I had been hearing from a local farmer that since he cut and bailed his hay meadow he had been seeing Coyotes and he said they seemed to be getting braver all the time, getting closer to his cattle yard.
On Thursday evening I decided to go have a look see. Even though I was just planning on having a look see I just had to take my lucky charm with me, my 16" Bushmaster M4 ORC .223 (which turned out to be a good plan).
I had watched the edge of the meadow for a few minutes when I thought I spotted movement. My 10x42mm Alpen Binocs proved I did indeed see movement.
There was an adult Coyote moving along the edge of the willows on the far side of the meadow. I watched a little bit and decided to take the shot since the Coyote was heading towards the farmers cattle yard.
At roughly 200 yards the Bushmaster / 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip did their job once again. I held on the Coyote midway top to bottom right on the front shoulder. The 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip hit with a resounding THWACK, the Coyote jumped about 2 feet in the air and started to sprint for safety. Just as I was starting to put pressure on the Bushmaster's Trigger the Coyote did a somersault and laid motionless.
I watched the area until dark and did not see another Coyote. The farmer had reported seeing as many as 4 Coyotes at a time in the meadow, so I will keep checking it from time to time.
About exactly 2 years ago I shot a couple Coyotes in this same meadow, so I know it is a good spot.
Larry
