A coyote hunt doesn’t have to be an all-day affair

After work one night last week, I spent an evening trying to convince a coyote to come close enough for me to shoot it. I didn’t succeed, but I had a great time anyway.

Last week was one of those weeks at work when you just can’t wait for Friday. I felt like I couldn’t do anything right, and to make matters worse, my inbox was filling much faster than my outbox was emptying. It was one of those weeks when you just have to get away, if only for a couple of hours.

I decided a coyote hunt, even a short one, would be just what I needed to shake off the workday blues. I normally let the coyotes and foxes that live near my land be, but we’ve got one that’s getting a little too bold. He’s been sniffing around the calves, and my son saw him near the chicken coop a few days ago.

I didn’t have much hope of actually getting a coyote that night, but just getting outside for a few hours was all I was really needing. There are a few neighbors around my place, so it’s not like a lot of the open land where I usually hunt. That was a bit of a challenge, but the nice thing about a setup like this is that the dogs are usually less call-savvy when you find ‘em around a few houses. It’s not the sort of place that gets hammered by weekend warriors and their calls.

I spent a couple hours out there in the wind and cold, but I didn’t see any coyotes. That was OK, though, because at least I got out of the office. I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time out there before it started getting dark, and I still had to go back to work the next day. The strange thing was with that hunt sandwiched between all those hours of work, it was a lot easier to get back to work the next day. And it seemed to energize me a bit, and I actually got some things done once I did get back to the office.

My advice for you is to find a close place to go for a short hunt every once in a while. It’ll help you break up an otherwise tough week.