Old one for an old one

A

AWS

Retired PM Staff
I got out again today, my birthday tomorrow 78. First stand Mrs Cottontail about five minutes in I see one flashing in and out of the brush. He stopped behind mesquite brush a couple times and was about 20 yards out from the caller and stopped to look at the decoy. I was sure it was a coyote but there was something strange about it, well that 6mm ARC dropped him in his tracks and again a head on shot, no damage or even evidence of an entrance. I drug him back to the truck and still no blood,

Well when I got to him I realized why he looked strange,.No Ears. Coyotes usually come to the call witheir ears at full alert this guy had none.

Another big coyote, there was another about 5 minutes behind him but never stopped where you could get a shot and bailed as soon as it got a wiff of the dead one.
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On to set two 11AM
 
Nice going Erich. That's crazy about the ears, but just nature screwing up every once in awhile I suppose. Does it have a stubby tail too? Or is it just the picture making it look that way?

Happy birthday! My birthday tomorrow as well. It'll be my 56th trip through the calendar.
 
Full sized tail. The base of the ears are there and the edges grown over, looks like they were cut or chewed if we were farther north I'd almost suspect frozen. But here I doubt that. I can almost see Old Mexico from here.
 
Congrats, I'm sure many others and including me hope they are still able to get out and enjoy hunting when or if we reach 78 yrs old.. ive taken my Grandpa who will be 80 in few weeks out for a few quick sets here and there, those memories will always be with me
 
Wow, thats one rough lookin dog! Old animals like that are few and far between, and didnt get old by being stupid. To me, advanced age is the biggest mark of a trophy animal. Love getting a scarred up old critter with worn out teeth. Oldest animal ive killed so far was a 25 yr old sow black bear. Not sure if ill ever top that. But ill keep tryin.
 
That's a first for me. Never seen one with no ears or even missing one. Teeth say he has seen a few winters. Congrats on being able to go at 78. I am just a few behind you.
 
I had one on trail camera 2 years running that had 1 flop ear. Thought it was a fluke but year 2 proved it was a permanent thing.
 
He was surprisingly fat, nearly a quarter inch right up against the pelt and good sized globs fat on the back end. I skinned him out as he has a nice pelt, really long guard hairs on his back and nice color that I like. His next dump was going to be full of mesquite beans. I thought with the lack of teeth(he looks a little like me with my partials out) he'd be hitting a carcass somewhere. No serious scaring on the face or neck. He weighed 28#, big for down here. The one the other day was 29 but he'd been feeling on a carcass somewhere. That's one thing about down here, there are range cows everywhere so you can be .miles from a ranch and there is cattle roaming. Up in the Gila Nat. Forest they have a problem with feral cattle..

I still have ears, they just don't work very well.
 
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