SEC T I ON T H R EE
BELOW: AUTHOR, DAVID ZEUG
CO LD S N A P COYOT E S
By David Zeug
“I got up and began moving ahead
when I stepped into a crevasse
covered with snow. I fell face first
into it leading with my rifle...and
now the coyote was only 400 yards
out.”
S
ometimes I feel sorry for those young kids I see in
pictures. You know, the ones whose arms are barely
long enough to reach across the spread of the big buck
they’re kneeling behind on an October afternoon. I
wonder if they’ve put sweat equity into the hunt by
spending a couple fruitless seasons shivering on a
stump in the November deer woods. Have they ever
gotten that knee knocking, dry mouthed, ragged
breathed adrenaline surge that we’re really hunting for
and only comes after you’ve paid your dues?
You know what I mean; it’s the rush you feel when it
looks like all your hard work might f inally pay off.
That’s what I felt sprawled across a Lake Superior ice
ridge not long ago, watching a coyote closing from a
half-mile away.
This winter has been a tough one, but for a predator
hunter, it’s just what we’ve been waiting for. The
recent cold snap put more ice on the lake than we’ve
seen in years and the heavy snow along the lake’s south
shore had pushed coyotes onto it.
I had a comfortable rest on the ice ridge. My glove was
off, lying under my rif le providing the padded rest I
needed for the shot that I was sure I’d get. My thumb
was on the safety, ready to move and my conf idence
level was high.
Volume 03 No. 01 | 2019