Freds post about coyotes reminded me of a few encounters I have had with the critters over the years,I thought you all might want to hear about them.
My family and I moved back home to Southern Missouri in April of 1991 after spending several years away.When we came home we were able to buy a little 3 bedroom fixer upper house with 20 acres of land in a very secluded location.With lots of help from friends and family we made the place into a cozy little house.Both of our chidren were still young and living at home,and in time,we created some memories that turned the house into home.
The house and property was located 20 miles from the nearest small town-more than 10 miles off the nearest blacktop road.Our nearest neighbor was 2 miles away.The front of the house faced the gravel road but we seldom used the front door.The back door opened into a open patio that ran the length of the house . When you stepped off of the patio and walked 50 feet or so straight back,you entered the woods.Most of our 20 acres was wooded and was bordered by the national forest that consisted of thousands of acres of wilderness-if you walked straight back behind our home you entered woodlands that stretched for over 100 miles-with a very few scattered houses.While it was not wilderness like Mike and Wayne are accustomed to,it was about as close as you can come to it in Missouri.
Wildlife was plentiful. We could see deer,turkeys, and small game nearly everyday right outside our window.Bobcats were a fairly common sight.I saw the only wild bear I have ever seen in the woods behind our house on one early fall evening. I found bear tracks in the mud many times.Coyotes were THICK.
When we first came home,I had got a little fuzzy pup for the kids that was half German Shepard and half Chow.He grew up to be a large dog and a part of the family.He lived his life free,roaming the woods and guarding the house.His name was Bow.
Bow absolutely hated coyotes and spent his long life doing battle with them.He had the scars to prove it too! But Bow was no fool,he picked his battles wisely.A lone coyote crossing the yard at night was fair game and the fight would be on if he could catch it.On the other hand,a pack of coyotes howling on the edge of the woods at night would send old Bow onto the porch as close to the door leading into the house as he could get.Bow knew when to hold em and when to fold em! One night,they followed him onto the porch.....
We heard the coyotes singing every night when we went to bed.Some nights they were far off in the woods,some nights they would come into the yard.For anyone who has never heard coyotes hunting or feeding,they can make some sounds that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.They can also make a LOT of noise.2 can sound like 6 and a pack of 6 can sound like there are 20 of them.
Late one night I was awakened by some of the most God awful sounds you ever heard.It sounded like every coyote in the country was having a convention on my back porch.There were growls and snarls and yips and yaps mixed in with the yelps and growls of Bow as he did his best to tear the back door down!
I jumped out of bed and grabbed a pump 20 gauge shotgun and raced to the back porch.Stepping out onto the porch I nearly tripped on Bow who was very glad to see me.There were 3 large coyotes ON the porch not more than 10 feet from where I stood! At least 3 more waited just off the porch.None of them showed much fear of me until the 870 pump began to speak.I blasted the first one at point blank range and sent him to wherever good coyotes go.I rolled a second one as they headed for the woods and burned a third one just before they got into the woods.
At this point old Bow must have temporarily gone insane because he did one of the few foolish things I ever saw him do.With a mighty roar he set off into the dark woods after the departing coyotes.I muttered something to the effect of
My family and I moved back home to Southern Missouri in April of 1991 after spending several years away.When we came home we were able to buy a little 3 bedroom fixer upper house with 20 acres of land in a very secluded location.With lots of help from friends and family we made the place into a cozy little house.Both of our chidren were still young and living at home,and in time,we created some memories that turned the house into home.
The house and property was located 20 miles from the nearest small town-more than 10 miles off the nearest blacktop road.Our nearest neighbor was 2 miles away.The front of the house faced the gravel road but we seldom used the front door.The back door opened into a open patio that ran the length of the house . When you stepped off of the patio and walked 50 feet or so straight back,you entered the woods.Most of our 20 acres was wooded and was bordered by the national forest that consisted of thousands of acres of wilderness-if you walked straight back behind our home you entered woodlands that stretched for over 100 miles-with a very few scattered houses.While it was not wilderness like Mike and Wayne are accustomed to,it was about as close as you can come to it in Missouri.
Wildlife was plentiful. We could see deer,turkeys, and small game nearly everyday right outside our window.Bobcats were a fairly common sight.I saw the only wild bear I have ever seen in the woods behind our house on one early fall evening. I found bear tracks in the mud many times.Coyotes were THICK.
When we first came home,I had got a little fuzzy pup for the kids that was half German Shepard and half Chow.He grew up to be a large dog and a part of the family.He lived his life free,roaming the woods and guarding the house.His name was Bow.
Bow absolutely hated coyotes and spent his long life doing battle with them.He had the scars to prove it too! But Bow was no fool,he picked his battles wisely.A lone coyote crossing the yard at night was fair game and the fight would be on if he could catch it.On the other hand,a pack of coyotes howling on the edge of the woods at night would send old Bow onto the porch as close to the door leading into the house as he could get.Bow knew when to hold em and when to fold em! One night,they followed him onto the porch.....
We heard the coyotes singing every night when we went to bed.Some nights they were far off in the woods,some nights they would come into the yard.For anyone who has never heard coyotes hunting or feeding,they can make some sounds that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.They can also make a LOT of noise.2 can sound like 6 and a pack of 6 can sound like there are 20 of them.
Late one night I was awakened by some of the most God awful sounds you ever heard.It sounded like every coyote in the country was having a convention on my back porch.There were growls and snarls and yips and yaps mixed in with the yelps and growls of Bow as he did his best to tear the back door down!
I jumped out of bed and grabbed a pump 20 gauge shotgun and raced to the back porch.Stepping out onto the porch I nearly tripped on Bow who was very glad to see me.There were 3 large coyotes ON the porch not more than 10 feet from where I stood! At least 3 more waited just off the porch.None of them showed much fear of me until the 870 pump began to speak.I blasted the first one at point blank range and sent him to wherever good coyotes go.I rolled a second one as they headed for the woods and burned a third one just before they got into the woods.
At this point old Bow must have temporarily gone insane because he did one of the few foolish things I ever saw him do.With a mighty roar he set off into the dark woods after the departing coyotes.I muttered something to the effect of
