Would your turkey hunt turn into a coyote hunt?
So here's the situation: you're on an early season turkey hunt in West Virginia set up about 150 yards from a roosted tom who has been gobbling his head off all morning. However, a coyote shows up and offers you a shot before you see any turkeys. Furthermore, the tom stops gobbling once the coyote interrupts his morning.
Do you shoot the coyote and risk ruining you turkey hunt? Or, do you let him go in hopes that you'll be able to entice the tom to come into your calls once the coyote leaves?
Watch the video to see how these hunters handled the situation. The video starts off very quiet as the hunter whispers to the camera at the beginning, so you may need to turn up your volume initially.
As you can see, they decided to let the coyote walk and it paid off for them. Not only did they harvest that tom (look at the size of his beard and spurs!), but they got to see a bunch of other wildlife after the coyote left. Talk about a memorable day in the woods made even better by the fact they recorded the whole thing!
Would the tom have still come in if they had shot the coyote? Maybe, but probably not. For what it's worth, I think they made the right choice. Interrupting the silence of the forest with an unexpected gunshot is likely going to do more harm to your hunt than good.
What would you have done in this situation?
Like what you see here? You can read more great articles by John McAdams on his hunting blog. Follow him on Facebook The Big Game Hunting Blog or Twitter @TheBigGameHunt.
NEXT: IS THIS 105-YARD TURKEY KILL WITH A BOW EVEN POSSIBLE?
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