Last chance pair

possumal · January 21, 2009, 12:31:43 PM

I have told my grandsons and anyone I have ever tried to help on this coyote hunting stuff to always approach the crest of hills carefully, whether walking or on your ATV, especially late in the afternoon. Day before yesterday, I got a chance to practice what I preach, and it worked out well, lucky too. I had been down in the river bottoms trying to imitate a bobcat hunter. It was such a rough walk back there that I opted to take my ATV and made the trip a lot easier on the old possum. I made 3 good looking stands looking for the kittycats with not a sign of anything except a few squirrels and a couple of turkeys. So about 15 minutes before it would be too dark to see anyway in those bottoms, I started back up to the more open country where I was parked. As I approached the crest of the last hill, the wind was perfect to muffle the sound of my ATV, so I parked it about 100 yds from the top, and took just my cushion, shooting sticks, and rifle and slipped up along the edge of the cover by an old house on my right. Just past that, the big alfalfa field starts, and it is real open with cover all around, with a swag coming out of the rough country and running the full length of the field, making a "Y" with each short part leading to heavy cover. I parked my butt right by the first rolled bale on my right, set up my shooting sticks, and got my eyes adjusted. Something looked out of place at the opposite end of the alfalfa, about 300 yds out, so I looked through my scope. Low and behold, two big coyotes starting their night's hunting. I gave them one long howl on my Cronk female howler, and they snapped to attention like guard dogs. I knew they couldn't tie it down exactly with the wind like it was so I just held tight with them in my scope. The yote closest to me, which turned out to be the female, came right up that swag at a pretty good trot, and stopped about 125 yds out, with the male about 75 yds behind. When she looked over her shoulder at him, I busted her real good, and shucked another shell in real quick and switched to toward the male. He acted like he paid no attention at all to the gun going off, and was still looking at his fallen wife. I settled on his shoulder and squeezed one off, and whop, he was down and dead. The female appeared to be already swelling up in a family way to me, which might support pups we saw last April that appeared to be at least 3 months old.
The lesson here for the newbies and other interested parties is that I believe most coyote hunters in the same circumstances would have stayed on their ATV and probably not even slowed down at the crest, and probably would not have gone to the trouble I did to make sure nothing over that hill knew I was there. I was tired, cold, and about half way disgusted at not seeing a bobcat, but did not abandon a basic hunting rule with me--be careful at crests of hills. I got lucky, no question, but I would not have been lucky had I rode on up that hill on the ATV.

Frogman · January 21, 2009, 03:11:58 PM

WTG possumal. Nice story with a good lesson. Thanks!!

Jim

alscalls · January 21, 2009, 05:33:57 PM

I do hunt that way a lot when by myself but have a hard time remembering when hunting with others.
WTG AL ........sounds like fun!

cathryn · January 23, 2009, 05:30:59 AM

when i saw the title of this thread coupled with the fact that alscalls had posted on it, i thought for sure he was biddin on a "set" :roflmao:

nice job possumal

nastygunz · January 23, 2009, 03:22:57 PM

a set

.............man the possum layzs em downnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

possumal · January 23, 2009, 04:54:49 PM

A certain close "Friend", who recently gave me the bird, featuring a beautiful pecker, emailed me after seeing this post, and said I sure had a fuzzy pair. Hmmmmmmm, I'd watch sleeping in the same cabin with that rascal at LBL. :roflmao: :roflmao:

cathryn · January 23, 2009, 05:05:25 PM

it was alscalls wasnt it? :roflmao:

alscalls · January 23, 2009, 05:07:22 PM

......Weed walker......I have my own pair and I like em a lot......

cathryn · January 23, 2009, 05:31:21 PM

so Al.............you like playing "marbles"? :roflmao:

possumal · January 23, 2009, 06:17:56 PM

Cathryn, I believe old Alscalls Al might be a bonafide "Taw" shooter, maybe even an agate. Hit 'em dead center and stay right there, clean up all the marbles in the circle. :roflmao: :roflmao:

cathryn · January 23, 2009, 06:23:31 PM

naw... i bet hes a "Peewee". LMAO.. i swar thats the name for the smallest marble in the game, LOL

http://www.horshamps.vic.edu.au/marbles.htm

alscalls · January 23, 2009, 09:08:34 PM

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

possumal · January 23, 2009, 09:52:04 PM

Cathryn, it is abundantly clear, at least to this ancient marsupial, that you know more about marbles than all of us characters put together.

Give up Alscalls Al, we've been had.

Tikaani · January 23, 2009, 10:22:56 PM

Good deal Al, so to speak. Great story a fine pair to be sure.

Hunt hard, Die tired
John