Called a few in this week!

[Grayfox]

Wednesday night I went out and made a few sets and was able to take my first Red of the year. I set up behind a buddies silo, overlooking a picked cornfield to the East of me and the road was behind me to the West. The wind was light from the NW so I put my decoy and caller downwind of me 30 yards. I started with some howls then switched to some rabbit distress. The neibors dogs to the South were barking every time I howled and also heard barking to the West. I put on distress for another 30 seconds with a 5 minute pause then did 2 long howls. Pretty soon the barking was getting closer from the West. 5 minutes later I see him come across the road. He stops to bark twice goes 20 yards and does the same. I turned and got on him before he got down wind and took the 150 yard shot and dropped him. Nice looking male.

Then last night I tried a few more. One being at a farm that I called a fox in last season and had to let go as the season closed a couple weeks before. Wind is from the SW so I sat up tight to a pole barn on the NE corner,in the shade, with the caller and decoy out 40 yards down wind and a farher East of me. I accidently started the set with a howl then started alternating on and off with woodpecker distress. I hadn't called for long when I looked up and this fox comes charging in on the downwind side directly at the caller and decoy. It stopped at 80 yards and I put it down. My 17 REM put a bigger hole in these last two fox than I expected. Maybe it's time to start handloading and slowing it down a bit?

The next set I head over to a big hay field. The field is about 80 acres and is off the NW corner of the road. Wind is still from the SW so I set up with the wind at my back and the decoy and caller a little farther NW of me and 40 yards out,hopeing that anything will swing from the East or West right out front of me. I start with woodpecker distress agian and do the on/off thing 3 times when I see one coming hard directly downwind of the caller. I pull up on it and I see another one trailing it in the scope. It stops at 150 and I put it down. The other one does a big circle and that's when I see the third one. I pulled up on another one and shoot. I hear it yip and take off. I tried to get on the third one but it wouldn't stop. I looked back and both of the two I hit are gone but I see one out a ways. I take the shot and it drops for good. I went out past the field edge and walked trails for an hour but couldn't find blood or the other coyote. Good sized male but it had the mange pretty bad so I just drug him out of the field and left him there. I was soaked pretty good after that jaunt but luckily brought a few extra layers just in case. I changed tops and tried one more set during a snow fall but came up empty.

One thing that's been working pretty good for me has been calling to the downwind side. I think the animals are a little more comfortable coming in when they can see something there,ie decoy and when they think they have a chance of smelling the origin you can pretty much bank on them coming in downwind of that. So I just set up a little farther one way or the other so they get downwind of the decoy before they get downwind of me and hopefully you'll get a shot. Give it a try.

Rob

[monstermoose78]

nice work

[mws4dux]

cool pics, good job!! We haven't had many budge this moon yet