11-29-2011 ND Coyote Hunt
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:44 pm
Well, deer gun season has been over for a week and a few days. I haven’t been out coyote calling since November 1 so I thought it was about time I got my lazy behind out for some calling. I left Williston around 7:15 a.m. and headed out to a place I haven’t called yet this year. The landowner doesn’t want me hunting coyotes on this land until after deer season, so I am happy to do that. I have bagged three coyotes in that general area over the years. We have had some pretty deep snow around here over the last four or five years and during many winters it is impossible to get to this area without a snowmobile, which I don’t have. I got to my parking spot around 7:50, which is one-half hour before sunrise—starting time for legal shooting. It was windier than the weather reporters said it would be and it was mighty cold. It was also a little too dark to be able to spot coyotes with no snow on the ground so I waited in the pickup for another 15 minutes and then got started walking west to my first calling spot.
The wind was out of the WSW. I set the FX5 FOXPRO on my homemade stand and placed it about 40 yards to the east of where I set up on the hillside with my shooting sticks. A train could be heard in the distance and then I heard the train horn. Shortly after that I heard several coyotes howling in the distance. I figured I’d call this stand and whether I bagged a coyote or not, I would walk in toward where I hear the howling and make another stand. I didn’t want to call too loud so I started off with some cottontail distress sounds on low volume. I kept the volume down to less than half of the maximum level at the loudest and most of the time I only had it at about 12 to 14 out of 40 maximum. At the 13 minute mark I spotted a coyote way off to the west of me a little over 1/2 mile away. I didn’t dare put my rifle up to look at it through the scope for fear it would see me moving. I watched as it kept coming towards me and then it got to the creek bank and followed a trail down to the creek bottom. I lost sight of the coyote and never picked it up again. I kept calling and no coyote was showing up.
I checked my watch and about 25 minutes had passed since I first started calling on this stand. I wondered if the coyote I spotted had turned around when it got to the creek bottom and headed away from my stand on a path where I couldn’t see it. I decided to fetch my FOXPRO and sneaked over there and got it packed into my backpack. I took another glance off to the west and spotted the coyote coming up out of the creek bottom about 400 yards away. I went prone and waited until the coyote disappeared behind a little rise and then I crawled up to the edge of the rise I was on so I had a good view of the area in front of me. I took out my Crit’r-Call standard model and gave a few plaintive screams at very low volume. I spotted the coyote’s head again and then it disappeared in the tall grass. I began to lip squeak and finally the coyote appeared on the rise just across from me about 135 yards from where I was waiting. I had the scope cranked up to 10 power and the coyote turned quartering to me with its left shoulder facing me. I lined up the crosshairs just behind the shoulder. I squeezed off the shot and heard the bullet hit and the coyote screamed and did about 5 or 6 death spins as it was biting at where the bullet hit and it moved down the hill and fell over dead. Here’s a photo from where I made the shot to the hill where the coyote stood when I shot and where the coyote wound up after making the 5 or 6 death spins. I checked my watch and I had been on stand for almost 34 minutes.
I grabbed my backpack and rifle and headed over to check the coyote. It was a very nice light-colored female with super-nice silky guard hairs. She weighed in at 29 pounds when I got her on the scale back in my garage. It is maybe a two-year old coyote that hasn’t missed very many meals.
Here’s a photo of the coyote and the rifle. You can see the blood on the fur right where the bullet entered her body. The bullet passed through her body and came out close to her back rib. Both the entrance and exit holes are very tiny.
I got my drag rope on her and dragged her up to the fence line and hung her head down on a fence post. I headed off to the southwest where I thought the coyote howling came from earlier in the morning. I must have walked about 3/4 of a mile and found a nice place overlooking the creek bottom with lots of nice brush patches and some trees. I started the FOXPRO and used the Lightening Jack sound. The caller hadn’t run more than a minute when I spotted a coyote off to the south of my stand about a half mile away heading away from me at a high rate of speed. It must have heard that sound before!!! I switched to wounded coyote screams to try to get it to turn around and come back, but that didn’t work. I stayed on this stand for about 30 minutes, but didn’t get any takers. I headed back to the pickup and drove through the stubble field to where I left the coyote and loaded her up into the pickup box.
I headed back to the road. I went through a gate and then headed down a back road to the south to my next calling stand. I got there around noon, so I stopped and had lunch. After lunch I made a stand on the east side of the trail with no takers and then crossed over the trail and called to the west into the wind with no takers. I drove about a half mile south and walked into the west about a half mile and called for 35 minutes with only two mule deer coming in to check me out. I drove further south and found a pasture that had been grazed down to the nubs of the grass. This is the kind of pasture coyotes seem to like so I parked the pickup and walked a half mile to the east and set the FOXPRO up and called for 35 minutes with no takers.
Oh, I just about forgot—here is the hero photo of me with the coyote. Sorry it is such a bad photo, I couldn’t get the camera high enough to let you get a good view of the coyote.
I was a little disgusted that I didn’t see or call in more coyotes, but it had been a nice day, temperatures were in the 40s and while the wind was blowing, it wasn’t a hurricane and it was quite calm on my last two stands. I headed home and hung my coyote up in the back yard. It is supposed to get down to 25 above tonight so she should cool off pretty well out there. I’ll try to put her in my freezer tomorrow, but I’m not sure there is room.
The wind was out of the WSW. I set the FX5 FOXPRO on my homemade stand and placed it about 40 yards to the east of where I set up on the hillside with my shooting sticks. A train could be heard in the distance and then I heard the train horn. Shortly after that I heard several coyotes howling in the distance. I figured I’d call this stand and whether I bagged a coyote or not, I would walk in toward where I hear the howling and make another stand. I didn’t want to call too loud so I started off with some cottontail distress sounds on low volume. I kept the volume down to less than half of the maximum level at the loudest and most of the time I only had it at about 12 to 14 out of 40 maximum. At the 13 minute mark I spotted a coyote way off to the west of me a little over 1/2 mile away. I didn’t dare put my rifle up to look at it through the scope for fear it would see me moving. I watched as it kept coming towards me and then it got to the creek bank and followed a trail down to the creek bottom. I lost sight of the coyote and never picked it up again. I kept calling and no coyote was showing up.
I checked my watch and about 25 minutes had passed since I first started calling on this stand. I wondered if the coyote I spotted had turned around when it got to the creek bottom and headed away from my stand on a path where I couldn’t see it. I decided to fetch my FOXPRO and sneaked over there and got it packed into my backpack. I took another glance off to the west and spotted the coyote coming up out of the creek bottom about 400 yards away. I went prone and waited until the coyote disappeared behind a little rise and then I crawled up to the edge of the rise I was on so I had a good view of the area in front of me. I took out my Crit’r-Call standard model and gave a few plaintive screams at very low volume. I spotted the coyote’s head again and then it disappeared in the tall grass. I began to lip squeak and finally the coyote appeared on the rise just across from me about 135 yards from where I was waiting. I had the scope cranked up to 10 power and the coyote turned quartering to me with its left shoulder facing me. I lined up the crosshairs just behind the shoulder. I squeezed off the shot and heard the bullet hit and the coyote screamed and did about 5 or 6 death spins as it was biting at where the bullet hit and it moved down the hill and fell over dead. Here’s a photo from where I made the shot to the hill where the coyote stood when I shot and where the coyote wound up after making the 5 or 6 death spins. I checked my watch and I had been on stand for almost 34 minutes.
I grabbed my backpack and rifle and headed over to check the coyote. It was a very nice light-colored female with super-nice silky guard hairs. She weighed in at 29 pounds when I got her on the scale back in my garage. It is maybe a two-year old coyote that hasn’t missed very many meals.
Here’s a photo of the coyote and the rifle. You can see the blood on the fur right where the bullet entered her body. The bullet passed through her body and came out close to her back rib. Both the entrance and exit holes are very tiny.
I got my drag rope on her and dragged her up to the fence line and hung her head down on a fence post. I headed off to the southwest where I thought the coyote howling came from earlier in the morning. I must have walked about 3/4 of a mile and found a nice place overlooking the creek bottom with lots of nice brush patches and some trees. I started the FOXPRO and used the Lightening Jack sound. The caller hadn’t run more than a minute when I spotted a coyote off to the south of my stand about a half mile away heading away from me at a high rate of speed. It must have heard that sound before!!! I switched to wounded coyote screams to try to get it to turn around and come back, but that didn’t work. I stayed on this stand for about 30 minutes, but didn’t get any takers. I headed back to the pickup and drove through the stubble field to where I left the coyote and loaded her up into the pickup box.
I headed back to the road. I went through a gate and then headed down a back road to the south to my next calling stand. I got there around noon, so I stopped and had lunch. After lunch I made a stand on the east side of the trail with no takers and then crossed over the trail and called to the west into the wind with no takers. I drove about a half mile south and walked into the west about a half mile and called for 35 minutes with only two mule deer coming in to check me out. I drove further south and found a pasture that had been grazed down to the nubs of the grass. This is the kind of pasture coyotes seem to like so I parked the pickup and walked a half mile to the east and set the FOXPRO up and called for 35 minutes with no takers.
Oh, I just about forgot—here is the hero photo of me with the coyote. Sorry it is such a bad photo, I couldn’t get the camera high enough to let you get a good view of the coyote.
I was a little disgusted that I didn’t see or call in more coyotes, but it had been a nice day, temperatures were in the 40s and while the wind was blowing, it wasn’t a hurricane and it was quite calm on my last two stands. I headed home and hung my coyote up in the back yard. It is supposed to get down to 25 above tonight so she should cool off pretty well out there. I’ll try to put her in my freezer tomorrow, but I’m not sure there is room.
