4 coyotes down tonight!

mcseal2

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Last 2 nights have been the best calling of my life, 6 yotes in 3 stands.

Tonight I went out again at 3:30 to try calling. Wind was considerably stronger at 15mph from SSE. I set up with the call/decoy on one side of a finger of a pasture draw and I sat next to a little thicket on the other side. The plan was for the call's sound to be able to carry with the wind and coyotes would be able to approach it from straight downwind without scenting me. The plan actually worked! I used a screaming rabbit for 12 minutes with no coyotes so I did a few howls and silence for a bit. I then hit the pup distress and a pair came, they must have been close already. One hung up and the other came in and gave me a broadside 120yd shot. The call went to a different distress on the Foxbang feature and the second came in about 30 seconds later. It came hard and I had to bark to stop it 40yds from the call, got it dropped too. I let the distress run off and on for 10 more minutes and was about ready to leave when I spotted movement. Another pair was coming in the same way as the first. They were coming good until they hit the scent trail from the dead coyotes and they spooked. One gave me a stopped shot at about 130yds but I had to shoot down into his back as he was facing straight away. He dropped at the shot and I swung to the last coyote. I got it stopped with a bark and short howl I improvised with my mouth at 204yds and dropped him too. When I went to gather them all up I discovered the 3rd yote I shot down into had crippled into a hole about 40yds off. He dropped into big grass and must have crawled into it. The blood trail was massive and I'm almost certain his spine was broke, so he didn't survive long just long enough to get out of reach. They are tough suckers. I got pics of the other 3 if I can make them work. These cool misty nights are proving good for coyote calling. This is the first time I've taken more than 2 from one set by myself. The AR is 6 for 6 now if I count the one that made it into the hole. I am sure I'd have recovered him if he wouldn't have had that hole to crawl in, he had to be darn near out of blood.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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May 8, 2014
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Thanks everyone, It's been a blast. This is definitely not the normal success rate around here. I've read before that 1 coyote response from 5 stands is doing great, 1 in 10 is normal. I'd say I usually fall between those somewhere, but as I get my stand set-up and call sequence dialed in it improves toward the upper end. This success rate is just lucky though!

I switched to the FoxPro as my primary call last year. Before that I'd run mouth calls the majority of the time. I have good luck getting coyotes to respond to the mouth calls, the distress sounds I make with them seem to be more effective than the electronic ones for whatever reason. The problem I ran into was coyotes circling downwind or catching me moving and I'd just see a flash as they ran off. Being able to set the FoxPro out further to play the wind has been great for my solo hunting. Also the sound and decoy being in the same place adds realism I think. I also put a little of the Coyote Juice attractant around it to cover my scent from setting it out and add another attractant to the downwind coyote. I think a lot of times they stop when they get a whiff of it to identify what's going on and that's when I shoot. I still love using my mouth calls, but now I mostly save them for when I'm hunting with others and I can set them up to be the primary shooters and I can conceal myself more while calling.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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No luck tonight, sunny, warm, and a bit windy. It was worth a try and fun to get out on such a nice day.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Went calling 4 more evenings making one or two sets each time with no luck. This morning I got one right north of the house when getting ready to take my daughter to daycare. I'll take them how I can get them! I still had the AR out from calling and I barked at him, stopped him at 250yds. It was windy as heck from his tail to head so I held 6" back of the shoulder and it hit perfect. I'm probably going to stop calling for a little while here, let my spots rest and focus my free evenings on scouting for rifle deer season. As soon as deer season ends or I tag out I'll be back after them.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Well I got 2 today. One about 10:40 after I got done feeding but before the sun came out from behind the clouds. It responded at about 8 minutes and started to circle downwind of the call/decoy. I barked and got it stopped at 99yds and hit it with the AR, 55gr V max. It made it about 50yds after the shot despite a great hit, but died on the run. I ate lunch, did chores, and went back out about 3pm. I had no luck on my first 3 sets and didn't have time to go where I planned before dark, so I went back where I shot the one this morning. I did a few howls right off the bat and went to pup distress without any prey sounds due to the time restrictions. I also knew a group was in the area because I heard them last night, definitely more than the single that came in this morning. Also we lost a steer to illness last weekend and the carcass was up that draw. I seem to have more luck with territorial or coyote distress sounds near a carcass than food sounds. I think they are pretty protective of their food source but not hungry. Anyway I was calling tonight and saw a coyote walking around at about 300yds briefly. It wasn't coming in, but was walking parallel to me. I moved the rifle and bipod to cover it's most likely approach as soon as it was out of sight. Almost immediately a coyote popped out of the timber where I'd initially expected them to come from, where the rifle was before, and headed straight for the decoy. I had to make a big move with the gun to get on him, and got spotted at the end of it. He swapped directions but froze just long enough as I barked I got a bullet in him before he took off. Not a bad day. I'm up to 34 on the year now. My buddy came and picked them both up tonight.
 

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mcseal2

mcseal2

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I got a couple more today. It was a misty damp morning again with very little wind. I started early and got cattle fed by 9, threw the camo on, and went calling. I got one on my first set in 3 acre meadow we had mowed next to a big timber draw and a pasture full of big grass we leave empty all year except for calving season. I set up and put on a bird distress sound for less than a minute when a coyote came in at a lope. He popped out of the timber at about 120yds and circled for the downwind side of the call. He never slowed and got within 10ft of the call/Mojo critter before he spooked at it a little. He trotted off 15yds and turned broadside so I dumped him. I ranged it later at 90yds. I was beginning to think I should have taken the moving shot earlier, I was glad he stopped. I made 2 more sets before the sun came out at 10:30 and I quit for the morning.

I got back out this afternoon at 3:30. I made a set next to another area of big grass we calve in. I had been calling for 9 minutes when I saw a coyote moving through the big grass. As he dropped into a low spot out of sight I moved the AR to where I expected him to pop out and hit the button on the Foxgrip II on my bipod to switch to a quiet mouse squeak. He popped out again in the mowed grass and I dropped him at just under 100yds with the AR. I almost hit that one to low, I got the heart but probably the bottom half of it. I try to keep myself in the habit of aiming for the lower chest on coyotes so I don't screw up and over-shoot one at 150yds to 170yds. If I know they are past 200 I aim center, 250 I hold upper back. Past that with my AR I have to start adjusting a lot and am usually better off just not shooting. If I expect shots like that I take the bolt 243 usually. This coyote I was trying to shoot quick, he was getting close to the call and I didn't want him to spook. It's a tight area where a few steps in any direction have them in big grass. It worked, the AR and I are 10 for 10 this fall on coyotes now and I'm on 36 for the year. It took me a while and some practice to get good with the AR's after growing up on bolt guns but I'm improving.

I only got one more set in and it came up empty. I drove to another spot I hunt but found a friend and his nephew sighting in their new 243's there so I visited with them for a while and headed home.

yote 12 17 17.jpgyote2 12 17 17.jpg
 

Broomd

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Damn fine! Good predator control is so important, kudos to you!

You've got me inspired to get a few...
 
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Nice work. Currently it is breeding season, so those calling might think about using that to your advantage.
 

Broomd

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Broomd, you get to go after wolves, right? Do you ever see them while hunting? Do you have to call them in?

I've only ever seen one here, it was Nov 8th '15 in the valley in front of my place--big white wolf, no doubt at all. I heard one down in the Bruneau/Jarbidge area in South Idaho whilst bighorn hunting, never saw him though.
Ironic, I was talking to a neighbor last night, she called to invite us to her annual Christmas gig, and she mentioned that her husband was out hiking recently with their rot/pitbull mix when two wolves started chasing the dog until they saw the dog's owner quickly coming down the trail to see wth was going on.
They are out there, fortunately their presence around the homes isn't too profound. And the deer know this and likely evade depredation.

I'll be calling for 'yotes, maybe a wolf will come in if I'm lucky.
 

Muledeerhunter

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Sorry California
I've only ever seen one here, it was Nov 8th '15 in the valley in front of my place--big white wolf, no doubt at all. I heard one down in the Bruneau/Jarbidge area in South Idaho whilst bighorn hunting, never saw him though.
Ironic, I was talking to a neighbor last night, she called to invite us to her annual Christmas gig, and she mentioned that her husband was out hiking recently with their rot/pitbull mix when two wolves started chasing the dog until they saw the dog's owner quickly coming down the trail to see wth was going on.
They are out there, fortunately their presence around the homes isn't too profound. And the deer know this and likely evade depredation.

I'll be calling for 'yotes, maybe a wolf will come in if I'm lucky.
Good luck.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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May 8, 2014
Messages
2,671
I've only ever seen one here, it was Nov 8th '15 in the valley in front of my place--big white wolf, no doubt at all. I heard one down in the Bruneau/Jarbidge area in South Idaho whilst bighorn hunting, never saw him though.
Ironic, I was talking to a neighbor last night, she called to invite us to her annual Christmas gig, and she mentioned that her husband was out hiking recently with their rot/pitbull mix when two wolves started chasing the dog until they saw the dog's owner quickly coming down the trail to see wth was going on.
They are out there, fortunately their presence around the homes isn't too profound. And the deer know this and likely evade depredation.

I'll be calling for 'yotes, maybe a wolf will come in if I'm lucky.

Good luck, hope both cooperate.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Nice work. Currently it is breeding season, so those calling might think about using that to your advantage.

Only 1 of the last 10 has come into only prey distress without coyote vocals being added. We haven't had any tough weather to make them hungry yet though, its turning colder now.
 
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Only 1 of the last 10 has come into only prey distress without coyote vocals being added. We haven't had any tough weather to make them hungry yet though, its turning colder now.


Toss out a female howl, later followed up by some female wimpers, simulating she is being bred; your likely to get an alpha male come in. Stay away from any barks. I learned this one years ago, but it's often used this time of year.
 
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