Posted by cmiddleton,
01 February 2010
406 views
I've been addicted to coyote hunting and calling since i was 12 year old
i grew up in the black hills of Wyoming and loved reading fur fish and game.
it was there that i started ordering coyote calls. weems, burnham brothers, herters, olt.
i use to order their catalogs just to look at the calls.
when i went out the first time calling all i was aloud to carry was my 22 long rifle.
i set up with my back to a log and started calling, thinking this will never work i don't even know if i sound right.
i had no more then thought that when a coyote jumped over the log right over my right shoulder.
the coyote went one way i went the other.
my young heart had never beat so hard, i was so excited.
i have spent the last 35 years trying to get that feeling again.
it has happened a few times,
when i was calling red fox, i spotted a red coming to my Circe mvp-4 it was 250 yards out and coming fast.
i leaned across a rock held my knee up to steady my elbow. peered threw the scope on my 220 swift at it coming up the draw.
i saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked eye to eye with another fox on the rock. it jumped off the rock onto my knee and ran off. both fox got away no shots fired.
i got home that night i was giddy as a school girl. like i was walking three feet above the floor.
my wife asked "what got into you today" i told her and said "you wouldn't understand"
then when my son was 5 and my nephew was 6 i took them out where i knew i would call a red.
we set up against a cut bank about 2 feet tall. i gave my nephew the 22 because i thought he could shoot better.
i let out one blast and spotted the red coming i got on my scope it kept coming.
i thought "the boys are going to shoot......the boys are going to shoot....... as the fox ran into the end of my barrel i squeezed "click" i forgot to close the bolt. [email protected]#$##%%
moseley looked at Justen grabbed the 22 away and unloaded all 16 rounds out of the semi auto 22.
when we got back to the truck i asked Justen "why didn't you shoot"
he answered "nobody gave me permission to fire"
then there was speedy the coyote, i set up on the top of a razor back ridge that had a great view both up and down wind i watched up wind and my oldest daughter(12) covered the down wind. the hill was steep on both sides so we were within 5 yards of each other back to back.
i started calling with the hydel cotton tail i made about three series when a coyote came from behind me and knocked my 220 swift off its bi pod. it started rolling down the hill with me almost rolling behind it. it rolled 25 yards and i couldn't catch it.
by the time i got the rifle the coyote was out of sight.
i went back to Jody and asked if she had seen it
she said "no what happened did you fall down the hill?"
where that coyote came from we don't have a clue left or right but it came on the center of the razorback within feet of both of us.
i was calling in a contest with my brother we had been 24 hrs straight and hadn't called a thing.
we decided if we went to the bass pond we could at least call in a fox and get on the board.
we set up at the corner of Corey's land and my dads land leaning against the corner post.
i set up my chow fox decoy and started fox pup in distress tape.
way back behind the pond we spotted a fox coming hard.
two seconds later we heard a airplane, crook county hires two brothers from Montana to do predator control.
they were coming right down the fence line. as they spotted the fox decoy they tipped their wings and lined up on it.
we jumped up and waived them off.
they wagged their wings as they flew by at 20 yards.
then they spotted the fox did a loop and boom boom.
scratch us getting on the board.
i have had years that i called tree days a week every week several years running.
I've seen the population rise and fall and rise again.
my best year was 158 coyotes 18 fox and 1 bobcat.
my average now is 30 due to not hunting as much as back then.
i feel coyote hunting is for protection of livestock and wildlife.
i have been in big fights on the net over control work in the springtime.
you hunt to protect lambs fawns and calves so why in the world should you worry about pups they are the root cause of this predation. you must take out the one pair that is doing the damage. if you get the female first the male will hang around a week or two then move if you take the male first the female will move the pups right away.
its best to kill the double but always shoot the back one first 9 out of 10 times this will be the female. if you don't get the double you have a little time to get the male.
everyone says the pups starve its not humane. you are right humane is what a humans feels about something .
natural is what happens in nature. if a coyote lives a long life it gets old and can't hunt well it will not die of old age in a old folks home it starves. if a coyote gets a disease it gets sick and can't hunt as well the disease won't kill it starvation does. if the coyote get injured it meets the same fate.
the only humane deaths in coyotes world IS when humans kill it. all other deaths are natural slow and painful.
coyote hunting is a big part in wild life management if you like birds, deer,antelope, elk, rabbits, game birds springtime is when the coyotes need thinned its when they do the damage.
i know the lefties don't think this way but as hunters we should know its game management protecting what is ours and the game we hunt watch and enjoy.
coyotes are plentiful even if you don't call one in every day that doesn't prove they are not. coyotes come on days they want to. some days in a area with lots of coyotes they will not come you couldn't drag one in on a leash.
i don't know if its the moon but I'm starting to think so. i think coyotes are most active when the moon comes up to when it hits the center of the sky.
on windy days when the wind is over 20 mph calling drops off to little or nothing. plus it takes the fun out of it battling the wind.
i love calls, i suffer from a rare incurable disease called "neverenoughcoyotecallitous" on one site my Sig line is "I've never seen a coyote call i didn't want"
all my family knows i have it, for years they have been getting me coyote calls and other paraphernalia you would think I'd have plenty but i just keep collecting.
i have over 100 production calls 52 custom calls over 75 deer elk and antelope calls 4 different electronic callers.
lots of decoys.
i love helping others learn to call i miss my son being little when i could show him new things.
when he was born i made a promise to god that i would do something with him every weekend and for 19 years i kept that promise. now he is married and has kids of his own.
well its late and time for bed.
cmiddleton
Feb 02 2010 06:43 AM
kinda funny that my favorite stories are the ones that got away.
ReidRH
Feb 02 2010 09:46 AM
This is a Great story, Up to now my Passion has been Deer Hunting, But I will shoot a predator over a deer any day of the week! I am just now getting into predator Calling so I am Newer than a Newbie. I would be greatful for any tips about hunting in thicker cover.
cmiddleton
Feb 02 2010 07:44 PM
use a ladder to get above it. i live in Wyoming so there isn't much thick cover but guys are killin allot off ladders in thick cover and cotton fields. back it up to a tree or bush.
if you have fields set up near the corner and call from in the field. as a coyote skirts the field in the cover they might cut the corners giving you a shot opportunity.
are you using mouth calls or electronic?
set up so you are part of the edge of the cover not to far inside or out right on the brush line. become the edge
coyotes will come the path of least resistance so if you have a trail, road or fence line running threw it that is open you have a good chance bringing one out onto it..
hope that helps good luck.
El Gato Loco
Feb 03 2010 12:21 PM
Nice post! However, I have no problem with our states law of laying off the coyotes while they raise their young. I consider the coyote a beautiful animal like any others that I like to watch and hunt. The least I can do is respect them during that time so that the species can survive.
I also rely on my states conservation department research to determine our seasons. If they determine tomorrow that we've got an overabundance of dogs, and they change the season to help thin them out, then I would probably be ok with that as well.
As for going out of my way to make sure pups starve, that's not for me but i'm not one to judge either. It just seems easy to wait a couple of months and hunt them like any other.
cmiddleton
Feb 03 2010 08:43 PM
most places don't have the numbers we do and fawn survival in antelope have been proven to go up by 30% and more in areas where coyotes are controlled. deer have the same depredation on fawn crops.
then ranchers can loose 100,000's of dollars statewide due to predation
it is a necessary evil.
paraguayguy
Feb 05 2010 06:29 AM
Good read. Thanks for sharing.
JAKEAZ
Feb 11 2010 09:43 AM
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 08:36 AM
there is a difference between control and hunting. hunting is done for the fur, control is done for predation.
the first is done for fun the second because it has to be done to benefit other species.
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 09:08 AM
you will never wipe out the spicies.
coyotes are like water, they move from a area of high consentration to a area of low consentration= osmosas
if you hunt a area all winter, kill lots of coyotes, then leave them alone other coyotes will fill the void before calves lambs and fawns hit the ground. the work you think is helping the deer antelope or rancher has little effect.
antelope drop fawns all at about the same time. if you thin the coyotes right before they drop you can save a lot of fawns.
ranchers try to calve and lamb all at the same time too. take out the coyotes just as they start or figure out exactly what pair is doing the damage and take them out.
I'm giving advanced advice more then just hunting just to kill coyotes, doing it with a end goal in mind, improving the survival rate of deer antelope and livestock.
nobody loves the coyote more then me. they are my favorite species.
if you call for just fun you are not doing anything more then killing coyotes, you will not make any difference in populations or predation.
you must do it in a mindful purpose in order to help your wildlife or stock.
if you make a void in the eco systom osmosas will fill it in two months or less. around here i see it happen in two weeks
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 10:09 AM
here is a artical to support my take
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 10:16 AM
Everything old is new again - ESPN
here is a artical to support my take
01 February 2010
406 views
I've been addicted to coyote hunting and calling since i was 12 year old
i grew up in the black hills of Wyoming and loved reading fur fish and game.
it was there that i started ordering coyote calls. weems, burnham brothers, herters, olt.
i use to order their catalogs just to look at the calls.
when i went out the first time calling all i was aloud to carry was my 22 long rifle.
i set up with my back to a log and started calling, thinking this will never work i don't even know if i sound right.
i had no more then thought that when a coyote jumped over the log right over my right shoulder.
the coyote went one way i went the other.
my young heart had never beat so hard, i was so excited.
i have spent the last 35 years trying to get that feeling again.
it has happened a few times,
when i was calling red fox, i spotted a red coming to my Circe mvp-4 it was 250 yards out and coming fast.
i leaned across a rock held my knee up to steady my elbow. peered threw the scope on my 220 swift at it coming up the draw.
i saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked eye to eye with another fox on the rock. it jumped off the rock onto my knee and ran off. both fox got away no shots fired.
i got home that night i was giddy as a school girl. like i was walking three feet above the floor.
my wife asked "what got into you today" i told her and said "you wouldn't understand"
then when my son was 5 and my nephew was 6 i took them out where i knew i would call a red.
we set up against a cut bank about 2 feet tall. i gave my nephew the 22 because i thought he could shoot better.
i let out one blast and spotted the red coming i got on my scope it kept coming.
i thought "the boys are going to shoot......the boys are going to shoot....... as the fox ran into the end of my barrel i squeezed "click" i forgot to close the bolt. [email protected]#$##%%
moseley looked at Justen grabbed the 22 away and unloaded all 16 rounds out of the semi auto 22.
when we got back to the truck i asked Justen "why didn't you shoot"
he answered "nobody gave me permission to fire"
then there was speedy the coyote, i set up on the top of a razor back ridge that had a great view both up and down wind i watched up wind and my oldest daughter(12) covered the down wind. the hill was steep on both sides so we were within 5 yards of each other back to back.
i started calling with the hydel cotton tail i made about three series when a coyote came from behind me and knocked my 220 swift off its bi pod. it started rolling down the hill with me almost rolling behind it. it rolled 25 yards and i couldn't catch it.
by the time i got the rifle the coyote was out of sight.
i went back to Jody and asked if she had seen it
she said "no what happened did you fall down the hill?"
where that coyote came from we don't have a clue left or right but it came on the center of the razorback within feet of both of us.
i was calling in a contest with my brother we had been 24 hrs straight and hadn't called a thing.
we decided if we went to the bass pond we could at least call in a fox and get on the board.
we set up at the corner of Corey's land and my dads land leaning against the corner post.
i set up my chow fox decoy and started fox pup in distress tape.
way back behind the pond we spotted a fox coming hard.
two seconds later we heard a airplane, crook county hires two brothers from Montana to do predator control.
they were coming right down the fence line. as they spotted the fox decoy they tipped their wings and lined up on it.
we jumped up and waived them off.
they wagged their wings as they flew by at 20 yards.
then they spotted the fox did a loop and boom boom.
scratch us getting on the board.
i have had years that i called tree days a week every week several years running.
I've seen the population rise and fall and rise again.
my best year was 158 coyotes 18 fox and 1 bobcat.
my average now is 30 due to not hunting as much as back then.
i feel coyote hunting is for protection of livestock and wildlife.
i have been in big fights on the net over control work in the springtime.
you hunt to protect lambs fawns and calves so why in the world should you worry about pups they are the root cause of this predation. you must take out the one pair that is doing the damage. if you get the female first the male will hang around a week or two then move if you take the male first the female will move the pups right away.
its best to kill the double but always shoot the back one first 9 out of 10 times this will be the female. if you don't get the double you have a little time to get the male.
everyone says the pups starve its not humane. you are right humane is what a humans feels about something .
natural is what happens in nature. if a coyote lives a long life it gets old and can't hunt well it will not die of old age in a old folks home it starves. if a coyote gets a disease it gets sick and can't hunt as well the disease won't kill it starvation does. if the coyote get injured it meets the same fate.
the only humane deaths in coyotes world IS when humans kill it. all other deaths are natural slow and painful.
coyote hunting is a big part in wild life management if you like birds, deer,antelope, elk, rabbits, game birds springtime is when the coyotes need thinned its when they do the damage.
i know the lefties don't think this way but as hunters we should know its game management protecting what is ours and the game we hunt watch and enjoy.
coyotes are plentiful even if you don't call one in every day that doesn't prove they are not. coyotes come on days they want to. some days in a area with lots of coyotes they will not come you couldn't drag one in on a leash.
i don't know if its the moon but I'm starting to think so. i think coyotes are most active when the moon comes up to when it hits the center of the sky.
on windy days when the wind is over 20 mph calling drops off to little or nothing. plus it takes the fun out of it battling the wind.
i love calls, i suffer from a rare incurable disease called "neverenoughcoyotecallitous" on one site my Sig line is "I've never seen a coyote call i didn't want"
all my family knows i have it, for years they have been getting me coyote calls and other paraphernalia you would think I'd have plenty but i just keep collecting.
i have over 100 production calls 52 custom calls over 75 deer elk and antelope calls 4 different electronic callers.
lots of decoys.
i love helping others learn to call i miss my son being little when i could show him new things.
when he was born i made a promise to god that i would do something with him every weekend and for 19 years i kept that promise. now he is married and has kids of his own.
well its late and time for bed.
cmiddleton
Feb 02 2010 06:43 AM
kinda funny that my favorite stories are the ones that got away.
ReidRH
Feb 02 2010 09:46 AM
This is a Great story, Up to now my Passion has been Deer Hunting, But I will shoot a predator over a deer any day of the week! I am just now getting into predator Calling so I am Newer than a Newbie. I would be greatful for any tips about hunting in thicker cover.
cmiddleton
Feb 02 2010 07:44 PM
use a ladder to get above it. i live in Wyoming so there isn't much thick cover but guys are killin allot off ladders in thick cover and cotton fields. back it up to a tree or bush.
if you have fields set up near the corner and call from in the field. as a coyote skirts the field in the cover they might cut the corners giving you a shot opportunity.
are you using mouth calls or electronic?
set up so you are part of the edge of the cover not to far inside or out right on the brush line. become the edge
coyotes will come the path of least resistance so if you have a trail, road or fence line running threw it that is open you have a good chance bringing one out onto it..
hope that helps good luck.
El Gato Loco
Feb 03 2010 12:21 PM
Nice post! However, I have no problem with our states law of laying off the coyotes while they raise their young. I consider the coyote a beautiful animal like any others that I like to watch and hunt. The least I can do is respect them during that time so that the species can survive.
I also rely on my states conservation department research to determine our seasons. If they determine tomorrow that we've got an overabundance of dogs, and they change the season to help thin them out, then I would probably be ok with that as well.
As for going out of my way to make sure pups starve, that's not for me but i'm not one to judge either. It just seems easy to wait a couple of months and hunt them like any other.
cmiddleton
Feb 03 2010 08:43 PM
most places don't have the numbers we do and fawn survival in antelope have been proven to go up by 30% and more in areas where coyotes are controlled. deer have the same depredation on fawn crops.
then ranchers can loose 100,000's of dollars statewide due to predation
it is a necessary evil.
paraguayguy
Feb 05 2010 06:29 AM
Good read. Thanks for sharing.
JAKEAZ
Feb 11 2010 09:43 AM
Yeah im with you on laying off them during the time the are rearing pups although my state does not have a season you can hunt them all year round and even the fish and game want you too because of the dear but i leave it to nature for a few months.
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 08:36 AM
there is a difference between control and hunting. hunting is done for the fur, control is done for predation.
the first is done for fun the second because it has to be done to benefit other species.
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 09:08 AM
you will never wipe out the spicies.
coyotes are like water, they move from a area of high consentration to a area of low consentration= osmosas
if you hunt a area all winter, kill lots of coyotes, then leave them alone other coyotes will fill the void before calves lambs and fawns hit the ground. the work you think is helping the deer antelope or rancher has little effect.
antelope drop fawns all at about the same time. if you thin the coyotes right before they drop you can save a lot of fawns.
ranchers try to calve and lamb all at the same time too. take out the coyotes just as they start or figure out exactly what pair is doing the damage and take them out.
I'm giving advanced advice more then just hunting just to kill coyotes, doing it with a end goal in mind, improving the survival rate of deer antelope and livestock.
nobody loves the coyote more then me. they are my favorite species.
if you call for just fun you are not doing anything more then killing coyotes, you will not make any difference in populations or predation.
you must do it in a mindful purpose in order to help your wildlife or stock.
if you make a void in the eco systom osmosas will fill it in two months or less. around here i see it happen in two weeks
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 10:09 AM
here is a artical to support my take
cmiddleton
Feb 21 2010 10:16 AM
Everything old is new again - ESPN
here is a artical to support my take