When it comes to coyote hunting, I’ll take being lucky over being good any day. Unfortunately, I am not Irish, and I’m also not that good. Sure, I’ve connected on some long shots on coyotes, and I’ve also blown shots when they were almost in my lap. What keeps me going, through the roller coaster of infrequent victories and too often defeat, is determination. 

Several years ago, while hunting out of state, I overslept my alarm one morning.

Everything in me wanted to believe the day was a wash. Determination had other plans.

I quickly grabbed my gear and loaded it into my vehicle only to discover I had forgotten to charge my electronic caller. Frustrated, I could have thrown in the towel at that moment, but my determination caused me to dig in my hunting vest to find my mouth calls. While doing so, I also found a turkey feather and some fishing line. So, I made a redneck motion decoy. 

I burned rubber to my hunting spot. As I walked across a field, I saw three coyotes watching me from the tree line. Quickly, they disappeared. I knew there was no way I could call those coyotes back into shooting range, but determination told me to give it a try. I quickly broke off a nearby tree branch, tied the turkey feather to it and jammed the stick into the middle of the plowed field. The feather fluttered in the breeze.  I hunkered down along the fenceline 30 yards away and started blowing on my rabbit call. Five minutes later, a female coyote, focused on my makeshift decoy, came out for a look. Through the brush, I placed my crosshairs on her chest. Determination (and a little innovation) made sure it was the last turkey feather she saw.