A pal & I was in NE today hitting up some of our ranches in -4 to +16 degrees today, lucky very little breezes made a big difference.
We pulled into a spot by a cattle corral/barn/feeder making all sorts of racket & went down the hillside seeing fresh as all get out coyote tracks all over the corrals heading into the gullies/arroyos below the cattle.
Getting ready to set up along a fence line I look up the hill and maybe at 280 yards behind the truck I see what looks to be a calf walking right where we just came through then think its the ranches dog...NO WAY in the same instant I say mangy coyote.
I look at my pal 40 yards below me and say hey dog at corral and we hit the snow as I whip my sticks up, plant the Savage .223 I built in them and in the hard packed snow proceeded to miss it by a fraction. I only have it dialed in at 100ys so far and held a tad to high on its shoulders I believe uphill.
Well heck it busts full afterburner straight towards me.
Im trying to follow it in my scope and its so fast I cant keep up and its coming right down my 12 o'clock. About 30 feet from me I bark at it.
Dang, it just spins away from me without stopping and I hear my pal barking at it as Im trying to re-pick it back up in my scope. I get it back in line and lead it by a mildot and fired off a round dropping it on the crest of a gully a millisecond before it would of been into obamas saftey net & escaped justice.
My pal fires a split second later as its spinning.
All that and we didn't even have to set up.
It was perhaps at the corrals when we came in, it came right where we walked, took a whiz as I laid down the 1st round. We figured it was sleeping in the barn maybe when we came in. Its tracks were all over the corrals & barns & perhaps was living under the bales of hay just to survive & stay warm, the spot is a rabbit haven also & looked well fed enough.
Another set we had a pair come it and failed to respond to the calling and decided to mouse at 700 yards or more. I said lets get around them to catch them as they go over the hill.
We got up walked out and they didn't even blink....good for us.
We drive a mile down the trail, 2/3 mile up a 2 track and park at a oil rig. Wind in our face, walked in the 1/3 mile above the bowl they are in & set up above them in tall grasses as we looked at each other and said...the stools in the truck would be nice here.
My pal played titmouse and about 5 min I see a bouncing coyote head in the tall grasses and was ready at arms and dropped it when it stopped and looked back.
We never saw the other one as we were over the crest it was below. Not bad, a very well furred up male.
Another set we were maybe 200 yards from a dirt road & set up along a wind/snow break tree lined WIA that we thought look pretty good along w/the tall grasses we have seen most of them in today dinking around.
10 min into the set and we have 3 coyotes coming in at full throttle to the howling & female whimpers looking to kick the intruders rear end. We could see their hairs standing up on end.
The grass was taller than they were and seeing them jump as they are running in was interesting. As I was pulling my trigger on the one I saw it drops out of my line of fire to a thwap.
The other 2 are gone before I can refind them in the grass. My pal took this one out. He was on another one, but lost it in the grass, swung to the next in line which was the one I was one, but NOT fast enough on the trigger this time.
He was also very nicely furred up. Both had nice red/rust color on them and white tail tails in the mix.
Shot 4 of the 10 we saw today.
We pulled into a spot by a cattle corral/barn/feeder making all sorts of racket & went down the hillside seeing fresh as all get out coyote tracks all over the corrals heading into the gullies/arroyos below the cattle.
Getting ready to set up along a fence line I look up the hill and maybe at 280 yards behind the truck I see what looks to be a calf walking right where we just came through then think its the ranches dog...NO WAY in the same instant I say mangy coyote.
I look at my pal 40 yards below me and say hey dog at corral and we hit the snow as I whip my sticks up, plant the Savage .223 I built in them and in the hard packed snow proceeded to miss it by a fraction. I only have it dialed in at 100ys so far and held a tad to high on its shoulders I believe uphill.
Well heck it busts full afterburner straight towards me.
Im trying to follow it in my scope and its so fast I cant keep up and its coming right down my 12 o'clock. About 30 feet from me I bark at it.
Dang, it just spins away from me without stopping and I hear my pal barking at it as Im trying to re-pick it back up in my scope. I get it back in line and lead it by a mildot and fired off a round dropping it on the crest of a gully a millisecond before it would of been into obamas saftey net & escaped justice.
My pal fires a split second later as its spinning.
All that and we didn't even have to set up.
It was perhaps at the corrals when we came in, it came right where we walked, took a whiz as I laid down the 1st round. We figured it was sleeping in the barn maybe when we came in. Its tracks were all over the corrals & barns & perhaps was living under the bales of hay just to survive & stay warm, the spot is a rabbit haven also & looked well fed enough.
Another set we had a pair come it and failed to respond to the calling and decided to mouse at 700 yards or more. I said lets get around them to catch them as they go over the hill.
We got up walked out and they didn't even blink....good for us.
We drive a mile down the trail, 2/3 mile up a 2 track and park at a oil rig. Wind in our face, walked in the 1/3 mile above the bowl they are in & set up above them in tall grasses as we looked at each other and said...the stools in the truck would be nice here.
My pal played titmouse and about 5 min I see a bouncing coyote head in the tall grasses and was ready at arms and dropped it when it stopped and looked back.
We never saw the other one as we were over the crest it was below. Not bad, a very well furred up male.
Another set we were maybe 200 yards from a dirt road & set up along a wind/snow break tree lined WIA that we thought look pretty good along w/the tall grasses we have seen most of them in today dinking around.
10 min into the set and we have 3 coyotes coming in at full throttle to the howling & female whimpers looking to kick the intruders rear end. We could see their hairs standing up on end.
The grass was taller than they were and seeing them jump as they are running in was interesting. As I was pulling my trigger on the one I saw it drops out of my line of fire to a thwap.
The other 2 are gone before I can refind them in the grass. My pal took this one out. He was on another one, but lost it in the grass, swung to the next in line which was the one I was one, but NOT fast enough on the trigger this time.
He was also very nicely furred up. Both had nice red/rust color on them and white tail tails in the mix.
Shot 4 of the 10 we saw today.
;D.
