This certainly isn't what the benchrest boys meant by "Heavy Varmint", but it seems appropriate this morning...

After killing a young shoat the other night, I'd moved the hog carcass out into an open flat where I could use it for coyote bait. The recent cool weather had slowed the "ripening" of that carcass and I'd found no sign around it. It's just as well: we had company over the weekend and I couldn't get out to provide overwatch without neglecting my "host" duties.

I slipped away from the house early yesterday morning and was in position above the hog carcass a full hour before sunrise...and the bright moon and my Swarovskis showed a dim coyote form tugging away at the dead pig. Decent shooting light was at least twenty minutes away; nothing to do about it but wait. With maybe five more minutes needed, the 'yote suddenly got nervous. He backed away from the carcass, made a half-circle around it...and ran. Hmmphf. Vampire...scared of daylight. Daylight can mean gunfire. I can't argue with him there.

This morning found me back in position: same Bat-time, same Bat-channel (you'll get the reference if there's enough gray in what's left of your thinning hair). The black lump of my hog carcass looks awfully lonely out there. Crud, I thought I might get another chance at him. Minutes crawl by; the country gets marginally brighter. I glance back and discover that my hog lump has doubled in size...he's back!. And a bit more comfortable this time, too...he's really getting stuck into that carcass. C'mon, Mr.Sun...get a little closer. A few more minutes pass. I check through the scope. Maybe. Hang on Mr. Coyote...just another couple of minutes. He's starting to get antsy; he's spending more time looking and listening than feeding. He backs away from the carcass, head up...broadside. If I'm gonna do it, it better be now.

The big rifle roars and recoil shoves me out of view. As I reach for the bolt to cycle another round into the chamber, I hear a yelp from the coyote and see him jump, swap ends and run behind cover and out of view. I don't see him reappear anywhere. Still, this morning I'm toting my old warhorse Sako Safari Grade .375 H&H...and I know where the crosshairs were when the trigger broke. I let it get a bit lighter before walking the 150-ish yards to the now pretty-well-chewed hog carcass. Forty-three steps away lies Mr. Coyote, the 300 grain Hornady solid having taken him cleanly through the engine room.

Greed. Gets us every time.

Mark

Nice shooting! Might as well take the big guns out every now and then for some varmints.

Nice!

Yeah, of late I seem to be doing things pretty bass-ackwards.

My last two hogs were taken (respectively) with a .221 Fireball and a 6mm/.223. Then I drop this coyote with a .375. I'm shooting the bigger stuff with the little stuff and the little stuff with the bigger stuff.

I'd worry about it...but everything keeps falling over dead!

Mark

.221 Fireball boar


6mm/.223 hoglet (and bait for the coyote)

Yep, definitely heavy varmint class!

"Use enough dynamite there, Butch?"

Nice........but a 17"something" would've dropped him in his tracks.

Nice Sako rifles too!

Kevin

Sounds like a good time! I love popping coyotes when I get the chance.

When it comes to hunting varmints, about any gun I have suits me, a miss does not bother me, and a good shot excites me not much..Ive hunted coyotes with a 22 LR and with a 450-400 double rifle BS 58 Cal. muzzle loader, and every thing in between...

Thats just part of the fun. Same with rock chucks, and PDogs..I get more misses with the odd ball stuff btw..

ONe of my favorites varmint hunts is a walk about with my 25-35 or my 6x45 Sako African custom rifle, all off hand shooting, no rests allowed, probably makes for a better population in the are for next year, its a kick for sure, almost as much fun as running Jack Rabbits, but I combine the two hunts together..

Back when I live in north central Wyoming (decades ago), I had a lot of prairie dog shooting. I often would take out left over ammo from previous hunting seasons and shoot up; 16 rounds of 300 H&H with 200 grain Nosler PT, 14 rounds of 30-06 180 Partition, etc. It was better than pulling the bullets and breaking them down. Our group shoots often involved attempting to make 500 yard shots...and sometimes the P-D's paid a price!

Ray, your walking / offhand shooting sounds like a lot of fun. I did a little of it for Pot Guts on sat. with my .22 Hornet Contender Carbine. If you have any wind it makes for a real challenge. DW

Were you out of ammo for your .458 Lott?

Well, I'd had my .416 Rigby out of its stock, so it wasn't sighted in and "good to go"!

Mark