wasnt sure which forum to put this in. I was turkey hunting and ended up shooting a yote.
My plan was to hunt a pasture this morning. I got there to find the grass was waist tall. I went ahead and set up anyway. This spot is actually on a brushline between to pastures. to the north is a wooded ridge. the two pastures are divided north to south by a brushy slope that goes down the hill to an old gate between the two pastures. I put my decoys out about 30 yards into the west pasture so that they could be seen from either side. (I use the word "seen" lightly, the grass was so tall you couldnt hardly see them anyway)
As the sun rose I started calling. nothing. My thought was that with the grass being so tall the turkeys wouldnt be able to see the decoys anyway. and even if they did come in I wouldnt be able to see then anyway. I was considering moving when I heard a snap behind and to the right of me at about 4 oclock. I turned to see a coyote standing there about 10 to 12 yards from me looking at me.
I was facing the wrong way but tried to spin around any way, he didnt move. I got my body turned around and started to raise my gun. He took a step back but didnt run away. I dont think he knew what I was. My gun was raised and the front bead was on his face. He lowered his head to sniff the ground and I let the thunderstick bark.
yes that is actually my shell stuck in his nugget. Those number 6s keep a good pattern at 12 yards! there was actually enough energy delivered to make an exit wound about the size of a half dollar at the base of his skull.
I think he was on the ridge to my north and heard my calls. when he spotted the decoys in the pasture he tried sneaking in along the brushline to get closer to them and ended up right in my lap. If nothing else i might have stumbled onto a new coyote hunting tactic, using turkey decoys and calls.
If any of you guys want to help clear out some of these coyotes, let me or redcloud know. there are plenty of them here and we havent had any luck with them, other than chance encounters like this one.
My plan was to hunt a pasture this morning. I got there to find the grass was waist tall. I went ahead and set up anyway. This spot is actually on a brushline between to pastures. to the north is a wooded ridge. the two pastures are divided north to south by a brushy slope that goes down the hill to an old gate between the two pastures. I put my decoys out about 30 yards into the west pasture so that they could be seen from either side. (I use the word "seen" lightly, the grass was so tall you couldnt hardly see them anyway)
As the sun rose I started calling. nothing. My thought was that with the grass being so tall the turkeys wouldnt be able to see the decoys anyway. and even if they did come in I wouldnt be able to see then anyway. I was considering moving when I heard a snap behind and to the right of me at about 4 oclock. I turned to see a coyote standing there about 10 to 12 yards from me looking at me.
I was facing the wrong way but tried to spin around any way, he didnt move. I got my body turned around and started to raise my gun. He took a step back but didnt run away. I dont think he knew what I was. My gun was raised and the front bead was on his face. He lowered his head to sniff the ground and I let the thunderstick bark.
yes that is actually my shell stuck in his nugget. Those number 6s keep a good pattern at 12 yards! there was actually enough energy delivered to make an exit wound about the size of a half dollar at the base of his skull.
I think he was on the ridge to my north and heard my calls. when he spotted the decoys in the pasture he tried sneaking in along the brushline to get closer to them and ended up right in my lap. If nothing else i might have stumbled onto a new coyote hunting tactic, using turkey decoys and calls.
If any of you guys want to help clear out some of these coyotes, let me or redcloud know. there are plenty of them here and we havent had any luck with them, other than chance encounters like this one.