After living and working in Houston, Texas for many years we finally escaped the big city and relocated to a suburban neighborhood about 40 miles northwest of the metropolitan area. It’s quite common to see photos attached to the neighborhood stop signs of a small dog or cat that is “missing” and the owners do not seem to realize that the local coyotes are responsible. One Saturday morning this past fall I opened the garage door to let our small dogs out about 7 a.m. and went back in to fix the morning coffee while they stretched and walked. Ten minutes later our 20 pound, curly haired white dog came running up the hill, zoomed right by me into the garage, and 20 yards behind him was a well furred, healthy coyote following what he thought was breakfast. I clapped my hands, yelled, and began walking toward him before he turned and leisurely trotted down the hill and into the brush.

The next morning at daylight I set a FoxPro FX3 on a small woodpile next to a “wooly pulley” decoy. I took up my stand 35 yards up the hill nestled back into a small brushy area next to a red oak tree. I chose a fawn bleat, as there are numerous does in the neighborhood. Within a minute after turning on the caller, a fat, healthy female coyote came charging out of the brush, right where I wanted to position her. She stopped and was mesmerized by the whirling decoy. I put the red-dot sight right on the head/neck/shoulder area and touched off the 3-inch, No. 4 magnum shell. I now have a really nice coyote hide in the barn freezer, which I’ll tan into a rug after the first of the year and have a “show and tell” for the grandkids.

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