Day 7 was tough. The first stand was a CRP field I had called coyotes in before but this time no CRP; it was now a big wheat field. I called anyway but nothing came. The next stand was a pretty good hike to a pond dam in the middle of a block of native prairie. As soon as I blew the call a coyote stands up. It was 375 yards away and kept looking at me and back to it’s right. I knew there was a coyote in there somewhere but I couldn’t find it. I was in a bad spot for shooting prone because of the tall sagebrush on the pond dam and I’m even worse shooting off of sticks than I am shooting running coyotes, so that was out. I kept trying to coax the coyote in but to no avail. It spins to go away and that’s when I see the other coyote. Now they are both leaving. I looked to my right and see another coyote that had come in from behind, caught my scent and was now running away. Geez, three coyotes and I blew it on all of them.
I didn’t see another coyote until the last stand of the day, but did get more cool pictures. I like taking pictures of old homesteads. Compared to today’s standards, these wouldn’t qualify for a single person residence; no telling how many families was raised in them. I promise you though; life was a lot tougher then.
The doorframe will give you and indicator of size on the house below!
The pile of wire is as big as the home!
I’ve called 13 stands in fantastic coyote country and only saw coyotes on the first stand. I was bound and determined to kill a coyote on this day. The last stand found me close to another ranch house. I knew the rancher had a dead cow pile somewhere close to my location but did not know if anything had died recently. I decided to start off with a series of long lonesome howls then waited a couple of minutes before starting in with the rabbit call. Fifteen minutes into my sequence and nothing had arrived. Ever have a feeling something was coming? I did on this stand so I continued lying prone in the snow. At minute 18 one large male skylines itself at 230 yards; I don’t even think twice and immediately settle the crosshairs on his chest and squeeze. I hear the whack and the coyote is out of sight. Off I go to pick up the one and only coyote of the day and can’t find him! I’ve said it before, but the .204 does not kill coyotes like the Swift. Very seldom do I get a runner with the Swift. It’s like the Hammer of Thor! On the other hand, seldom will the .204 blow large holes in the hide. Everything is a compromise.
I look and look and cannot find the coyote. Of course I’m promising myself to never ever come coyote hunting without the dogs about now too! I make larger and larger circles from where I last saw him and eventually stumble across a dead coyote perfectly camouflaged in the grass. I was ecstatic! It was a really large male with worn down teeth. An old dog, kind of like me!
Day 8 was another tough one. I see a badger on the way to the first stand but he won’t pose for a good photo. It’s a beautiful morning, lots of frost on the pumpkin and I’m in the middle of nowhere. What could be better?
I call several stands but the only activity was a mangy coyote getting in behind me before I can see him. Around noon I finally get a coyote to come in to my calling and he stops at 75 yards. That was that. No more coyotes were seen or called for the rest of the day.
As you can see in the picture with my pickup, it was what I consider a perfect calling day. Cold, frosty, not much wind and wide open country. And of course, the coyotes don’t come. Go figure!
The forecast for the next two days wasn’t so good: windy and warm. I called the lovely wife and told her I would only hunt ½ day on Saturday and then head home. The country up here has a lot of gumbo clay. The last thing you want is driving around in it during a good thaw.
Day 9 began as all the others, cold and calm. My goal for this excursion was to go home with 20 coyotes and I was 5 short. I show up at my ranching buddies house and drive by when there is barely enough light to see. Of course the lights are on as he’ll be feeding cows shortly. My first stand is literally a rifle shot from his house. I’ve called this spot before and know the coyotes use the drainage below his house as their highway to and from their daytime bedding areas. I’ve hidden the truck and crawl up on a small knoll overlooking the bottom. It’s not very light but should be enough so to see any coyotes coming. I make one squawk and immediately see two coyote in the drainage, about 300 yards away. The male dog has me pegged and I don’t move a whisker (I haven’t shaved in 13 days by this time). We stare at each other for a couple of minutes and then he comes my way. I get in the prone position and wait to see what’s going to happen. I’m on the edge of a wheat field and the vegetation is taller to my right and very short to my left. I expect him to come out in the wheat field so I scoot into the field past the taller grass. Guess what? He didn’t read the rulebook and drops down below the field and pops out 25 yards from me. Problem is I can’t see him through the grass on the edge of the field so have to pick the gun up and move it 2 feet. Of course he sees this and takes a couple leaps back to where he came. Fortunately he stops for a split second and I have another first stand coyote. His partner took off.
Here’s a picture looking down the drainage.
And here’s the same picture but looking into the wheat field.
I didn’t skin the coyote and threw him into the truck and take off to the next stand but before I get there, one of my favorite radio shows came on the radio. How many of you listen to “Life at The Pond”? For those of you who don’t, here’s what I pulled off their website “Each episode applies solid, biblically-based truths to life lessons that build character in your kids and provide more than a splash of humor along the way from a crew building lifelong friendships at The Pond.”
I’ve been listening to the show for many years. Matter of fact, my son and I would listen to it each Saturday morning on our way to the snowboarding slopes when he was still at home. He’s 24 now! My how time flies. Anyway, I was taking a break and listening to the show with good memories of past adventures with my boy flooding my thoughts. Sitting there, I looked to my left and much to my surprise was a coyote mouseing with the pickup in plain sight. Ok, enough of memories. I put the truck in neutral and slowly roll back down the hill. Once out of sight, I jump out, grab the gun and calls and crawl up on the hill I was now hiding behind. The coyote was still there but would not come any closer. I kept calling though and sure enough; another coyote comes up drainage and provides me with an easy frontal shot. As you can see by the picture below, I drug the coyote to where my pickup was sitting and the pickup shows evidence of a quick and quiet exit! Now, every time I hear Life at the Pond, I will think of this scenario.
I had one more opportunity at a coyote that came in down wind and was within a second of pulling the trigger when it stopped at 335 yards, but it caught my scent and was gone.
On the way out my ranching buddy was back at the house so I stopped and showed him a pickup full of coyote skins and told him 6 were killed within ½ mile of his house. He was extremely appreciative and asked me to come back anytime. You can bet I will.
That’s it, 17 coyotes over 13 days of hunting. To say I am blessed is a huge understatement. I have a wonderful wife who doesn’t mind me being gone as long as I call her every night to confirm I’m alive. A great, reliable truck that rolled 180,000 miles on this trip, and millions of acres to hunt. Montana is truly a fantastic state that believes in providing hunting opportunities to those who like to pursue game. We have lots of public land, both state and federal, more and more Block Management each year, and landowners who are receptive to hunting, especially coyote hunting! One day I’ll get to heaven, but until then, this will do!