see it again. I sat and watched for about 10-15 minutes and started walking slowly to the end of the field watching for any movement.
View from another angle.
All of a sudden the coyote was up and trying to run broadside to me along the end of the other field. There were a lot of weeds between us and I didn’t take the shot which I probably should have after I found out where the first bullet hit. The coyote turned and started running away from me along the creek. There was a lot of brush between me and the coyote but I found a hole and took an off hand shot at about 100 yards. The coyote had stopped with its body facing away from me so I put the crosshairs on its butt and pulled the trigger. I saw a mist with the shot and the coyote went down, and then sprung up and into the weeds by the creek.
I watched the other side of the creek as I eased toward where the coyote was when I shot but didn’t see any movement. As I got closer to where the coyote had been, I saw a lot of blood on the ground. There were guts laying there and I though to myself, there’s no way that coyote can be alive. I eased up over the edge of the creek and there was the coyote lying dead in the creek.
The first shot hit the coyote in the stomach and spilled some of its guts. No wonder it didn’t want to run.
I don’t like hitting an animal like this even if it is a coyote but sometimes it happens. By the way, we never did find the deer.
