Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

I have often told people that if you don't have time to do it right the first time why do you think you will the second time . It's a personal decision to decide that you have pride in your craftsmanship or if you don't . No matter what you are going to do if you have pride in it , it shows the same as if you don't , it shows as well . I can say to people they should take more pride in what they do but I can't get them to only they can do that . It's like I can't make you look good or bad at what you do only you can do that to yourself . You can't blow my candle out and make yours shine brighter kind of thing .
 
other than 2 stands yesterday, the day was pretty slow.
Went with a friend of mine for 3 stands in the morning on some of his stomping grounds and on our second stand, we had the classic I howl, they howl, I howl, they howl and here they came. I killed the male and my friend got one shot at the runner and missed. Kept calling and had a 3rd coyote show up but it wouldn't come on any closer than 425 yards. We both got a chance to kill a standing coyote but we both wiffed.

Then I went all day without seeing or hearing another coyote until my last stand. I had been trying all kinds of different series of sounds all day without a thing to show for it. Finally, the last spot I simply did a short series of howls and then a few minutes later turned on rabbit for a short series. Was just sitting silent when I finally see one come to the top of the hill, 400 yards from me. After a short bit I decide to let him hear some more of the same rabbit, but he doesn't budge. He finally turns and disappears right back over the hill, so I switch to a non aggressive coyote vocal and then I see a second coyote that's not coming, but is crossing out in-front of me about 500 yards out. It goes out of sight for a bit then I finally spot it in my binoc, with just it's head peaking over a little hill about 500 yards out. I try a few vocals and it seems interested, but never moves and eventually lays down. I decide to quit calling and just sit waiting patiently, thinking if I wait until last light maybe they'll be ready to respond, but then I also am thinking that if I could get off of the hill that I'm on without being seen, and then get moved 500 or so yards and reset up I might be able to fool these coyotes yet.
After sitting for about 45 minutes, I hadn't seen the coyote raise it's head for some time, so I think I can get moved without being seen, so I make a move. I get where I think I'm closer and instead of being straight east of the bedded coyote, I am now straight south of it, I think.
So, now what to do as far as calling. I decide to go with pair howl hoping that I am in their territory far enough that I may spark the territorial instinct and get em to come. No sooner did the pair howl finish I see the bedded coyote standing on his little hill, looking my way but also looking to his west, and not long after I spot him, here he comes. Not coming fast at all, but deliberate. I had set up just 300 yards from him. He simply walks and trots his way to me, drops out of sight for a bit then shows up just 90 yards away, and then stops at 80 yards and I decided good enough, whack.....then I quickly hit Sig kickin' A.s.s. on the Luckyduck hoping that the other coyote is near by still. A minute goes by, nothing, so I switch to Gooby kickin' A.s.s. 1 and finally see #2 as he's going right up on the hill where #1 had been bedded. He stops and I get a quick range, 305, and broadside so, Whack.......Love it when a plan works....
After a long dry day, oh I did shoot 5 prairie dogs at one stand, ya know, just to check zero, it was nice to end the day at sundown with a double. Oh, two makes a pair indeed, but both were males.
IMG_0244 by Tim Richard, on Flickr
 
TRnCO said:
other than 2 stands yesterday, the day was pretty slow.
Went with a friend of mine for 3 stands in the morning on some of his stomping grounds and on our second stand, we had the classic I howl, they howl, I howl, they howl and here they came. I killed the male and my friend got one shot at the runner and missed. Kept calling and had a 3rd coyote show up but it wouldn't come on any closer than 425 yards. We both got a chance to kill a standing coyote but we both wiffed.

Then I went all day without seeing or hearing another coyote until my last stand. I had been trying all kinds of different series of sounds all day without a thing to show for it. Finally, the last spot I simply did a short series of howls and then a few minutes later turned on rabbit for a short series. Was just sitting silent when I finally see one come to the top of the hill, 400 yards from me. After a short bit I decide to let him hear some more of the same rabbit, but he doesn't budge. He finally turns and disappears right back over the hill, so I switch to a non aggressive coyote vocal and then I see a second coyote that's not coming, but is crossing out in-front of me about 500 yards out. It goes out of sight for a bit then I finally spot it in my binoc, with just it's head peaking over a little hill about 500 yards out. I try a few vocals and it seems interested, but never moves and eventually lays down. I decide to quit calling and just sit waiting patiently, thinking if I wait until last light maybe they'll be ready to respond, but then I also am thinking that if I could get off of the hill that I'm on without being seen, and then get moved 500 or so yards and reset up I might be able to fool these coyotes yet.
After sitting for about 45 minutes, I hadn't seen the coyote raise it's head for some time, so I think I can get moved without being seen, so I make a move. I get where I think I'm closer and instead of being straight east of the bedded coyote, I am now straight south of it, I think.
So, now what to do as far as calling. I decide to go with pair howl hoping that I am in their territory far enough that I may spark the territorial instinct and get em to come. No sooner did the pair howl finish I see the bedded coyote standing on his little hill, looking my way but also looking to his west, and not long after I spot him, here he comes. Not coming fast at all, but deliberate. I had set up just 300 yards from him. He simply walks and trots his way to me, drops out of sight for a bit then shows up just 90 yards away, and then stops at 80 yards and I decided good enough, whack.....then I quickly hit Sig kickin' A.s.s. on the Luckyduck hoping that the other coyote is near by still. A minute goes by, nothing, so I switch to Gooby kickin' A.s.s. 1 and finally see #2 as he's going right up on the hill where #1 had been bedded. He stops and I get a quick range, 305, and broadside so, Whack.......Love it when a plan works....
After a long dry day, oh I did shoot 5 prairie dogs at one stand, ya know, just to check zero, it was nice to end the day at sundown with a double. Oh, two makes a pair indeed, but both were males.
IMG_0244 by Tim Richard, on Flickr
Click to expand...
Great job!
What caliber rifle are you using?

Ed
 
TRnCO said:
Ed, now that fur season is done I've been carrying my 22-250. Usually carry my 17/204.
Click to expand...
I presently don't own a .22-250, but I can see one on my near future.
I've relied on .223's and. 243's for my coyote work with the occasional use of my 6.5x280AI when I'm on ranches with wide open spaces and my Benelli 12ga for close encounters of the coyote kind.
The cab of my truck looks like an arsenal some days. 😁

Ed
 
I really liked my 6.5x284 . I ran a bunch of the Nosler 120 grain factory loads through it kept the good brass and then loaded my own Nosler 120 grain bullets . It did well even in the wind out to 300 yards and was good to 1000 with 15 to 20 mph winds . On no wind days I got 8 inch groups at 1000 yards . the longest coyote killed was a little over 600 lasered yards sitting giving me the I know it's you barks . I didn't play with my 22-250 enough to get to really like it as much as I did my 223 . My grandson has it now . But I got another one in M77 Ruger it was a truck gun for a long time , not many rounds through it but looked like it was 100 years old I got it as a project . I put the new hot gun black on all of the metal , bedded it with pillars , put a pad at the end of the stock for the barrel to rest and return to a pressure point but not really any pressure just a good saddle for it to rest in , as it had a light barrel , gave it a nice cheek riser on the stock made out of purple heart wood . Cleaned the carbon and copper fowling out , I don't think it had ever been cleaned just bought and shot . I gave it a rifle basics trigger set at 2.5 lbs. and as it has a 1:14 twist rate I loaded some 55 gr. Sierra hpbt's for it running at 3000 feet per second mv set off the lands .062 for starters . it liked them and shoots 1/2 inch groups of five at 100 yards on the range and clays at 300 yards . It's happy so I'm happy . Just because my car will go 120 mph doesn't mean that I should drive it that fast the same as just because my rifle can shoot at 4200 fpsmv doesn't mean it will do it's best at that speed and be as efficient as it can be . I have found that they all have a couple of sweet spots that they like and preform at their optimum for killing predators . I had a good over head rifle rack that was made in Montana and would hold two rifles it wasn't the ones made out of the 3/4 inch square tubing it was made of padded plywood upholstered in the light gray material , had a set of stops so the butt and barrel rested on them keeping the scope from rubbing . It had 2 inch wide bands with Velcro , one in the middle for each rifle for quick access , mounted with two screws on each end of it over head near the edge of the cab so when you took it out of one truck and put it in another you would have a clean spot where it was mounted that I would rub with my hand and then you couldn't even see where it had been . A woman once told me so and so carries a pistol in his car why would he do such a thing then asked my you don't do you . I smiled and said no mam not just one what caliber would you like . I normally had 22 long rifle , 9mm for bigger critters in pistols , then 223 for normal use and a 6.5x284 or my beloved 30-06 with fixed power scope running 125 grain bullets for more enduring critters
 
I didn't sell any coyote or fox fur for at least the last 20 years but I did find that shot placement went a long way in not making a mess of them even with the larger calibers running larger bullets . A good rib cage shot beats a gut shot every time in less mess and I don't like head shots my self from days gone by and not so fun reembraces . Butt shots will let you get a good kill shot by slowing them down but are a last resort for me . Quartering away or towards me , worked out ok with my 223 and the 55 grain Sierra hpbt's as the bullet rarely made an exit . That's where the experimenting came into play . Finding what my rifles liked then tuning it for the way I wanted it to perform on the predators at differing ranges normally found when calling . Typically 100 yards and well under that at 25 to 50 yards when calling . Dead killers is what I was looking for not fur but I still had to take them to where the rancher could see them so less of a mess was a good thing , I don't mind getting dirty but I find it just made more sense for me not to get real nasty stuff on me and in my truck , the cab or the bed . Every kill I made had a designated area to be taken to and left thus the drag set up I made out of a piece of PVC pipe and a boot lace . 4" of half inch PVC pipe with a hole drilled in one side then one end of a 36" boot lace pushed into the hole and then knotted so it stayed in the pipe . I put a double 3/32 " snare cable ferule on the other end looped the lace back into the other hole of the ferule knotted it making a loop that would open up go around to top jaw behind the canine teeth close down and they could be drug behind me , no fleas , mange or bloody mess on me . Even with the sarcoptic mange they just look nasty enough that you don't want to handle them a lot at times . When it wasn't in use I would wind the lace around the pipe put a couple of half hitches around the pipe and it fit nicely in a shirt pocket , pack ect. . It's all in how you yourself look at things as to what you can come up with to make your life better for you and your circumstances you are living in at the time .
 
This 22-250 that I have now is a Sako. Right out of the box I wasn't real impressed with it in the accuracy department. BUT once I got it threaded and put the suppressor on it, it came to life. The suppressor changed the harmonics and made it an accurate rifle. It's the smoothest feeding bolt rifle that I've ever had. Of the last 17 coyotes that I've killed this season with it, it really didn't do a lot of bad damage, but more than the pee shooter 17-204 does since it rarely ever has an exit, where as the 250 always does on broadside shots with 50 gr. BT's.

the mention of rifle racks brings back memories. Can't remember last time I saw a truck with a rack in the back window, let alone a rack loaded with a couple of rifles. It probably has something to do with showing what you have in your vehicle and too may thieves roaming the streets every where these days, looking to take what isn't theirs.
My coyote drag sounds like it's pretty much as you describe Dave. Except my handle is hardwood with a braided loop added on top that I can slip my hand through so that I don't have to hang onto the handle real tight.
 
My rifle rack was an over head rack and you couldn't see it from outside of the vehicle it was mounted behind the front drivers and passengers heads above the door line not in the rear window outa sight outa mind of the thieves . A lot of people never even noticed it when they rode with me .
 
I made my drag out of PVC pipe so that if my hunting partner Buckwheat or Gizmo got into a porcupine and got a mouth full of quills or any other injuries that I needed to address in the field I could put it over the top and bottom canines to keep their mouths open while I worked on them . The wrist loop sounds like a real good adaption to it . I like Sako's they do have a smooth action and the one's I've been around had good triggers as well . Gizmo was a brindle mountain cur and worked with me for a lot of years when he died I got a southern black mouth cur I named Elli May some body poisoned her in the kennel in my back yard one night when she was a pup still only 9 months old . Buckwheat was a southern black mouth cur and stayed with me till past 16 years old but retired one day when he was around 13 or 14 years old I had 6 pup coyote talking in August he came back to me stopped and looked at me then went and got in the truck he had , had enough of being a coyote decoy dog .
 
A very good book to look through is Field Manual of wildlife Diseases in the Southeastern United States by William R. Davidson . I got a lot of schooling in diseases that can make the jump from wildlife to humans there was a time when I had to have 3 days of schooling every 3 years just to keep up on this kind of thing . For me it is very important to keep a journal of the animals taken , where they were taken , the date taken and the general condition of the animal . A few years back there were two guys that shot a bobcat in a P.D. town they said it acted kind of funny but they skinned it any way a couple of days later they both were sick figured it was the flu long story short they ended up in the E.R. one was life flighted to Billings Mt. where he died . It was plague , Colorado has had several cases of it as has Wyoming in recent years so that helps to figure out what is going on if you have kept track of the animals taken and where they were taken if something does happen to you . A friend of mine got sick it just hung on and hung on she went to the Dr. and they couldn't figure it out then her lungs started to fail she ended up at the Mayo clinic where they figured out it was tularemia that she had inhaled from working lambs in one of the lambing sheds where the rabbits were living and it was dusty . Then if you go back to the Ohio Valley Leptospirosis is very common and you get that from bird excrement . Giardia is also common with any one who does beaver control work as is round worm from racoons so it kind of pays to take some precautions when handling wildlife . Rabies is one that we can get vaccinated for before hand it's a five shot series then they check for antibodies in your blood there after to see if you need a booster . I used to do a lot of skunk control work with live traps and they are notorious for rabies as are bats . Stay safe and have a happy and enjoyable holiday season .




Dave,
Thanks very much for posting this!
 
I was given a copy of that book by a wildlife biologist that I worked with from the USDA wildlife services . I even today try to stay read up on these things . Life happens to each of us we don't want to be afraid to do the things that we love to do like hunt , fish and be out doors but there are things that we need to think about and take precautions about as we are there doing it . Most of these things are pretty much common sense things but things that we often don't really think about unless they are brought to our attention . I was the 18th . person in my state to have West Nile . I was fortunate and only had a mild case , sure wouldn't want it any worse , but I still get out and enjoy life out doors . .
 

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