Yesterday afternoon we were going to town since the county plow truck had been by sanding and plowing the ice.

I am half day dreaming as I get to a area I have been looking at to hunt coyotes but haven't taken the time to look up who is the owner. As I start down the hill a coyote runs across the road into these peoples yard and stands there looking back. I stopped and look to where it had came from too but saw nothing. Decided I am not in any hurry to get to town so I go knock on the door, a lady I would guess was in her mid 60's answers the door and I told her about the coyote and wondered if they would allow me and a couple friends to hunt them if they owned any land as I handed her the pictures of my friends hoping all the ugly didn't scare her. She said they owned the bean field and woods behind that about 26 acres roughly.

Said the coyotes had been raiding her bird feeders for the slow birds, just charge in grab a bird and go. Her hubby has been trying to shoot them but they are just to quick and as far as she was concerned we were welcome to hunt their place. Of course she wanted me to stop by again before we hunted the place and talk to her hubby. He was not home right them as he was out showing a house to some people, but should be back by 4:30 pm.

I thanked her and left to get to town and finish our shopping, and still have some lite when we got back to their place.
Stopped back on the way home and talked the other owner, name is Dave and knows my friend Eric also a realtor with his own office in the next town over to the west.

He told us to go ahead and hunt the place said the dairy farmer on the west side had a good fence so that would be the west boundary of the place. The east boundary was a row of thorn apple trees with a gap and another row forming a lane and it quits about half way back but then there are open fields the rest of the way to the east that were not his. The back line was half way thu the swamp. Told me to park out along side the pole barn and if we got there at the crack of dawn that would be fine and if we wanted to do some night hunting try to stay across the bean field away from the house.

Said that we didn't have to worry to much about any bloody carcasses we might drag up and load in the pick up as both of them deer hunt and knew what blood looked like.

So I think the coyote crossed the road to get my attention.

Isn't the property I wanted to hunt but right across the road.

Al

Always nice to receive permission to hunt a new piece of property

Yup sure is. Don't usually have trouble getting permission to hunt coyotes and other varmints.


Sun came out Thursday about noon. So wow that is what the sun looks like when it does shine bright and light things up and makes people restless to go hunt coyotes. I was fixing dinner for Kare and I when the phone rings about 12:30pm. It is Lee he wants me to go coyote hunting with him. I tell him to give me an hour to finish making dinner and eat and he can come here and we will go try the new place I got permission to hunt and we could take a little bit of time to explore it to see what the best places to set up in the future.

Lee drives down to the house knocks and comes in. I offer tea since that is what I drink mostly and he declines wants to go. I grab my gear I had next to the door and put it in his rig for the short drive just a wee bit over a mile.
Wind is right to go set up in the thorn apple line since we knew nothing better to do at the time. Set the decoy out in the bean field about a hundred yards and one caller near it and the other one about 50 more yards. Ground is still froze about 2 inches down a slippery mess if you don't watch where you step too.

Go spread the ground cloth, get the caller going with a Piglet squealing, wait about 10 minutes and set the other call going with coyotes enjoying fighting each other for the choice cuts of the squealing piglet.
Boy that did it, howling from the wood line sounded mad to me. About two minutes here comes 5 coyotes out of the woods cornering to the thorn apple tree line. Only travel in that line before they were starting out in the bean field as a crawling type crouch. Guessing the range I signal to Lee what one for him. He signals back the tail end Charlie and the next in line if it stays close. I will take the lead coyote and the next in line if I can get a second shot off. I set the remote for the call handy and watch Lee for the signal to shoot. He does the imaginary trigger with his left hand, so I squeeze off my shot and don't even watch the coyote just hit the remote for the yipping sound, then line up on my second coyote standing dumb founded in the bean field. Just squeezed me second shot off and hear Lee fire his second shot.

Wow could tell they had not been hunted before that will change since one of the 5 lived to tell of the ambush. We had 3 coyotes down dead and one trying to get its front legs to work so it could go. I finish it off with another shot from my 243. Nope have not checked out the 220 swift's scope yet.

Walk out to get our callers, the decoy packed in the back packs, Grab the coyotes drag them to that lane. The one it appeared I had shot a little low messing up the front legs so they would not work.
We decide to leave the coyotes there and do a scouting job on the property. Found a few places we could set up with out walking thru the property to get to them spreading scent. Just couldn't fine a spot if the wind was from the east.

Go back and grab a coyote each to drag up to Lees ride when the lady (Annie) came riding up on their gator. She had heard us shoot and saw us out in the bean field retrieving out callers and decoy. she had thought we had went to see if we could find the escaped coyote, then when she saw Us coming back decided to come help us bring the coyotes out. She was pretty happy with our results as we were too.

We get back, since there was a couple hours of light left headed to another farm not to awful far away to try. One seen one there and it was hung up across the river. We stopped the caller after trying several different sounds to entice that coyote in, now it is a waiting game to see if it would leave so we could slink off not alerting it.

Go back to my place to skin them out, Lee is letting me stretch them and sew up the holes.

Al

Sounds like you guys had a good time. I would think the fur would be in good shape this time of year.

Fur has been good since Mid November.
But will go in the popper if this warm weather hangs around much longer.

Al

alleyyooper What does a quart of honey go for in your neck of the woods? I pay $14 here.

Lordy, I wish I had a gallon or two of Maple syrup from up North, that stuff is higher than gold in Id..Honeys cheap.