For the Birds

Todd with his coyote Todd with his facemask rolled up on his head, poses with his coyote. This was a mature dog with a real nice coat, but the ballistic tips that Todd and John were using ripped two very large holes in the pelt.

Well, we can feel like we did our duty for all the bird hunters in our area now. This weekend, I went with my brother, Todd, and my buddy, John Villanueva to see if we could bag a coyote again. This time, we got out at first light, which is what we’ve attempted to do before, but until this weekend, hadn’t quite figured out how to do. We got out on the desert and on our second setup, we were laying in the middle of a small hollow with no brush around at all - one of the downfalls of hunting our area - there is no cover! Todd was laying it on with his new call and I peaked behind us and saw a coyote sitting on his haunches looking things over. I knew we were plainly visible, so I whispered to John there was a dog behind us. He eased over onto his back and lifted his .243 while I tried to turn my camera and point it in the general direction. I couldn’t sit up to look through the viewfinder because of the dog looking right at us. I hoped I was on him when John pulled the trigger, but upon looking at the footage, well, obviously, I was not. John’s shot was true, though, and we had our first coyote of the winter. We were high fiving and talking things over when we looked up and saw two more coyotes hauling out of there - with a little more patience, maybe we’d have gotten a triple? Perhaps, but we were happy with the one for now!We set up again with no luck, then as we approached out next setup, we busted a coyote out of the canyon bottom, and we (or at least I) figured this spot was ruined. Todd started calling, though, and as John and I set up behind him, we couldn’t see the coyote that snuck in from the side. Todd shot him once and then I stood up and was able to capture the rest of the sequence on film. Todd’s second shot missed, and then John finished the coyote off with a shot through the front shoulder.

Todd and John with their coyote. Todd put the first shot in (a killing shot) but John finished it off.

It was only about ten o’clock at that point, but we hunted the rest of the day without seeing another coyote. Still, though, we’re pretty happy with a few less predators out there. We’ve seen a lot of bird kills from coyotes and there are even stories of them taking down deer, although I’ve never seen it or the effects of it, but it is easy enough to believe. In two days in this particular area, Todd and I have seen twelve coyotes now. That’s too many, and plenty enough to gang up on a healthy deer.

Following is a short video of our hunt this weekend. I did the best I could with the equipment I had - I was using my little handheld camcorder again, and my tripod decided it was too cold and one leg just busted clean off. I tell ya, filming off a bipod isn’t so easy!

John’<p><p><p><p>s coyote John with his coyote - a young one with a scraggly coat.