# Afternoon with Dean.



## alleyyooper (Jan 22, 2020)

Dean had a house to show at 11:30 PM then we could go see about calling in some coyotes. He figured a hour to show the house and another hour if they wanted to write up an offer on the place.


So we arranged to meet at 3:00PM at the Christmas tree farm. No one had hunted there since the first of November. We figured the area had settled down and more coyotes had moved in as there were rabbit tracks all over as we made our way to here we were going to set up . There was the main trail we walked in on, another cross trail then a single track that went at a diagonal around a swampy area.


We set the pair of decoys out just to the edge of the diagonal trail start. That would give us a 75 yard shot if they got with in 10 yards of the decoys.

We decided to use a yappy dog and chicken sound since they kept chickens and sold eggs.


We were just about decided we had hit a dry hole when we see a coyote stick its head out from behind a nice spruce tree, wait for it to fully show but before it does another one came right out on the trail a bit farther away guesstimate 90 yards. Dean signs to me to take the long shot when I was ready and he would take the head shot if it didn’t step out. It finally stepped out at about 80 yards and the other one had closed to about 5 yards farther.

Dean signs when I was ready, I tripped the finger trigger as I squeezed off the shot from the Swift the rifle jumped in the sticks so I didn’t see what happened.


But when I got back on the scope there laid my coyote on the edge of the trail, Deans had made it off the trail behind that nice spruce he signed.

We go get the callers and decoys and go look at our coyotes, both females. Appeared to be about the same age also. Fur still wasn’t looking great but it had only been really cold for here 2 days.


We drove about 4 miles to Packies party store and left my truck there after getting a donut. I transferred my gear to Deans truck then we headed out for the Cruckshank sheep farm. The trucks temp read out said 29F a whole degree warmer than the weather guessers were guessing the high. 

After gearing up we head out down the lane. The snow had been packed here and was easy walking. We get back to the first field and they had sheep in there and were rolling out a big bale of hay for them. Being out like that helps their wool to grow thick we were told once. 


We get back to a stone pile about 200 yards from the woods but the best place to set up in the area for the normal wind conditions. We walk the decoys and callers out to the 150 yard area . Walk back and get our rifles set up on the shooting sticks we made.

We didn’t have to wait long before 4 coyotes showed up. Dean signs let them keep coming to the decoys and I should take the front one and second one on his trigger.


I watch his finger close with one eye and the other on the scope, that is hard to do. Try it some time. At the trigger I fire at the second coyote hoping I could get on the leader quick. I was able to get on it and fire made a bad hit but the coyote went down only to get up again second shot finished it.


Dean had did a lot better with his pair but he usually does. Have seen him set up 4 clay birds from 50 yards to 200 yards at random angles and nail all four with 4 shots sounding like just two.


Wait the full 30minutes and walk down and get the decoys and callers. Then we walk over to look at the coyotes 3 youngish probably springs pups and a older female most likely the mom. 

My down and up coyote took the bullet just behind the right front leg at a angle exploding and coming out in front. Going to take 50 yards of floss to sew that one up, Na not gonna.


I still love those Serria HPBT game kings, they normally go in do the damage stopping the coyotes in their tracks and never exiting when I do my part.


We get back to the truck and load them up, get out of our camo drive to our next farm a dairy farm. Well it had been a dairy farm all the cows had been sold before Christmas. 

Mister Denmore was out power washing equipment when we got there. Stoped walked over where we parked and started talking.


He said lots of dairy farmers have gotten out or were thinking about getting out. The price of milk just wasn’t paying the bills any longer. They had sold their whole herd to another dairy farmer who though if he had more cows to milk he could hang on.


The Denmores were still kicking around what they were going to do but come spring all their ground was going to be planted to Soy Beans. We were welcome to continue to hunt the place as they still had the normal barn yard critters around. 


We walk back and set up next to the wood lot waited a full 30 minutes and saw nothing other than a couple of deer. That happens some times even though no one had hunted the place since early November other than deer hunters.


We are on the main road, turn off on a icy back road normal a nice gravel road to another farm.

We are getting near the cross road we want when we see across the valley 3 critters cross the road. I say theres deer crossing the road ahead, Dean says those are coyotes chasing a deer. Tells me to take the wheel, he turns and I hear the zipper of his rifle case opening.


At the bottom of the Valley a small river runs under the road on both sides of the river is a wide swampy area. On the east end on the south side is a farm house but they do not farm other than to get hay for the horses they have, across the road is another farm house but they don’t have horses but raise many acres of hay they sell.

We have tried getting permission to hunt at both places with little luck.

On the west side of the river is a Mac manction with a paved drive that winds thru the woods to the hill top. Not sure what goes on there even though they have a couple really big pole barns and we have drove by at dark and the place is lit up like the Prison in Lapeer. 

We have tried to get permission to hunt there also with no luck. On the north side of the road is a much smaller house some thing like 1500 sq ft. Kare and I had looked at in 1985 when house hunting, with 5 acres all woods.

Recently sold again, we should ask for permission to hunt there some day.


Any way we get to the bottom of the hill cross the river and slowing down. As we get close to where we saw the critters cross a deer runs back south across the road, Dean slams on the brakes slaps the shifter into park and the pawl ratchets on the lock pin of the tranny till the truck totally stops. But Dean is out the door before it has with his 742 fully loaded. A domestic dog looked to be a pit bull mix is standing on the south side of the road panting Dean fires and snow hits it in the face as it runs. On the north side of the road in the woods a ways are two more dogs, one appears to be a Doberman and the other some black type of a Vizual. Dean pops a few rounds in their direction getting them to run deeper in the woods. He reaches in the truck and gets another clip for his rifle but by the time he is back out the dogs have disappeared.


He puts his rifle away and gets back behind the wheel and says I had did a good job staying on the icy road. Then starts in on people who let there d** deer chasing dogs loose so they run deer. Isn’t bad enough the deer have to avoid coyotes but also have to avoid dogs. 

Wishes they would change the law and we could shoot to kill dogs we catch chasing deer and no owners around attempting to control them.


We make it to the next farm a former hay farm. The owners husband had been murdered in 1989 for the roll of cash he flashed when hay buyers came to buy hay.

A young man had seen that roll when he came with the buyer to helloed hay. 

The place had been ran by the wife after that as a horse boarding farm and a hired guy who did the runner haying for the horses boarded there, and clearing the trails around the place and thru the woods.


She had died 5 years ago and the heirs had the house torn down as it had gotten in disrepair while the will was being sorted out. The place got split up I believe 20 acres with out buildings then dived in 20 acre polts till all was sold off except two plots. We still had permission to hunt the places for the time being as no one hunted it for coyotes but the place was leased to deer hunters.


Once again we got skunked a full 30 minutes but we did see 8 deer layed up in the fence line a bit farther down than where we set up.

Then there were 12 feeding in the former hay field as we walked back out.

It was starting to get late on this beautiful sunny winter day and we figured we could get into one more place before dark.


We arrived at the Ransom sheep farm at 5:20 dressed and headed out for our set a fence line about 80 yards from a brush line and swamp full of cat tails and dry humps scattered in there. Where deer and coyotes alike lay up.

Set up the decoys and callers far enough out in the open to draw the coyotes into the open. 

About 18 minutes or so two coyotes sneak out of the brush. Deans zone no way I could get a safe shot at them. Watch Dean and when they both get about 20 yards from the first decoy he fired, the tail end coyote goes down as quickly a second shot is on its way and the second lead coyote is down.


Gather the gear then the coyotes a male and a female. We get to the truck just before the lights in the sky goes out.


Make it back to my truck at 6:45 I have 3 coyotes two with sale able fur and one torn up so bad I won’t skin it goes straight to the pit in the morning.

 Al


----------

