Final Count

Twenty-four teams competed, and 19 coyotes were harvested. The first and second place teams were responsible for 8 of the 19 coyotes: 42% of the total. Congrats to all the teams who harvested a coyote. Ranchers thank you for your efforts to help reduce predation on livestock. Thank you to every team to who participated. It was a huge success, and I am looking forward to coming back next year to defend my title! :)

Stringing Them Up

A coyote getting prepped for hanging from the scale. Every coyote was weighed for heaviest and lightest dog prizes.

Closing of the Tournament

My team checked in a little early. We ended up with 5 coyotes (should have been 6). That was good enough for first place honors. This was the heaviest male coyote of the day. It was just over 31 pounds. To help spread the prize money as far as possible, teams could only win once. I believe my team had a male close to this weight, although I am not sure if we could beat the weight of this coyote. However, since my team won first place of the competition, we were not eligible for the prize for heaviest male.

More Success

We had more success that day. We jump shot a couple of coyotes, and I called in a double a little later in the day. One of those got away after I initially dropped both. It is a good reminder to always make sure they are down for good before celebrating. After a minute of celebrating and high-fiving, the coyote that I shot first got up and took off. We gave chase for an hour or so and never could finish the deal. My shot placement was less than perfect on that first dog. It probably came as a result of anticipating the next shot on the second dog. Be sure of one before you go for two. I forgot that simple rule, especially after my first shot dropped the lead coyote. I violated two rules of coyote hunting, and I paid the price by losing a dog and what could have been the difference between winning and losing the tournament. Moreover, I still feel bad for not sealing the deal with that lead coyote. The shot was not long (maybe 50 yards), and I should have made a better shot. Because of my terrible shot placement, I've run the risk of leaving an injured coyote that cannot hunt as it normally would and now must turn to stock or domestic animals for food. Please learn from my mistake. Make good shots, make sure of the first one before you try for a second, and when a coyote is down, keep you eye on it just in case you did not kill it with your first shot. Follow up on your shots.

The Three-Legged Coyote

...It was a three-legged male and was probably the coyote that I observed hanging back from the rest of the pack. The leg did not look very good. It was an old injury that had healed over. I did this dog a favor. The death was quick and honorable. It was as fair chase as it gets. I snuck up on him and got close enough for a handgun shot, which I would have used if I had possessed one at the time.

I continued on to the stand location and called. I did finally get one to come in to about 300 yards. It had a mouse or vole in its mouth. It was not interested in the call so it took off and I allowed it to go unharrassed. I gave a follow and found where it had gone. there was a group of three coyotes (probably the same three from that previous pack of four). This coyote made the fourth for this group. I watched and tried to get closer. However, they spooked. I watched for a moment and then I realized why they spooked. Another group of hunters were calling from a good distance away. The calls were rabbit squalls. It sounded good, but the coyotes did not think so. They headed the opposite direction. Perhaps they had been called before and were educated, or perhaps the loss of a packmate earlier made them want to avoid any noise for the rest of the day. Either way, they were gone from my sight and were headed for ground that I had no permission for.

The First Stand and Our First Dog

The day began with a walk to our first stand. Before we got too far, we heard several groups of coyotes howl on the opposite side of the road from where we were hunting. We decided to go to that side instead. We got set up, and I began calling. After 20 minutes, nothing came. I was just getting ready to begin another series when a vehicle drove up and started driving around the field. They came fairly close to us. This ruined that stand, so we left the area and headed back to where we originally intended to hunt.

I split with my team and sent them around a canyon to set up to intercept coyotes that hang up from my calling site - staying just beyond rifle reach from my position. I would go to my calling spot and begin calling. Well, just after they got out of sight, a group of 4 coyotes jogging over the hill in front of me. One of the coyotes was an obviously dominant male. It tried to breed a female that was probably just coming into heat. That female resisted initially but one swipe from his paw submitted her to his will. The other two coyotes spent their time scent marking the area. One of the coyotes remained back from the other three. It looked injured, but I could not tell for sure. It did not move as quickly as the other though. The coyotes kept coming toward me and then finally went out of my sight as I was laying in the middle of a side-hill road and the embankment was higher than I could see over. After the coyotes were out of view, I climbed up over the embankment and began to go after the coyotes. After a few yards of walking, I found a coyote staring straight away from me. It was only 25 yards away. I aimed carefully from an off-hand position and shot the coyote in the back of the head for an instant kill. The other coyotes were several hundred yards away and ran off before I could get set up for another shot. Irritated that I did not get off another shot, I collected my coyote.

Coyote Hunting Contest Info Meeting 10PM

Twenty-four teams signed up for the 1st Annual Pomeroy Coyote Hunting Tournament. Most of the teams were from Pomeroy, but a few came of surrounding areas. The rules were simple: teams of three, one vehicle and one 4-wheeler allowed, no game violations, no trespassing, and don't be late for the 6PM deadline. The informational meeting was ajourned at 10PM, which was the official start of the hunt. Many teams decided to spotlight through the night. My team elected to start the next morning and hunt throughout the day.

I spent the night in my truck. It was not a good night's sleep. Teams drove by all through the night spotlighting fields (in WA it is legal to spotlight from roads, but you must be off the road to shoot). Several teams spotlighted my truck and I could hear them indicate that they knew that I was in the area. That helped keep a few people from hunting my area that evening, which was nice since I was not actually hunting at the time. I did manage to get some sleep though until the alarm went off at 5:30AM, the start of my team's hunt.

Obama Asked to Cut Funding of Predation Control

Several groups of conservationalists asked Obama to stop the funding of the USDA's Wildlife Services Dept. This request was countered by both the sheep and beef industry. In 2007, $117 million was spent on killing problem animals. Of the 121,524 animals killed, a little over 90,000 were coyotes. Only 340 gray wolves and 511 black bears were killed. My real problem with the spending of taxpayer money on this program is that hunters would gladly pay for the right to hunt these animals. Let hunters pay a nominal fee to hunt problem animals and save taxpayer dollars.

The conservationalists are being completely hypocritical on the issue. They do not want taxpayer dollars spent killing problem animals, and they do not want hunters to be allowed to pay to hunt them. It really comes down to the fact that the conservationalist groups do not want any killing of wildlife to occur, at least by human hands. To them, it is perfectly acceptable for cougars to decimate mule deer herds in Nevada and for wolves to wipe out populations of elk in Idaho.

Upcoming Blog Series

I have been invited to participate in a coyote hunting contest in eastern WA. It will be my first such contest, and I am hunting with two other people (three-man teams are allowed) for the first time ever. I am thinking about blogging my experiences and taking some photos in support of the blog. It is my hope to shoot for photos than cartridges on this trip. I would rather my teammates do the shooting so I can pack a little lighter for the trip! Stay tuned for more.

Good Luck Mike

Mike Schoby, hunting writer and now editor, has written his last blog for Predator Xtreme magazine. His blog will be missed. I enjoy reading all the blogs on PX's website, and I hope they find someone who can fill the shoes that Mike has left empty. The sooner, the better since PX only comes out every other month.

Lots of Coyotes, No Fur for the Shed

I went out last weekend to call in some coyotes using a Kanati Tek electronic caller. The caller worked flawlessly (as expected) and coyotes responded (also as expected). however, for one reason or another, all the coyotes hung up at over 400 yards. This made me 0-3 for the weekend in terms of shots. I had a great time and it was great to get to hunt with friends. I look forward to doing it once again.