I Can't Believe My Luck (or Lack of Luck?)

[BlueDevil]

Well it's been a brutally cold last couple of days here on the prairies with temps easily into the -30's and that's before you factor in the windchill.

Yesterday I decided to head out midmorning just wanting to see if anything would be moving and give the new call another spin. Saw absolutely nothing, no coyotes, no birds, no people nadda! Just about froze to death too, LOL. Needless to say I decided to head home early and warm up. I can't blame animals for not coming out either, LOL

Today was slightly colder and I somehow made it out to another spot where I've seen/heard coyotes in the past. There was high amount of deer tracks in this pasture so there has got to be some predators kicking around. I put the Mighty Atom at the top of small mound right beside a nice sized rock hidden in the shadows maybe 75 yards upwind (with a nice crosswind) of where I was (I'm on the downwind side). I figured if a coyote was going to come out it would come out of the adjacent bushes and if it tried to wind the caller I'd be sitting aye-ok in a rockpile behind a decent sized boulder.

I started with some distress calls for several min's at a time and pausing for a couple of min's in between listening/watching for anything to show up. Nothing was stirring, not even a mouse! LOL! So I figured I'd try a Coyote Pup in Distress, and I was soo shocked to get responses that seemed to be coming in three different directions. I'm thinking JACKPOT baby! A few min's later a coyote decides to pop out of the brush! It was probably a good 100 yards away just standing there I thought about shooting him but thought I could get him in closer. I switch to a Distressed Rabbit and not 3 seconds after he hits light speed and comes barreling towards the direction of the call. I'm thinking to myself "Here We Go Again!" trying to keep my composure as he gets closer to the call I decide to let out a couple of my own barks, still nothing, so I stand up and yell "Hey", he aint stopping (I think the caller was way louder than me) and at this point what comes to mind is "OMG he's going to eat or trample the call!" The coyote actually charges all the way to call and stepped on it before bolting back in the direction it came from at this point I unleash Hell's Fury, unfortunately hell must not have gotten the memo and I missed on all three shots!

I ended up talking to Bill at Wildlife Technologies for something else and I mentioned what had happened and he had suggested if a coyote is charging towards the call to hit the Play/Pause button to stop the caller and he may stop. If he bolts in another direction, I should try and get him to stop by using a Pup Distress. Its back to work for me, haven't worked since 2009 LOL! Soonest I'll be able to get back out is on Monday!

Btw, the call worked flawlessly in the cold have had no issues with the remote or anything like that.

[The Baron of Bufflehead]

Great story Mark! You called another in, which is a total sucess in my books. There is sooo much to learn about coyote calling. You are being bitten by the challenge, I think. I still love goose hunting - fooling geese on a beautiful fall morning with friends and having lots of laughs is great. But matching wits with the coyotes and making those long shots if needed really striked a chord with me. I guess as a small bore rifle nut it is the perfect excuse to buy more guns too.:rolleyes:

Muting the call/barking are both tricks I see in all the videos, but last time out when I had 3 coyotes coming I totally forgot those basics too - it all happens so fast when the adreneline is pumping.:rf:

Keep the great stories coming!:TT:

[hooked on waterfowl]

Way to go Again Mark, that's gotta be quite the adreline rush. Having a coyote answering the call and running right at ya.

[kirsch]

Great story. When you get them coming in like that, it can be hard to stop them at times. The other rule I typically go by is when it stops it dies. If a coyote stops inside of 200 yards and especially if he offers me a broadside shot, it dies. Too much can happen as you have shown when they come barreling in on you. If they are facing me, then I like to get them inside of 150 unless it is really calm out. This doesn't always work. The only time I get greedy and keep waiting is if I see there are more coming and then I might wait a bit. At least for me a standing shot at 100-200 yards is a chip-shot compared to 50-75 on the dead run. Keep up the good work.

[BlueDevil]

Thanks for the all the advice, I can't hardly wait to try it again on Mon. this thing called work seems to always get in the way of everything! :rof: