Saturday my friend John called me up just after noon and asked if I want to go see if we can get some coyotes at a farm. He said the owner had called him early that morning and told him two coyotes are laying beside some big round bales of hay on a south facing hill just about every day. I tell John I will come over to his place which is on the way to the farm.
We get to the farm and the owner points out the hill side from his front porch. We decided we can go set up behind his equipment barn and have a clear view of the whole field and several likely places. The range finder said 184 yards to the hay bales so the shots would not be all that far.
We decided to wait and see if they showed up on there own with out calling. By 6:30 PM it was clear they were not going to come and lay there today which figures. We started the call going and about a half hour later was dark enough we packed up.
We decided to try it again Sunday morning, sure was windy so I took the 243 instead of the swift, John opted for his 270 since we feel the hides are not going to bring much at this time of year any way. About 7:30 AM we got settled in and started the call going. Took about 15 minutes before one stuck it's head out of a brushy fence row a couple yards to the left of the hay bales. It finally got it's whole body out with its nose to the air, John had the best shot and took it. A clean miss as we saw the mud kick up but the crazy coyote didn't run, John takes a second shot and again misses. This time the coyote took off. We didn't see any more so packed up and left. John said he was going out to his range to see if his scope was off. He was again not doing well and I told him it was the wind. His weather station said we had 18MPH wind with gust to 31 MPH.
He went out to his range again early Monday morning and sure enough he was dead on at 200 yards.

We will go back in a few days and see if they will come out again. also take the time to see if there are better spots to set up.


Al

Good luck on the yotes. Remember to take your specs with you.

Seems like the wind has been awful this winter and so far this spring.
Some days it is just better to not go out although I would not feel the same wounding a coyote as I would a deer. But never the less don't want to see any thing suffer at my hands.

Al

That's why I love shooting them with the Bee. Even a bad hit should decimate them. A broadside rib shot cuts them in half. I really want to load up some 100 grain hollow points and see how they perform. I know that the 300 mag with a 130 grain Speer blows them to pieces. Lots of bird food laying around. Smacked one at 550 yards and I think that there is still pieces falling out of the sky. They are great off season practice, and the gophers are a howl as well. Yes, it is overkill for the gophers and the yotes, but it keeps me sharp with my toys, and when I am deer or elk hunting, I know what I am capable of at extreme ranges. Shooting at a moose after spending the summer shooting at yotes and gophers is like aiming at a barn. Hope that you get a pile of them.

We have did OK on them with over 30 between my self and the 4 others I go with. At least one of them is ready to go just about every day.
We have gotten a lot of invites and permission over the last 4 years from farmers who call us from word of mouth recommendations.
My deer hunting partner shot one with a 300 mag hand loaded with a 165gr. bullet and what a mess. Was so bad he used a shovel to cover it rather than let it lay.
I use a 85gr. with my 243 doesn't tear them up to awful bad.

Al