Trying to sneak in a few nights as season comes to an end. This is an especially busy time of year and with spring it turns to hunt when you can, instead of hunt when you want.
I was able to get out last Saturday with my son and grandson for a few stands until we got rained out. On the first stand Matt was calling and had 2 respond to a lone howl. One from each direction.
The one that responded from upwind worked it's way through a draw and disappeared for a little while, then reappeared almost 1/2 mile away. He worked him for quite awhile and finally got him committed on a pup distress. This was the first nighttime coyote the grandson has seen called. This is a poor picture but the only one I have.
Made a couple of dry stands and on the 4th stand set up over looking a creek with farm ground between it and us. Had one come to baby cottontail almost instantly and soon after it started to rain, so we hastily retreated for the night. They took a picture as I was breaking down the stand and getting the gear stowed. I don't have that picture.
Wednesday night was the next opportunity for me and looked at the time like maybe the last for the year, as the forecast was for 5 days of high winds and some rain. The coyotes were howling an hour before dark so I wanted to be on stand at dark. I was planning stands all evening and on the way to the 1st one was driving past a favorite daytime stand and hijacked the plan to make one there. It was on a flat hilltop between 2 draws with a pond at the head of each draw. I had a couple hundred yards of visibility North and South and 1/4 mile East and 3/4 mile West with a SE breeze. There was a cowherd 300 yards to my SE.
I started with MFK C'mere lonely howl and had an immediate response from 1 coyote pretty close to the East and 3 more 1/2 mile or more to the West. Within a couple of minutes I had them coming from both directions. The one from the East was moving slower and a little toward the cows and the 2 from the West were coming faster and straight in. I wondered which would be in range first and the reaction of the others to the shot.
The coyote from the East got a little to close to the cows, many of which had baby calves, and 2 cows picked it up and ran it back out of sight. I switched my attention to the 2 from the West. One had sat down to watch and the other had started the circle to the downwind at about 500 yards. It winded me, turned inside out and headed over the far hill. This was not working out at all how I envisioned it.
I still had a coyote sitting 1/2 mile West so I waited several minutes, watching it and watching for the one the cows ran off to return, then played Cals, Where You At. I had an immediate vocal response close and straight North. It was howling and I was scanning side to side quickly and was finally able to find a pair of ears and the top inch of his head behind some tall grass, 150 yards out. It would stick it's chin in the air and howl but 1/2 head was all I was seeing. Tempted, but I smooched and it stepped out for a clear shot. When I flipped my scanner back down I saw one 250 yards out walking away from the shallow draw to the North, looking over it's shoulder. 1st shot hit a little far back so it took a 2nd to finish it off.
I checked back on my sitter to the West and it hadn't moved so it was time for some fight. It still didn't move but I soon had a pair coming hard from a long way straight North. The back one decided to sit and watch also but the 1st kept coming. Dumped him at 125 yards after he had run right by the first one.
When I checked back on my now 2 sitters, they were both leaving so time to move on.
2nd stand was 1 1/2 miles South at the head of a brushy, horseshoe draw in an area that has 4 contiguous sections without a road. I've called a lot of coyotes here both day and night and it's one of my favorite spots for any kind of a Southerly wind. The draw runs from the SW corner to 1/3 mile from the North line and then horseshoes to the SE corner.
I stayed awhile but this one was over pretty quick. I started again with C'mere lonely howl and had a pair respond, then head my way from the East. They kept coming so I stayed quiet. At 125 yards I dropped the smaller of the 2 (female) and the male started to run off. Poundtown turned him around and I shot him within 20 yards of the female. I kept calling awhile but no more takers.
The next stand I set up on some coyotes I heard from the 2nd stand but blanked. The 3rd stand I set up on some fresh scat in the road but blanked on it also.
The 4th stand was next to some farm ground bordered by a small strip of hay ground. I went through a series of calls and had gotten a vocal response early to a pair howl, but no takers yet. I was about to call it but thought I'd give Pup Distress 3 a try and had one coming hard from where I had gotten a response earlier. I had a hard time getting this one stopped, I turned off the call at 100 yds. then growled, woofed and finally yelled. I shot it just beyond the call and the scope was full. This one was a big, mangy male.
One more dry stand with a lot of vocal responses but no takers and I was done.
It looks like we've got a reprieve from the forecast wind tonight so I'll try them one more time before the close.
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