Wyoming Coyote

[eleaf]

After lunch we took a quick nap, then went out to a new deer lease in the Black Hills to call for coyotes. I was carrying a Rem R15 in .204 Ruger with a SWFA 1-4x HD with Donut Reticle, and John was carrying my Rem 700. I was using a wooden call I bought at the annual coyote hunt at Land Between the Lakes in western KY. Less than 5 minutes after we sat down on our first set, out comes a song dog. I didn't have a shot at it, (being on the wrong side of the log we were sitting on), but John did. "Blam!" Actually it was a swing and a miss. He simply misjudged the distance and shot right over the back of him, but being that it wasn't his gun and he's not a coyote hunter, I'll give him a pass.

We made 3 more sets, but didn't see anything.

The following morning, I got up for breakfast, but wasn't really feeling it. I had decided to stay at camp and sleep in some more. But, being weak willed, I was quickly and easily talked in to going out. Today we headed to the open plains on a lease that is just under 60,000 acres. It's prime coyote territory. But it was reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally windy, and after 6 sets all we saw was a few hawks that decided swooping down on my wiggling fingers would be fun for me (they were wrong).

That evening we went to a local friend of John's who sits on a beautiful 1000 acres of prime Black Hills land to do some calling, but again, all we had to show for our effort was a flock of crows landing in a tree I was calling under, and a few great scenes.

On the third day, a crisp morning in the high 20s with no wind or cloud cover, I was feeling like it was the day. It was the last day after all, and, why go out unless you think you're gonna get one? So we headed out after breakfast to the same ranch we had hit on the evening of day 1 (where I called one in but had a narrow miss), though on a completely separate section. We parked the truck, walked 300 or 400 yards and set up. After 20 or so minutes, I stood and turned toward John, who was on the other side of a small ridge on a finger which stuck out in to a field, to tell him that it was time to move on to the next set, and as soon as I turned, I saw a coyote across the field, and he saw me and started to slowly trot off. I immediately got down on a knee with my sticks still on the gun. "WOOF! . . . WOOF!" He stopped and turned to look back, and gave me a perfect shot at 252 yards. "BLAM! . . . BLAM! BLAM! BLAM BLAM!" I hit him on the first shot, but because he didn't go directly down (he was flailing and there was no question that it was a good hit), I decided to unload the mag on him to make sure he didn't have delusions of getting away. That did the trick.



I had wondered why John didn't see him, being that he was on the edge of the field directly across from him, but it was because there was a tree in the way. Even after I shot him, he didn't know exactly were the dog was until he stood up and I pointed it out.

2 sets later I called in another song dog, this time a big gray one, but I did the same thing John had 2 days earlier. After woofing him, he gave me a pretty shot that I gauged at 325 or 350 yards. After going right over his back and watching him high-tail it away, John ranged the shot at 285 yards. Holding on the top of his back would have been sufficient, but I held over his back by about .5 mils. Being from Central KY, I'm not used to hunting coyotes at longer ranges, and I have no real experience in gauging longer distances in big country. We'll chalk it up to a learning experience.

We made 2 more sets then, after the weather had gotten much warmer than we were dressed for, we decided to make the 2 mile walk back to the truck. We made one more set on the way back, and successfully called in a coyote, but he was, we later learned, about 650 yards away, and my .204 Ruger isn't a 650 yard gun.

All in all I had 3 separate hunts over 3 days. I got a great looking pronghorn, killed a few prairie dogs, and put down a coyote. I couldn't ask for a better time.

Here's to hoping that my return trip next month for deer will be just as successful.

[FinsnFur]

Well that was quite an expedition 
You know what they say...three times a charm. I think maybe they meant, 3rd day's a charm
Nice looking coyote by the way.
Congrats o n the Furdown

[Frogman]

Sounds like a great trip!!  WTG on the coyote!

Jim

[yotefever]

2 sets later I called in another song dog, this time a big gray one, but I did the same thing John had 2 days earlier. After woofing him, he gave me a pretty shot that I gauged at 325 or 350 yards. After going right over his back and watching him high-tail it away, John ranged the shot at 285 yards. Holding on the top of his back would have been sufficient, but I held over his back by about .5 mils. Being from Central KY, I'm not used to hunting coyotes at longer ranges, and I have no real experience in gauging longer distances in big country. We'll chalk it up to a learning experience.

I have a big problem with distances when hunting in WY. It is just such different terrain.
What I do is get out the range finder when I sit down and get an idea what I have for distances to give me some help.
We stalk the speed goats so we usually range them as we setup for the shot.
Good story and pics, thanks.

[eleaf]

2 sets later I called in another song dog, this time a big gray one, but I did the same thing John had 2 days earlier. After woofing him, he gave me a pretty shot that I gauged at 325 or 350 yards. After going right over his back and watching him high-tail it away, John ranged the shot at 285 yards. Holding on the top of his back would have been sufficient, but I held over his back by about .5 mils. Being from Central KY, I'm not used to hunting coyotes at longer ranges, and I have no real experience in gauging longer distances in big country. We'll chalk it up to a learning experience.

I have a big problem with distances when hunting in WY. It is just such different terrain.
What I do is get out the range finder when I sit down and get an idea what I have for distances to give me some help.
We stalk the speed goats so we usually range them as we setup for the shot.
Good story and pics, thanks.

We did that on a couple of sets (ranged objects in view to get a rough distance calculator), but not all of them.

We were hunting speed goats this year too. Coyotes was what we did when we had hunting days after the speed goat was put on the ground. Story here.

http://forum.finsandfur.net/index.php?topic=16421.0

[Hidehunter]

Sounds like an awesome time. Would love to see Wyoming one of these days. Congrats!!

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