Kyle finally broke his coyote jinx with me Sunday morning. Don't know if the coyote gods finally smiled on us or if its the fact that he's finally getting quieter with his walking and constant questions. This one's a pretty good story. One that Kyle won't let me forget about for a long time. . . . . . .

We set up overlooking the bluffs south of our land on the Platte. I was sitting in a fenceline facing north with Kyle sitting to my right-hand side. Jim Woolsey was sitting 50 yards to the west watching the west draw. Roy had my downwind backside covered 100 yards to the southwest of me. I was to be the caller, but Roy and I would start with a couple howls as it is nearing mating season and the coyotes will begin to defend their territories against intruders. It was just light enough to barely see through the scope. Roy gave the first howl, a female invitation howl, as Kyle and I were just sitting down. Even though, I did not have my calls out, my mask or gloves on, or my howler out, I quickly grabbed my howler and answered him with a male invitation howl. I figured I had plenty of time to get my mask and gloves on and my calls out. I finished my howl and went to place my howler back in my pocket.

"I see one, Dad, over by the trees!" Kyle whispered excitedly.

"Where?"

"Right there, he's looking right at us. Dad! There's two! The first one's coming!"

"Where???"

"Right there by the trees. Can't you see them?"

"No."

"I promise there were two of them. They're behind that tree. There he is again, he's coming right at us. See him?"

"Where???????"

"Dad, shoot him, he's getting too close!!!"

At this point, I looked hard to my right instead of out front where I expected them to come from. There was the large male, tail straight out, hair raised on the back of his neck, coming hard and looking for a fight. He was inside of 30 yards, on an open grazed pasture and closing quick. I swung the gun hard right and the feet of the bipod got tangled with Kyle's legs. The coyote skidded to a halt, seeing that things suddenly were very wrong for him. Kyle moved his legs so my bipod could find solid ground. The crosshairs brushed across his chest just as he turned to exit and I lit the fire. I'm sitting there with no mask, no gloves, my heart racing, Kyle shaking from being worried that I was going to miss, and a dog went down in 30 seconds after our howl. Roy and Jim didn't know what to think after the shot. With the ruckus and commotion that Kyle and I had, we could not get the female to return. What an experience for Kyle's first coyote! In the first picture, we were set up on the fenceline just to the left of the picture. I was looking for the coyotes over my right shoulder. Kyle first saw the coyotes over his left shoulder on the snow covered hillside and I ended up shooting it near the fenceline right behind Kyle's left shoulder.

We regrouped and moved to our second location. Roy was going to be the caller and I would watch his backside. Jim would watch downwind and sat near a big brushpile. Roy started calling and Jim hears something rustling in the brushpile. All is quiet. Roy calls and the brushpile rustles. Call. Rustle. At the 10 minute mark, a big boar coon pops up on a big branch at the edge of the brushpile. Jim topples him off of the branch. We try a couple other spots as the wind increases with no success.

After deerburgers at Buck Rut Acres Lodge, we decide to try one last spot near a hog confinement up in the bluffs. We set up a quarter mile off of a heavily treed draw in a well-pastured valley. Jim watches straight up the bottom of the valley, with Roy in behind calling and Kyle sitting near him. I am back 150 yards up on top of the hill watching Roy's backside. 9 minutes into the call, Jim sees the old male exit the heavily treed draw and pause up on top of a hill, surveying the situation. Another scream brings him a little closer at which point, Roy and Kyle pick him up at 250 yards. Lipsqueaks convince the coyote that lunch is awaiting and he hurries into a trot, staring straight at Roy and Kyle. He never noticed that his path would take him right past Jim and the copper-coated BB's. At this point, it was starting to spit rain, so we figured it was a good time to put an end to another great day out calling.

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