Little trip west on the 12th

[Tim Anderson]

I posted this on another site but here goes anyway..


I went out to Pierre S.D. on the 12th for a calling contest and to do a little extra hunting.
I did'nt have a partner for the contest but Jerry H. was able to find someone for me at the last minute.. My new partner lived 60 miles south of pierre and my hunting area was 60 miles north so we decided to hunt my partners area.. It turned out my partner was a game-warden and new the area very well. I did'nt set my hopes to high since i've never been hunting in this area before, but we had some great weather so it was'nt all bad..
I told my partner to just get us into the general area and we will let the WT do the rest..
The place we hunted has pretty strict guide lines as far as where we can drive and not drive so our access was limited..
First stand out we had a taker to break the ice and my partner did the wet work..
The next hand full of stands we had to deal with spooked coyotes, not sure if it was my partners field glasses reflecting the sun or what. I told him we needed to get to a different area where we could have the sun to our backs or off to one side..He had some places in mind so we went to them and things started to click once again. While my partner was glassing the area in front of our stand a coyote came in from my left where my partner was sitting about 10 yds from him..LMAO
Coyote came up to me and i put it down and started to call again and a few minutes later had a second coyote come in straight on and i took him at 130 yds.. Nice double, and things where looking better..Next stand we hit a buffalo pasture and picked up a 4th coyote.. Next couple of stands we where just to close to the road with alot of traffic and could'nt get any more in.. We did'nt place in the contest but did better than others so i was happy.. The top three teams took 9,8,8 coyotes to place, not real sure on the second and third place numbers..

The next couple of days i called alone in minus 20 temps and had one day in the +5 temp..I met a few new ranchers and got unlimited access for just coyotes on five new ranches. I hunted just one of the new ranches and pulled in a thriple on the first stand and got all three coyotes which was a first for me and i also picked up a double the day before.. The WT worked perfect and did a great job of bringing them in and holding them long enough for me to get a shot off..
The day before i was headed down the road to another ranch and i spot a coyote comeing to the road, it saw me and heade back into the pasture i was planning on calling.. I floored the pedal on the truck and got into the pasture and made my way ahead of the coyote and parked behind a hill and then walked over the top and made a stand to try and call this coyote in.. About 5 minutes into the stand here he comes up out of the drainage and just sits down and looks in my direction just long enough for me to get the rifle lined up and take the shot.. This was a real pretty coyote and well fured.. I had another place where i took a few coyotes the year before and came back in july and took a double and then came back again in Dec. and took another double.. Its a good fill in area and seems to produce everytime i call it...
I switched to another brand of brass for the 17 Pred. and gained a little more vel. and noticed i'm getting alot of pass throughs but the damage is staying to a minimum. ( pencil hole going in and a dime size hole comeing out)
Well here are a few pic's of some of the coyotes taken after the contest and a few i shot when i got home..
My partner dragging one in for the contest

[22-250AI]

Good Looking Country !!

Good Job killin em !!

[Dcoy]

Nice pics Tim.Sounds like a good trip.

[mitchkvernum]

TA17REM HUH????

[EO caller]

Well done, nice looking coyotes.

[Prairie Ghost]

I would lay off making so much fun of the guy that put you in the coyotes all day but good job!!

Sounds like the WT is the way to go hope Bill is paying you well

[Tim Anderson]

I'm not makeing fun of my partner, just pointing out that useing the bino's to much can really mess up some stands. I use mine but use them towards the end of a stand to make sure there are no late comers or lookers.. Bill don't pay me a dime or give me any perks, he just makes a great product and it does a good job for me and i have never had to send it in for up-grades or repair. I did a little reading on another site and there are a bunch of guys who should be out calling this time of year but are not due to there caller being sent in for repair and its really too bad to cause the coyotes are real hungry..

Yes my partner put us on coyotes most of the day but if it was a two day contest we would have to go back and try for the ones we could'nt get on the second day since his area was so small compared to where i do my calling..After the contest i was on coyotes everyday in my area...

[coyotelatrans]

Tim , if you know how to use binos you can use them alot. In fact in large country I use mine quite a bit on stand, good camo and slow movements can show you a coyote in many cases that you don't see laying there with the naked eye. If I don't see nothing in 5 mins or so I'm glassing in large areas. What was the name of this CO? If you where south of I-90 of Pierre then you where in areas of good coyote numbers and a great place to call for a contest. yes the coyote numbers in many areas are up over the past few years as the contest numbers can tell one that.

I don't put alot of credance into caller A or b in coyote honey holes as the more you have there to call the better the responses will be no matter what caller your using. Same thing with lures in trapping or hangin a pile of snares or m-44's.

[Tim Anderson]

The area i hunted the day of contest is north of I-90 and just south of pierre.

[coyotelatrans]

OH your partner lived 60 miles south of Pierre that would put in 20 some miles south of I-90. Just south of Pierre where you on reservation ground or grasslands????

[Tim Anderson]

If you go as the crow flies i was only 30 miles south of Pierre, but i had to take the only road in and it was 60 miles long.. I was hunting on the Lower Brule Res.

[Jerry Hunsley]

coyotelatrans, Tim was hunting down river from Pierre on the Lower Brule reservation. Yes, he did get a tribal license and his partner was a tribal gamewarden. His partners name was Davis Gooms, a real nice guy. He was looking for a partner so I pointed Tim in his direction. Sounds like they had a good hunt and made new friends.

[coyotelatrans]

Thanks Jerry . I used to hunt the ft pierre grasslands for deer and coyotes years back. I was over that way a month ago or better but just north of the river doing a little bird huntin with a friend. Saw plenty of birds and 3 coyotes in a the few hours we hunted and alot of coyote sign. I never hunted on lower brule close in some areas but still on the grasslands. It seems coyote numbers are up as our contest over west here have had higher returns than years past, I;m thinking the mange has worked it self out some and more pup coyotes seeing winter because of it. We had alot of snow and wind and when I can get out and move around I'm sure coyote huntin will be good with all this snow!!!

I hope we don't have livestock loss like last year but time will tell. So much for the second deer season filling doe tags will be tough for sure.

[Tim Anderson]

How much more snow do you have since the 12th. I'll be heading back out in about a week if the weather is good...

[Jerry Hunsley]

Coyotelatrans, I think the Grasslands has a lot of coyotes on it this year. The greyhound hunters cannot go offroad down there anymore. Actually that law is in strict enforcement for anyone who hunts or fishes down there. Main roads and designated trails only. With all the snow I doublt if the off-road trails will even be open. Lots of possiblities for coyote hunters that would want to do some walking.