2020/2021 coyote season
 

So these days I don't get much time for big days of coyote hunting which is where I often get good forum worthy stories so I'm going to keep adding to this thread as I make stands and (hopefully) kill coyotes.

2021/12/26
Sadly this year it was my turn to work Christmas weekend but luckily there's little more to do than make sure nothings broken.
With that in mind I took advantage of the cold north wind and headed for an early morning pre-work coyote stand.
This spot I have been waiting for perfect conditions as it is a perfect breeding ground for coyotes and always has lots of dogs and it has great potential for multiples.
After walking in and finding a place to sit I looked up to make a plan for where to place the foxpro. like a magical apparition there stood a coyote at 200 yards! It must have only just crested the hill as I stopped cause he stood there looking puzzled as I centered the crosshairs and shot him right there.
Amazed at my luck I quickly placed the Ecall and naturally realized after sitting down that the batteries were dead. Oh well not a problem I always bring the handcalls for this reason.
Not 1 minute after wailing away on a foxpro bite reed a coyote crested the hill and paused to eye it's fallen comrade. A quick blast on the call convinced it to cautiously keep coming. At 153 yards it checked up and started howling and barking at me. Knowing the gig was up no time was spent taking the shot. At the shot I heard the telltale WHUMP like a fastball hitting a pillow that told me this dog wasn't getting up. Only 5 min into the stand I kept up with the bite reed and after eyeing what seemed to be the stump of a fence post for forever I put the scope on it to see it had eyes and ears! Once again the bite reed came into play and coyote number 3 cautiously made its way in stopping at coyote#1. This old boy knew something was up cause after a quick look at his dead buddy he decided to leave. I barked him to a stop and hurriedly took the shot. as soon as the trigger broke I swore out loud as I knew I had rushed and hit the guts. Worried that I might have to track it and realizing I didn't have my phone (I was on call) I stopped the stand early and went up to find him dead as a doornail just 15 yards away. The 50gr vmax by some miracle never opened him up even with a gut shot.
Here's where the second one dropped. I was sitting right at the tip of the fence post.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e19de694_c.jpgPXL_20211226_160536421.MP by brad, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...11582f18_c.jpgPXL_20211226_161750210.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

And sadly they all had mites so I had to leave them where they sat which was a bummer

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...84b1a7db_c.jpgPXL_20211226_161919300.MP by brad harder, on Flickr

Great story pal! I was just about to comment on the beautiful dark coloured dogs when I noticed the mites damage…. Would’ve been a great fur if not for the mites!

I love your stories. to bad they are not worthy to take home.

Excellent man. Just excellent. I’m on the cusp of starting an 8 day pursuit of the buggers here soon enough.

Very well done. As much as I love shooting coyotes I just can’t handle the cold anymore.

Should look into battery operated gear. Theres a fellow that haunts this forum now and then with electric gloves socks and vest which I would bet could keep a guy toasty as can be.

So glad you guys like the stories. I love sharing them as long as others appreciate it.

This an outdoors forum and what we look for so post away......refreshing to read posts like this. I'm hitting the woods this upcoming week to see what's out there.....and of course the coldest weather is upon us.

After a stressful day this was just the read I needed. Thank you!
Too bad about the mites.

Well that just made MY day! Thanks so much for commenting and glad I could make your day better

You put up a good thread tikka 250 ,i admire you going out , i was thinking on going today ,but man are we in a storm out my way.

Plus I find the cold is harder to take, 40 years outside working on my feet weeks on end and now i open the door and go yikes haha.

Keep up the good stuff .

ALLTHE BEST TO YOU IN THE NEW YEAR.

CHEERRS
JD

2020/2021 coyote season
 

Same here, years ago -30 was no problem. Some great coyote hunting in those conditions, but now when I stick my nose out the door, I turn around and head straight to my lazy boy chair. Only snare them after deer season now, although I do shoot some in late October and November. Good luck and get many more coyotes sir. Too bad about the mites. It’s always a disappointment when you call a dog in, only to find out he’s worthless. Still helping the deer though. Good job.

Love the thread. Love the stark, cold terrain & all the game it holds!

Hate winter though I'm now using OTC boot warmers that help.

Keep up the threads, they sure pass the evenings enjoyably. THANKS!

Good stuff Brad.
Keep wracking em and posting.

Great posts, always enjoy reading your stuff. There are some very happy deer becasue you go out and brave the frigid fields.:):)

Tikka, even with the mites the local cattle ranchers will appreciate they are gone during calving season. Good shooting!

2021/12/28 if a mod wants to throw a "update" with the date in the title that would be awesome. If not no big deal.

So today the boss came in at lunch and told us that with this frigid cold we can just get chores done and head home early. So like any same man would do in that situation I went coyote hunting!
My spot today would bring me to a spot that I have been saving all year. 3 months ago I scoured this spot while checking fence and built myself a small stick pile to hide behind when the time came to hunt it.
The drive in looked good with piles of coyote tracks

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...78d7eb51_c.jpgPXL_20211228_214824038.MP by brad r, on Flickr
After busting trail through the snow to get to my prefered parking spot I apologized to my truck for the beating it had just received and headed off. I found my stick pile fallen down but still a suitable spot to breakup my outline so I setup and began calling.
Distress on both the bite reed and raspy jackrabbit revealed no results so I picked up a foxpro open reed howler and let rip some kiyi/pup distress. The call had barely left my mouth when I saw what looked to be a brown rocket come flying out of the bush 600yards in front of me.
With a large hill to climb the coyote gave me lots of time to position the rifle before he was visible at 200 yards. A soft lip squeak brought him an extra 50 yards down the hill before he stopped giving me a perfect broadside shot.
I had to smile when at the report of the rifle a massive WHOP resounded through the hills announcing a perfect hit. Reloaded I now scanned the field for any extras I may not have seen I spied movement. The coyote I had just shot was getting up! Astonished I watched as the tough old male got up and attempted to leave. The swift barked once more and he was down for the count. Looking afterwards I still don't know how he got up as it was a perfect hit.
Here's the stick pile I sat at with the coyote just above my muzzle
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...af025fb3_c.jpgPXL_20211228_221710083.MP by brad, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bc9ced65_c.jpgPXL_20211228_222510335.MP by brad , on Flickr

Minus 30 tends to make the face a bit frosty on the walk back. I was glad to find out I'm out of ammo and wouldn't be able to make anymore stands today.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...accaa9aa_c.jpgPXL_20211228_223042560.MP by brad , on Flickr

Great job, looks cold but that's the price of winter hunting.

JD

I look forward to all your posts as i love hunting yotes as well.You always put together a great story along with quality pics.I will be your shotgunner if ya ever hunt around 244.Thanks for posting all your stories and best of luck in your next stand.

Man you are the MAN! Love coyote hunting but in-30C you have to be….crazy! And solo to boot! I hope you have a great back up plan if something goes wrong… Weather like this worries me especially if you are by yourself in the middle of nowhere….

This is why I joined this site to see guys that love the outdoors the way he does and goes for it ,think his nose got bit by frost bite . I think tikka is in condition and has climatized himself for any weather . You have to or you can get in trouble .

My mind starts to live all the things I loved when I read this threads with a story on days like today ,like a fix for an old addict. High on life, best deal around.

Cheers JD

So envious ! Congrats... You sure do know how to light a fire under someones behind. Love the pics & the write up. That selfie put a smile on my face ear to ear... top shelf...When you said "I heard the telltale WHUMP like a fastball hitting a pillow" It felt like you put me right there with you. Thanks for posting and taking us along.

As always great post! Hunting the cold brings its challenges.

One funny hunt I did at -35°C - I walked in about a half km and found a place to sit. Got set up and walked out to set up the Foxpro. The wind was blowing and visibility was about 200m. As I turned the dial to power up the caller and set volume with my cold hands I accidentally hit the call button. The call was set on a goose call and the volume was maxed. So I had geese honking up a storm and my hands were too cold to turn it off. I looked up and across the field at about 200m I see the shadows of 3 coyotes running full out towards me and they were coming in on a string! I erred as I had left my rifle where I was to be sitting. I left the call there honking away and made it back to my rifle which was about 20 yards away and the dogs kept coming. I picked up the rifle and tried to adjust parallax and magnification and no dial would turn. Even tried bare handed and nothing would adjust. The coyotes came in to about 40m of the call and busted me. I stood there cold and unable to do anything but laugh and watch. I packed and went to the warm house. I'd try a few stands today if I wasnt in the Park!
Thanks again!

^^^ that’s a funny story pal! Reminds me of this old joke: one old man asked another old man what is more important- luck or health? The guy said it was luck. The other guy said- no, it’s health. Because yesterday I had a luck laying naked by my side but I didn’t have enough health for it….

JD, 100% man, that’s why I am on this site daily… Certain things I’m too chicken to do so reading this helps me to experience the extreme that I will never do myself….

It may look like I'm out in the middle of nowhere but I'm not too far from safety if the worst were to happen. Lots of good clothing with extra backup gear in the truck means I don't have to worry about the cold. That's the beauty of coyote hunting. Only 30 min in the cold before I'm back in the warm truck.
Working outside all winter helps stay acclimated to the cold temps as well.

2022/01/03

Well this one is from early this year before the snow fell but since I find myself stuck in a hospital waiting room with nothing else to do I may as well throw this hunt on here too.


Early November the timing was not right to be able to go out deer or moose hunting but the one Saturday morning I found some time to head out on a morning hunt.
With a calm west wind I knew exactly where I was headed. A spot discovered last year overlooking a vast meadow of hay bales and meandering creeks was my intended target.
Upon arrival I peeked above the bank of the old lease I had parked in to see a coyote mousing his way along the creek. With no real hide to speak of I slowly crept my way to a bale that would provide adequate cover to sit against.
To my amazement the coyote was too pre occupied with mousing to see me so I made it to the bale safely.
The trusty bite reed was brought into play and it took no more than a few cries before the coyote was headed in on a string.
The coyote conveniently dropped below a rise to give me time to raise the shotgun. At 35 yards he crested the hill to be met with a load of Hornaday #4buck.
As I barely blew on it the first time I went back to the bite reed for a more appealing loud display of rabbit dismay.
Like coyotes are apt to do a scan of the field produced a coyote sitting out in the open like a miraculous apparition.
This coyote must have been one that I left for seed last year as it was way more cautious coming in.
It took another few cries before I was able to unstick this coyote from its seat but it now slowly began to make its way in.
As I watched it slowly circle around me I knew something would have to be done soon as it knew something was up so when it stopped at 200 yards I let him have it with the 20 practical and the 32gr vmax put him down for good.
Never did get to use the new foxpro on this one.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3498f955_c.jpgPXL_20211107_145158439.MP by brad , on Flickr

Keep the coyote hunts coming, well done.

Always enjoying following along on your coyote hunting adventures. Great write ups and great pictures as always. Well done! I was looking for Yotarunner, then remembered your Tikka250 here :) Keep the stories coming!
SS

Just finished reading this whole thread very enjoyable I want to go out but I hate the cold .