Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Talk about hunting the hunters and their prey.
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Silverfox
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Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Silverfox »

I left Williston a little bit after 8:00 a.m. and drove out on a little road to the SE of Williston. I headed out to some land that I had never called on before, but had permission to call coyotes from the rancher who rents the land. I parked the pickup about 1/4 mile off the road on a prairie trail. The wind was out of the ESE and only about 5 to 6 mph. It was cloudy and about 24 degrees above. I walked in on a summer fallow field, set up the FOXPRO and called for about 25 minutes. No takers.

I walked back to the pickup and drove about another 1/4 mile further east and parked behind a hill and walked east to a rock pile. I set the call up on a wooden fence post to the SE of my hiding spot and started the call. About 15 minutes into the stand I could hear coyotes howling in answer to my howling. The sound was coming from the NE of my location and I couldn’t see very well in that direction. I got up and moved over to a spot where I could see to the north, northeast and east better and I could also see to the SE as well. I continued to hear those coyote howl, but they weren’t coming in to the call. I also heard coyotes howling from the SSE of my location too. I shut the call down after 35 minutes and packed it up and walked right to the NE where I thought the howling was coming from.

I set up the caller about 150 yards from where the farm land ends and the rough breaks begin to the ENE of my chosen calling spot. I placed the FX5 on my homemade tripod and started off with Lightening Jack sounds. After three minutes, I started the Randy Anderson Locator Howling. That got some howling going in return. At the 10 minute mark I turned the caller to the Lightening Jack sound on about volume level 15 and let that run. I checked my watch and I had been on stand for a little over 12 minutes. When I looked up from my watch there were three coyotes running toward the FX5 at about Mach IV!!! I quickly lowered the volume to about 10 and tried to get my crosshairs on the lead coyote. They covered the distance from the fence line to the caller (about 150 yards) in no time flat. I tried barking to get them to slow down, and all that succeeded in doing was it made them turn around and start back out the way they had come in. I couldn’t get a bead on either one of those coyotes while lying prone. It is just too hard to lead running coyotes with your elbows anchored to the ground. The third coyote was still fixated on the FX5 and he finally came to a stop and stood broadside to me. I put the crosshairs on his rib cage and squeezed off the shot. He staggered about 10 yards and piled up dead. I used one of my presets for wounded coyote sounds and ran that for about 5 minutes, but no coyotes came back.

I took some photos. Here’s a photo from where I laid and was looking to the northeast. I had a backdrop of a weed row between two fields that kept me from being sky lined. The coyote I shot was a male. He was about 75 yards away from my stand when I shot. The bullet passed through his body, but didn’t do much damage.

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Here’s the view from the rear end of the coyote back to my setup spot. I wish I would have bothered to take the red fox decoy or the Jack-in-the-Box decoy with me. I think the first two coyotes might have come in a little slower. I just couldn’t get the crosshairs on the lead dog. It was the nicest colored one of the three. That’s the way it goes though. If I would have had some Dead Coyote Shotgun shells and a tight choke on my shotgun, I might have had two coyotes on this stand. As it is, I am happy to have been able to bag one.

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Here's the obligatory “Hero Photo.”

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I dragged the coyote to the south in the direction I had heard the howling coming from those other coyotes. I left him lying in the stubble about 1/2 mile straight east of where I had my pickup parked. I kept on hiking to the south and east to see if I could entice that other coyote bunch to come in. I used the Randy Anderson Locator sound again and the Lightening Jack sound on this stand. I heard the coyotes answering my howls, but they were way southeast of my stand and didn’t come in. I quit calling after 35 minutes and headed back to where I left the coyote and dragged him a little over 1/2 mile to the pickup. I loaded him up, drove in to about 200 yards south of my last calling stand and had lunch at about 1:30 p.m. After lunch I hiked in to the south and east about 1/2 mile to see if I could work that other bunch of coyotes.

I was right on the edge of the big breaks where the land just falls away into some real pretty badlands type country. I wanted to stay up out of that and try to work the coyotes up onto the prairie. I set the FX5 up on my tripod. The clouds had broken up and the sun was shining, so I didn’t want to set up looking to the south into the sun. The wind was out of the ESE so I I walked to the south and west of where I had set up my caller and laid down on a little hillside. I started out with the DSG cottontail sound at about volume level 15 for a couple minutes and then increased the volume to 20 for about 30 seconds. I waited a minute and then played the Randy Anderson Locator howls and muted the call. I got howls in answer, but they sounded like they were way south of my location. I played the RA Locator sounds again. Then I turned on the DSG cottontail sound again. I just got done looking at my watch and noted I had been on the stand for a little over 9 minutes. As I scanned the area to the east of my location a coyote came over the rise at almost a full run. I muted the call and flipped off the safety on my rifle. The coyote did a double-take when it got about 25 yards from the call. I don’t know what it was thinking, but it didn’t seem to like what it saw and it turned a little sideways to the caller. When the coyote stood still, the front of her chest was pointing right straight at me. I had the crosshairs right on the center of her chest and squeezed off the shot. The coyote folded like a wet rag. I looked to the east as I picked up my Bill Austin Howler and started the wounded coyote sounds. I was pretty sure I saw a coyote disappear back over the rise. I started the Wounded Coyote sound on the FX5 too and kept that up for about 5 minutes. No coyotes came in after that.

Here's a photo taken from right behind my rifle. You can see the end of the barrel in the lower left-hand corner of the photo.

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I picked up my rifle and backpack and crossed over the fence to take a look at the coyote I had just bagged. I took a few more photos. Below is one taken from right behind the FX5 on my home made tripod toward the nice female coyote.

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This was a female and really nice colored. She has super nice guard hairs on her back and a really nice light colored chest and belly.

The “Hero Photo” below that shows her belly has a dark spot in the middle of her belly so it doesn’t look real white, but it is. The dark spot you see is just where the fur is parted and you can see her skin.

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As I packed her out and got over the little rise to the NNW of where I had been calling, I noticed a fresh set of coyote tracks coming from the ENE and traveling to the WSW. I checked the tracks and when they got to downwind from where I had been set up, the tracks did a turn and headed back to the ENE. Evidently, a third coyote had been coming in to the downwind side and completely out of my line of sight behind that hill. It either turned and ran when it caught my scent cone or turned when it heard the shot. I got back to the pickup and loaded up the coyote. I drove to the ranch of the fellow who gave me permission to call here and showed him the coyotes and thanked him. I drove up north of that area and called in one more spot just before sunset. I got a couple of answering howls, but no takers. I was home by 5:40 p.m.

I had a GREAT day of calling. This is the first time I have spent a day out calling this entire fur season. I was out and called on one stand in late October and saw nothing. I also rode my ATV around my farm on an extremely windy day and made four worthless stands. On December 2nd I did a 4½ mile walkabout that afternoon. I made four stands and between my third and fourth stands I scared up a big, dark coyote and couldn't get off a shot because he was over the hill in an instant. After that outing, I got a bad cold and have been nursing that until Wednesday.

I made six stands on Wednesday, called in three coyotes on the third stand and bagged one. On the fifth stand of the day I called in two, possibly three, and bagged one. I only fired two shots with my Savage 12VLP and was using WW brass, Remington 7½ primers, 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing bullets and H4895 powder. The bullet went completely through the first coyote, but the entrance and exit holes are tiny. The bullet didn't exit the second coyote as it was a straight head-on shot to the center of the chest. When I hung the coyotes up in the back yard, she started to leak a little blood from her nose and mouth. This morning when I checked on them, there was some blood dripping from her chest where the bullet had entered. No major damage to the hide.
Last edited by Silverfox on Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Catch ya L8R--Silverfox
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chuckhunter
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by chuckhunter »

Congrats.... nice looking yotes Silverfox. I really enjoy reading your stories. :D Thanks for sharing!
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Ryan S Albright »

Good going! I've been making a lot of stands all so day and night with out any luck but you don't have a chance if you don't leave the house! Nice open country. I think a lot of people think we just go out and murder coyotes when it really takes a lot of time and effort to just get a few a year. I glad you are feeling better and up and about. Happy Hunting.
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Glen »

Very nice write up SF!! That 2nd coyote is a nice lookin one for sure!!!

Thanks for sharing. :wink:
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RIP Russ,Blaine, & Darrell!!

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Silverfox
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Silverfox »

Thanks for the compliments. I sure enjoyed getting out and traveling around God's beautiful country. The coyotes were just a bonus. I'll find out what they are worth Saturday. That's when the fur buyer will be in town. Hopefully, I'll get enough money to pay for the gasoline I used :mrgreen:
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by WrzWaldo »

That is one impressive writeup Silverfox!

Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Hawkeye Joe »

Nice shooting Silverfox. Did you get a price on the pelts? Do you skin and stretch or turn them in whole. Your Foxpro looks tasty :lol:
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Silverfox
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Silverfox »

Hawkeye Joe--Unfortunately, the fur buyer didn't come to town on Saturday. He'll be here on Saturday, January 5th.

I used to skin, wash, scrape, stretch, dry, fluff, buff, etc., but there just isn't any real reward for doing all that work and then selling them to a country fur buyer. With this fur buyer, you might get $5 more for a well put up hide. My time is worth waaaaay more than $5, for sure. I do clean the burrs out of the hide, clean up as much blood and dirt from the hide if there was some blood on the fur and keep them stretched out so they look LOOOOOOONG. I hang my coyotes by their hind legs so that the belly fur is protected from the contents of the guts by the rib cage as best as possible. I have had some get kind of green in the belly by hanging them up by the front feet and bottom jaw. I also have a chest-type freezer that I can put them in if the weather is too warm to cool them down properly by hanging them up outside.
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by bullfrog »

Great write-up SF. It's nice to hear about the dry stands as well as the productive one's. Keeps things in perspective.
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by BowHuntingFool »

Pretty cool, congrats! Nice pics! Congrats!
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by spur »

Nice job.

I was wondering how those 39 sierra's would work on coyotes. Sounds like they held up well so far.
I've been using the 35 Bergers but they don't have a very good BC and the wind really move's them around when they get much over 200yds.
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Silverfox
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Re: Two shots = Two Dead Coyotes--LOOOONG Story + Pics

Post by Silverfox »

spur--For sure, the 39 gr. Sierra has a way better BC than the 35 gr. FBHP Berger, but that Berger is hard to beat for fur friendliness and it seems to flat knock down the coyotes too. You can compensate for the wind deflection and drop if you know your distances and have a good idea how fast the breeze is blowing. I use a trajectory chart that shows drop and wind deflection on it. I also carry a Caldwell Wind Speed meter to help figure windage. I still have a couple boxes of 35 gr. Bergers ready to use if the 39 gr. Sierra starts ripping up the fur.
Catch ya L8R--Silverfox
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