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Wade is another friend of mine that suffered through my early experiences of calling coyotes with me. I will never forget the first coyote I showed him. We were on a combination hunting and scouting trip. Our targets were forest grouse and coyotes, while scouting deer for Wades muzzle loader hunt. We set up with our backs against a pine tree. I blew a few stanzas and spotted a group of Juncos suddenly take flight. The old coyote’s ears were the next thing visible, I got Wades attention and pointed in the general direction. I could see from the expression on his face that Wade couldn’t see it and he appeared to be looking for a distant coyote. I then pointed down and Wade’s eyes got wide. By the time the coyote got into full view he was only twenty yards away. Our guns went off simultaneously, I saw Wade’s shotgun pattern encompass the coyote and the coyote lay dead. The next time we got together it was my turn to travel to Wade’s area to hunt. We left his home at 5:00 a.m. and traveled to an area that he had scouted out. We parked the truck in the dark and waited for the sun to come up. After it got light enough for us to make our approach without stumbling on every rock and twig we made our way up a narrow wash to a line of cedar trees. I usually allow the guy who scouted the area blow the call at the first stand, but Wade insisted that I should call first. The birds in the trees calmed down just in time to be disturbed by my distressed rabbit cries. I had played the first chorus and had begun the second verse when I heard movement behind me. I slowly turned my head, I could see that Wade had his gun up and was fumbling with his scope trying to turn the magnification down. The coyote had gotten within ten yards and spotted Wade waving his rifle around trying to acquire his target. On the way back to the truck Wade expressed his frustration, while I chuckled a little. “I know better than that, I know you have told me about missing them for that very same reason.” Wade said still shaking his head. We drove around in search of another suitable calling stand. The rabbit hunters had started to show themselves so we drove 75 miles to another area. Wade continued to shake his head in frustration over the one that got away. I continued to chuckle a little and told him he was being too hard on himself. After all the day was still young we were bound have another opportunity. We happened on to an area that consisted of a draw filled with cedar trees that offered some openings that could leave an approaching coyote exposed. We chose our hiding places and Wade began playing the tune. It seemed that Wade had only gotten a few bars into the first verse when I heard padded feet pounding to a stop behind me. The adrenaline began to flow. Hell, I think my eyeballs may have been throbbing. I turned in time to see a coyote just a few feet from my position. The coyote saw me move my head and began his retreat. I couldn’t shoot straight, and the coyote seemed to find another gear with each shot I took. I may as well have been throwing rocks. Wade never saw or heard the coyote and was only aware of his presents by my repeated shots. The shoe was now on the other foot Wade was chuckling and I was angry with myself for my poor marksmanship and adrenaline management. We made our way to find the path that the coyote had taken to look for blood on the off chance that I had hit him. We found his tracks and followed for a while and found no blood. After we had satisfied ourselves that the coyote was not injured we made our way back to the calling location. We took a look around and re-evaluated our set-up. The reason this coyote got in so close so fast was because we were set up poorly. I have been surprised several times when hunting alone but that is almost understandable, but with two guys we should have been able to cover the full 360 degrees fairly easily. This particular coyote approached from the direction that we had taken to get there ourselves. Coyotes had approached from the truck side before but not often. We had ignored that possibility on this stand. This mistake lead to our getting coldnosed for the second time that day. -B.J.W
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