9 replies to this topic

[Fjold]

Well, I got to the ranch gate at 6:00 AM in full darkness and flipped the brights on so I could open the gate. 50 yards away two yearling coyotes trot across the ranch road and head south.

I go through the gate and across to the north side of the ranch where I knew the dead calf was. I set up in the dark about 150 yards north of the where the rancher said that the carcass was and waited for shooting light. The morning wind is always from the south-east here and the rancher said that the coyotes were coming in from the west side of the ranch. I loaded up the AR-15 with a magazine full of 36 grain Barnes VGs and left my truck to get set up.

At first light I let out a soft locator call and got an immediate response from north east of me. About 5 minutes later I had crows coming in to where the carcass should be in the shadows of the bluff across the bowl from me so I started out with a crow fighting call, and immediately heard yips behind me to the North. I shifted sideways to watch the big ridgeline behind me and within 5 minutes had two coyotes 400 yards behind me travelling east to west along the back side of the ridge and I was getting just occasional glimpses of them traveling through the sage brush clumps. They circled south at about 500 yards until they got directly downwind of me, where they stopped and then broke back north at a dead run, when they winded me.

I kept the position for another 10 minutes or so until full light and looking down saw that the calf carcass wasn't where I was told it would be. I moved to another position about 1/2 mile away on a run out of the creek bed that always has travelling yotes in it and started a jack rabbit distress call. I wasn't in place for more that 10 minutes before I heard a truck coming and saw the rancher driving out to see me. I told him about getting busted by the two dogs from the north end and that the dead calf wasn't there anymore and he tells me that last night he saw the coyotes on the carcass again so he shot at them "and might have nicked one", then he says that he drug the calf's carcass over to the dump and buried it.

All I could do is just think to myself "Thanks for that, no wonder they didn't come back this morning."

I packed it in after that and told the rancher that I'd come out later in the week and try again.

[Shoot-it]

That sucks you should have asked him to leave the calf there as bait to attract them.Well at least you saw something I called or saw zip only a huge owl.

[OrneryOlMofo357]

Bummer that your hunt kinda got messed up. Keep after them, and Im sure that you will nail em.

[zippy1970]

Frank ,

thats a bummer . moving / burying the kill & not telling you about it . but worse was the " i think i nicked one " comment .

maybe switch from a dying rabbit to dying calf & see if they come in .

Andy

[DirtyDave]

I would try a calf distress call on a cattle ranch.

[Fjold]

I've got to buy some new sounds for my Foxpro and reload it. I don't have a calf distress call.

[Shoot-it]

Calf distress will prabably bring in a pissed off cow.

[ratassassin]

Sounds to me like the rancher owes you gas money for a wasted trip.

[ehd]

Thats when 150.00 up front helps out. The rancher did NOThing to help HIS cause out. I f it was a kill they will be back in a week or so. And much smarter.

[Loopdog]

Calf distress will prabably bring in a pissed off cow.

YES it does...been there