The bucks just aren't cooperating with me this year and you can't hunt Whitetails on Sundays in PA....but you can hunt yotes! So I went out tonight and scored on a dog on my 2nd sit of the season.
Last season, I got bit by the predator hunting bug bad at the end of January after muzzleloader season ended and there's nothing else in season to hunt so I decided to give it a try. I enjoy hunting them at night with the red lights...there's just something about running the red lights and the fact that you are the one being hunted when they respond. I ended up calling a few yotes but only ended up killing one but I was hooked. I set a goal for myself this year to kill at least 5 yotes before April.
This was my 2nd hunt this year and I went to a spot where I called a dog in last year but spooked it by moving. There was minimal wind and the stars were just phenomenal tonight. I really like star gazing and this type of hunting allows me to enjoy two things at once! I got set on the edge of a field looking down at an inside corner that made a 90 degree bend to the left. My decoy and call were set about 75 yards to my left at about 10 o'clock and about 30 yards from the far edge of the woods. It's 30 degrees out and the fallen leaves have a bit of frost on them that made it crunchy to walk on while setting up. I got back to my tree and sat down to let things calm down. As I'm sitting there, off to my right at about 2 o'clock, I hear an yote give a mild howl about 80 yards away. I hadn't even started calling yet! I switched my call to a mouse & voles setting and I hear crunchy in the leaves off to my right. I click the red light on my scope light and am aimed down the edge towards the corner. Closer & closer and I click the safety off and then it sticks its head out of the edge of the woods at 40 yards! I line the dot in my scope up on it but something didn't seem right....it took another step out into the field and turned into a deer! Wow am I glad I identified my target before squeezing off. The deer seems intrigued by the Whobbling Whabbit bouncing around out in the field but I'm not amused.
I click my call to a rabbit in distress and inch the volume up slightly with my gun still aimed down the edge at that inside corner. I grabbed my scan light with my left hand and sweep from the inside corner to my left out across the wide open field and I see two red eyes bouncing up and down as this coyote comes bounding in to see what's making the racket. I pivot and get my gun in position and at 80 yards, the coyote banks left in an attempt to circle downwind of my call. I'm having trouble finding the black dot of my scope in the red light and the dog closes to the distance to 50 yards and stops facing me. I finally locate the dot, drop it below the chin and touch off. After recovering from the shot, I see eyes glowing on ground and I click my call to pup in distress in case another coyote was near. I sweep the field with the light but nothing else is around except that deer that's intently staring at the coyote laying about 60 yards from her. I'm surprised but the gunshot 40 yards from her didn't make her run.
Anyways, this was a 37.2 pound female and puts me 1/5th of the way to my goal and this is a great start to my predator season! In speaking with one of my local farmers before season, he told me about a black phase coyote that he's seen on his farm so I'm going to be after that one heavy as well.
1 of 5....first Yote this season
- xpauliber
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Re: 1 of 5....first Yote this season
Get em all!
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Re: 1 of 5....first Yote this season
Get em all!
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- Stanley
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Re: 1 of 5....first Yote this season
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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