At midnight we pulled off to a spot we call Blindman's kitty and made our first night stand. Ed was on the Critter Call and the light. About ten minutes in he spots eyes coming in quick. The animal crosses in front of us and then checks up facing us at about sixty yards. Ed lights it up and I drop it with the .204. The first stand of the 2012-1213 season.
This years model
We decided to put some miles on before the next stand. At 3:00 AM, Ed starts in again with the Critter Call. On this stand we decide to use the new prototype light. The light has two bulbs, one wide, low intensity flood light to use when searching for eyes, and a focused, high intensity bulb to burn the animal for the shot. Flipping a toggle switch switches power between the two bulbs.
After about five minutes, Ed spots eyes. The animal again crosses in front of us and heads left. I dont immediately spot it, but under the low flood light, I catch movement in the sage. I pull in front of the moving animal and Ed burns it. I was greeted with a perfect profile coyote looking over his shoulder. The .204 put number two in the dirt. I can say this, if I had been hunting under a red light, we wouldn't have killed that coyote. I never would have spotted it.
A bigger coyote
We catch some rest in the truck from about 4-7. After a hearty breakfast, we head into the sierras for a little fishing. Ed pulled out the fly rod and I grabbed the spinning reel. After an hour or so, I caught a cat nap in the truck. I was suffering through a bit of a head ache and needed some rest.
Here's Ed thrashing the trout
After the trout, we head out to look for some high elevation, cooler calling areas. We find a nice looking spot and we get set up. I pull out a brand new, never been used, Dan Thompson call I ordered the day I heard he passed away. Ed decided to try and film this stand. After about ten minutes of calling, Ed spots a hard charger. He tries to point it out, but for the life of me, I can't see it coming. It checks up at about 125 yards and I finally see it. Too late, Ed drops with a good shot.
Number three for the trip
An older animal
After number three, I start feeling pretty out of it. The head ache is pounding and I feel like I have some serious allergies. After some quickly purchased medicine we make another stand and have another coyote come in but spot the truck and head out. The next stand had me almost passing out in the heat and I knew I was done. I was obviously in the throws of a pretty serious cold. We decided to call it and five hours later I was sleeping it off at home. I was beyond bummed to end it a day early, but I didn't see making it through another day of calling and surviving.
Ed, thanks for calling it...it is much appreciated.
Check out Ed's video of the trip. There is a great clip of the light we used.
