Wily Coyote Down
As you know, I am shadowing coyote hunter Terry Russ as reporter/photographer in his quest to take “Wily” with a Midwest Industries AR15 built by OWO firearms writer Stuart Wilkerson. That will happen. The gun shoots beautifully and is dead-nuts at distances to 200 yards, which is the distance we sighted it in for last week.
Terry Russ scores a double.
I can’t always be in the field with Terry as he hunts due to running this newspaper ship and Terry can’t always use Stuart’s rifle due to night optics. Terry’s own AR15 is equipped with a night vision scope, and nocturnal hunts are much more productive for taking Mr. Coyote. They move more at night. We are going to hunt daylight in the days to come and into the night under these new full moons with Stuart’s rifle. Terry is also going to fit one of his own scopes on the rifle that will allow better vision when the night goes totally black again. We want to write about the hunt with our great advertiser, Midwest Industries’ rifle, and we can’t ethically write about it unless it happens.
And like I said, it will happen. Terry is too good at this. More than 500 kills in fact. So he calls me up Saturday early in the morning after a solo nocturnal hunt with two big “dogs” as he calls them pushing 50 pounds waiting in his truck. We set up a photo session in a field just off my New Berlin neighborhood. Not everyone hunts in New Berlin, especially dogs.
Picture Terry climbing out of his truck with an AR15 in full camo and dragging two coyotes. I think of all my poodle owner neighbors and other lap-dog types within 100 yards or so of our open “studio”.
Two more coyotes down places Terry Russ’s total at well over 500.
“Hmmmmm,” I think.
“Cops will be here soon,” I say.
“That’s okay,” Terry says. “Most cops like it when they check out my truck parked on a country road in the middle of the night and figure out I’m a coyote hunter. They either want to shoot the bull or just disappear.”
We end up with some great photos and no officer friendlies to be seen. It seems that Terry took the first coyote at 180 yards, hit his “pup in distress call” and shot the second coyote coming hard 20 seconds later at 150 yards that he didn’t even know was there. Neither of the coyotes moved after the hits. The man can shoot.
I don’t think I will ever be a coyote hunter. If I can’t eat it, I won’t shoot it. But I can tell you I can’t wait to get out there again in the field with Terry. It’s quite a different challenge, and I think I’m shadowing one of the best at this game out there. Farmers losing livestock love him. In fact, look for more Terry Russ in future issues of OWO.
Speaking of, thanks for picking up every issue of OWO at your local Kwik Trip or Menards store, and thanks too for looking at our advertisers’ service and products before you buy. They are the only reason you read for free.
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Chocolate Fatal to Black Bears
OWO Bear expert and writer Mike Foss reminds hunters that using chocolate can be fatal to black bears when baiting. The article below from Concord, New Hampshire came across the news wire.
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's bear expert is proposing to eliminate the use of chocolate as bait after four bears were found dead at one trapping site due to a chocolate overdose.
The bears — two female adults and two cubs — were found dead within 50 feet of where a hunter had put down 90 pounds of chocolate and doughnuts as bait in September, The Concord Monitor (http://bit.ly/1BhaVHw) reported.
A necropsy and toxicology reports performed at the University of New Hampshire confirmed they died of heart failure caused by theobromine, a toxic ingredient in chocolate.
The best way to stop this from happening again is to remove chocolate from the woods, Andrew Timmins, the state Fish and Game Department's bear project leader, told a commission meeting Wednesday.
The possibility that bears could die from eating chocolate caught the department's attention in 2011, after the death of a black bear cub in Michigan was linked to theobromine.
Timmins said the amount of theobromine varies by type of chocolate used, but all can be toxic depending on how much an animal eats.
"We view bear baiting as an important management tool," he said. "It's not something we want to go get rid of, but perhaps some modifications need to be made to determine bear baiting practices to eliminate the chances of chocolate poisoning our wildlife."
Dave Nickerson, who attended the meeting, was skeptical of the cause of the death. He said chocolate has been used at many sites, and has been used in many states. He asked if the lab had tested for antifreeze.
"This is the first time we've had four dead bears at one site," Nickerson said. "It highly suggests that poisoning could have occurred."
Thanks for connecting with On Wisconsin Outdoors. Shoot straight.
Dick Ellis