Early this morning before the sun came up, I was sitting under a bush overlooking a small field with the temperature hovering around the freezing level, listening to the sounds of a bird in distress echoing through the pre-dawn air. Two hawks would make a swipe at the decoy, realize it was not real, and then perch in a nearby tree, as if in some kind of protest. Ultimately this stand would prove fruitless for predators, and me and my hunting buddy, Bryan, would move on to another area.
The second stand had similar results - no hawks this time, but also no predators. It was 0700 and we both had to be back to work (though we both love what we do for work) around 0800, so we knew we only had time for one more stand. There was a subdivision not far away, and knowing that coyotes often hang out there during the night, hunting for pets and food garbage, and then make their way out of the subdivision early in the morning, we made a beeline for the edges of the populated area.
We setup our stand a good distance from the edges of the subdivision, so that we would be both legal and safe in our choice of hunting area. Bryan was on a small rise with his .17 HMR, overlooking a high-walled wash that was choked with brush on either side. I sat down in the wash itself with my shotgun, looking straight down the "lane" of the wash, with Bryan and the FoxPro caller about 40 yards in front of me and to my right. Bryan was running the remote, and within just a few minutes of starting the stand with some bird distress, there was 1, then 2, then 3 coyotes coming down the wash, straight towards me. I spotted them about 100 yards out, and wanted to let them get close enough to ensure a good shot with my shotgun as well as make sure that Bryan could see them. When the first coyote was within a few yards of the decoy I fired my first shot . . . . and things happened pretty quickly after that!
I didn't have a good cheek weld on my shotgun for the first shot, despite having a lot of time to prep for it - we all make mistakes! I started with the lead coyote, figuring I would work from the front to the back and Bryan could work from the back to the front and we'd probably get all 3 coyotes, but my first shot was high due to the bad cheek weld. I quickly worked the action on my shotgun, fixed my cheek weld, and put the second round into the coyote before the dust had even settled from the first shot. Coyote #1 hit the dirt hard so I swung to coyote #2, who was trying to put on the brakes but not before I had racked another round into the shotgun and helped that coyote stop for good - and coyote #2 was down. By this time, Bryan had found fur in his scope and put a round in the direction of coyote #3, but the shot wasn't solid and the coyote made a break for the thick brush, which it reached before I could get a bead on it. I fired a round of buckshot into the brush where I could see the outline of coyote #3, but the thick brush is unforgiving when you're trying to put effective shots through it - I'm not sure if I hit coyote #3 or not.
2 out of 3, not bad for a morning hunt
All of the shooting was over in just a few seconds, with two coyotes down for sure and one unknown. Bryan kept the call going, and after a few minutes made the signal that the stand was over. I whistled to him that I was getting up, but when I looked over he was giving me a hand motion to sit back down! A few more minutes passed when Bryan gave the all clear again, and then informed me that there had been a coyote directly behind him! Obviously he didn't get a shot on it, and it busted him and ran off when he turned to see what was there.
We recovered the two coyotes that were laying dead in the wash, but could not find blood or fur from coyote #3. We searched for a while, but other than buckshot marks on some bushes from my attempted shot through the brush, we didn't find any sign that we'd got a good shot on #3, so we called it a day and headed home.
Four coyotes on stand with two of them on the skinning rack, all before breakfast
If you've been having a hard time finding the time to go hunting, consider some early morning "pre-work" hunting or an "on the way home" hunting trip. I've killed a lot of predators over the years with those kinds of stands, especially when you combine them with hunting in areas that are close to populated areas, just be sure of your local laws!
Happy Hunting!
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