The night was dark and cold as we quietly moved into our first hunting spot of the winter. We set up with our Pulsar scopes and tripods, while the Lucky Duck Super Revolt played in the distance. We could hear coyotes howling a couple of miles away. Knowing they were too far to come in from where we were positioned, we decided to pack up and move closer.
As we made our way down the road toward the howling, we were forced to stop at a T in the road. The coyotes were still about a mile away in a valley ahead, so we needed to get closer. Familiar with the area, we hiked a quarter of a mile to a field, shortening the distance between us and the valley. We found a row of evergreen trees that would serve as the perfect backdrop to hide our silhouette. Confident in our new location, we set up our equipment again, ready for action.
I placed the caller about 40 yards upwind and started with an interrogation howl, hoping to provoke the coyotes nearby. After several minutes of calling, I muted the call, and we waited. Time passed, but there was no response. How could that be?! We had heard them howling nearby! After a while, I switched to a baby cottontail distress call, thinking it might entice the coyotes, either with the promise of a snack or a territorial challenge.
Just a couple of minutes later, we picked up the heat signature of a coyote in our scopes. The Pulsar Apex XQ38 and Pulsar Trail XQ38 LRF pinpointed the coyote behind a cattle fence 550 yards away. It slowly crept in to 300 yards and stopped, observing the area. Confident it couldn’t see us, we decided to wait, hoping for a closer shot to ensure a quick, clean kill.
After about 10 minutes of watching the coyote remain still, I decided to take the shot. I was using a .22-250 and my Apex XQ38. Confident at that range, I squeezed the trigger and let the bullet fly. The coyote dropped instantly! Patience had paid off. The whole encounter lasted 35 minutes.
After the shot, I played some invitation howls, which brought out another coyote in the same spot as the first. I lured it closer with mouse squeaks until it was about 250 yards out, closer than the first. As we prepared for the shot, we spotted a third coyote coming in from the right, about 400 yards away. The second coyote noticed the newcomer and turned to head toward it.
Thinking fast, I played a male challenge call, which triggered both coyotes to get aggressive and run in 280 yards towards us before stopping at a fence line. They didn’t want to cross it, so with no other choice, my buddy and I got ready for the shot. We did a quick 3-2-1 countdown, fired, and both coyotes dropped at the same time!
It was our first triple and the first time we had taken more than one coyote in a single night. Although we've broken that record many times since, this set marked the beginning of what would become an ongoing challenge to set new personal bests.
