SmallCaliberCentral

I've been elk hunting in a late season muzzleloader hunt for a couple of days now, and haven't seen anything except some really nice mulies starting to rut things up. However, yesterday I had an interesting run in with a coyote that I will describe here as I sip coffee since I deemed it too stormy to hunt this morning.
Yesterday, as I was crashing through some blown down timber, I gave a couple of cow calls on a little push call I have hoping to sound more like an elk than a fumbling hunter. After doing so, I came upon the closed dirt road I had hiked in on. As I sat down on a stump to rest and listen, I hit the cow call again. As soon as I did this, a coyote stepped out into the road ahead of me. He was coming right to the cow call. I slowly put my gun to my shoulder, but the motion was much to much for the dog, and he split.
Shortly after I came to a clearing. I sat down again to look around, and noticed a coyote trotting accross the far end of the clearing. Probably the same one as before, but I can't say for sure. This looked a little darker. I hit the cow call, and it stopped, but it was out at about 250 to 300 yards. Much to far for my open sighted black powder gun. He started to run off, and I stopped him again with the cow call. Thinking I needed to be more aggressive I started pushing the call down halfway rapidly with produced a crude mouse squeaker. This is all he needed. He started trotting my way in a big half circle trying to get down wind of me. I kept calling until he got within about 150. Then, when he went behind a stump, I lifted the gun to my shoulder. He stopped looking in my direction at what I thought was about 70 yards. I touched the trigger and saw him drop through the cloud of smoke.
I reloaded, and made my way out to him. He died about 20 yards from an elk skeleton. I wonder if he ever dined on that carcass???
The .50 cal. 350 grain tc maxihunter bullet entered right behind his shoulder, and exited out his ribs on the other side. Not much fur damage, just a hole in and out. Oh yeah, I ranged the stump I was on from where the dog fell and it was 92 yards. This helped my confidence with the old smoke pole.
First couple of pics with cell phone. sorry.
Now as soon as the wind dies down, I'll get back out there and try to find those stinkin elk.




Here's the hero pic back at the truck with the good camera.

Good Job Bullfrog I need to get off this computer my self and set up another stand as I have the day off! You ever think of painting that shiny barrel on that rifle? I was just thinking I need to add more light colors to my rifle considering the area I am hunting right now.

Actually, I was planning on painting it, but then got worried that when I clean it with slovent, it would probably take the paint off. You have to be pretty thorough with the cleaning of these things. I went to get some camo fabric tape, but I couldn't find the kind I like in anything but a snow pattern. I have a feeling that the barrel is the reason the first encounter with the coyote went sour.
However, I figure if I find some elk they will be busting out of the black timber, and I will only have a quick shot so barrel shining probably won't, hopefully won't, be a factor there. The coyote was just a bonus oppurtunity to take another predator out of the woods.

The krylon camo paint comes of really easy. I don't put more than a few minutes to put it on and when the cleaning products remove it I just add more or repaint. I just repainted all my rifles it took about 20 minutes and I am thinking I need to lighten up the skeem for the grass lands. The camo doesn't stay on for long it comes off on your gloves. Have fun with it and change it often. You can take it off really quick with Gun Scrub. Its just there to break things up and dull the shine.