Yotarunner
Custom Call Maker
The morning started out pretty great. Plans to go to a function with the family were changed around and I was suddenly given a whole extended morning to coyote hunt!
Getting to the first stand location things were looking promising as I stepped out the door right next to a set of coyote tracks.
The first stand produced nothing and as the day went on a pattern began to develop.
With the south wind my stands were forcing me into a position that had the sun beaming down on my face making me stand out like a Christmas tree in July.
After sitting a well known solid stand and only producing one coyote that watched from 600 yards out my mind was made up. Coyotes were pinpointing me the moment I started calling.
Knowing handcalls were not helping me keep from being pinpointed I dug deep into the depths of my truck and located the foxpro.
After making a move to a new area my stand was layed out with staying out of sight in mind.
Listening to some old advice I got from the late great Redfrog.
"everyone insists on skylining themselves to get into big coulees cause they feel the need to see coyotes coming. Sit back from the edge and call them up to you and they won't see you setup."
With the Foxpro in front of me and a large scrub bush around me I began playing the dying bunny blues.
Roughly 5 minutes In I was rewarded with contestant number 1 which crested the hill from the coulee (to the right of the bush in the picture) as planned and trotted its way in.
Excited for the shotgun kill that was inevitably coming, the moment the coyote dipped behind a bush the Browning was leveled on the coyote and a swarm of Hornady copper plated BB was on its way.
Realizing later later that in the excitement for the shotgun kill the distance to the coyote was misjudged so at almost 50 yards it yelped at the shot and barked as it ran to the bush before expiring.
Being early in the stand pup distress was put on and in almost no time contestant number 2 was flying in at a dead sprint for the call. With no time for smooth careful positioning this time I sat upright and hammered the coyote at 25 yards, his momentum carrying him just feet from the call. Later I weighed this big male at 37lbs
One more time to pup distress was put on and 2 minutes later contestant number 3 was standing on the same trail the first coyote came from. Seeing that it wasn't overly excited to come in the swift was leveled on its chest and with a BANG-WHUMP the third coyote was down at 170 yards.
After some photos and video I packed up and began to explore some new land.
Historically snow has this area locked down by now but as you can see roads are free and clear.
After one more dry stand I decided to head to the back corner of the property and found myself walking in to a bit of an awkward spot. There was a hillside that was perfect vantage point over the whole area but it was about as barren as a parking lot.
Not wanting to go back or sit in a bad position I parked myself next to a large rock in the middle of the hill and pretty much hugged the rock as I lay on my side hoping my grey camo would make me look like a part of the rock.
10minutes in a flash of movement caught my eye and before I could move my rifle a coyote stood at the edge of the bush to my left. As it looked at the foxpro confused, the Tikka was hastily brought into position and with a loud resounding WHOPP coyote #4 was down for the count.
Pup distress was only on for a minute when off in the distance I spied a coyote slowly ambling it's way over. After what seemed like forever it finally showed up in range and at 130 yards coyote #5 was down!
For those that are interested I will likely be posting a story of a more in depth stand breakdown on my Instagram @trophy_country_coyotes
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