take a shotgun loaded with Hornady 1 1/2 oz BB or Dead Coyote T shot.................I have killed them out to 80 yards with dead coyote load........some times I have to use all 4 shots....but they are dead. Rifle on the sticks and shotgun in your lap.......
Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote
- Thread starter DSheetz
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Meditation , Teach yourself not to get excited until it's over . Swing with the animals movement , a lot of times when they are close and moving a person will stop to pull the trigger instead of keeping on the animal and the animal will move out of the kill zone before you break the shot . Bark to stop them and take the shot has helped me more often then not .
DMP25-06
Well-Known Member
Another remembrance of coyote hunting in the Texas Panhandle , I think about June , 2007 .
My friend , his son , and I were hunting on a large ranch where the son worked , and we were positioned on the side of a hill facing south , into the always present wind , with me being on the far right side ( west end ) of our shooting positions . I had set my electronic call , along with my electronic motion coon tail , and my "Bird of Prey" Mallard duck spinning wing decoy about 100 yards below , and out in front , in a small opening in the brush .
After 20-30 minutes of being quiet and still , I began a rabbit distress call , and the game began . Some 5 minutes later , I spotted a coyote coming in from a distance of nearly a mile away , so we had some time and space to adjust our rifles and shooting sticks , as the coyote approached . Once he had closed to within 1/4 mile , we ceased our movement and watched as the coyote tried to visually locate the source of the calls . Once the coyote spotted the motion decoys , he began circling to his left , my right , trying to get the scent of the rabbit in distress . He vanished from my sight for less than a minute , and when he re-appeared , he came running around the side of the hill that I was sitting on , and nearly landed in my lap . He saw me , and I saw him at the same exact time , eye to eye , at a distance of maybe 10 feet .
I don't know who was more startled , him or me . He did that INSTANT reversal of direction , accompanied by that broken-field running , while I was fumbling around , trying to get the rifle off the shooting sticks , then back onto the shooting sticks , and I never got a shot , it all happened so fast .
I think that both he and I were in that adrenaline "rush".
My friend , his son , and I were hunting on a large ranch where the son worked , and we were positioned on the side of a hill facing south , into the always present wind , with me being on the far right side ( west end ) of our shooting positions . I had set my electronic call , along with my electronic motion coon tail , and my "Bird of Prey" Mallard duck spinning wing decoy about 100 yards below , and out in front , in a small opening in the brush .
After 20-30 minutes of being quiet and still , I began a rabbit distress call , and the game began . Some 5 minutes later , I spotted a coyote coming in from a distance of nearly a mile away , so we had some time and space to adjust our rifles and shooting sticks , as the coyote approached . Once he had closed to within 1/4 mile , we ceased our movement and watched as the coyote tried to visually locate the source of the calls . Once the coyote spotted the motion decoys , he began circling to his left , my right , trying to get the scent of the rabbit in distress . He vanished from my sight for less than a minute , and when he re-appeared , he came running around the side of the hill that I was sitting on , and nearly landed in my lap . He saw me , and I saw him at the same exact time , eye to eye , at a distance of maybe 10 feet .
I don't know who was more startled , him or me . He did that INSTANT reversal of direction , accompanied by that broken-field running , while I was fumbling around , trying to get the rifle off the shooting sticks , then back onto the shooting sticks , and I never got a shot , it all happened so fast .
I think that both he and I were in that adrenaline "rush".
A shotgun is your friend..........you could have given him a free cartwheel lesson.....
nicholasjohn , you can do what a lot of athletes and special forces people do to inoculate them selves from stress and the adrenaline rush . Along with meditation they will visualize themselves in the situation over and over again that they want to react to calmly until they become accustomed to it in their minds eye . They will see themselves reacting calmly to it the same way you would practice using your pistol in your mind to get your draw down as well as your shooting stance correct then hitting the bulls eye . You can see how a retired Navy Seal Chief teaches this if you go to youtube and look up Chris Sajnog Center Mass Group . He started out teaching how to shoot pistol but has kind of moved to teaching how to learn in general .
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tip, DSheetz. I'll look that one up. He's probably got some techniques that will help me refine the way I've been doing it. Visualization works especially well with weight training. I do that immediately before I start a movement, so that when I come up against the brain-searing feeling just prior to muscle failure I can just keep right on pushing or pulling with my arms or legs - just like I did a minute earlier with the muscle between my ears. That's usually gets me that last six or seven seconds of time under the load, right when it really matters.
I think it's largely a matter of following through with executing an action that has been "practiced" mentally moments before. It doesn't feel like I'm doing it for the first time that day - it's more like just following the same groove, and doing it "again." I used to do this a lot with archery, too - and airplanes. Any interaction between man and machine, in fact, is enhanced by visualization. Ditto for conversation with troublesome people. If I have thought about what their come-back might be when I deliver a point, it helps in responding to it without ripping their lungs out. It takes the surprise factor out of it. The "never saw it coming" feeling can really goof up the works, as it keeps me from saying something that might be a bit un-friendly. This is kinda important out there in society …….
Works for shooting ATA trap also......before you call for the bird you visualize a smoked target, the mind recalls the last thing it saw or heard. I loved shooting doubles...........that's why coyotes under 50 yards never get away.....especially with 4 -- 3" Dead Coyote loads in a Benelli Super sport......
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
The habits learned practicing the shooting sports carry over nicely into successful shooting in hunting situations. When these sports were first conjured up, this was probably the intention - to practice for "the real thing." There are numerous games and sports that have positive transfer of knowledge to others. Whenever discussing practice of this or that, sometimes someone will ask "what does that have to do with real life ?" I usually find myself thinking that if he had to ask the question, he probably wouldn't understand the answer. In the interest of not embarrassing somebody, I usually tell them that these things enhance timing, as well as eye-hand coordination. That's doesn't cover the finer points, bit it's never wrong.
When I was a youngster, my first job was trap-boy. I was the kid in the trap house setting the clay birds on the thrower arm. That was probably pretty good practice for me to learn to move my hands quickly and accurately, as I still have both hands and all ten digits. It was kinda like the "wax on-wax off" drill to get the motion solidly imprinted in muscle memory. I remember that my ping-pong game improved pretty noticeably that summer …….
Most of as we get older realize that almost every thing in life can be tied to the rest of things . Trap , bird hunting , target comp. , clearing houses and rooms . If you learn the best way for you to learn it applies to all of life ect. . Coyote hunting teaches you humility , patience , observational skills and that they aren't dumb animals .
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
I agree. So often, when wading into a new endeavor, at some point I get the "I've been here before" feeling. That typically occurs when I'm employing a concept that I've used for some other purpose or task. "This is just like when …...." So, whenever I run into one of those ideas that works well for more than one specific application, I often make a few notes on it.
Years ago I thought that I would try a dog to decoy coyote . I started out with a blue healer australian shepherd cross . The coyote liked him as a decoy but he was too aggressive to people and when he bite at my daughter we went on a road trip he ended up buried in the prairie . I don't put up with mean dogs . Next I tried a mountain curr he worked good but his real calling was coon hunting we worked well together for some time until he got too old . I got a black mouth curr out of Mississippi she was the best dog I have ever had we worked well together . She had a good disposition and a sense of humor . We'd be out checking snares and she would take off on a dead run cut off to the side of the trail to hide in the brush then tackle me . She did well with the coyote , bobcats and fox . I had her started denning when some one poisoned her in her kennel one night . It took me some time before I wanted another dog but I eventually did get another black mouth curr . I named him Buckwheat . We trapped together until he was 6 months old then I had him started on coyote bobcats and fox . At that time I started letting him work them alive he pretty much trained himself as a calling dog and worked as a good decoy dog . When he was 12 years old we were out one morning in August . I howled and had 5 or six pups answer me Buckwheat was out about a hundred yards as was usual for him . I watched him he went erect looked in the direction of the coyote turned around and came back to me . That wasn't the way he normally did things . When he got back to me he stopped and looked at me his eyes looked sad . He went on up the hill through the saddle and I heard him jump into the back of the truck . I went ahead and got 3 of the coyote then went to the truck . Buckwheat was smart enough to know when it was time for him to retire . We hunted some more together after that but he was done decoying and fighting coyote . He would go out with me but would set beside me or behind me after that . He lived to be 16 . I decided that I didn't want to get that attached to another dog again but then my wife and daughter got a small rescue cross bread chihuahua pug cross . He's kind of a pain in the neck and not anything close to hunting dog but we get along . And he keeps me company doing crazy stuff .
We had been looking for lion track all day at a ranch on the east front, no luck, headed back to a buddies cabin along the front to stay over night, there were 3 of us. It had snowed the night before and we had 3" of fresh snow at daylight, Midday it had warmed up and rained a little. It was 4:00 in the afternoon, its dark by 4:30 in December. Couple miles on gravel road till we get to his place, just happen to have opened a beer as the day was done...I was driving and I looked at my buddy and saw his eyes go down to the snow outside his window, I said "what did you see?" he said oh, probably just bull elk track. I didn't believe him so I backed up and got out, there in the partially melted snow was the largest Tom track I had seen in 2 or 3 years. I pulled over and started to get my pack out and flash light. He said "what the heck you going to do" I told him I was turning out on that Tom, as we went by there before daylight and it wasn't there then, we know he had crossed sometime mid morning before the rain as it had melted some and it was the largest track I have seen in 2 or 3 years. I offered that he could take my pickup to his place and the other 2 of us would walk there after we caught that Tom. He grudgingly decided to come along. Since it rained on the track during the day, the dogs could not smell it in the open...under the trees I knew it would be different. I had Tack and Trace and there was one other hound of my buddies with. Ever since I had Tack, whenever he lost the smell in the track but I could see it I would say "Tack over here, tracks over here" and point at the ground and he would come and start it from there, he learned to trust me to help him with it and I trusted his nose on what I could not see. Keep in mind we followed this track 100 to 150 yards and Tack kept losing it, I would call him back to it and away we would go, this must have happened 5 to 6 times, finally we got under the trees and the dogs were able to move it on their own, as the scent held there, the rain had less effect on dissipating it. We listened to the dogs and when they were about 200 yards away and all of a sudden they opened LOUD. The one friend that was along to shoot a Tom said "what just happened" I said "they just jumped that Tom, they are looking at him and he will tree in a few minutes".......I no more than said that and the dogs were chopping treed. So the friend asked again "what's happening now?" I said "they just treed him........he just couldn't believe it. We walked about 300 yards and there was that dandy Tom, sitting in the tree and the dogs were going nuts. The friend shot that Tom and he weighed 165 # with an empty stomach and his skull was 1/8" from making Boone & Crockett, if he had been on a kill, he would easily weigh 10 to 15 pounds more. This is a story of right place, right time, luck/Blessing! That Tom had traveled who knows how far, crossed that road at mid morning and went a couple hundred yards and took a nap, what are the odds of that? In 10 years of running hounds on Lions that was the largest Tom and the shortest chase..............for those that do not know, a lion will not run from dogs for long as GOD made them for short fast bursts of speed to catch their prey, they tire out very fast....the lion is a champion long distance walker, the dog is a champion long distance runner, that's how we catch a lion. A bobcat, now that is different, they can run a long time.
