Friday afternoon I met Dean at a park and ride car pool lot near Lennon. He thru his gear bag and equipment in my truck not afraid to let me do the driving this afternoon.

It is a fine misty snow falling and the trucks temp reading was 32F and the road was wet. I drove a mile north made a left turn and went 5 miles to a sheep farm. This is a fairly new place we started hunting last march when they had coyotes show up near their lambing pasture.

We grab out back packs walk down a lane to a old stone pile not yet buried or sold to landscapers to set up. Thing with sheep there isn’t a lot of low bushes to use so the stone pile works. There is a deep drainage ditch like so many areas of the valley and across sit a full blown wood lot the sheep are not grazed in.

We again start out with a challenge howl and then switched to the mating call sounds on the other caller. Again we set off a ruckus of coyote sounds coming back at us. Took nearly 10 minutes before we see the first coyote on the far side of the ditch Deans zone. We need the coyote to jump across the water filled ditch depth unknown.
After it has paced back and forth about half a dozen times if Finally made the jump and Dean shot it, A big male.
Wait the whole time and nothing else showed even though we had heard several to start with.

Get back to the truck still that fine misty snow falling starting to stick to the grass.
Roads were still wet how ever when we got back on it. So glad I had visited spending the time and money to stop and wash my truck Wednesday or Thursday evening.
Just don’t get against it.

We make it to the next place a crop farmer leases many of the farms in the area to plant Soy beans, Corn and winter wheat on a rotation.
His wife keeps a go supply of chickens, turkeys and ducks about the place
Went coyotes discovered such a well rounded fest they called us to remove the coyotes.

They maintain a sugar bush also so the coyotes have an area where they can lay up most of the year unmolested. Until we came along that is, again the challenge call was used and then the switch to the mating sound of a female. Not the response we have had other places recently but we did get a answering call back.
Kept working that female sound till a pair of coyotes came slinking from the woods. Deans zone but one edged my way Deans signed I should take it. At his signal I fired to see the coyote do a back flip and lay still.
Look over and Deans shows a finger one.
Gather up the gear and then the two young male coyotes.

Still misting snow still only sticking on the grassy areas and other frozen areas.

Drive another 6 miles west to a small farm both man and wife work in Saginaw he takes a week vacation in the spring to plant and fall to harvest for his small herd of feeder beef.
They also keep a supply of chickens for eggs and meat.

They have a big wood lot they cut fire wood from during the winter if the snow doesn’t get real deep.
It is having coyotes show up one day while cutting fire wood and scarring them they get us a call about 5 years ago.
No one has hunter here in about 8 months.
We get back near thr woods and set up and did the challenge call got an answer and after a full 30 minutes we had seen nothing but were still getting answers. Dean signed 10 more minutes and switched sounds to a hurt coyote. That stopped there answering sounds.
About 5 minutes a coyote is slinking out of the woods staying in tall dead weeds on the edge of the field my zone.
I wait till it hit a clearer spot and fired.
Wait 5 more minutes and gather gear and coyote a male again.

Misty snow had stopped while we were back there. Roads were still wet how ever. Is only two miles to a small town Michigan kept alive with a tractor dealer, small grocery, restaurant, hardware store and a bakery.
Go in and get a nice big chocolate covered cream filled ladies finger. Must have been one fat lady to have fingers that big.
A cup of coffee and the lady finger will hold me till I get home for supper.

Is only 2 hours till dark, As we drive out of town to the east to another Saginaw valley crop farm. The misty snow has started again, by the time we were parked and hoofing it back to a area of drainage ditches widening out into a sloth.

Place was a
Dry hole not even a answer to our challenge call but we still wait the 30 minutes none the less.

A drive off to the east again to another crop farm. They have been in there early this winter cutting all the trees and doing roots in big piles. To burn or bury. We decided to pass on this place since thy had recently been there.

We decided that it would take us nearly a hour to get back to Deans truck and we get home by dark and our supper we would call it a day.

Dean has a full day at work Saturday and Sunday is our meeting.

I have 12 coyotes since 2020 began. I hope the fur prices hold as well as last year.


Al

Thank you for the up dates

I enjoy reading about the experiences.