Well, after about 25 sets of calling coyotes in the past weeks, I finally connected today. In past sets either the wind switched, and we got busted or the dogs just hung up to far out, or nobody was listening to what we had to say.
My buddy Mick and I went out today, did 6 sets, two of which produced nothing, on the third, after about 15 minutes of calling on my Primos Elk diaphram ( if you move it closer to your front teeth and put a little tongue pressure on the reed it makes an awesome rabbit scream), this guy showed up.
I saw him coming around the bend of the coulee, just a shadow through the grass, he held up at about 200 yards behind a bush. I did a softer, shorter series of the rabbit squeal, and he started coming at a steady walk. When he was about one hundred yards he dropped down into a shallow depression, when he disapeared I raised the 7mm-08 XP onto the shooting sticks and pointed it in the area I thought he would come out.
When he showed himself, I had him in the scope, he stopped to look around for his lunch, I centered the cross hairs on the base of his neck, as he is looking, what appears to be right at me, at eighty yards. I squeeze the trigger and all I hear is a deafening CLIIIICK! Almost in slow motion a dull metallic sliding of the firing pin.(just above zero here today) Oh crap!(Edited to keep this PG 13) I know, I have a round chambered and there is no way I can eject and chamber another. I slowly reach up with my right fingers and open the bolt, reset the firing pin and close the bolt, then slowly start to squeeze the shot off, bang, thud, dog down.
We did three other sets after this with no shots, the last set of the day was right at dusk into darkness, I then switched to the song dog, I think we had 15 coyotes serenading up and down the Maple River, three did come in but it was just to dark. I need to remember a few things before I go out again, to clean my gun, a little practice, perserverance and patience.
