Two more down on a strange hunting day

[possumal]

Late yesterday marks the most confusing but rewarding day I have ever experienced coyote hunting.  Due to illness in the family (Wife's mother who lives with us), I got away from the house about two hours later than planned.  I was supposed to meet a landowner between 1:30 and 2:00 to look over a new 380 acre farm to hunt, but ended up meeting him at 3:45.  After the grand tour in his 4wd pickup, it was too late to hunt a farm I wasn't familiar with, so I drove like superpossum to another farm about 5 miles from there and drove back in and parked.  I only had about an hour left until total darkness, so I made a quick survey of the wind direction and other factors and threw a loop about 1/4 of a mile to allow me to approach my area of choice correctly.  Dropped off the Firestorm in a brushpile in a bottom and quickly made my nest about 75 yds up the hill and gave it a few minutes of silence.  Started out with a howl on my Cronk Killer Call, and then the Female Invitational Howl on the Firestorm.  Immediately I had two howling directly behind me about 100 to 200 yds back.  I quickly figured they would come to the bottom from my right side, so I shifted around that way with my shooting sticks and got ready.  I was pretty surprised when a  big female came in from directly behind me and I didn't know it until I caught a glimpse of her out of the left eye's peripheral, and she stopped on the edge of the farm road to try to see the coyote who did that howling and was now eating one of her rabbits.  She couldn't see what wasn't there, but she couldn't be sure either so she started trotting to her right on the farm road looking down where she heard that sound from. I was just starting to push my Sceery squeaker to stop her at 30 yds when she hit my scent where I crossed that road.  She didn't head for Dodge exactly, but she was trucking along pretty good halfway glancing back up towards me.  At about 75 yds I got in cadence with her and lit the fire in my 243, hitting her just right and flipping her end over end.  Foxbang immediately sounded off the Coyote Death Cry, and I let it go for about 30 seconds hoping it would bring her mate in.  This time I was ready and turned back towards where she came behind me, and switched back to the Coyote eating a rabbit.  Sure as shootin, here the big rascal comes about 35 yds further out than she came, with me following him in my scope.  When he was about 50 yds out, I hit my Sceery squeaker, and he stopped dead in his tracks with my crosshairs settled dead center on his chest. I can't explain why but something just didn't appear exactly right, so I didn't pull the trigger, but waited untl he turned his head left to look back where he last heard the ecaller. I came up off the scope good enough to take a peep, and I sure am glad I did, because her big mate turned out to be somebody's big German Shepherd, about 90 lbs.. I made a hand move and he left in a hurry with me taking a deep breath and thanking God for guiding me to make the right decision.  

I waited a few minutes and hit the female howl again, and a big howl came back from behind me but further to my right. It was getting so dark, I couldn't see nearly as well down to my right, so I decided to get up on one knee to help me see the area about 130 yds down the farm road.   Sure as could be, he stepped out into a semi cleared area, and I squeezed one off and heard that resounding smack and saw him jump straight up about 3 feet, run a few yards and jumped again, appeared to flip over and then out of my sight around the curve in the road. When I shot, naturally the Foxbang engaged again and the Coyote Death Cry started screaming. So I sat back down and went back to the coyote killing a rabbit and watching what I could still see.  Gave it about ten minutes and by then, it was so dark it was time to close shop.

I gathered up my gear and headed down the road and found the pretty female DRT, and hurriedly walked on down to hopefully find him lying there dead.  Instead I found where he was standing when I shot him with a big bunch of blood, and  about ten more feet and another big pool of blood, and about 20 more feet another pool of blood and then tracks into the underbrush.  Went back to the truck to get a better light but couldn't go into the thick running briars and the like expecially in the dark and me back in the middle of nowhere with nobody but God and me knowing where I was.  So I am confident he is dead and I am far too tired to go back out there today, so the pictures of the blood piles is about the best I can do for you.  Besides I have to go someplace else this afternoon to see if I can get another one or two.

Here are the pictures of a real pretty female and the blood piles.















Edited for spelling.

[golfertrout]

good story Al and congratulation i would say the other is dead also

[FinsnFur]

Those blood piles turned out absolutely beautiful

Yeah I'm doubting he went rrreal far.

[HaMeR]

Yeah looks like the 2nd one has a leak on either side. If it lives thru that it's a good thing you didn't go back in there in the dark!!    The female is a nice coyote too. Good job.

[kyfuzzyface]

WTG Al
You sure are making in hard on them !!! 

[alscalls]

 

[Dave]

Nice write-up.  Good job on holding off on the shepperd, too. 

[possumal]

I only had time to get back out there yesterday with about 30 minutes of daylight left to look for the other coyote.  I found him easy in the daylight, but it is kind of embarassing how close he was to that last pile of blood.  It looked like he tried to make a long leap to a thick bunch of brush, logs, etc., and slid about 10 feet down a steep little incline and was piled up under one part of a big log.  Heck, it was only about 20 feet from the last blood pile.  Maybe I'm getting as afraid of the dark as I am those green running briars?    He had a bad case of rigor mortis but surprisingly little damage to his fur.  Oh well, a pair is a pair and  I did recover him.  I did him the honor of bringing him home and hanging him up beside his late wife so they could make their last farewells (lol)   The picture ain't so hot, but it is a picture and I remember how you guys like pictures, so here they be, hanging in a tree.

[pitw]

Right on Possum.  I like it when I find them after the shot just so I know .

[Todd Rahm]

Nice look'n couple ya have there Al. I really like the dark markings on the front legs. They are never that dark up here, if they are there at all. 

[HaMeR]

Those are two very differently colored coyotes. It's good to see them just hanging around your back yard that way too. 

[kyfuzzyface]

Sure make you feel better to find them 

[lacie23]

Way to go ! Good shooting !

[Frogman]

Way to go, Al!!  Great story and pictures.   Glad you found that runner!

Jim

[vvarmitr]

That is great Al!
Sure appreciate the story & Pix!