Long time coming: First Coyote!!!

[smallbutfierce]

It has been a year and a half, 50 or so stands, and finally I shot one!! Now, I wish I could claim I used my extensive calling skills, my nice snow camo, and I outsmarted this ugly dog, but it was probably just luck. But hey, I'll take it. And happy that my rifle has finally tasted blood. Quick story. Been hunting almost everyday this past week, and it has been COLD!! Temps ranging from -5 to -10 plus wind chill here in Maine. Plus we got 18" of snow since xmas and I have been hoofing it on snowshoes for miles. This morning I set my alarm for 5 am thinking I would get good early start(I only live 10 mins from my hunting location), but after seeing it was a balmy 0 degrees, and really getting tired of the cold I changed it to 8. This turned out to be the lucky choice. On my way to my stand, about half mile from the truck, I spot this guy trotting down a snowmobile trail in an open field. I know the range since I have scouted this field before(only 200 yds), and slowly drop down to a seated position with my bipod. I try to calm my nerves, which is way harder to do when trying to shoot 200 ish yards at a moving target then it is to shoot at a stationary deer at 30yds. Somehow I calmed down enough and fired one off, which I thought for sure missed. DRT. Ranged 175 yds, 100 yd best on an animal kill. Here in Maine the yotes, or the deer for that matter, don't usually come out into the open. The only other yote I have seen was 15 feet away at night, in thick woods. It turns out that a 178 amax out of a .308 is plenty for a 30 lb sickly dog. Bald, skinny, smelly. Disappointed as I wanted at least a tail for a trophy.

 

[yote doctor]

Congrats. Very exciting I'm sure. Even the ugly ones are fun!!! Putting in many miles and time in the cold makes it that much more rewarding. Keep it up.

 

[ShooterMedic]

Great job, you always remember your first. I wish I could say that you have now broken the magic spell, and now all coyotes will flock to you. But as you know that is not the case.
Even though the pelt is not in the best shape, you could always bleach the skull. Just hide the carcass until spring, retrieve the skull and bleach it out.
They make an interesting conversation piece.

 

[Korhil78]

Are there not that many coyotes up in Maine? You need tocome down to New Mexico! You can drive around and hit one with your car haha. Congrats on your first!

 

[smallbutfierce]

Thanks guys! There are plenty of coyotes, they are just very different than the western kind. Coyotes up here are almost exclusively nocturnal, and rarely come out in the open. Most people hunt them at night over bait. I spent last season trying to make them present long range shots, day and night. Lots of learning happened and I am now in the market for a shotgun, since night hunting in the thick stuff is the best bet. I think that if this coyote wasn't at deaths door, he probably would not have been in the open. Then again, we had no snow last year, maybe the winter will force them to be more active. If it was easy I probably wouldn't enjoy it so much.

 

[kimberyote]

Congratulations!
It seemed like it took years for me to score my first one. After that they seemed to roll in.
Always bury a mange yote to stop the spread of the disease.
Keep it up!!

 

[roninflag]

Are there not that many coyotes up in Maine? You need tocome down to New Mexico! You can drive around and hit one with your car haha. Congrats on your first!

In arizona too. i have never hit one but i see ones have been virtually ever day.

 

[roninflag]

Small -nice job.!the first is hard especially in the cold. supposed to be -5 this weekend here. here is a vid son-inlaw . enjoy. roninflag Called in 5 - YouTube

 

[matt meyer]

Congrats on your 1st. Nice shooting

 

[preddhunter]

well done. that one was not going to last much longer.

 

[don lynch]

hey Small i hear ya for sure. i'm down in the Orland/bucksport area and i'm out almost every day(old and retired) last spring and summer i did fairly good. i changed from prey distress to howls /pup distress and i started having success pretty quick. the other thing i did was start staying on stand at least an hour. i think sitting longer is very important. lately though, oct.,nov, and dec i've done nothing. i don't know if it makes a dif. but our local club"bucksmills r&g" has killed 43 coyotes and a trapper friend of mine got 30 plus a few others here and there that i don't know about makes over 80 coyotes out of this small area down here .i don't know if that makes a big dent in the population and they're just scarce. i know it's not my lack of skill, how could that be? good luck to ya
don

 

[smallbutfierce]

Don,
I'd be interested to get some of your knowledge on local hunting tactics. Seems not many around me hunt them, and the ones who do use bait. You say you use howls now. Daytime? Are you hunting woods or fields? Little stuff like that is what I've been trying to figure out. I live in Brewer and hunt off rt 9 past chick hill, in Hermon, and off the stud mill rd. Found lots of sign, just need to connect. The shotgun approach seems good, but I work nights and going out after work is hard.

Glad to hear there are people who are having success. Keep it up, the deer appreciate it.

Dustin

 

[don lynch]

i hunt in the daylight only except for my bait which is out my back door"pajama hunting" yes for quite a while i used the rabbit distress and other prey sounds and saw a couple but did not get a shot. then i was reading this site and predator masters and guys were talking about howls and pup kyis so i went to them and also even more important i started staying longer, i mean at least an hour. right away i had action. i'm a member of the bucks mills rod and gun club and run the coyote contest.
don

 

[smallbutfierce]

Two more questions: any make of call you prefer? I have a bunch of mouth calls and an electronic one, but I prefer the mouth calls. And where can I get more info on this contest?

Dustin