Spring Coyote Hunting
Posted by lowcountryhunting on June 10, 2008
My friend Will and I were turkey hunting a couple of years ago on a tract by the Garnett post office when this coyote came sneaking in. We had just stopped on the logging road so that I could hit my favorite locator call, the high-pitched peacock, and when nothing responded, we kept walking. And since we were not scent free, that is the only thing that kept Mr. Coyote from getting down wind of us as he came to investigate the sounds he was hearing.
We were just slowly making our way up to one of my favorite spots to set up for a mid-morning session when I happened to see the dog heading towards the spot we had just left. I whispered to Will to stop and hold still, then eased my gun around to the right. The coyote slipped on through the brush, and when he hit the logging road, I let him have a load of 2 3/4 inch heavy shot…
I thought that would do it, so I didn’t fire again as the dog flopped all around. Will on the other hand figured that more is always better, and let loose with two rounds of 3 1/2 inch heavy shot in an effort to finish him off. However when the yote kept moving, Will grabbed his .22 pistol and put one round in to his head. That DID it. We grabbed our dog, high fived and called it a day! The coyote’s head now sits prominently on the top of a specially-made mount showing off my collection of predator kills.
Man, I love hunting in the lowcountry! You just never know what you will run in to while you are out in the woods here…
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Hi,
I was raised in the sand hills of West Texas, coyote’s were and still are a predator problem there. With that being said, giving your readers a vivid account of needing 3 shotgun blast and 2 pistol shots to achieve a kill will not endear you or your blog to many hunters and certainly not to non hunters.
Wish i had better areas to hunt, but you must make do with what you have.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Pobebt,
Thanks for the comment, and I respect your opinion on the situation. However the coyote was at about 40 yards, so the turkey loads were not exactly getting the job done very well. Like I said, I only shot once. My friend on the other hand is a little more excitable and wanted to make sure he didn’t get away. And with the dog trying to get up, that was definitely a possibility before we could get to him.
As for the one pistol shot to the head, that was to put him out of his misery. He was definitely done from the bird shot, but why let him lay there and die slowly? I guess that I could have lied/cleaned up the story a bit, but no matter what the TV shows show you, killing an animal is not always clean. That said, please know that I respect the animals that I hunt, and I always strive for a clean/ethical kill.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Coyotes are a big problem out here in Eastern Oregon/WEstern Idaho (I guess it’s safe to say they’re aproblem just about everywhere) and I’ve really gotten into hunting them the last few years. Some people trap gophers and other such pests, I hunt coyotes because I view them the same – as pests…and a big killer of the mule deer.
congrats on your coyote – reminds me that I need to get out soon.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:21 am
We have ‘yotes everywhere in Michigan it seems, but I have only seen them a handful of times while hunting and have never had a shot. We have talked about hunting them numerous times, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
They would make for a great mount though. And for the record I have no problem with how you told your story. Real life is not always perfect.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:16 pm