| Other Species Articles |
John N. Felsher's Other Hunting Adventures
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Seconds after a distant train whistled its lonely notes, excited howling
from somewhere back in the forests reverberated through the fog
shrouding the soggy field.
“That’s a pack of coyotes,” said Rod Haydel of Haydel Game Calls of
Bossier City, La. “Coyotes often respond to all sorts of calls. Let’s set up
on the edge of the field and begin calling.”
Native to western prairies, coyotes expanded eastward in the early 20th
century, filling a void vacated by exterminated wolves. They now thrive in
every contiguous state, even occupying Central Park in New York City and
islands off the coast of Massachusetts. Highly adaptive, coyotes can live
almost anywhere and populate many suburban and urban lots, often
snatching cats, small dogs and other pets for food.
In many states, sportsmen may hunt coyotes without limit all year long or
for very long seasons. Coyotes provide an excellent tune-up for sportsmen
honing their skills before deer and other big game seasons. Constantly
searching for food, the brush dogs eat just about anything including
rabbits, mice, birds and other animals. When hunting in packs, coyotes can
take down deer and other large animals. Ranchers hate them because
coyotes frequently prey upon calves and other livestock. They often circle
cows about to give birth, waiting to snatch a nearly helpless newborn calf.
Therefore, coyote hunters can often find a warm welcome when asking
ranchers if they can hunt on their property. Invited to a cattle ranch
bordering riverine bottomlands, Rod and I hunted large pastures separating
plots of hardwoods and pines watered by several creeks. We repositioned
ourselves beneath trees at the edge of a field as coyotes began searching
for breakfast across the field.
“Vociferous coyotes make a lot of noise,” said Haydel, son of legendary
game call maker, Eli Haydel. “They have exceptional hearing and smell, but
are curious. That’s their weakness. Most predator calls try to imitate some
type of injured animal, like a rabbit in distress. If they think they can find an
easy meal, coyotes come running. I call for about 15 to 20 minutes. If a
coyote is in the area, it will respond quickly or not at all.”
Rod began blowing a mournful tune to sound like a dying rabbit. It
almost resembled a human baby crying. We scanned for movement as he
blew his call periodically. Seeing nothing, we changed locations, slipping
through the woods until we reached a small mound overlooking a cow
pasture. Rod climbed up first.
“John, I see a coyote,” he said reaching the summit. “Think you can
make the shot?”
Making its morning rounds, a lone coyote loped across the foggy
pasture more than 300 yards away. A wing-shooter all my life, I never fired
rifles at such distances. I turned the variable power Kahles scope on my .
30-06 Weatherby to 9-power and put the crosshairs just over the coyote’s
back. With the gun sighted slightly high at 100 yards, I expected the bullet
to drop more than it did. The 180-gain projectile smashed into a puddle
just beyond the dog, exactly where the crosshairs met.
The very surprised, but alive, canine forgot about food and kicked in
afterburners for the woods. Among the fastest land animals in North
America, a coyote can trot at 25 miles per hour and sprint up to 40 m.p.h.
This one shifted into overdrive.
As the morning lengthened, we began searching for coyotes in cow
pastures. Rod took a long shot at a runner, but missed. To pull coyotes
into range, he pulled out one of his tapes and an electronic call similar to
ones used by snow goose hunters during the conservation order season.
Almost immediately after the electronic yapping of recorded coyotes fighting
rippled across the field, coyotes howled beyond the pasture. Two came out
of the woods into the field. Another one sleeping in the pasture picked his
head up.
We watched as they stayed just out of range. Finally, two headed in our
direction. At about 200 yards, Rod fired, downing a big male. The female
stopped to see what happened to her boyfriend. Before I could get into
position, Rod fired again, wounding the female.
I put my rifle against a gate rail and took aim, but the gate moved. I
rushed the shot and missed. Finally, determined to make a hit, I braced my
rifle against a solid post and fired. This put the toothy predator down for
good so that it could never snatch another calf.
For more information about Haydel Game Calls, call (318) 746-3586 or
visit the website at www.haydels.com.
from somewhere back in the forests reverberated through the fog
shrouding the soggy field.
“That’s a pack of coyotes,” said Rod Haydel of Haydel Game Calls of
Bossier City, La. “Coyotes often respond to all sorts of calls. Let’s set up
on the edge of the field and begin calling.”
Native to western prairies, coyotes expanded eastward in the early 20th
century, filling a void vacated by exterminated wolves. They now thrive in
every contiguous state, even occupying Central Park in New York City and
islands off the coast of Massachusetts. Highly adaptive, coyotes can live
almost anywhere and populate many suburban and urban lots, often
snatching cats, small dogs and other pets for food.
In many states, sportsmen may hunt coyotes without limit all year long or
for very long seasons. Coyotes provide an excellent tune-up for sportsmen
honing their skills before deer and other big game seasons. Constantly
searching for food, the brush dogs eat just about anything including
rabbits, mice, birds and other animals. When hunting in packs, coyotes can
take down deer and other large animals. Ranchers hate them because
coyotes frequently prey upon calves and other livestock. They often circle
cows about to give birth, waiting to snatch a nearly helpless newborn calf.
Therefore, coyote hunters can often find a warm welcome when asking
ranchers if they can hunt on their property. Invited to a cattle ranch
bordering riverine bottomlands, Rod and I hunted large pastures separating
plots of hardwoods and pines watered by several creeks. We repositioned
ourselves beneath trees at the edge of a field as coyotes began searching
for breakfast across the field.
“Vociferous coyotes make a lot of noise,” said Haydel, son of legendary
game call maker, Eli Haydel. “They have exceptional hearing and smell, but
are curious. That’s their weakness. Most predator calls try to imitate some
type of injured animal, like a rabbit in distress. If they think they can find an
easy meal, coyotes come running. I call for about 15 to 20 minutes. If a
coyote is in the area, it will respond quickly or not at all.”
Rod began blowing a mournful tune to sound like a dying rabbit. It
almost resembled a human baby crying. We scanned for movement as he
blew his call periodically. Seeing nothing, we changed locations, slipping
through the woods until we reached a small mound overlooking a cow
pasture. Rod climbed up first.
“John, I see a coyote,” he said reaching the summit. “Think you can
make the shot?”
Making its morning rounds, a lone coyote loped across the foggy
pasture more than 300 yards away. A wing-shooter all my life, I never fired
rifles at such distances. I turned the variable power Kahles scope on my .
30-06 Weatherby to 9-power and put the crosshairs just over the coyote’s
back. With the gun sighted slightly high at 100 yards, I expected the bullet
to drop more than it did. The 180-gain projectile smashed into a puddle
just beyond the dog, exactly where the crosshairs met.
The very surprised, but alive, canine forgot about food and kicked in
afterburners for the woods. Among the fastest land animals in North
America, a coyote can trot at 25 miles per hour and sprint up to 40 m.p.h.
This one shifted into overdrive.
As the morning lengthened, we began searching for coyotes in cow
pastures. Rod took a long shot at a runner, but missed. To pull coyotes
into range, he pulled out one of his tapes and an electronic call similar to
ones used by snow goose hunters during the conservation order season.
Almost immediately after the electronic yapping of recorded coyotes fighting
rippled across the field, coyotes howled beyond the pasture. Two came out
of the woods into the field. Another one sleeping in the pasture picked his
head up.
We watched as they stayed just out of range. Finally, two headed in our
direction. At about 200 yards, Rod fired, downing a big male. The female
stopped to see what happened to her boyfriend. Before I could get into
position, Rod fired again, wounding the female.
I put my rifle against a gate rail and took aim, but the gate moved. I
rushed the shot and missed. Finally, determined to make a hit, I braced my
rifle against a solid post and fired. This put the toothy predator down for
good so that it could never snatch another calf.
For more information about Haydel Game Calls, call (318) 746-3586 or
visit the website at www.haydels.com.
Beep! Beep! Wily coyotes provide
sport all year long in pastures
sport all year long in pastures
John N. Felsher admires the first coyote he killed. He shot it with a
Weatherby .30-06 in a cow pasture near Shreveport, La.
Weatherby .30-06 in a cow pasture near Shreveport, La.
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