Montana Song Dog

by Marty Tobey

  I was fortunate enough to have been asked to hunt elk in Montana and even more fortunate to have been drawn to receive an elk tag in the wildlife lottery.  I was excited to have the opportunity to hunt elk, but even more excited to be able to spend a week enjoying the beauty of Montana.  On the second day of our hunt, I settled in for the afternoon hunt on a knoll overlooking a clear valley with a patch of Aspen trees at the base of the valley.  I sat on the ground next to a small pine tree with sagebrush providing good cover.  My friend positioned himself on the other side of the knoll over looking open grasslands.                                                                                              After about an hour into the hunt, movement caught my eye.  Two coyotes followed a fence line on a steady pace.  Both stopped within 100 yards from my position to take a quick drink from the small stream.  I contemplated taking a shot since predator hunting has always fascinated me, but decided against it since I was there for elk.  Just as soon as I made the decision not to shoot, my friend, on the other side of the knoll, and not knowing what was happening on my side, decided to use his cow call to try to stir up some action.  Almost instantly both coyotes reacted as if a dinner bell had been rung.  Since I was between the coyotes and my friend over the ridge, the coyotes darted up the knoll directly in my direction.  I lost them briefly in the sagebrush, but knew they would emerge very close directly in front of me on a dead run.  I quickly raised my 30.06 and steadied it on the first coyote once it emerged.  I touched the trigger and sent the 180 grain core-lokt bullet on its way, quickly dropping the first coyote.  I then located the second coyote, put another round in the chamber and raised my gun, but decided against the shot as it ran by me within 5 yards to my left.  The coyote instantly disappeared in the sagebrush.  Within seconds, the excitement concluded as quickly as it started, and I had taken my first coyote.  My friend had no idea that his cow call stirred up the excitement, but I was grateful that he decided to do it.   The rest of the week was fantastic as we saw elk, mule deer and enjoyed the beauty of Montana.  Although, I was not able to harvest an elk, it was a hunt of a lifetime that I will never forget