Warm, windy weather. This pretty much sums up why our trip started out so slow. The coyotes were not burning any calories trying to keep warm and were therefore not interested in responding to our calls. Once again, welcome to our Annual Christmas Coyote Hunt.

The weather was more like March than late December. We've never experienced a warmer Christmas hunt. On only the final morning, did I actually put on my normal December coyote hunting apparel. And that was only for the first call. The normal group of Don Nosal, Jim Woolsey, Roy Richters, and myself met at our cabin at 7 a.m. on the 27th. This year would bring the experiment of using radios on our hunts. We purchased ear buds that would allow us to remain in constant communication without any additional noise.

On the drive up, we spotted 2 coyotes harassing some deer, but by the time we obtained permission, the coyotes were nowhere to be found. After checking into the motels, the rest of the day only produced one coyote that immediately took off in the opposite direction when Don started his calls.

The morning of the 28th started with me throwing out my back as I crawled into our first position. The darn thing still bothers me today, but plenty of Ibuprofin allowed me to remain in the field. Roy's first howls brought an immediate response, but with the coyote being on top of a much higher hill than ours, he was able to see over us and spied our vehicle a half mile away. That was all he needed to see to know something was not right. We made our way further into Doc Smith's pasture and it was my turn to call.

Don covered the downwind side to the East, Roy was watching the South, Jim covered the North, and I was going to call upwind to the West. Roy radioed me to let me know that there was a much better calling position up near him that would allow a better view to the West. I moved up near Roy and he turned to watch to the North. I crawled to the top of the ridge looking West and immediately spotted a coyote across the cut a quarter mile to the West. The coyote had already spotted Roy crawling to the North. "Coyote", I whispered sharply. Roy turned, looked, and whispered, "Shoot Him." "No, too far", I replied. "Shoot Him", he retorted. Never being one to pass up a challenge with my rifle, I responded "How far?" "450", he answered as I cranked my scope to full power. I allowed for a full coyote above his shoulder and sent the 52 grain hollow-point across the canyon. Even Don (who was behind and below us in the bottom of a draw) heard the resounding "Wump" and loud yelp as the coyote spun two circles and bit at his side. He ducked into a cedar cut and Roy and Jim were able to follow him to the far side of the cut some 70 yards north. Using our radios, the four of us surrounded the cut and closed in. Roy found him lying underneath a cedar tree. Later in the morning, we jumped a third coyote as we moved to a new calling position, but nothing else answered our calling. The afternoon found us in Vinchattel's pasture with the coyotes only slightly more interested in our calls. Both Don and I had responses to our calls, but they remained over a quarter mile away while just taking a peek at our location and then deciding it wasn't worth the effort.

The 29th started in Cole's pasture which is located just to the south of Doc Smith's. Coyotes answered our initial howls, but our hunt was soon interrupted by other hunters that we spied a half mile south of us. Jim's knee gave out on him and he was forced to spend the afternoon in the motel room watching football and drinking beer. The three of us tried a couple shelterbelts and the pastures near them. On Don's turn to call, he finally brought in our first serious customer. He made the approach to within 25 yards of Don's position, but Don's nerves got the better of him and the coyote dodged the bullets to howl another day. Later that night, Roy and I decided to try some night calling. We tried a new piece of ground and started with some locator howls. Coyotes responded from all directions. We set up on top of some hay bales and Roy proceeded calling. Ten minutes into the calling, a hungry owl showed up. Roy found it quite amusing as I dipped and dodged to protect my head from his talons. I turned on the light to try to blind and scare him off. My light immediately showed a coyote out front, but I had more pressing problems at hand. As Roy growled at me to keep the light on the coyote, I was only interested in getting rid of the flying menace. The coyote escaped, the owl went away hungry, and I kept my scalp. I considered it a win-win for all of us. Roy didn't see my point of view.  Continued calling brought another coyote into view. Well at least Roy's view. I had a hard time picking him out across the field, but with Roy's scope, he tried a long range shot that did not find it's mark. I found that it can be quite difficult to hunt at night with lights.

We awoke on the 30th with steady 30 mph winds with gusts much higher than that. We started out in the hills, but quickly gave up as our sound was going nowhere. We chose instead to gain some permission on the riverbottoms of the South Loup River. Our first few calls produced nothing, but on the 4th call, our luck changed for the better. Don was calling with Jim and Roy helping to cover our side of the river. I had a rifle and kept tabs on the opposite side of the river. A couple minutes into the call, I noticed white movement in the trees and out stepped a big male 70 yards upstream. I swung the rifle into position and he dropped right where he stood. We moved a couple hundred yards further upstream and we set up again with Roy calling.

I was again watching the opposite side which was overgrown with large cedars with no undercover. You could see splashes of light that reached the dirt floor underneath the thick cedar branches. On his very first call, my eye caught a splash of light way upstream that flashed dark for a split second.

It had to be a shadow that caused it, I thought as I positioned the rifle downstream. A coyote quickly materialized as she made her way downstream toward our position. As I brought my bipod down, it settled on some dry cottonwood leaves causing a slight rustle. Her ears immediately picked it up and she froze behind some branches. I could not see her, but I also knew that she only heard leaves and did not know that there was any impending danger. I waited for Roy to call again. At his next scream, she continued her approach. I had a small opening directly across the river from me that would be my opportunity. I swung the gun to the opening and watched as she approached. As she stepped into the opening, I gave a quite "woof". She immediately froze and stared into my eyes. But it was too late as I had already lit the fire. By now, Roy has nicknamed me the "Dog Hog". Pic 1 shows the two coyotes. On our next calling, Don found a big 4 point skull and antlers that will now adorn our cabin walls. Shortly after that, we kicked out another coyote as we changed positions. The evening found the wind finally dying down as we headed to the hills. We set up with me doing the calling and the others positioned downwind. Roy broke the silence on my second call to report that a coyote was spotted and heading in. It took a couple minutes for him to close into 300 yards. He watched for a minute and then dropped into the draw to continue closer. But a minute later, Roy spotted him heading away from us. He tried a long-distance shot that narrowly missed.

Our last day dawned with Don sleeping in and then heading home. Roy, Jim, and I headed into the hills for the first time dressed for December Coyote hunting. The cold, crisp air held a hint of excitement. Our first pasture hunt was interrupted by the rancher showing up with a load of manure that needed spreading. We retraced our steps and proceeded onto our next pasture. Jim's FoxPro produced nothing at our first calling and we moved further into the pasture with me trying my luck. We positioned ourselves at the heads of two large canyons. Roy set up facing down the Southeast canyon watching our downwind side. I climbed the west side of the canyon heading north and faced north into the wind. Jim sat below me at the bottom of the canyon watching the bottom meadow with his shotgun. 30 seconds into my call, "Stumpy" shows up 70 yards in front of me. A quick shot crumpled him where he stood. I proceeded to continue calling. Ten minutes into the calling, Jim radios in that he has spotted a coyote on the far eastern side of the canyon, well out of shotgun range. I continue to call. A minute later he announces that a second coyote has appeared. I am on the opposite side of a large cedar and cannot see the far side of the canyon. A third coyote has now appeared but they are not coming any closer. Jim whispers that if I can get around the cedar tree, I may be able to hit one of them.  Two have now left with only one still sitting on her haunches. I decide that we have nothing to lose and I begin to belly crawl to the side of the cedar tree. The east side is a long ways away and it takes a little while for Jim to center me onto the coyote. When I spot the coyote, it is walking towards the top of the ridge up and to my left. It stops once more and sits upright. I quickly switch to 14 power, and settle the scope. The coyote is sitting fully upright looking right at me. I aim just below her chin and squeeze the trigger. Through the scope, I see her jump straight in the air and bite at her side. She runs toward a cedar draw and appears to be running fine. But Jim hears her running down the draw and hitting a bunch of trees and tree limbs. That is usually a good sign. I stay up high to spot while Roy and Jim walk the draw. Jim finds the coyote dead on a cow trail. She was hit in the chest just inside her left shoulder. From the bottom of the canyon, Roy estimated the shot at 350. My guess was that it was more in the 400 range, but I may be a little prejudiced. :-) This is a coyote that would have never been collected without Jim being able to get my attention with the radios. I went over to collect my first kill and I saw a sight that I will probably never see again. I have seen a few 3-legged coyotes, but I have never seen a two-legged coyote! Stumpy was missing both of her back legs! They were both cut off above the knees and healed over and calloused. This coyote was as healthy as any other coyote and had learned to adapt to her disability. I cannot even imagine the pain this coyote endured to learn to hunt, walk, and run on two missing legs. This was just another great example of the tremendous desire to survive that these animals possess. This is what makes them such a worthy and challenging adversary. Pic 2 shows the two coyotes and Pic 3 shows a closeup of Stumpy.

This was a fitting end to our Christmas hunt. It started out slow, warm, and windy, but finished up the way it should be - cold, crisp, and with plenty of excitement.