Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

[74honker]

I don't blame your son one bit. My one and only experience with a badger wasn't a good one. Those are a mean SOB! I worked on a dairy farm when in HS and one afternoon while tracking down the last cow to bring in for milking I was on one side of a small pond with the cow and it was on the opposite. It took off on a charge around the bank towards us growling all the way and all I had was a fiberglass sorting stick. Needless to say both me and the cow took off also and that thing chased us halfway back to the barns. The farmer seen us running and started to chew butt for me chasing a cow till I stopped him and told him why. He kept a .357 in his truck and off he went barreling across the pasture in said truck and seconds later the shot rang out. No more badger in the pasture.

 

[DSheetz]

Even the little ones are mean .

 

[Reemty J]

Scoop shovel.............when checking traps in the old country, early in the morning, more than once came across badgers running down 2 track dirt road. Grab the shovel and take off chasing them, as soon as they know you are behind them, they will spin around to defend themselves and you whack them on the head HARD. usually takes a few whacks to kill them, but the 1st one stuns them. They are hard to skin, comes off really hard like a beaver.

 

[DSheetz]

I have hit them across the bridge of the nose with an oak handle I carried when trapping so that I could take them out of the trap and let them go when the fur wasn't worth any thing . I'd wacke them take them out of the trap throw them as far as I could then pull that set as they tear it up pretty badly natures earth movers you know . Most of the time while I was smoothing out the torn up set you would hear them snort and wake up they would look at you shake their head and go the other way .

 

[Reemty J]

Come guys, get those fingers to work and tell some past huntsBack in the late 80's to early 90's now and then I would ride along with the old trapper friend while he checked his traps and end of day we would make a couple calling sets. He was a wealth of knowledge and I was an empty sponge, willing to soak up coyote knowledge. We were driving along the south side of the Marias river and came to Dead Indian coulee and He says look at that.......here was a mule deer doe, running like crazy towards us with a male coyote right on her and grabbing her by the face. He finally see's us and runs back up Dead Indian coulee, its a large drainage with cliff wall like sides in a lot of places. That doe she went out on the ice and stood there with her head hanging down, bleeding like crazy, her face looked like you took a knife to it and cut her from her eyes down to her nose. We backed tracked her and could see there was a female with the male but she turned around before we could see her. Well my buddy says, "lets just leave and come back right before dark and see if they are eating the doe, if not we will do some coyote vocalizations and convince them other coyotes are taking over there kill. Well 3 hours later we came back, parked a 1/2 mile back and walked up to a cliff edge over looking that deer, lo and behold there was a coyote on the carcass eating away, the shot was almost straight down so I aimed my 22-250 with 52 grain speers in it and let him have it. We never did see the female. Couple things I learned was, 1. A coyote can kill a deer more often than not, dam near when they want. 2. When you get a predator on a carcass, don't mess with it too much and move on, come back later and sneak in, you have a chance to kill it.
That Doe was worked over pretty bad, face like hamburger and bleeding bad, bit all over, they had a hold of her a few times before we ever saw them. Felt good to shoot that coyote...............

 

[DMP25-06]

The stories that I can share about coyote hunting and calling are remembrances of hunting experiences that I have had . I don't have near enough time spent in the art and craft of hunting predators to be able to share knowledge and give lessons , other than the lesson that I learned in Yellowstone NP that night -
" Don't go out and ring the dinner bell , when you are on the MENU ".

A memory of shooting a coyote in the Texas Panhandle from 1989 :
My friend , his son , and I were deer hunting in the Canadian River breaks country , and the 3 of us had been hunting in separate locations . I was the last to be picked up , near noon , so that we could go get lunch . My 2 friends were in the truck , and as I began walking back toward them , I noticed that they were waving and pointing at something back behind me . I immediately stopped , turned and dropped into a sitting position , and began glassing for what I expected to be a deer , but instead turned out to be a large coyote on top of a bluff that I had left a few minutes earlier , just sitting like a trained German Shepherd on command at the Heel position , watching me . I did not own a range-finder at that time , but my 2 x 8 riflescope was a duplex that I had learned how to Guess-timate ranges with , and I guessed the shot to be near 600 yards . I gave my best guess at Kentucky windage and elevation , and let it fly . I watched as that coyote was hit and turned a back-flip , and vanished from sight . Then I heard the slap of the impact . My friends began honking the truck horn and giving fist-pumps , as compliments on the shot .
So , I began the walk out to pick up my coyote . As i went back to the bluff , and the location to where the coyote had been , all that I found was blood , large amounts of it . I began circling trying to find him and then faintly heard the truck horn . I turned back toward the truck , and looking through my binoculars I saw both of my friends pointing toward the east , so I began slowly walking that direction and noticed blood on the ground as I continued that direction . After about 100 yards , I was standing near the end of the bluff , but still had not found the coyote . Again , using my binoculars to see my friends , both of them are pointing DOWN , so I looked over the edge of the bluff's 150 foot vertical face , and see heavy brush and a fence line that is the end of the property that we were allowed to hunt . That fence was the most positive sign that I found while tracking that wounded coyote . I was positive that I was NOT going to try to descend that near vertical bluff .
When I returned to the truck , my friends said that the coyote had been hit hard by the shot , and lay there , apparently dead , until I was within 100 yards , and then got up from the ground , and ran full-speed off the end of the bluff , turning several flips before falling out-of-sight . They said it was an amazing thing to watch .
We never recovered that coyote because we were not allowed into the neighbor's property .

Thank You ALL,
DMP25-06

 

[DSheetz]

That's what this post is about telling good and bad experiences we have all had with coyote hunting or coyote while just hunting DMP25-06 . Not all of us have had the chance to spend the amount of time some of us have hunting coyote but have still had some great experiences with them . I enjoy hearing about others experiences .

 

[nicholasjohn]

been in Mondamtana calling coyotes and hunting them for 36 years and even the slow kid catches on after a while. anyone who has called coyotes very long knows if you kill 1/2 what you call in on any day, you are doing great. Best days I have been in on is 6 coyotes, done that a couple times, most days are 1 to 3 dead. I backed grounded you so you know what we see here normally and what a good day is. Well about 5 to 6 years ago, two buddies I used to hunt with were out on a day at -20 and it had been cold for a couple weeks and they were doing sets every mile or less on the north side of lake Elwell......on any given set they would have 2 to 3 coyotes come in, and when they had one at 200 and one a 1/2 mile back, on the ice, they would shoot the close one and the back one would stop, they would keep calling and in it would come and they would take that one out also. normally our coyotes are sharper than that, but they were so dam hungry they still came. At the end of the day they killed 12 (super day here) so you can imagine how many they had come. Both are seasoned callers and good shots. They said the conditions were miserable, especially blowing the call and shooting as we all do both bare handed............. but they had an awesome day.

For a team of two guys to shoot an even dozen coyotes is phenomenal. The most coyotes I have ever shot on one stand was three. It was on a hillside east of San Diego, backed up against a big rock, and I called in two together. They popped out of the manzanitas about ten yards away, and I knocked them both down. I figured it was all over, but I stuffed a couple more shells in the magazine of the shotgun and kept on calling anyway. Soon, #3 showed up, and he got a face-full of #4's. That was sure a lot of fun. I also shot two with one shot with a rifle one time, on a deer hunt in Mexico. I'd like to say that I planned it that way, but that wasn't at all the way it happened. They were in a foot-race to get to the squealing bunny, and I shot the first one to show up on the scene. His buddy, who was bringing up the rear, was already turning to leave when the fully-expanded bullet that killed coyote #1 hit him in the hind quarter. That was fun, too. Just once I'd like to get two with one shot on purpose.

 

[nicholasjohn]

The reason I like the 223 was it was easy to reload for , didn't cost much to reload for , I started out using 4320 powder until it became hard to get , I could get the 55 gr hpbt's to blow up inside of the coyote and even fox most of the time and not tear up the fur at close range when calling . And brass was easy to come by in my area . New not used military brass . It also was very accurate . lastly if I had to I could buy loaded ammo almost any where I went , maybe not what I wanted but I could get it.

I have an old buddy who lives in southern New Mexico, and he used to shoot them with an old 222. It was the Remington model 788. He shot enough 'yotes with that little gun to make a comforter out of the pelts. It had the tails hanging off both sides, and the bottom. Don't know how many pelts were in it, but it was a whole bunch. He and I also shot many, many prairie dogs with that old 222. Most of the yotes I've shot with a rifle have been with the 22-250, although I've used deer & elk cartridges pretty often when one just kinda showed up while I was chasing something else. The gun that works best for me is whatever I have with me at the time - including shotguns. I've shot a few with shotgun slugs, while hunting midwestern whitetails. That makes them very sick.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Thank all of you for your remembrances and hunting stories . I am enjoying each and every one of them . Your story telling is outstanding , I can envision myself trailing along with you on these hunts .
I think that some of you should get together , collaborate , and write a book , or several books , about your coyote hunting experiences . I think that the book/books would sell .

I am almost 70 now , and have lived all of my life in Fort Worth , Texas area . Densely populated , and no public lands nearby , so my hunting was always done with yearly out-of-state trips to New Mexico , Colorado , Wyoming , and 1 trip to Montana .
In 1996 , my 2 brothers , 1 friend , and I were lucky enough to be drawn for Antelope tags in the unit that is bounded on south by I-80 , east boundary is a county road that runs north out of Wamsutter , Wyoming . and western boundary is about 40 miles west of Wamsutter . I think that it was unit 60 , or maybe 61 .

All 4 of us got nice Antelope within the first 3 days of hunting , so we decided to try calling coyotes with a mouth-blown call . We set up , just below the top of a short bluff , backed-up against the side of the embankment , facing south , into the 10-15 mph breeze , watching a narrow drainage , about 50 yards wide , that ran to the south for over 1/2 mile .
After sitting quietly for about 20 minutes , I began calling , and within 1 or 2 minutes at the most , I spotted 4 coyotes coming in to the call from the far south end of the arroyo , at a dead run , all side by side , and as I watched them bounding up , over , and down the gently rolling terrain , all that I could think of was the music to the TV series " BONANZA ". With the 4 coyotes running towards us , in my mind , I could see Ben , Adam , Hoss , and Little Joe , all riding their horses towards us .
At a distance of about 75 yards , I awakened from my daydream , and realized that neither of my 2 brothers or my friend had yet seen the coyotes . At 50 yards , my youngest brother finally saw them and locked in on 1 .
I was sitting on the far left side , so I fired 1st shot at coyote on farthest to my left . My youngest brother shot 1 from the 3rd position , my friend next to me never shot , even though he had a shotgun , and all 4 coyotes had closed to within 35 yards . My brother on the far right side of our set-up never got a shot , due to obstructed view , and I shot another as they were high-tailing it away from us . 3 coyotes with 3 shots , out of a group of 4 that had come into the call .
It was an exhilarating experience , to say the least !

I did some research on coyote hunting that area after returning home to Texas , and found information that coyote hunting contests were sometimes held in that area that was called the Red Desert and Basin of the Continental Divide . I had always hoped to return to hunt coyotes in those contests , but never did .

Well , enough of my story .
I truly envy you men and women that live in the wide-open Western States .

Keep your stories coming .
DMP25-06

I know right where you mean, Sir. I used to fly supplies into the oil field at Table Rock, just west of where you guys shot those three coyotes. The guy I worked for was an electrical contractor out of Big Piney, and his men were wiring the oil rigs. I was landing a Cessna 206 on one of the roads down between those clay ridges, and I hit a coyote with the airplane. I was in the landing flare when the yote came out of the sage. I never saw him coming - just felt the thump as I hit him. There was no damage to the aircraft ( it hit the main landing gear about a foot above the wheel.) The coyote took some heavy damage, though - he was toast. Oh, well - better him than me.

 

[DSheetz]

nicholasjohn , and that sir is the type of coyote stories I like to hear no damage to you or the air craft . Most people would never have the chance for that kind of experience but they enjoy hearing about it happeining .

 

[nicholasjohn]

nicholasjohn , and that sir is the type of coyote stories I like to hear no damage to you or the air craft . Most people would never have the chance for that kind of experience but they enjoy hearing about it happeining .

Here's another one for you, Sir. It also involves aircraft, which for some unknown reason, coyotes seem to have an affinity for. It was many years after the oil field episode, and we were sitting on the cargo ramp in Billings, MT. It was right around sun-up, and we were sitting there in the cockpit chewing the fat with our mechanic, while the lads outside were unloading the airplane. We had been watching a coyote out the window, sitting out in the tall grass watching the guys work. Well, once we were all buttoned up, the mechanic went downstairs and plugged in his headset. Time to start engines and get outa here. That was when the co-pilot commented that he thought the animal must be about a half a bubble off plumb. I asked him why, and he said that it had "that dumb look on its face that my dog gets right before it does something really stupid." Shortly thereafter, the mechanic told me over the headset that it was walking directly toward the right engine, which by this time was running. I figured it was probably going to get sucked in, so I shut down the engine. The mechanic told us that the coyote walking up to within about four feet of the engine intake, sat down on the pavement, and was watching the fan blades go round & round as they spun down.

I told him that had to be the dumbest coyote in all of Montana, and that he ought to be pretty easy to call in and shoot. He replied "I don't think that one is even smart enough to come to the call." I said that I hope he is, because if you don't shoot him, you're going to be bore-scoping an engine on the next airplane that comes through. He seems to have a fascination with airplanes or something. His comeback was priceless ….. "I'll fascinate the daylights out of him with the 270 !!!"

 

[74honker]

Those are two great stories nicholasjohn. Curiousity kills more than just cats lol. I think they too must just have an attraction to any kind of machinery. A lot of coyotes around my parts like to follow our farm machinery in the fields looking for an easy meal we may run out. The hawks and eagles follow us too. With the advent of autosteer in most of the newer equipment it gives us more time to look around for them instead of having to constantly look where we are going. If they are dumb enough to come take a look and dumb enough to just stand there while we stop the tractor, get off and load gun then I guess they're just DUMB. There's a lot of farmers and or farmhands that are also sportsman and we all "pack" for the situation. It has always amazed me how you can go out and work your tail off setting up and calling and have tough goes at it but then you see them do the dumbest stuff and wind up getting them in a much easier fashion. Anyway not as cool as getting one with an airplane which I think is quite the achievement, probably not many can say they did that but nonetheless always good to hear the more unique ways to get a coyote. Even my favorite cartoon when I was a kid was Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner lol.

 

[DSheetz]

I have watched them lay down in a cow trails and hid from the air plane when I was ground crewing for USDA . It didn't take them long to figure out not to run from the plane and most likely they wouldn't get chased and shot at . I've been in the chopper a few times when the pilot and gunner couldn't see coyote that just laid down as they were looking for movement not something laying low . The pilot called me one time to see if I could locate a coyote for him that he had been trying to get for two weeks . I went out and got the coyote to howl at me from a long ways out . I moved about a mile farther north and got him to bark at me from near the same place so I called Steve and he flew in to pick the rancher and me up . It was early in the morning and we had a lot of clouds the light wasn't real good to see coyote but we gave it a good shot . I told Steve where he had answered from we flew a good grid for nearly half an hour with out any sign of him . Steve told me it was getting pretty old looking for that one lamb killer and not finding him and was taking me back to the truck . We flew past where I had told him the coyote was there was a wind mill and water tank with some cows drinking and one patch of tall sand grass about 10 feet in diameter near the tank . As we passed the grass I saw his face looking up out of the middle of the grass . Steve put into a hover but he or the rancher couldn't see it . He moved the chopper closer and closer telling me not to shoot until he could see the coyote for himself . It finally broke and ran . Steve followed it for quite a while then ran it into a stock pond . It swam across the pond climbed out and locked up stiff as a board . I shot him we landed and checked him out his teeth were all worn down to just stubs . Steve was happy as was the rancher one hard to get coyote finally taken care of .