Met Charlie at a deserted K mart building that had been closed about 4 years ago. Some thing I never under stood why a city will allow construction of a big building while another one sets vacant. Maybe it is because they collect a bit of tax from both?

This is going to be Charlies an my last hunt together since Brent is due home today and be ready to hunt Saturday. Sunday is the meeting and I will either throw my name in the hat or draw a new partner for two weeks.

We throw Charles gear into my truck take the main road out of town to the west about 5 miles.
Make a right onto a narrow paved road for about 7 miles to arrive at the first farm we are going to hunt today. Fred Cooper is a old fellow who keeps a few feeder steers and some heifers. Farms about 120 acres to make feed for them. Has a 40 acre wood lot. This is flat land on the south west edge of the Saginaw valley. We set the decoys out and a pair of callers.
Slid back to a big Autumn Olive bush in a fence line.
Ran the piglet in distress sound and the yappy dog sound. Took about 15 minutes to draw a single coyote out into Charlie's zone. At 30 minutes we had seen nothing else so gathered the gear, went and looked a the big male coyote.


We drive about 10 more miles north come to the Ralph Wainright beef farm. Trucks Temp read out showed 31F. They raise about 400 head of beef, the kind not sold in stores as these have white faces and reddish brown hides.
They have a small around 15 acre wood lot but it butts up to a neighboring wood lot. We again set out two callers and decoys. Ran the Piglet and yappy dog again. Wait the full 30 minutes and nothing is showing.

This time we go another half mile to the cross road and turn west once again. Temp is dropping like a rock, is down to 23F and the wind has picked up also.
Go about 12 miles and reach the Rick Rodgers family farm, they keep a few fowl on the place and raise sheep and a few milking goats.
We have been hunting this farm for a couple years, I’ve hunted here once before.

We make our way down a lane to a brushy draw only gets pastured as the two hill sides are to steep to be safe to farm with tractors. Wasn’t the case 70 years ago when they farmed it a bit with draft horses. We set the decoys out about 40 yards out and the callers about 50 yards behind us since there wasn't a great amount of area for separation of us and the caller and decoys.
Caller was working the piglet sound when we saw the 2 coyotes working thru the brush trying to work the wind. Then you could see they had seen the decoys which held their attention as Charlie and I raised the rifles on our X sticks. Charlie triggers so I fire at the lead coyote it runs about 15 feet and is done. I look at Charlie and he does the thumbs up.

Gather our decoys and go look at a male coyote Mine and Charlies female. both have worn food pads and teeth. Wrap them up and skid them to our callers and then back to the truck.
The wind has really picked up My hands have gotten pretty cold while they were out of my gloves and muff.

Back on the road farther west a near 5 miles we come to a wide spot in the road. Stop at a greasy spoon For a coffee to go for Charlie. He had gotten cold at the last set in the wind too. I always take a thermos of tea to sip between sets.

Make to the Mike Murdock holdings, trucks temp read out as I shut it down is now 17F, radio had just said wind chill was 5F. As we grab the gear from the truck I grab a couple hand warmer packs and toss one pack to Charlie. Murdocks are into a bit of every thing. Have several semis they haul sugar beets with during the season, haul fertilizer in the spring and also lime. I have no idea how many acres they farm as it is a bunch. Eric showed me a news paper clipping once they had 4 million that year in soybean sales alone. They have a roughly 40 acre grassy brush choked sloth on the main farm we were going to try to pull some coyotes out of.

Make our way back set the decoys out near the edge along with the callers We had decided we would make this set 45 minutes instead of the normal 30 minutes. We rain the piglet and yappy dog sound for 20 minutes. Let be silent for 5 then started the Alph female mating sound. At 45 minutes we had seen nothing.

The hand warmers had kept our hands warmer but the rest of our bodies was frozen. We decided to quit hunting for the day.
Even the dumbest coyote was not going out hunting in the brutally cold wind.

We back tracked to the greasey spoon so Charlie could get another coffee to sip on the way back to his truck. I asked before we got to the greasey spoon if he want to eat lunch there or wait.
Waiting worked for him would be near 12:30 when we reached town we decided to go to a donut/coffee shop and have our lunch. They sell a very nice steak hoogie there and the coffee is great as is the donuts.
It is roll up the rim to win time also. Charlie won a free coffee, I got a please play again. I say please pay again.

As we are eating I tell Charlie I hav enjoyed hunting within and if he ever needs a partner again give me a call.
We seprate with a see you Sunday.


Al