Grabbed a .22 and took off in the '96 Dodge Dakota 4X4 across the field after a pair of coyotes I thought were threatening our calf crop. They split up on me, so I continued to follow alongside one of 'em in the pickup as he/she ran full speed ahead. Never got a shot off. However, the animal did not escape in the end. Well, he/she killed himself/herself by crossing over in front of the moving pickup and getting run over. I stopped to look over the corpse. I heard a faint, but distinct, hissing sound. During the travail across the field a tire had been punctured. I was in the "north 40", the acreage most distance from the farmhouse. I found the spare and jack were both stored where they should be; changed the tire and went home.
I had a lot of experience with BB guns and .22's on the ranch and .38 and .357 revolvers when I was a peace officer (even fired an M-16 and an MP5 once). Dad had purchased a deer rifle with a scope which I had never fired before. Two coyotes were stalking the cattle in the pasture out front of the house. I grabbed the hunting rifle and took off on foot. The coyotes began to flee down a ravine. I took a prone position from above and used the crosshairs on the scope to take a bead on one of the coyotes. I was careful to not jerk the trigger, took a slow squeeze as I placed my eye socket right up against the scope.
The recoil of the blast smashed the scope into the orbit socket of my right eye. The shock and pain were intense. Both coyotes escaped without a scratch. I ended up with a black eye. Previously, I had nailed squirrels at 100 yards using grandpa's octagon barreled pump-action Remington .22 rifle which had iron sights. Don't know how I missed the coyote with a scope. I never had used a scope before this incident, I guess one doesn't put their eye right up against the eyepiece. Never picked up that rifle again.
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