4 coyotes down tonight!

[mcseal2]

Last 2 nights have been the best calling of my life, 6 yotes in 3 stands.

Tonight I went out again at 3:30 to try calling. Wind was considerably stronger at 15mph from SSE. I set up with the call/decoy on one side of a finger of a pasture draw and I sat next to a little thicket on the other side. The plan was for the call's sound to be able to carry with the wind and coyotes would be able to approach it from straight downwind without scenting me. The plan actually worked! I used a screaming rabbit for 12 minutes with no coyotes so I did a few howls and silence for a bit. I then hit the pup distress and a pair came, they must have been close already. One hung up and the other came in and gave me a broadside 120yd shot. The call went to a different distress on the Foxbang feature and the second came in about 30 seconds later. It came hard and I had to bark to stop it 40yds from the call, got it dropped too. I let the distress run off and on for 10 more minutes and was about ready to leave when I spotted movement. Another pair was coming in the same way as the first. They were coming good until they hit the scent trail from the dead coyotes and they spooked. One gave me a stopped shot at about 130yds but I had to shoot down into his back as he was facing straight away. He dropped at the shot and I swung to the last coyote. I got it stopped with a bark and short howl I improvised with my mouth at 204yds and dropped him too. When I went to gather them all up I discovered the 3rd yote I shot down into had crippled into a hole about 40yds off. He dropped into big grass and must have crawled into it. The blood trail was massive and I'm almost certain his spine was broke, so he didn't survive long just long enough to get out of reach. They are tough suckers. I got pics of the other 3 if I can make them work. These cool misty nights are proving good for coyote calling. This is the first time I've taken more than 2 from one set by myself. The AR is 6 for 6 now if I count the one that made it into the hole. I am sure I'd have recovered him if he wouldn't have had that hole to crawl in, he had to be darn near out of blood.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Man your on the dogs! Great job.

 

[Bonecollector]

Dude! You're on fire!

 

[mcseal2]

I'm going to try to get done early enough to make it out tonight. Today is going to be warmer, sunny, and windy so conditions won't be as good but I can't quit just yet if I can get done working quick enough to get a set or two in.

Thanks everyone.

 

[wy-tex]

Pretty dogs there, like those light colored ones. Going to sell any hides this year?
How's your rabbit population this year? We've been on an upswing last couple of years and the lopers are doing really well out here. Sounds like they really like your setup and calling.
Thanksgiving coyote hunt is in the works for us.

 

[mcseal2]

There are plenty of rabbits, no major distemper or mange outbreaks in a while so both populations are doing well. I give my hides to a local kid that traps, just not enough money in them around here for me to want to spend the time on hide prep. I'd rather spend my free time shooting them! Those were some darn good looking dogs though. Fur harvesting season opens today here but I don't think we've had enough cold to make good pelts.

 

[HuskyMusky]

ar15 nice!

what load or grain bullets do you shoot?

 

[mcseal2]

55gr V max loaded by RAM ammo. It groups better in that rifle than the more expensive stuff with the same bullet. It's moving 2964fps from the 20" AR.

 

[Bonecollector]

Sweet Rig. What is it?

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks guys.

It's a DPMS Prairie Panther in MO Brush camo with a Jard 2lb trigger. I have a Primos Rapid Pivot bipod stud on the handguard I attach my bipod to. I painted the bipod tan to blend into grass better. I have a Bushnell 3200 Firefly 2.5-10x50 scope on it in Burris PEPR mounts. I got the scope on another rifle in a trade and had it sitting around. With the Burris mount the big 50mm objective doesn't affect mounting height so this was a good spot to use it. The power ring turns super easy on this scope so it's real easy to adjust to a close or far yote.

It didn't shoot great from the factory but I really liked the weight and feel of it. I talked to my gunsmith and he suggested lapping the barrel. We gave that a try and it went from 1.5" to consistently under .75" with the same ammo. After it started shooting well enough for me I knew I would keep it and spent the money on the good trigger. That certainly didn't hurt my accuracy either now I get quite a few groups of .5" when I put it on the bench.

 

[Hilltop]

Just a heads up- coyote prices are really up this year. A good buddy of mine has averaged $55 on the carcass through our local buyer. Worth getting after them imo.

 

[packer58]

Just a heads up- coyote prices are really up this year. A good buddy of mine has averaged $55 on the carcass through our local buyer. Worth getting after them imo.

Hopefully that trend will hold up out west on these N/E Cali, N/W Nevada coyotes. I'll be heading out for my week long coyote trip here on the 27th, if the fur prices are up a bit on these desert coyotes it would be worth peel'n em for sure!!

 

[ScottR]

Nice work!

 

[mcseal2]

I just heard that our KS coyotes are bringing up to $20 for a great one. I got another one called in this morning. A week long coyote trip sounds like a blast! The ranch is a little slower than most times right now, I got chores done after hunting this morning and everyone else is gone the next few days to the NFR. I'm headed back out now to hunt for the rest of the day.

 

[mcseal2]

Well I got 2 today. One about 10:40 after I got done feeding but before the sun came out from behind the clouds. It responded at about 8 minutes and started to circle downwind of the call/decoy. I barked and got it stopped at 99yds and hit it with the AR, 55gr V max. It made it about 50yds after the shot despite a great hit, but died on the run. I ate lunch, did chores, and went back out about 3pm. I had no luck on my first 3 sets and didn't have time to go where I planned before dark, so I went back where I shot the one this morning. I did a few howls right off the bat and went to pup distress without any prey sounds due to the time restrictions. I also knew a group was in the area because I heard them last night, definitely more than the single that came in this morning. Also we lost a steer to illness last weekend and the carcass was up that draw. I seem to have more luck with territorial or coyote distress sounds near a carcass than food sounds. I think they are pretty protective of their food source but not hungry. Anyway I was calling tonight and saw a coyote walking around at about 300yds briefly. It wasn't coming in, but was walking parallel to me. I moved the rifle and bipod to cover it's most likely approach as soon as it was out of sight. Almost immediately a coyote popped out of the timber where I'd initially expected them to come from, where the rifle was before, and headed straight for the decoy. I had to make a big move with the gun to get on him, and got spotted at the end of it. He swapped directions but froze just long enough as I barked I got a bullet in him before he took off. Not a bad day. I'm up to 34 on the year now. My buddy came and picked them both up tonight.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

$55 per pelt is awesome! Lots of cash to be made.

 

[packer58]

There's normally a pretty good price diff between western and eastern coyotes. I haven't checked the market yet but would be surprised if our western coyotes are bringing a $55.00 average.

Pulled this up on the Trapping Today's site, 2017-2018 Fur Market Forecast....Little better than I thought!

Coyote – the coyote market continues its strength, bucking the trend of most other furs. The higher quality pale western coyotes are holding their high price, though eastern dogs have taken a bit of a drop recently. Western coyotes should average $50-75, with Eastern goods bringing around $20-30.

 

[HuskyMusky]

Thanks guys.

It's a DPMS Prairie Panther in MO Brush camo with a Jard 2lb trigger. I have a Primos Rapid Pivot bipod stud on the handguard I attach my bipod to. I painted the bipod tan to blend into grass better. I have a Bushnell 3200 Firefly 2.5-10x50 scope on it in Burris PEPR mounts. I got the scope on another rifle in a trade and had it sitting around. With the Burris mount the big 50mm objective doesn't affect mounting height so this was a good spot to use it. The power ring turns super easy on this scope so it's real easy to adjust to a close or far yote.

It didn't shoot great from the factory but I really liked the weight and feel of it. I talked to my gunsmith and he suggested lapping the barrel. We gave that a try and it went from 1.5" to consistently under .75" with the same ammo. After it started shooting well enough for me I knew I would keep it and spent the money on the good trigger. That certainly didn't hurt my accuracy either now I get quite a few groups of .5" when I put it on the bench.

Nice! Need to test my setup out.... 16" 5.56 bushnell 4500 4-16x.

 

[N.Y.ArcheryMadMan]

Congratulations

 

[mcseal2]

I got a couple more today. It was a misty damp morning again with very little wind. I started early and got cattle fed by 9, threw the camo on, and went calling. I got one on my first set in 3 acre meadow we had mowed next to a big timber draw and a pasture full of big grass we leave empty all year except for calving season. I set up and put on a bird distress sound for less than a minute when a coyote came in at a lope. He popped out of the timber at about 120yds and circled for the downwind side of the call. He never slowed and got within 10ft of the call/Mojo critter before he spooked at it a little. He trotted off 15yds and turned broadside so I dumped him. I ranged it later at 90yds. I was beginning to think I should have taken the moving shot earlier, I was glad he stopped. I made 2 more sets before the sun came out at 10:30 and I quit for the morning.

I got back out this afternoon at 3:30. I made a set next to another area of big grass we calve in. I had been calling for 9 minutes when I saw a coyote moving through the big grass. As he dropped into a low spot out of sight I moved the AR to where I expected him to pop out and hit the button on the Foxgrip II on my bipod to switch to a quiet mouse squeak. He popped out again in the mowed grass and I dropped him at just under 100yds with the AR. I almost hit that one to low, I got the heart but probably the bottom half of it. I try to keep myself in the habit of aiming for the lower chest on coyotes so I don't screw up and over-shoot one at 150yds to 170yds. If I know they are past 200 I aim center, 250 I hold upper back. Past that with my AR I have to start adjusting a lot and am usually better off just not shooting. If I expect shots like that I take the bolt 243 usually. This coyote I was trying to shoot quick, he was getting close to the call and I didn't want him to spook. It's a tight area where a few steps in any direction have them in big grass. It worked, the AR and I are 10 for 10 this fall on coyotes now and I'm on 36 for the year. It took me a while and some practice to get good with the AR's after growing up on bolt guns but I'm improving.

I only got one more set in and it came up empty. I drove to another spot I hunt but found a friend and his nephew sighting in their new 243's there so I visited with them for a while and headed home.