tth_12032
11-18-2008, 11:16 PM
I drove to the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake last weekend to try to fill a calf moose tag. The calf moose walked away from it all unscathed but that is neither here nor there.
When I was scoping out a small clearing in a forest I noticed a coyote on the hunt upwind of me. I stayed low in the grass humps and observed him through my binoculars. He slowly worked his way toward me. It was an especially cold morning and I had decided to wear my warm, down filled city jacket in the bush. As I hunched down my face was shielded from the bitting wind by the coyote fur trimmed hood. I had had no intention of shooting a
coyote before because I only ever felt that I should kill what I could use. But then it dawned on me that I was using coyote fur and I was being quite a hypocrite to withdraw from harvesting my own fur.
One of the main reasons I like to hunt is to feel connected to the land and be reminded of my place in the circle of life. Our very existence requires death and when do we appreciate the value of life more than when we observe and are personally responsible for the death that is necessary for our existence.
I slowly brought my right knee up to rest on. I put my scope crosshairs just below his elbow, took a deep breath, and gently squeezed. He collapsed, dead on impact. I got up and worked my way around the beaver pond to his side. He was further out on the ice than I had realized so lay down on my stomach and crawled out to him. Before pulling him in by the legs I watched his chest to be certain he was dead. The last thing I wanted was for
not-quite-dead coyote to pounce on me while I lay face down on thin ice!
As I examined him I decided that I best not use a .270 with 150 grain bullets to harvest a coyote again. The exit wound had blown a 2" hole through his fur and blood covered much of him. I skinned him that afternoon and learnt a valuable lesson about frozen tarps and sharp knife blades that my thumb won't forget (see picture). Then I gave him a good snow bath and a real bath today with a mild detergent. Luckily I am going out with a trapper
this weekend who offered to help me flesh him out and I have a good brother who's willing to help me finish processing him at Christmas. Considering the big hole and the fact that he is my first, I think I'll keep his pelt all to myself after he's processed.
Now who has a good recipe for coyote backstraps and hamstrings?
Tiarella
When I was scoping out a small clearing in a forest I noticed a coyote on the hunt upwind of me. I stayed low in the grass humps and observed him through my binoculars. He slowly worked his way toward me. It was an especially cold morning and I had decided to wear my warm, down filled city jacket in the bush. As I hunched down my face was shielded from the bitting wind by the coyote fur trimmed hood. I had had no intention of shooting a
coyote before because I only ever felt that I should kill what I could use. But then it dawned on me that I was using coyote fur and I was being quite a hypocrite to withdraw from harvesting my own fur.
One of the main reasons I like to hunt is to feel connected to the land and be reminded of my place in the circle of life. Our very existence requires death and when do we appreciate the value of life more than when we observe and are personally responsible for the death that is necessary for our existence.
I slowly brought my right knee up to rest on. I put my scope crosshairs just below his elbow, took a deep breath, and gently squeezed. He collapsed, dead on impact. I got up and worked my way around the beaver pond to his side. He was further out on the ice than I had realized so lay down on my stomach and crawled out to him. Before pulling him in by the legs I watched his chest to be certain he was dead. The last thing I wanted was for
not-quite-dead coyote to pounce on me while I lay face down on thin ice!
As I examined him I decided that I best not use a .270 with 150 grain bullets to harvest a coyote again. The exit wound had blown a 2" hole through his fur and blood covered much of him. I skinned him that afternoon and learnt a valuable lesson about frozen tarps and sharp knife blades that my thumb won't forget (see picture). Then I gave him a good snow bath and a real bath today with a mild detergent. Luckily I am going out with a trapper
this weekend who offered to help me flesh him out and I have a good brother who's willing to help me finish processing him at Christmas. Considering the big hole and the fact that he is my first, I think I'll keep his pelt all to myself after he's processed.
Now who has a good recipe for coyote backstraps and hamstrings?
Tiarella