Casting A Song Dog

[Johnch]

Just after dark my cats came to me to protect them
As I could hear a Coyote calling behind my house

So I grabbed the AR15 , a 20 round mag loaded with ammo , a mouse squeak call and a challenge coyote call and headed to the ditch line

A 1/4 mile walk in the cold air

I had just gotten dropped into the shallow dry ditch when I heard a coyote call about 400 yards away
Either in dad's woods or close to the edge of it

So I made sure the Pulsar Thermal scope was on and on 3X
Racked the bolt to load a round and took a few deep breaths
I then as quite as possibly put the bipod onto the ground just out of the grass along the ditch facing the woods
I looked , but couldn't see any warm spots
But there is tall weeds and grass all along the East side of the woods to hide a coyote or it could be in the woods

So I blew on the coyote challenge call and looked again
For 20 or so seconds nothing
But then at about the North end of the woods I saw something warm heading my way

It was a Coyote and it was headed right at me
I had the Lee C225-55-RF cast out of Lino , powder coated and GC ed in Winchester 223 cases , Rem 7 1/2 primers and IMR 4895 powder
Loaded at just over 2400 FPS
Not the load I had planed on using for coyote , but that load was what the rifle & scope were sighted in with
So I knew had to be sure to make a good shot as there was a good chance the first shot was the only one that would be moving slow or stopped

Well when the coyote got to about 100 yards I blew softly on the mouse squeak call
As I hoped the coyote would stop at about 100 yards out as the rifle saw sighted 1" high at 100 yards

Well the coyote did stop at about 75 yards and turned slightly
I held about 1"... maybe 2" or so over the belly line and aimed at the shoulder on my side

At the shot I lost sight of the coyote for a second
But I quickly found it again in the scope , flopping on the ground
Most likely about right where it was when I pulled the trigger

I had bagged a nice adult male coyote
The bullet had hit about right on the front leg bone / shoulder joint
A nice 22 cal hole in and a slight ragged exit hole , so I am guessing the bullet may have started to tumble

I will skin it out in the morning
Then flesh & stretch the hide , unless my friend I hunt with has time to do it as he is a LOT quicker than I am
Not sure what the hide will be worth , but I am trying to control the coyote population if I can

I am guessing this was the local male coyote
So the female will have to find a new mate , unless I get a chance to harvest her also

John

[cwtebay]

Nice work!!! Gotta love the thermal!

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Three44s]

The mate will be coming around and in its grief can give you even used odds on harvesting her as well.

Coyotes in that situation issue what is known as the “lost mate call”.

Three44s

[PaulG67]

Well done John

[CastingFool]

Good job! Loved the story! I know there are coyotes around my place, I've shot 2 while deer hunting, but no way to shoot them in the dark

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Good work!

[popper]

How well do you like the thermal scope? ATN or Pulsar I've been looking at. Got a BO that would like it I think.

[memtb]

Nice.....Congrats! One of the many benefits of “living with the animals”......as in, “not” in a city! memtb

[Johnch]

How well do you like the thermal scope? ATN or Pulsar I've been looking at. Got a BO that would like it I think.

I like it
At the 400 yards the coyote was just a warm spot in the scope
Closer , I can see all the details well
The main body is the warmest , but I could see the legs just fine

I bought the Thermal scope for hog night hunting , coyote and crop damage deer hunting
I still need to do some Hog hunting with the scope , but the other 2 it has worked great

John

[popper]

What model did you get?

[Johnch]

What model did you get?

Pulsar XM30 3-13x

I got it used for just over $1400
But it looked to have never been mounted into rings
So as for right now I feel I got a deal ( Hope )

John

[missionary5155]

Good morning and Congratulations !
That was a good read and I appreciate your time typing it up. Another good yote has gone along the singing trail.

[cherokeetracker]

Good shooting John. WTG

[Johnch]

I was told today that a Male and Female Coyote were killed by another local farmer
He called me to see if I wanted them to skin out for the hides ...YES I did

He owns a farm along the same creek that is on the far side of Dad's woods
About a mile up stream on the other side of the creek
He told me he saw them just after first light , hunting in his CPR ground along the creek line
So he drove the tractor into the CPR field hoping to get close
He said he got to about 60 yards from them when the coyotes stopped and looked at him on the tractor

He told me 3" Federal Premium #4 Buckshot out of his 11/87 took care of them
I skinned them out
3 pellets hit the male and 2 hit the female coyote , not sure if he shot 1 or 2 times
Not idea of what choke he had in the 11/87
But my #4 buckshot reloads pattern better IMO

But still at 60 yards 1 #4 buckshot pellet hit each of them in the lungs

John

[wmitty]

I love coyote stories with happy endings. They ate my cat several years back, and I have not forgiven them.

[Smoke4320]

Congrats. The only good coyote is a dead coyote

[Three44s]

+10!

Three44s

[Thin Man]

wmitty, my story is exactly the same as yours. Our cat is gone but the pain remains. If I were in the woods and saw a yote and a 12-point buck in the same view, I would give the buck a free pass.

[Grayone]

I was told today that a Male and Female Coyote were killed by another local farmer
He called me to see if I wanted them to skin out for the hides ...YES I did

He owns a farm along the same creek that is on the far side of Dad's woods
About a mile up stream on the other side of the creek
He told me he saw them just after first light , hunting in his CPR ground along the creek line
So he drove the tractor into the CPR field hoping to get close
He said he got to about 60 yards from them when the coyotes stopped and looked at him on the tractor

He told me 3" Federal Premium #4 Buckshot out of his 11/87 took care of them
I skinned them out
3 pellets hit the male and 2 hit the female coyote , not sure if he shot 1 or 2 times
Not idea of what choke he had in the 11/87
But my #4 buckshot reloads pattern better IMO

But still at 60 yards 1 #4 buckshot pellet hit each of them in the lungs

John

Good that the damage was minimal but enough to put them on the ground. Up close and personal with a shotty can leave them a ragged mess. Good thread!

[fatnhappy]

One of the places I hunt is a friend’s organic dairy farm.

If you spot a coyote and don’t immediately make an earnest effort to kill it, you’ll be asked to never return.