# Sunday Sunday.



## alleyyooper (Mar 12, 2018)

Dean and I met at our meeting restaurant, DST Sunday morning. I don’t know why the time switch effects me so much as I am normally out of bed by 3:00 AM any day. But maybe because of my age never have like the effects on my internal clock it has mentally.

After a breakfast and several gallons for coffee we hit the road to a sheep farm about a hour and a half away. Arrive Just as it gets light enough you can see the nose on your face. Trucks temp read out says 12F, so glad I put on my medium weight long johns. Climb out of the truck and start putting our camo on as the farmer comes out the door. He said he would be a minute and would be around to give us a lift part way back . We say no thanks as we have our packs, rifles and such and the cab of a MF 1105 is not all that big.

One thing the snow has melted down to just a couple inches deep in some spots but mostly frozen mud. I’m happy as I still have not found the pattern for my ski binding, Knew I should have copied it to a flash drive.

Work our way back to a finger field surrounded by woods. Nice stone pile not far from the edge of the field, presume some time in the past there was a stone there that could not be moved with the equipment of the day so a stone pile formed there. We set the decoys out on either side Decide we would go with one caller and use the distressed piglet sound. Saturday was over cast all day and not overly warm but today by the time we were set in place the sun was just starting to peek over the tree line.

The call had only been going a short time when 5 deer come out of the woods to our left and walk single file along the fence to our front to a bald hill top to browse on the grass. The callers sound has them uneasy how ever as they kept looking at the decoy set not far from the caller. They do not stay long and enter the woods near by.
After a half hour of calling we had seen nothing but deer so wait a bit and pack up to go.

Back at the truck the farmer has just put the tractor away after seting out a round bale for the sheep. Tells us he has not heard a coyote in close to a month, laughs and says we have did a good job cleaning them out of the area. We tell him to not be holding his breath as the coyotes will be back and maybe soon, just the way they are now here in lower Michigan.
Say our good byes and leave.

Drive about 10 miles where we hit a beef farm and have got a lot of coyotes. Is the first farmer who called asking us to do some thing about the bold coyotes that had been getting in the feed bunks eating grain. Sun is up now, we could feel it starting to warm up still glad we had long johns on as the truck read out still was not to 20F yet. We walk back to a fence line with a rise where we can set up across from a slough full of multa flora rose. Decided to go with two callers and clip turkey feathers to the decoy so it looks bigger. Go with the cat sound in one caller to start after Dean has a happy coyote family sound going.

At 5 minutes nothing has shown and the cats disagreeing kicks in, that did the trick as a coyote comes tearing out of that slough bee lining for the decoy. Is Deans zone so I am waiting for him to fire and when he does it still made me jump. In case you wondered we do wear those foam ear plugs, light to carry and work well. Wait a bit to see if any others show, nothing does.
It is a big old tooth worn male shows signs of mange so it gets drug over to the fence and pushed under to feed other critters.

We hit two other farms with no luck be fore we decided to go grab some lunch. The plan was to make a day of it. Tempture had climbed to 31F sun shining bright and snow slushy.

 Al


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## esshup (Mar 15, 2018)

Any day that there is one less coyote is a good day!!


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## alleyyooper (Mar 16, 2018)

*Sunday Sunday part 2*

We had did a total of 5 farms and gotten 1 coyote when we decided to go have dinner.

Drove to Donna’s Deluxe Dinner at outer Mongolian about half way between you are here and we were there.


We both decided to by pass the Sunday afternoon beef pot roast and had the hot pork sandwich. This thing is a good half inch of home made buttermilk bread piled with sliced pork loin another half inch slice of bread smothered in pork gravy. Mashed potatoes also smothered with pork gravy, a side of a vegetable either green beans with bacon or niblet corn, along with all the coffee or ice tea you could drink.


Walked out of the place with good luck wishes form our favorite girls, country raised each and every one.

Both of us were wanting to get some place quick and walk off some of the weight in our bellies.

About 5 miles down the road we come to another beef farm operation we hunt. Trucks temp read out said 33F and the sun was really bright with a cloud less sky. Walking back to where we are going to set up you wanted to be careful as the mud was very slippery. We set up in a narrow strip of woods beside a drainage ditch that joined 3 others just a short distance away. We didn’t set out a decoy here as we have never figured a good way to do so in the past.


Get the arguing kitty cats sound going on the caller and isn’t 15 minutes till we see a pair of coyotes sneaking along the far drains edge. Is a impossible shot for me so I sign to Dean to take both, he fires boom boom and one coyote is down for good and the other is trying to get away but it’s back legs won’t work so well then it lays still.


We wait just as normal then walk to the coyotes I look at the one that had tried to get away and it was dead so I cut a V near the tip of the ear. Dean gave me shrug like what are you doing, I sign I will let him know back at the truck. We pack our gear and wrap the coyotes up and head back to the truck. Once there I tell Dean I would like to know where you hit that coyote and the bullet path, I have never ever seen a coyote do much more that kick a few times where it lays when you shoot it. So not to get it mixed up with the others I cut the notch, you can have the next nice hide coyote I shoot.



As we are driving to the next farm another dairy operation, Dean explains he was given a box of Speer TnT 55 gr bullets. He had loaded them up and tested them on the range and felt they were as good as the Serra 55gr. HPBT we had always used.

Arrive at the farm trucks temp says 35F. We gear up and hike back to a place where Dean shot his first double with his rifle. Don as usual has left two rows of corn next to the woods for the deer. 

Deans points to the call sheet shrugs lets try a Fawn in distress sound.


Set the decoy out get in place then start the sound. It has ran a good 15 minuses when I see a pair of horse riders and point them out to Dean. Deans shuts the sound down but they continued to the decoy where they stop. They look around and see us across the field and come charging toward us. The guy is letting his horse get to close to me and I was afraid he was going to knock my riffle off the rest so I grab it up and bring it to port arms and tell the guy to back off. Dean confronts the woman and tells her Al is a Nam vet and I don’t know how far he can be pushed so you had best tell him to back that horse up. Also if you have a cell phone call Don and let him know your messing with some coyote hunters.

Dean told me he could hear Don on the phone calling him and her Ja** A** and to get to his house as soon as they can. She tells the guy that Don wanted them at the house ASAP.

So they leave.

 Al


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## esshup (Mar 17, 2018)

I sure would like to hear what Don had to say to them!


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## alleyyooper (Mar 17, 2018)

I will post Part 3 soon.

 Al


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## alleyyooper (Mar 17, 2018)

Dean and I picked up our gear then headed for the truck, I am steamed still over the J*** A** using the horse to try to intimatedate me.
When we got to the truck Don is standing in the drive way telling them there goes some of the most responsible hunters that have ever hunted my farm. I told them where to park when they come to hunt and in 15 years they have never parked any place else, never left a gate open nor shot any of my cattle.

Ya’ll on the other hand have no business confronting any one on MY land for any reason. If you felt there was a problem you should have called on your cell and told me about it. 
As of this day you are no longer welcome to ride your horses on my property, the gate will be refenced tomorrow morning. I also will not be leasing your fields to plant crops in and I doubt once the story gets around any one else will lease from you.

They leave as we finish striping our camo off and Don walks over and says he is sorry for what happened. We tell him it isn’t his fault so nothing to apologize for, We will return in a week or so.

We head on down the road and I am still steaming hot and tell Dean we need to hit the crop farm where we always see and shoot coyotes. I need to fire one up to get the heat out.
We arrive, trucks temp said 36F, walk back along the creek to where the slough starts set out the decoy and caller hike back to a group of trees and set up.

It is feeling real warm so I am hoping what I had read about afternoon coyotes was true. It is getting close to the time we would beheading out any way.
Start the call going with the Piglet sound again, has been a great sound for us for nearly a year now. Don’t have a clue why as we don’t really have wild hogs to speak of in Michigan nor are we hunting a hog farm where coyotes could hear them and do nothing other than drool.

At the 10 minute mark Dean sees a couple of coyotes coming our way pointing to them so I don’t miss seeing them. I make a slight shift and settle the cross hairs on the lead coyote signing to Dean to go for tail end Charlie.
I let them keep coming as they were about 150 yards out and they didn’t seem to worried about harm coming their way like many have. They would only pause for a second or two and keep coming. Once they got to where we have prerranged 100 yards I gave the trigger sign to Dean and fired. Both coyotes are down for good, we wait for a full 30 minutes then get up. Walked to the coyotes a female and a Male both looked young when looking at their teeth and foot pads. I had shot the male both still had some beautiful fur.
I now feel better.

We head to another farm, then 3 more, collected 5 more coyotes before it started to get dark at nearly 8:00 PM just tired wanting some coffee. 
Go to Deans and while he is in getting us coffee I start hanging the coyotes in the cool room. Dean cAme out with two big mugs of coffee and a platter of cookies. We hurry and finish hanging rhe coyotes and go down to Deans home office in the back of the barn and wash up and drink coffee and eat cookies.
We are just finished with the coffee when Dawn brings out a thermos full of coffee, Says we look tired.
We are and decided to put the skinning and the rest off till Tuesday, since I had stuff I needed to do at home Monday.

I want to know what happened they the one that tried to get away after shot.
So I guess there will be a part 4 maybe.


 Al


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## esshup (Apr 3, 2018)

It warms the heart to hear what Don had to say. Good hunting and shooting!! I hope the snow that is hitting Wi now isn't hamering you guys.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 3, 2018)

Not yet in my area but they say in the morning.

 Al


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## Natster (Feb 16, 2019)

@alleyyooper I enjoy your stories.
Wish I'd hunted and trapped more in my youth. 
N


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## alleyyooper (Feb 18, 2019)

Why can't you do it now?

 Al


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