Coyotes For Grabs
Coyotes for Grabs
 Editor’s
Note: If you’ll hunt coyotes and try to help the
landowner get rid of coyote nuisances, many times he’ll
invite you back to hunt deer or turkey on prime lands.
The more you get to hunt with your black-powder rifle,
the more value you receive from the rifle, the better
you’ll shoot, and the more fun you can have. Looking
for opportunities to hunt after deer season ends makes
sense. Coyote hunting during the off-season enables
you to build good relationships with the landowners
whose land you hunt.
I heard a rust ling
in the leaves behind me. As the fog cleared out of the
swamp, I could see about 50 yards in all directions.
I spotted a form moving my way and raised my .50 caliber
CVA rifle to my shoulder, anticipating a big buck. The
animal drew closer, and I had my thumb on the hammer
ready to cock it. When the doe appeared, she ran about
20 to 30 yards, stopped and looked back and then repeated
the same drill. I heard another deer rustling in the
leaves behind me.
“This one will be the buck,” I told myself
as I once again readied for the shot. But instead of
seeing a buck, a spotted fawn, running hard with its
tongue hanging out moved out of sight with the doe.
I heard leaves rustling a third time. “Now, that’s
the buck,” I thought. “He sounds heavier
and is taking longer strides. I’m about to take
the buck I came here to bag.” Confidently I began
to put pressure on my gun ’s
hammer. Although I hadn’t brought it all the way
back to cock, I simply needed to put a little more pressure
on the hammer for it to cock. A dark form came quickly
toward me, a big coyote apparently trailing the fawn.
I cocked the hammer. The coyote froze in its tracks
when it heard the hammer cock. I fired, the coyote tumbled,
and I had my trophy for the morning.
When I returned to the lodge at White Oak Plantation
in Tuskegee, Alabama, and showed my trophy to the lodge
owner, Robert Pitman, he said, “Way to go, John.
I’d rather you shoot the coyotes than the biggest
deer on the place. They’re getting to be more
and more of a nuisance. They’re disturbing our
deer hunters, our turkey hunters, and I know coyotes
are killing our wildlife. Please, come back any time
for free and hunt these coyotes.”
For more information about White Oak Plantation call
319-395-0321, e-mail whiteoakhunts@mindspring.com,
or visit www.whiteoakplanation.com.
Tomorrow: Millions of Acres
to Hunt
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