# First Coyote...looking for a taxidermist



## timewellwasted (Jul 17, 2014)

This past Saturday I was able to harvest my first coyote. It was a long time coming for me. I had been out a handful of times over the past two winter seasons and had some encounters with coyotes but was never able to fire a shot.. My best chance previously was last winter when I called one in to about 70 yards. It came running to my distress call, sat down, I put my crosshairs on its chest..pulled the trigger, and only heard a "click" as my rifle had a light firing pin strike and didn't fire. I ejected the shell, loaded another, and had the same result. At this point the coyote ran off.
I took the rifle to a gunsmith who cleaned out the inside of the bolt. The rifle test fired multiple rounds at the range without incident, so I took it back out in the field with me Saturday. 
On my second set of the day, a male and female come charging into my call, less than five minutes into the set. The were coming straight at me before I yelled out a bark to stop them. I put my crosshairs on the male, who was less than 30 yards away..pulled the trigger...and "click"...another light strike on the 
cartridge with no ignition. I couldn't believe it. The male turned on a dime and started running off. The female had sat down facing me at about 55 yards; so, I put the crosshairs on her chest and fired. This time, my .17 fired true. The coyote tipped over backwards and was done. I tried to pick up the fleeing male in my scope, but he was gone into the brush. 






















I'm pumped to have finally taken a coyote and am considering a full body mount. Does anyone have a recommendation on a good coyote taxidermist? I know that predators' faces are tough to do and want to have a mount that looks as life like as possible. Thanks for your help!


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## tsb3 (Dec 31, 2013)

Congrats on your first coyote! Good lookin' one. Steve Snapp/Snapp's Taxidermy. Very good work, little pricey. I'm sure there's someone closer to you though. Steve is SW of Mason.


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## WMGAMEBIRDS (Jan 22, 2015)

Awesome song dog! Full body mounts the way to go, check out this guy, he has an awesome fox on his website, and I've had him mount a few things. Nice guy and easy to work with. Vink's Taxidermy. www.vinkstaxidermy.com


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## doggk9 (Aug 27, 2006)

.17wsm? Winchester ammo? Been hearing of a few problems like that. Seen a few also with a friend's gun, mine has done it once in 100+ rds.


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## roo (Mar 30, 2011)

All seasons taxidermy down by hillsdale in litchfield is very good. John has done a fox for me and a few other mounts for friends. Excellent work at a good price


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## haverka7 (Dec 31, 2012)

Calvin McLeod Timberline taxidermy! He does awesome work, his coyote won first place in master's division in the competition last year.


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## timewellwasted (Jul 17, 2014)

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I'll do some research and decide on one.


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## timewellwasted (Jul 17, 2014)

doggk9 said:


> .17wsm? Winchester ammo? Been hearing of a few problems like that. Seen a few also with a friend's gun, mine has done it once in 100+ rds.



It's a marlin 17 HMR. Hornady vmax 17 grain ammo. But I'm pretty sure the problem is with the firing mechanism on the gun. When it light strikes the cartridge and doesn't fire, it still leaves a slight indent on the rim of the cartridge, just not enough to fire. 


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## jrockfishhunter (Nov 4, 2011)

I've had that issue was told it's either due to trigger set too light or not pulling the accu-trigger back straight. The owners manual talks about pulling the accu-trigger straight or sqaurely. I hate it it's cost me one opportunity on a text book set.

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## jrockfishhunter (Nov 4, 2011)

Sorry was trying to reply to DoggK9 post 

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## doggk9 (Aug 27, 2006)

Never had any issues like that with my HMR, the Bmag on the other hand. Lol Mine is actually really good compared to stories I've heard from others.


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## timewellwasted (Jul 17, 2014)

jrockfishhunter said:


> I've had that issue was told it's either due to trigger set too light or not pulling the accu-trigger back straight. The owners manual talks about pulling the accu-trigger straight or sqaurely. I hate it it's cost me one opportunity on a text book set.
> 
> Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Ohub Campfire mobile app



I have a marlin .17VS that has a standard trigger, not an accutrigger. Is there a way to adjust the trigger pull weight? It's not set very light right now, but I'll adjust it heavier if that might solve the problem.


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