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It pays to pay attention

4K views 20 replies 18 participants last post by  John in CA. 
#1 ·
By sheer fate, I stopped walking along this dirt road at just the right moment. After parking the truck "three fields" back.... (3/4 mile)....I really had not expected to see anything this early in the afternoon. The plan was to get to the fence, straight ahead, sit and scan a few minutes, and then cross into the pasture, after the cattle had grazed out of the way. The herd was headed left-to-right, almost all gone, and I was trying to time it that they would not spook and run off.

I sat a few feet from a telephone pole. No sooner had I focused the Nikon 8X40 binocular, and I thought a tumbleweed had moved. That really caught my attention, especially since there was NO wind at all. Hmmmm. Then it moved again, and it became clear that a coyote was nudging around the base of it, sniffing for mice. If he had not moved, I never would have seen this tan ghost. The camera was in my right pocket, so I quietly un-capped the lens, and zoomed up to 8X and snapped these pics. The coyote was slowly walking right-to-left........and along the fenceline, sniffing as he went. The white vent, or pipe measured 331 yards from me.




I sat quiet, as the calls, and Foxpro were in my backpack, and still strapped on my back. There was no way I could move around to get them out, without being spotted. He then cautiously crossed under the fence, and onto my side, but when he did, he became very suspicious that something was just not right. Even though I felt this was reaching the upper limits of the 222 and 36 grain Starke, I had killed a very high percentage at this range, as long as I had a secure hold, and a motionless target. I chirped at him, and this aroused his curiosity, but also his degree of caution. He just knew that a bird chirp should come from a bird, and not a blob sitting at the edge of a road 331 yds away. He cocked his head, and was not coming one step my way. Should have just kept quiet. I positioned the gun on my left knee, and braced the buttstock with my left hand. It was time. Every time he looked my way, he was looking longer, and walking faster. But something along that road smelled good, as he kept stopping every 10 yards or so.






Minutes were passing... and I realized my eyes were dry now, from not blinking for a while. But he kept moving, dropping his head, looking for mice, then at me. And at this range, I needed him to stand still. It seemed like one more chirp would send him packing, so that idea was dismissed. Just when I remembered to breathe, he stepped into a clear area, and I balanced the horizontal crosshair just above his spine, and the vertical right behind the shoulder. This felt like a 99% sure thing.........and a split second after the shot went his way....the thud of approval came back loud and clear! Motionless at first, and then a flip of the tail, to signal the end.


It was still early, but in the next three stands in as many hours, I never saw or heard another Coyote, but felt very fortunate to have taken this one. Sometimes things just work your way.

 
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#9 ·
Nice hunt and a nice read, John. No doubt those coyotes in that area are definitely educated and that makes it more of a prize considering the way your hunt worked out.

Way to go,

Steve
 
#10 ·
John--Once again, you come through on another coyote with a spell-binding story and photos to go along with it. Thanks again for sharing!!! That was one heck of a shot with that caliber!!! You evidently know your rifle well and can shoot pretty darn good besides!!! :)
 
#13 ·
JRinKY, Yes, you have to keep an eye on the herd, for sure. Actually, now that I think back on it, I was only slowing down to look because I was not wanting to send that herd running off, and draw attention to that area.

If coyotes are working amongst cattle, and you can slide in close to them, then the coyotes will sometimes drop their guard and hang around just long enough for you.
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DB, If that bugger had turned and walked toward me, I decided I would just keep taking pictures, and forget about shooting him. That would have been fun too.

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glad to provide a hunt story for those shut-ins like Charlie ! :D :D thanks for the comments.
 
#19 ·
331 yards and with a triple deuce and no tracking some folks are scratching their heads on that one. Great going. I never did get any of those 36 Gr. Starkes but I have some of his 52's still. Givem hell.
No doubt, that was streetttching the limits of the little 222. The 36 Starke/RL-7 combo goes right under 3700 fps, 5 shots over the chrony will average 3680. Bullet b.c. I believe is a paltry .156, maybe .160 if memory serves. Anyway, sighted 1.5" high at 100 yards, gives me a poi about 10.5 inches low at 330 yards. The bullet only has 252 ft. lbs of energy and is traveling 1775 fps. at that distance, so it really is not a shot you want to take unless the target, the gun and the air are absolutely still. But this load shoots .5 moa at 200 yards, and I have a good 4" kill zone to work with.

But there no doubt is a BIG difference between 300 yards and 331!! By the way, this shot did hit a couple inches lower in the lungs than I wanted, but the bullets design and thin jacket open up so easily that it seems to shock the body fatally if it hits anywhere near the vitals. The hollow point is very large, vs. the weight and overall length of the bullet, causing it to get unstable, open up and fly apart at lower speeds than the norm. Where this bullet tends to get me into trouble, however, is on 100 yard shots, where it is DRILLED into the hide, and cannot punch deep enough into the ribcage, to reach the heart/lungs. Too much frangibility, too fast, too close is a bad scenario.

Shootingsports;
Thanks and your eye is good, it is indeed a 1953 L-46 Sako Riihimaki, with a Lilja #3 contour SS 23.5" 6 groove barrel. Richard Franklin in Virginia cut a nice crown on it, and fitted it with a min-dim. no-turn chamber. It shoots about .380" groups at 100 yds. The scope is a Nikon Monarch 4X12. Wood came from a fellow board member Cajun Blake of Louisiana, who had a couple nice pieces he was not using for his own projects, and Claude Gatewood in Ohio designed the stock to fit me better with a 15" length-of-pull, and a slightly fatter palmswell.

I bought the gun used in 1984, and decided it was time to rebuild it. Its like an old friend now.:)
 
#21 ·
Frank...........

Good to hear from you, I thought you were into the busy season now, and thats why you hadnt been around. Ill send a PM.

all is well out here.
 
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