king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Best of 2007 Feb-March 2008 - Index

came trotting in at 90 yards. I tried
to get Christopher’s attention, but no
sooner had I whispered when the dog
spotted us. Sorry son, but there was
no time to lose. I placed the crosshairs
on his shoulder, squeezed the trigger,
and watched Christopher jump ten
feet into the air. Poor guy had just
heard me whisper and was looking for
the coyote when I pulled the trigger.
Luckily, we didn’t need to go back to
camp for extra clothing. Now, I would
fi gure that he would be upset that he
didn’t get to shoot and that he would
chastise me for not giving him the
shot. Nope, he was happier than a fat
kid with a cupcake. We spent another
ten minutes looking over the dog,
taking pictures, and discussing the
need to expect a coyote at any second
during a stand. Lucky me, he was so
fi red up about seeing the coyote that
he carried it back to the truck. What a
good kid.
Stand 2: The next area we
decided to call was a high cliff that
overlooked three draws that I knew
coyotes used for denning. From our
vantage point, we could see for a long
way and I fi gured it would give me
ample opportunity to get Christopher
onto the dog before it was time to
shoot. Boy, was I wrong. I had just
fi nished my fi rst set of screams when
a coyote came from the one direction
I didn’t expect. Dead downwind.
Once again, poor Christopher was in
the wrong spot and wouldn’t be able
to take the shot. So, as the coyote
came in at a full run, I rolled over
and shot him at 25 yards with the XR.
It all happened so fast that I didn’t
even have time to grab the shotgun.
Fortunately, Christopher got to see
this one come in and watch the shot.
More pictures, a little more discussion
and off to the next stand.
Now I was starting to feel
pretty bad. Two dogs in two sets and
I had shot both of them. So, the battle
was raging in my head because, on the
one hand, I hate educating coyotes. If
you get one in and kill him that stand
site is still good. But, get one in and
miss, and that stand site will be burned
for the next few months. On the other
hand, this trip was about Christopher.
He was desperate to get his fi rst coyote
and I was just as desperate to make it
happen. Maybe it was time for a little
change in tactics.
Stand 3: With the coyotes
acting extremely aggressive, coupled
with the fact that there was a bumper
crop of young dogs, I fi gured the odds
were pretty good that I could call one in
fairly close in thicker brush. So, for the
next stand, I gave Christopher the trusty
Benelli. As I handed him the shotgun and
a couple of 3-inch shells, he looked at me
like I just kicked him in the shins. He
said, “Three-inch shells are for girls dad,
I want the big shells!” I couldn’t have
been more proud if he brought home the
prom queen. So, with a grin the size of a
serving platter, I loaded him up with 3.5inch
shells and off we went. This stand
site was a little different from the last two
in that we were only elevated a few feet
off the valley fl oor. We still had a good
fi eld of view out to about 200 yards, but
any shot opportunity promised to be up
close and personal.
I went through my standard
routine of calling softly for the fi rst minute,
then waiting about three minutes before
starting the second and more aggressive
calling set. About a minute into the
second set, I caught movement out at 200
yards and watched as a coyote broke into
the open looking right at us. Now I don’t
know if she saw something out of place
or if she just didn’t like the direction she
was taking, but she turned tail and headed
5PREDATORS5
Christopher with his fi rst coyote
taken on his twelfth Birthday
out of view fast. Christopher had
seen her and was scanning the brush,
so I got on the call and started an
extremely aggressive distress routine.
I fi gured she was gone as neither of
us could see her, but I wanted to give
her every opportunity to change her
mind. Just when I was about to give
up, she broke out of the brush line, not
40 yards away, at a dead run toward
Christopher. There was no time for me
to react and, with a bush blocking my
view, I couldn’t get a shot to stop her.
She was at a dead run headed toward
Christopher and the only thought I had
was that his mom was gonna kill me if
I brought him home with coyote paw
prints all over his face. My heart was
racing so fast I thought I was going to
have a heart attack. I was just about
to stand up to stop the coyote when I
heard the report of my trusty Benelli.
Imagine my surprise when I watched
that coyote fl ip over backwards just
six feet from the end of the shotgun.
Who needs fresh clothes now!?
I could not have been more
impressed with this young twelveyear
old man. Not only did he shoot
his fi rst coyote (yes with the big
shells), but he took the time to soak
in the experience and thank the coyote
for her life. He may only be twelve,
but he is way more mature than most
kids his age. Sure beats the heck out
of video games doesn’t it? Happy
birthday Christopher.
February/March
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