Well, it was -23 degrees F here Friday night. We left right at daylight to do some calling but decided to check a dead cow a few miles down the road first. We had watched three coyotes leave the carcass Thursday and were able to get a range on a cow near the carcass at 675 yards. Friday evening my son, Ben, had one shot and hit just low. He had forgotten that his 200 yard zero was at one MOA up and hadn't zeroed out the turret. With that in mind he dialed in an extra MOA before we got there Saturday morning.
Four coyotes were on the carcass when we pulled up. Two left immediately. One more went about 25 yards and stopped and the fourth just couldn't leave breakfast. Ben went prone and I spotted. We waited for the coyote to turn broadside and Ben touched the trigger to send the 105 grain A-max on its way. It took a second for the bullet to get there and for a moment we both thought he'd missed. But...one shot, one kill. Not too bad for a 16 year old kid.
One more coyote left a low spot in the field after the shot and I saw two more leaving the next two fields when I went to turn the truck around. Pretty good for 30 minutes of hunting.
Twenty minutes down the road we spotted another coyote. It was only 220 yards and Ben made a poor hit on him. Go figure. Conditions were totally different, though...a stop and go coyote, slightly unstable platform, a fenceline that the coyote was about to disappear through. The variables make a big difference. We did get the coyote but it took a little doing.
Our first calling stand produced a nice female at about eight minutes and I was able to take her with my .204. After that good start, we blanked the rest of the morning. We forgot the camera and I don't know if it would have worked at those temps anyway. Oh well, good start for 2011.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Tim
No Off Season
Predator and Varmint Hunting Gear
"No crowds, no limits, no seasons...no bad days."
Four coyotes were on the carcass when we pulled up. Two left immediately. One more went about 25 yards and stopped and the fourth just couldn't leave breakfast. Ben went prone and I spotted. We waited for the coyote to turn broadside and Ben touched the trigger to send the 105 grain A-max on its way. It took a second for the bullet to get there and for a moment we both thought he'd missed. But...one shot, one kill. Not too bad for a 16 year old kid.
One more coyote left a low spot in the field after the shot and I saw two more leaving the next two fields when I went to turn the truck around. Pretty good for 30 minutes of hunting.
Twenty minutes down the road we spotted another coyote. It was only 220 yards and Ben made a poor hit on him. Go figure. Conditions were totally different, though...a stop and go coyote, slightly unstable platform, a fenceline that the coyote was about to disappear through. The variables make a big difference. We did get the coyote but it took a little doing.
Our first calling stand produced a nice female at about eight minutes and I was able to take her with my .204. After that good start, we blanked the rest of the morning. We forgot the camera and I don't know if it would have worked at those temps anyway. Oh well, good start for 2011.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Tim
No Off Season
Predator and Varmint Hunting Gear
"No crowds, no limits, no seasons...no bad days."
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