Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

Yesterday was a nice day here we got in the mid 50's. So, I took my 1911 out to the range for a test drive. I sat up at a bench with a bag for a rest put my target at 25 yards, loaded 2 rounds in a new magazine chambered a round and fired it the next round fed good, no double firing. I loaded a couple more rounds in another magazine and did the same with good results, so I loaded up four rounds and ran them, with good results. I had a box of cheap ammo 124 grain steel cased stuff, so I put 8 rounds in and ran them, I had two failures to feed with that ammo but I kind of expected that. While I was shooting, I noticed that I was stringing from left to right, yes bad trigger finger control I was letting my finger move at the third joint, bad toad, bad toad, lol. So, then I got my hand loads out that my S&W likes and ran a group with my right hand rested. right at a two-inch group, then I ran another with my left had the same right at a two-inch group. Even rested I use proper grip, I then stood in a modified Weaver stance and did an eight-shot right-handed group, it was around four inches. I am pretty pleased with the results of my less expensive 1911, all in all I have a little less than six hundred dollars in it.
 
No, I didn't have my hearing aids in and yes, I did have my hearing protection on rated at 29 decibel noise reduction. I also have some custom fitted ear plugs that are molded to fit my ears that are rated at 32 decibel noise reduction. With that gear on and in I can see your lips moving but not really hear a word you are saying.
 
No, I didn't have my hearing aids in and yes, I did have my hearing protection on rated at 29 decibel noise reduction. I also have some custom fitted ear plugs that are molded to fit my ears that are rated at 32 decibel noise reduction. With that gear on and in I can see your lips moving but not really hear a word you are saying.
I use music headphones with the sound on a lower level. Glad to "hear" 😀 of good protection
 
I got a call to go take a den one time, so the rancher met me and showed me where he was having lambs killed and left me to my work. I got set up in a good rock pile and was looking the pasture over with my 10x50 binoculars when I spotted a coyote just lying in the sun on a cut bank out around 500 yards. I made some adjustments to the way I was set up and got the coyote located in my scope then let out a series of coyote locator howls, it stood up looked my way then answered me, I talked back at it and it headed my way at around 200 yards it stopped and was just standing staring my way, I gave it a couple of short sharp half howls and it ran towards me, at about 75 yards it was still running my way so I barked at it and it finally stopped at about 25 yards. She was a wet female coyote and showed that she had given birth to six pups. Having done this a few other times, I went down to where she had been when I spotted her laid down and looked the direction she had been, and right there in plain sight was the den. It was getting late, so I loaded everyone in the truck and took them with me. I slipped back in the morning of the next day sat up in another rock pile and just listened for a while. In an hour as the sun was coming up, I heard an old male give two half-length howls and two quick barks. He did the same howls and barks over and over again for twenty minutes before I answered him with some higher pitched female howls and barks the same as he had been doing. He went quiet and started my way then out about 100 yards he stopped and stood there so I gave him another set of howls and barks the same as before he replied back then turned a few circles to make a bed and laid down. That was when I learned some new sounds, he was looking for his mate and pups asking them where they had moved to. He never got up from his nap.
 
For all of us that hunt coyotes we for whatever reasons don't get to go back the next day or even in the evenings after we have killed a coyote or two in the same areas just to listen to the ones that are left in the areas reactions to having a coyote missing from their areas. So many times, the control worker is busy and doesn't really have time the same as the person that is doing it for pleasure, they have a job, they have a family, and so many other things in their lives. I found out a lot by doing that and mostly just listening to the other coyotes. I found that if I left a dead coyote where they would find it that they did long mournful howls there at the body of the dead coyote. I learned that if I still needed to get one or two coyotes after taking one of the adults and the pups from the den it was best to take them with me completely out of the area so that the ones left would actually search for them. A then I heard different vocalizations they would use to locate them, that I could then take advantage of.
 
I always take the dead ones away. I don't hang coyotes on fences either.
Myth is that hanging them on a fence will drive the other coyotes out of the area.
Truth is the remaining ones will just be really wary about everything for a while.
If the body is missing, the remaining ones will search for them and other coyotes will fill in the territory pretty quickly.

Ed
 
I had locations set up with the ranchers where I would leave the dead predators. I had a reason for that as I got a per animal amount, and they should have proof of purchase. I also felt no need to have a lot of publicity about it either. Right now, some not so thoughtful person ran a wolf down on his snowmobile taped its mouth shut and then paraded it around a bar before killing it. So now an animal rights group is going after hunting predators from snowmobiles and snares in Wyoming. The same way that after a thoughtless person posted putting his dog on bobcats in leghold traps, and they went after them. We have lost so many useful tools to a few thoughtless actions of others, in so many states.
 
Over the years I have learned a lot about coyotes but there is still so much that I don't know about them. They adapt so fast and evolve so well to anything we do to hunt them, trap them, call them and snare them. They will continue to be a challenge for anyone doing any of those things. If a person started perusing them as soon as they could and did it for 70 or 80 years, they would never have them completely figured out, but they for sure would be good at it and still see new things from them. And that my friends is the alure that has kept me interested with them for so many years. There is always one that has me outsmarted to be had as a new challenge.
 
In regard to the dead coyotes I just ditch them or leave them near by depending on the time of year and the buzzard trouble. I was on the Mescalero once and was looking at their trapper's set and he had left 12 coyotes laying out in a row about 20 foot away from the set.
I went over to his house to buy some gland lure and asked him about that and he said "There's always another one coming to the funeral"( James Lucero ). I have done that with success and also had buzzards wreck it all out. Lots of aggressive buzzards here and seems they never migrate anymore. Trappings slow right now females are too heavy or are dened up with new born I guess. .
 
Do the younger people know of some of the greats from the past? James Lucero, Crag O'Gorman, Vern Dorn, Bill Austin, Keith Gregerson, Stanly Hawbecker, James Mast, just to name a few.
I doubt it. When fur was worth something, anyone who Trapped , called, ect knew those names, lol from 30 plus years ago 😢 ****, I'm getting old @ 56 😂 less time in front of me than behind……
 
I enjoy visiting with people about the way that they do things and their reasoning for how they do them. As with all things in our world the areas that we live in change so many aspects of our environment and thus how the animals react to it. And it's just plain and simple I enjoy learning about those things. As time goes by things in our world change, in the 60's it was rare that we had four-wheel drive, tire chains, weight over the rear wheels and for sure a good handy-man jack to go along with your shovel, and if you were really well equipped you had a cable come along. In some areas those things weren't as important to have with you, so it follows that as the areas change so will the way that we need to do what we do in our pursuit of predators, some things will remain the same with the way animals react, but others will change.
 
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