Well, I finally got out for some coyote hunting on December 30. The wind was out of the WNW at 5 to 10 mph and the temperature was around 10º. I had business to attend to in the morning, but was able to head out at about 1:15 p.m. and parked the pickup about a half mile west of the land owner’s ranch house. I walked to the south along the fence line down into a wooded coulee. I stirred up about 8 mule deer and they went running off to the west. I called at that spot for 25 minutes and drew a blank. I headed off walking to the NNW about three quarters of a mile to a different set of coulees and called there for 25 minutes and struck out there as well.
After getting back to the pickup, I decided to go SW of this area to a place where I had seen coyotes last winter. I drove on a lease road and got about 3/4 of a mile west of the ranch buildings and parked in a low spot. As I started walking the south down into the coulee, I could see human footprints and debated whether I should continue or walk back to the PU and find a different spot. I continued walking. I came to an east/west fence I had to cross, but before I could cross the fence I noticed a coyote about 60 yards away that was slowly trotting to the south. I knelt down, raised my rifle, and flipped off the safety. Fortunately, the coyote stopped and turned broadside to me looking back to see what was intruding on its territory. I settled the cross hairs right behind the left front shoulder and squeezed off the shot. The coyote stumbled, spun a couple times, and then stumbled to the southeast about 10 yards and fell in a heap. She had been about 125 yards away when I fired. The entrance hole was tiny and the exit hole wasn’t very big either.
My search for where the coyote was bedded down was successful. She had found a nice spot on a southeast facing side hill kind of on the down-wind side of a big rock and had a very nice resting place out of the wind.
I looked to the south of the bed location toward where the coyote had stumbled to and was lying in the brush and snapped a couple photos there too. There were some nice fat Black Angus cows coming to check out the disturbance. Here’s a photo of the coyote lying in the brush in her final resting place.
I snapped a couple photos making sure I photographed the side of the coyote that the bullet entered her body and also took a picture of the exit side. Here’s a picture of the bullet entry side.
As I was taking pictures there were about 20 cows coming towards me. I put a drag rope on her and carried her to a nearby tree and hung her off a branch. I didn’t want the cows to trample on her and damage the hide. I had left my rifle and backpack at the kill spot and I could see the cows sniffing my gun and backpack!!! I approached the cattle very slowly so they wouldn’t stampede and trample on my rifle and backpack. They seemed fairly tame and I was able to rescue my rifle and backpack without any problem.
Here’s a photo below showing the side the bullet exited from and looking from the coyote up towards the coyote’s bed and the fence where I shot from. She is lying right where she finally stopped. I didn’t bother to take the time for a “Hero Photo,” but I’ll try to remember to do that next time I have a successful hunt. This female coyote weighed 24.5 pounds.
I walked about 200 yards south, set up my FOXPRO and 10 minutes into the stand I had a mad sounding coyote barking and howling out to the west of me over the top of a butte. I switched the caller to the Goldfinch in Distress sound. At about 12 minutes into the stand he finally appeared at the top of a butte about 300 yards WNW of me. I cranked up the power on the scope a bit, but I figured he would come down the butte and I’d have an easier shot. As I was getting my rifle adjusted to get a look at him through the scope, I could see him quickly turn away and in about two steps he disappeared from sight before I could pull the trigger!!! I hit the wounded coyote sound and waited. I finally heard him howling from what sounded like a long way to the west and that’s the last I heard from him. I sure wish I would have gotten a shot off. It would have been a chip shot for my Savage 12VLP .204 Ruger and a 1 in 11 twist super match grade Pac-Nor barrel shooting 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKings. But, wishes don’t get it done!!! It was one of those would-a, could-a, should-a moments and I won't get a mulligan!
