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| joeniv's coyote hunting page An assortment of photos from coyote hunting trips and adventures I've had the last couple years |
| When I was growing up / where I was from - no one really put much effort into coyote hunting. There were trappers who caught a few and the state planes flew over and shot a few, but most coyotes died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Drive by shootings or targets of opportunity killed by deer or pheasant hunters or farmers out checking fields and pastures. The photo above is one of my favorites from the old family album. My grand-dad hated to fly, but got over his fear of flying long enough to go on a ride with my dad as the pilot of the old Cub. My brother Mike is in the center of the picture. I think the shotgun nearly ran out of shells - grand-dad had a hard time shooting behind the coyote - you didn't lead them like you would a pheasant, because the plane was flying faster than the coyote was running. |
| I started hunting coyotes 'on purpose' a few years ago down in Valentine Nebraska with my college room mate. He runs a pretty large beef cattle ranch down there and has a brother in law - Matt - who is one inflicted coyote killin' nut. We hunted in a near white out blizzard on my first trip - my gear was not well suited for the hunt at all. But, Matt worked his butt off and finally called one into range I managed to kill... Notice Matt's truck tag - "EATBEEF" - he raises cattle, too... |
| Depending on the year, I make it to Gary's a couple times a year. One year we took a trip out there for grouse hunting - and ended the successful weekend with a drive around of the ranch. As we rounded a corner, this young coyote got up and stretched after taking a nap. I had my rifle down and at the ready and drilled her center of chest. It was pretty cool to do in front of my two buddies. |
| I have managed to kill a few on my own. A few years ago I was on my way out to kill a few prairie dogs and decided to try to call from a gravel pit overlooking a pasture. I glassed across the valley and saw five coyotes in one pack. Two adults and three pups. I called a bit and two pups came in, but I couldn't get set up on them. Then the female and one pup approached. I killed the adult first and the pup didn't know what to do. I even managed to jam my rifle - the pup stood still while I cleared the jam and chambered a round. Done deal. |
| Many coyotes still die as a result of drive by shootings. My buddy (and NASA rocket scientist) from Florida - Fuzz was with me while we scouted prairie dog hunting spots. We saw what looked to be cats in the grass at 200 yards. I always have a rifle in my truck - at 9 power I could tell they were coyote pups. I took two with two shots. One fell right down the den hole. Always fun to connect in front of your friends... |
| I am not the world's greatest coyote hunter - by any stretch of the imagination. So - when my hunting buddy from Virginia showed up to hunt one weekend, the pressure was on to succeed. Mike managed to call this one in from about a half mile away. The joy he felt upon calling in and killing his first coyote was intense! We really battled tough weather and conditions on this hunt. |
| The last time I went to Valentine, Gary's brother in law - Matt - joined us again. Gary and I managed to kill a double that day - I didn't see his, he didn't see mine. If the caller is still calling, don't break the stand. Gary's coyote was killed five minutes after mine. Neither of them knew one was coming in my direction - they hadn't seen it - only heard the single gun shot. |
| The only piece of taxidermy I own is this shoulder mount, taken from the smaller of the two taken on that trip. My house really isn't set up for a big game room with a bunch of trophy heads... |
| The year I lived in Pierre - I took advantage of being close to Elm Creek ranch and hunted a lot. This coyote is the one I consider my 'first' to have actually called in and killed all on my own. I was hunting the pasture just east of the home place up in the hills when this one came in across the hill tops. Upon close examination - a broken front foot was obvious - no scars or anything, but the bones were broken for sure. This hunt proved to me that you'll never kill anything if you stay at home. Weather was bad nasty that day - but I went hunting anyway. I think bad weather actually makes for better hunting. |
| That was the year JBH and I started hunting together. We were calling from a stock tank when this one came in 'along the fence line' and presented me a skyline shot. I was hoping Jim would connect - but there is a pretty solid rule about coyote hunting - if the shot presents itself - take it. I did manage to call one in close to Jim - but we didn't kill that one. I think the first shot was fired at around 15 yards. Jim's hiding spot was in a low spot - maybe a bit too low. |
| Another coyote killed on a nasty a$$ weather day. My truck thermometer indicated minus 20 some degrees when I started about a 4 mile cross country hike. I got this one on my third stand, after getting royally busted on my second stand. It was a really fun hunt out in the cold snowy pasture. I use a foxpro caller with remote and a Remington 788 in .22-250. I painted the stock matte white and wrap white vet tape on the metal parts. |
| I don't normally do anything with the coyotes I kill. I have two green hides in the freezer, but don't know how to flesh or tan them. I usually do take the skull and send them off to be cleaned by the beetles. I had quite an assortment gathered up when I sent these in... |
| Here is a close up of one of those skulls - I'm pretty sure this is from that pup I took as part of the double. You can see where the permanent teeth are pushing aside the baby teeth. The adult canines are just pushing there way in. I didn't notice a thing before I sent it in. |
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