So it's been a pretty good year for me... and today was one of my favorite days yet.
My wife's mom and step-dad flew in from Seattle for the holiday, so I decided I'd try and get in a little hunting with Steve while he was here. We've hunted coyotes before... but somehow the odds were always stacked against us. He's seen me shoot half a dozen dogs... but they've always eluded him.
We got up early this morning and headed out east... two weeks ago I spoted a couple large packs (4+) dogs... so I figured that'd be a good place to start. Pulled in and hit the howler... then all hell broke loose... there were dogs going crazy everywhere. We headed for a high spot about 1/2 mile away... glassing our way in. About half way there I spotted 3 dogs about 3/4 mile out... and we made our move. We got set up with a good wind... but the sun would be up in 10 minutes... and it would be in our face... so we had to hurry. Steve was in front, and I was running the caller behind him. I got the coyotes in the binocs and switched on the FoxPro... I started super quite... and turned it up slowly untill the dogs reacted. One big dog decided he was going to be first to the meal... and was marked. It took about 3-4 minutes for him to get within 200 yards... but he was completely unaware of the peril he was in. When he was about 150 out another dog got nervous and barked at him... so Steve cut one loose... and missed. The dog never even flinched... but kept moving right at us. He stopped again at 80 yards... this time the 140 TTSX out of the 7mm Rem (enough gun for coyotes?) found it's mark and it was dog down! This was a big dog... easily over 40lbs... and the hide goes 5'7"... big freakin tube!
As we walked toward the dog I counted 4 coyotes moving out... and another about 1/2 mile away howling at us like mad... I think we shot her mate... because she sat out there and barked the whole time we were hiking out, and skinning the dog. Total of 6 coyotes in this one square mile. We howled up a couple more in some other spots... but by 8:00 there was a lot of traffic and the dogs pretty much shut down.
Here's the hero shot...
And here you can see how big this dog was... Steve is 5'9"
My wife's mom and step-dad flew in from Seattle for the holiday, so I decided I'd try and get in a little hunting with Steve while he was here. We've hunted coyotes before... but somehow the odds were always stacked against us. He's seen me shoot half a dozen dogs... but they've always eluded him.
We got up early this morning and headed out east... two weeks ago I spoted a couple large packs (4+) dogs... so I figured that'd be a good place to start. Pulled in and hit the howler... then all hell broke loose... there were dogs going crazy everywhere. We headed for a high spot about 1/2 mile away... glassing our way in. About half way there I spotted 3 dogs about 3/4 mile out... and we made our move. We got set up with a good wind... but the sun would be up in 10 minutes... and it would be in our face... so we had to hurry. Steve was in front, and I was running the caller behind him. I got the coyotes in the binocs and switched on the FoxPro... I started super quite... and turned it up slowly untill the dogs reacted. One big dog decided he was going to be first to the meal... and was marked. It took about 3-4 minutes for him to get within 200 yards... but he was completely unaware of the peril he was in. When he was about 150 out another dog got nervous and barked at him... so Steve cut one loose... and missed. The dog never even flinched... but kept moving right at us. He stopped again at 80 yards... this time the 140 TTSX out of the 7mm Rem (enough gun for coyotes?) found it's mark and it was dog down! This was a big dog... easily over 40lbs... and the hide goes 5'7"... big freakin tube!
As we walked toward the dog I counted 4 coyotes moving out... and another about 1/2 mile away howling at us like mad... I think we shot her mate... because she sat out there and barked the whole time we were hiking out, and skinning the dog. Total of 6 coyotes in this one square mile. We howled up a couple more in some other spots... but by 8:00 there was a lot of traffic and the dogs pretty much shut down.
Here's the hero shot...
And here you can see how big this dog was... Steve is 5'9"
