For those who have followed and watched my videos will know that I have began to shoot rats and left the bodies for coyotes to feed in hopes to ambush them.
Here is a writeup from the last couple of nights that I would like to share with you if you are interested to know what happened in the process.
I received a text from the farmer telling me that the coyotes are back and they had destroyed 5 of 8 chickens that were kept in a large outdoor fenced cage. 3 or 4 coyotes were digging the ground to gain access in broad daylight according to the owner. So I was asked to lend a hand to dispatch the coyotes.
My last attempt at a coyote at this location was 11 months ago where I missed (Coyote#4 video) the shot. So I was eager and excited to give it another go again.
I went there Thursday night for a quick set up of my blind inside an open barn facing the field where I bait them before. I shot a few rats with my HW100 and Hades pellets, but only collected 3 and left them for bait. Set up my trail cam and then went home.
So I was very excited to return Friday night to check on my trail cam as the three dead rats were gone. I opened the trail cam to retrieve the memory card and found out the batteries were dead. Damn...Did it even record anything? 1st sign of negativity. I turned on my laptop and inserted the memory card. My laptop battery was dead. WTF. 2nd sign of negativity. This was not going well. So I had no idea when and if the coyotes had came around to take the rats.
I wasn't happy with myself of not being prepared with back up batteries for my trail cam and of course charging my laptop beforehand. Things were not going smoothly and I just had a bad feeling that my hunt for the coyotes would not be a positive one.
So I gave up and just set up with my HW100T to shoot some rats so I can gather the bodies and leave them for bait. By now it was already 8:30pm. Luckily rats were coming out in the open and I was able to tag 11 rats and collected 7 big rats. 4 ran off into the holes and area where I couldn't access them.
By 9:35pm I heard coyotes howling in the area so I quickly packed up my gear, left the bait in the field where I had previously ranged out 25 yards from the blind. I moved my vehicle out of the way and settled inside the blind with my FX Impact MK2 with the Pard007S night vision clip on scope. My ammo of choice was the H&N 27gr Gen 2 slugs.
I had set up my shooting table and chair inside the blind facing the field thru one of the windows. Hot tea in my thermos and some energy bars in my pockets. I was ready to grind out for at least 3 or 4 hours until I see some action.
So the wait begins... An hour past and nothing. Then I saw something moving low on the ground. I quickly turned on my Pard007S and saw a rabbit about 15 yards in front of me. I filmed it for a bit, thought about tapping it, but rabbits are not on my list to pest at this location.
If anyone has done night time coyote hunt in the cold with an airgun will understand how tough it is to sit there in the dark, afraid to move around too much with fear of making too much noise. When you are in the dead of the night, every little movement you make like shifting in the seat or leaning of the table get amplified 120 percent. I never realized how my table squeak at the joints and how noisy the seat cushion becomes when I move my butt. Very stressful as I didn't want to make any unnecessary noise to alert the coyotes if they happen to come around. On top of that, cold and fatigue creeped in fast and furious, a feeling I have had and experience in the past with coyote hunts.
Another problem I faced was the inability of my eyes to see in the dark without using any night vision gear. As you may have known, you get temporary blindness every time you look thru the lens so I tried not to scan the area too much with the NV. I would just sit there quietly (trying to) and stared out the small window into the field hoping to spot some movements. Anyone who says hunting in the dark is easy with NV scope is full of crap.
So the clock ticks on. At 11pm, I saw a white figure moving thru the fence into the open field. OMG, a coyote had finally appeared. I quickly and quietly got into position, leaning over my Impact. One finger pressing the external IR with my left hand and power on my Pard007S with my right index finger. With the narrow FOV I finally located the coyote to my left. I pressed record and chambered a slug, ready to engage. By now my heart rate had spiked into overdrive and I thought I was having a heart attack.
I took one quick breath and had my cross hair on the forehead of the coyote. At that moment two things came into my mind. Should I squeeze off the shot now or should I wait till the coyote moves to the baits? I paused and hoped that it will go to the baits and may be the other coyotes would show up as well. I had 7 fat rats there for them to feed and I should have better chances of getting a good shot off. So I thought....
When I had the coyote in my scope view, it was sniffing the ground 2 or 3 feet near the bait. So I positioned my crosshair on the pile of rats and waited and waited... Nothing came into view and before I could say SH!T, the coyote was gone and didn't' return.
Another hour had passed and still no sign of any coyotes. I guess they had spotted my hideout and knew I was in the area. That was the end of this hunt. I reviewed the clip at home and the coyote was only in the footage for less than 6 seconds. Looking closely at the timeline, I couldn't have squeezed off a shot anyway.
I reviewed the trail cam footage from previous night and there were three coyotes in the clip with the dominant one (female) eating all three rats by herself while the other two coyotes stood by. Unfortunately I didn't have spare batteries for my trail cam so I am not able to film the 7 rats that I left there.
Yup, it will be tough to sleep tonight. Damn it is 3:19am now as I am typing this last sentence. Hopefully I will get these coyotes one day soon.
Thanks for reading.
