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Book Excerpt: The Coyote Hunter's Handbook
By the time I turned 13, I’d heard lots of stories about people using predator calls for hunting coyotes. In fact, I’d actually tried it several times …but the only response was my own wondering if this was just another version of snipe hunting.
When you’re the kid in the group, it’s normal to get lots of teasing – and I’d had plenty.
Call a coyote? …Yeah, right. So, what’s his phone number?
Then one day I went to visit my friend Fritz …
Fritz’s family dry-farmed on a large tract of hill country, and they also ran sheep – to which coyotes were a constant threat. On this particular weekend I’d slept over at his house.
During breakfast Saturday morning, Fritz’s dad mentioned that one of the neighbors had been losing sheep to a particular coyote. The state trapper had in fact caught him in a trap, but the coyote ended up getting away – and the trapper ended up with one of the coyote’s toes.
However, in the weeks since losing a toe, it became apparent that the coyote had not lost his taste for mutton …and so had become somewhat of a local celebrity.
The upshot of this was: Fritz’s dad suggested that we go over to that end of the range and try to call him in.
…Then after a few minutes, I saw something moving near the top of the facing ridge. “Hey,” I said, “I think I see a small deer.” But as it ran toward us, that “deer” became a coyote – and it was running straight toward us! On it came, down to the bottom of the slope, then up the hill toward us …closer and closer.
As it charged up the hill toward us, we started shooting …it turned …and kept running – away.
No, we didn’t bring home a coyote that day, but we were elated. That predator calling thing really worked. No kidding – it really worked!
From that point on, I began calling with confidence – and keeping a detailed log of each calling stand. But I had more lessons to learn.
Want to read more?
Buy this book!
To Order:
The Coyote Hunter’s Handbook
As a printed book
Coming soon!
As an e-book (Kindle)
Coming soon!
When you’re the kid in the group, it’s normal to get lots of teasing – and I’d had plenty.
Call a coyote? …Yeah, right. So, what’s his phone number?
Then one day I went to visit my friend Fritz …
Fritz’s family dry-farmed on a large tract of hill country, and they also ran sheep – to which coyotes were a constant threat. On this particular weekend I’d slept over at his house.
During breakfast Saturday morning, Fritz’s dad mentioned that one of the neighbors had been losing sheep to a particular coyote. The state trapper had in fact caught him in a trap, but the coyote ended up getting away – and the trapper ended up with one of the coyote’s toes.
However, in the weeks since losing a toe, it became apparent that the coyote had not lost his taste for mutton …and so had become somewhat of a local celebrity.
The upshot of this was: Fritz’s dad suggested that we go over to that end of the range and try to call him in.
…Then after a few minutes, I saw something moving near the top of the facing ridge. “Hey,” I said, “I think I see a small deer.” But as it ran toward us, that “deer” became a coyote – and it was running straight toward us! On it came, down to the bottom of the slope, then up the hill toward us …closer and closer.
As it charged up the hill toward us, we started shooting …it turned …and kept running – away.
No, we didn’t bring home a coyote that day, but we were elated. That predator calling thing really worked. No kidding – it really worked!
From that point on, I began calling with confidence – and keeping a detailed log of each calling stand. But I had more lessons to learn.
Want to read more?
Buy this book!
To Order:
The Coyote Hunter’s Handbook
As a printed book
Coming soon!
As an e-book (Kindle)
Coming soon!
