Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

[windypants]

OK, I had a change of plans. A friend unexpectedly dropped off his thermal binoculars to try out, so I went back looking for that female of the calf-killer pair up the creek. Yesterday morning I went up before daylight and found 3 coyotes in the dark, and one laid down in some buckbrush in a draw below me at about 750 yards. I waited until daylight, and for the life of me, I could not find it in the scope or regular binos, but I could still see it with the thermal. So I moved down to a point about 425 yards from it, and it raised its head and I could finally see it well enough to shoot. Unfortunately it was another big male.

This morning I went to where I last saw the female when I got her mate a couple of weeks ago. Again I found a coyote mousing in the low scattered brush and waited for daylight. This time I could see that it was that still pregnant female, and got her at 286 yards. So now I'm pretty certain that I got the calf killers, but I never would have even found these last two without the thermal scanner. That thing is a game-changer!

 

[DSheetz]

Probably 30 years ago, I tried FLIR in the dead of winter I could only see a coyote's head, but every other animal showed up good. Sadly, with every conflict the US gets in we make some very good advances in these areas. Windy Pants that sir is a job well done and a lot of learning done before you know it you will have an addiction and be out there denning them.

 

[windypants]

Probably 30 years ago, I tried FLIR in the dead of winter I could only see a coyote's head, but every other animal showed up good. Sadly, with every conflict the US gets in we make some very good advances in these areas. Windy Pants that sir is a job well done and a lot of learning done before you know it you will have an addiction and be out there denning them.

Too late on the addiction part. Thank you again for sharing your wisdom and knowledge. It's been great fun learning and being out there on the hunt, seeing and experiencing the things a hunter gets to see, just by being out there in all conditions and at all hours. Now I have to remember what I did before I took up coyote hunting???

 

[DSheetz]

I enjoy it when I can help others, I have been addicted to coyote hunting for so many years. I still love it when I can get out to hunt or call them. They just hold a fascination for me that nothing else does. There aren't many legal things to hunt with the amount of challenge that they will provide and yet at times I can shake my head and ask why a coyote would come to a call that readily and do something without any thought.

 

[DSheetz]

As I have talked about before it is an art to see a coyote that is laying down and not moving. On several occasions the pilot and gunners have asked me how you could see that coyote when we were sitting right beside or in front of you and we couldn't even after you told us where it was, we had a hard time finding them. My answer is always the same because that is what I have trained my eyes and brain to do. See what is there that is out of place and especially coyotes. Calling is one of the places where I had to learn to pick out a standing, laying or setting coyote that wasn't moving I still to this day believe that a lot of coyotes and bobcats are called that aren't seen. It's not that the people are at fault they just haven't learned to see them yet!

 

[DSheetz]

This has already been an unusual year as far as the weather is concerned. Here we got more snow than we have since 1982. Other parts of the country have had tornados early, some places are getting record winds and rain fall. Florida is one of those places that has been getting hit harder than usual. We are still getting some snow and high winds here. I don't mind the snow as at this time of year it melts and soaks in the ground pretty good and we are coming out of several years of drought. We at least have some grass turning green, so the coyotes stand out well against a green background. Hitting them at distance might present a challenge with the winds gusting to 45 mph but even that seems mild compared to the gusts of 95-98 mph we have experienced this winter. I hope all are well, warm, dry and safe!

 

[windypants]

We're white again now, but not for long. It was just starting to green up, so coyotes were hard to spot before this snow.

I went out early this morning to scout a new area for future reference. I heard four different pairs (just guessing they were pairs) doing the sunrise serenade. The closest ones were downwind, but I went looking for them anyway. When they smelled me at about 800 yards, a very pregnant female came up out of a draw and went over the ridge, followed about 10 minutes later by another one.

Dave, am I correct in remembering that you said the sunrise serenades will stop once the pups are born? At least until the pups are old enough to join in?

It looks like a great place to hunt next fall. A winding prairie creek bottom with deep draws cutting into the wheat fields on the bench land. Lots of wildlife: wt deer, mule deer, antelope, pheasants, sharp tails, and coyote tracks and trails everywhere. (Buck's packing his bags now, I'll bet)!

 

[DSheetz]

Yes, here they get quiet when they first have the pups. It might be a learned response from being hunted hard during pupping season here. Where I'm at they are pressured every day of the year there is no let up on hunting them after fur season and denning is part of that. If you don't you lose a bunch of lambs to the ones with pups. Here when they have pupped the female will stay with the newborn pups at night for the first week or so, and when the male comes in to relieve her in the mornings he will howl once to let her know where he is, she will reply with one howl, a little while later he will howl again closer to her, she will answer him again from the same place. They will greet each other with their ki-yis he will stay close to the den, and she will go to feed and water then come back to the den after noon. In the evening he will leave for his hunt and to water. Often people don't distinguish between the greeting ki-yis and the morning sun rise serenades but when you listen closely there is a difference between the two, the ki-yis are shorter and not as loud and are over with in just a few seconds. The sun rise serenades have more howls and last for a longer amount of time. When you watch a coyote howl, they throw their head up and back broad casting the sound and you can distinguish the induvial coyotes. With the ki-yis they keep their head down swing it from side to side and you really can't distinguish each coyote's voice. With the greetings they do a lot of yips and yaps some chirps and squeaks like vocal dogs do after they haven't seen each other in a while, they get excited to see each other. Kind of like you and I say hi to another person that we know but haven't seen in a while, we greet and shake hands. If it's a family member we might get excited to see them shake hands hug and say hello more loudly and with more excitement in our voices. If it's our wife and we haven't seen her for a couple of days, we get really excited and are louder and more aggressive in our greetings. Coyotes react in a similar fashion.

 

[Bucklowery]

As I have talked about before it is an art to see a coyote that is laying down and not moving. On several occasions the pilot and gunners have asked me how you could see that coyote when we were sitting right beside or in front of you and we couldn't even after you told us where it was, we had a hard time finding them. My answer is always the same because that is what I have trained my eyes and brain to do. See what is there that is out of place and especially coyotes. Calling is one of the places where I had to learn to pick out a standing, laying or setting coyote that wasn't moving I still to this day believe that a lot of coyotes and bobcats are called that aren't seen. It's not that the people are at fault they just haven't learned to see them yet!

It is the same here in the thick as the hair on a dog's back woods of the south. I remember learning from my dad to find the deer he was seeing. His explanation was I was looking for a whole deer instead of a piece of a deer. An ear or piece of a hind quarters not covered by the brush. I soon learned and it is very natural now. Not so much when I am out West, I have to start all over again in the vast wide open areas. I am always looking too close for things and have to retrain my brain

Thanks

Buck

 

[windypants]

This was right at sunrise and a lot of full howls and yapping, so that would be the serenade and not ki-yi's. I could hear the male and female voices on the closest pair. I didn't hear any single howls like he was announcing his return. So they will probably stop doing the serenade and only do the greeting after the pups are born? I only know of one pair that I suspect has pups so far. That 4 mile pair that I see from the house—I've only been seeing one at a time when previously there were usually two or three together.

 

[Bucklowery]

H

We're white again now, but not for long. It was just starting to green up, so coyotes were hard to spot before this snow.

I went out early this morning to scout a new area for future reference. I heard four different pairs (just guessing they were pairs) doing the sunrise serenade. The closest ones were downwind, but I went looking for them anyway. When they smelled me at about 800 yards, a very pregnant female came up out of a draw and went over the ridge, followed about 10 minutes later by another one.

Dave, am I correct in remembering that you said the sunrise serenades will stop once the pups are born? At least until the pups are old enough to join in?

It looks like a great place to hunt next fall. A winding prairie creek bottom with deep draws cutting into the wheat fields on the bench land. Lots of wildlife: wt deer, mule deer, antelope, pheasants, sharp tails, and coyote tracks and trails everywhere. (Buck's packing his bags now, I'll bet)!

Hey I am always ready. Y'all make this hard on a working man. I think my wife has a suitcase packed and hiding in the closet LOL

Thanks

Buck

 

[338 dude]

Broken and worn canines and incisors. It's a lot of emotions that take place when you have been after one like him and you finally get it done. The one behind him is at least a two-year-old from the looks of its canines. You can see how thick their ears are as well and that takes time and cold winters for that to happen. The last three years have been the windiest years that I can remember in at least thirty years maybe more. We have also gotten the most snow this year that we have since about 1980.

I have one that I'm not experienced enough to age what say you Mr. sheetz?

 

[DSheetz]

That one is pretty old for sure I would say that it might have broken some teeth on a trap but that I also would put it at or very near 8 years or a little older. Looking not only at the canines the molars show wear and the incisors are gone also but they are clean, so it was still chewing bones. The two canines on the upper side of the photo that are closest are dead and brown, they would have been gone soon. The ear on the top photo is missing part of its top and is pretty thick as they get with aging and spending some winters in the weather. That and the canines starting to round are ways that I could tell a two-year-old from last year's litter. I have killed a few with worn teeth but only one that didn't have any teeth and it was still not skinny, I'm sure it was living on mice and bugs maybe even cow crap as I have seen pups do when somebody killed their parents, and they didn't get adopted but were old enough to survive although not very well and were runted.

 

[DSheetz]

Buck; I have seen a lot of people that had a hard time judging distance here. I have known several people think that a couple of hundred feet were more like two hundred yards. But now I would have to retrain my brain and eyes for brushy areas and jungles again as it's been a long time since I have spent much time in those conditions.