I was there in the afternoon to retrieve the trail cam footages and found out there were three coyotes that came to the pit the night before. The dead calf was dug up and exposed so I told the farmer not to cover the body up so that the coyote(s) could just come and feed again.
I found a new shooting spot that is 65 yards away from the target area. It is a manure separator structure that is two storey high with stairs going up to the top landing. I thought this would be a perfect spot to do my stake out and wait for these coyotes to show up.
So I did some zero check at the target box placed atop the concrete wall 63 yards away. The target area was 65 yards away. My FX Impact MK2 is shooting the H&N 25gr gen2 slugs at 984fps. I shot at the bullseyes off of a tripod and I was able to correct my POI by adjusting the elevation and windage. I did three shots group at 4 bullseye and I was satisfied with the POI. My gun was setup and ready for the hunt.
I showed up at the farm at 9:20pm this evening and I decided to do a prone position at the top of the landing instead. I figured it would give me a better shooting position and I would not expose my body profile if I was to sit up using the tripod method.
I laid on top a thick yoga mat and slipped inside an old sleeping bag to keep myself warm just in case it would be a long night. I did some recording to make sure my Pard007S was working properly and ensuring all the batteries were full. I took a test shot at a small dirt I placed on top of the concrete wall and it explored on impact. I was ready.
I scanned the field using my binoculars and monitored the trail cam IR lights. I had a good feeling about this hunt. This was my 5th attempt where the previous four failed attempts were from inside my blind located 60 yards in the open field. I believed the coyotes had smelled and spotted me when I was inside the blind.
9:57pm. I saw movement just below the concrete wall. I quickly turned on my Pard007S and the external IR light. Yup, a coyote showed up! My heart rate jumped up and I quickly chambered a slug. It was moving erratically, popping its head up and down. I could only see its head, neck and upper part of its torso. I took in deep breaths and told myself to remain calm and patient.
4-1/2 minutes later. I finally able to squeeze off a shot hitting it in the head when it turned towards my left. The slug hit exactly where I had aimed. Its head snapped back and its natural instinct of fight or flight took over, making it ran away. I wasn't able to see it because of the concrete wall. I knew I had hit it in the head, but unfortunately it didn't drop dead on the spot. Looking at the slow replay on my computer, my shot would have hit the off switch if it was 1/2" higher. Hmmm. I believe it was a solid hit and hopefully it would expire eventually.
I didn't go down the pit area to look for the body because I didn't want to alert the other two coyotes that might be in the area. So I waited at the landing for 20 minutes. But nothing, so I decided to wrap it up and came home. I will go there in the morning to look around and retrieve my trail cam.
Coyote #9 has been shot. Kill or alive, unknown at this point.
Full video to follow.
