Predator Xtreme - Feb 2012
Hunting Thickets For Coyotes As the sun rose the light revealed an area with thick clumps of thorny brush protruding here and there After gathering our gear we walked towards the spring in hopes of finding an open area to use as a kill zone After walking some distance it became apparent that such an area did not exist and we would have to make do We chose a spot that had two good shooting lanes and maybe a third if a coyote crossed an opening to the downwind side Wayne placed his FOXPRO FX3 in front at about 10 yards on our side of a large patch of brush this would cause any predator to come into plain view if it chose to check out the caller We scratched out a nook at the base of a sand choked Velvet Mesquite and settled in Before the caller had even been started I spotted a coyote trot in from the left but still below us at about 50 yards No amount of lip squeaking would bring him into 54 www PredatorXtreme com FEBRUARY 2012 a shooting lane and he slipped out as quickly as he had slipped in off to the right We gave each other that what the heck look and Wayne turned on the caller We sat at a heightened state of ready for over 10 minutes but the coyote did not return Wayne turned up the FOXPROs rabbit distress a little louder and after another few minutes I spotted movement coming through the brush I could see it was a coyote but with the dog weaving through the low brush I could not get a clear shot At 10 yards the coyote burst from cover and into the shooting lane dead in front of me I flicked off the safety and squeezed Hunting coyotes in this thick brush takes a little more knowledge about your firearm your optics the behavior of other animals and of coyotes themselves than hunting in more open terrain A lot of folks would say Use a shotgun in heavy cover That is certainly sound advice but with heavy brush separated by areas open ground a shooter may need the extra yardage that a rifle can provide Heavy brush in the southwest is generally from 2 to 5 feet in height Standing amongst it a hunter has good visibility but when you sit down that visibility is gone This forces the shooter to seek out lanes of open ground that provide easy access for a coyote This brings us to a coyotes behavior A coyote will not maneuver through the thickest of cover or the heart of heavy brush unless there is a game trail or some other unknown anomaly that is unseen to the hunter A coyote will usually take the easiest path to his intended prey the caller provided that the trail provides enough cover to keep the animal comfortable Thats not saying a coyote will not cross open ground But coyotes that have had a bad runin with the business end of a rifle quickly learn to stay hidden A Laminated African Obeche in 025 thin plys and dyed the color of Old World Walnut Stability and strength of a Laminate along with the look and feel of ne French Walnut Big game dangerous game varmint competition or just plinking Over 90 stock patterns and inlets for centerfi re muzzle loader and rim re rifl es We keep over 200 laminated stocks ready to ship now WWW SCOPEUSOUT COM 704 824 7511 Largest Nightforce Inventory in the business allows same day FREE shipping Rings bases and all NF accessories including the new HIGH SPEED ZERO STOP Fifteen years experience in competition and varmint shooting NF scopes allows us to match your needs to the exact scope reticle and mounting system for your application PXD BSupply7511v indd 1 12 15 10 7 14 AM
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