macrabbit and I took a day trip to the ranch yesterday and boy, did we have fun! Upon our late morning arrival to the ranch in the East Santa Clara Valley hills, we decided to try calling in a coyote from mac's spot under a favorite tree up-top. I called first (around 11:30 or so) with macrabbit's dying jackrabbit call sounding more like a bunny that had stubbed its toe (I need practice calling, for sure), then quietly waited for a response. We waited about 5 minutes before macrabbit cut loose on his call - sounding like a rabbit being torn apart by a pack of ravenous wolves. We waited for about 10 minutes before macrabbit saw movement from the ridge of the opposite hill we were facing. I couldn't see the critter from my position as it was blocked by some branches, but the coyote walked to the right and I now had a clear shot at 185 yards. My first shot missed the mark, but fortunately the coyote didn't run. It walked back to the left and as it started to turn and was quartering away, I fired again with my M700 VS (.22-250, Leupold VariX-III 3.5-10X). This time the bullet sailed true and found its intended target with a resounding whack. The dog began its death spiral and as I fired a 3rd time collapsed, dead.
We had a hard time finding the entrance wound, but after some poking and squeezing, were able to locate the hole. In the top picture, note the area of matted fur. That's where the WW Whitebox 40 gr. hollowpoint entered. It didn't exit but probably scrambled the lungs as the bullet exploded towards the head - we figured the coyote's innards were probably pudding as it had bled through the nose and mouth. It was a small female. She looked healthy - no mange and teeth were in good shape and very white.
After dragging the coyote to the Bronco, we headed down to the cabin for well deserved lunch.
