Coyote, Hog and Turkey Hunting

I've had coyote and hog encounters on turkey hunts around the country (and closer to home). As for many, sometimes it ruins the hunt. Other times, it becomes the hunt - or part of it.

Texas. A bright-eyed but toothsome head popped up in range where we thought a turkey might. I'd been calling steadily on a mouth diaphragm. The coyote paused, looking hard at us, as I whispered to the high-school football player guiding me and a buddy on the land: Shoot him?

You'd be doing the rancher a favor, he said.

Bang.

Fifteen minutes later we called a screaming suicidal turkey down the hill to his certain death and my buddy shot it. Do gun blasts spook birds? Not this gobbler.

Dances with Coyotes

Coyotes. They seem to shadow me while chasing turkeys - spring and fall. Once, while Vermont fall turkey hunting with my late-great turkey dog Midge, she paused in a twisted birdy point.

Woodcock? I asked my bud. Probably grouse, he flatly responded.

No more than 10 steps off her nose, a coyote sniffed along, no doubt mousing, just past the multi-flora rose between us and the skinny game trail. She'd pointed a 'yote.

As he turned to ask, Should I dust'm? I answered with a shotgun bark. It ran off. During the deer season that followed, he found the dead coyote dismantled by others - so much for reverence of the dead.

Why did I shoot? My Midge had been bitten in the rear right leg by a Maine coyote the year before - the infected wound swelled up like a tennis ball implant - and I wasn't taking any chances.

Bonus link: 8 Mistakes Rookie Coyote Hunters Make

Hog Hunt Breaks Out

Turkey hunting can be tough. You can push hard for birds, encounter henned-up spring flocks and situations where killing a turkey seems downright impossible. It can also be easy, and you'll find yourself suddenly tagged out. Both situations seem to promote hog hunting.

Florida. Texas. California. Spot-and-stalk. Hogs with dogs. Rifle hunts. These states and others offer opportunities.

And there's plenty of good eating to follow.

Bonus link: Baked Wild Pig Ham with Peach Bourbon Glaze

Eat It or Use It

As hunters, we should do everything we can to utilize what we kill.

Some donate hog meat to local food shelters, or give it away. Some possessively claim it, processing and preparing the wild pig for their families.

You can have full coyote taxidermy mounts made, or skinned and tanned for display. Some craft arrow quivers, hats or gloves with the fur, too, season depending.

What do you do? Comment below.

Go here for more Realtree turkey hunting. Follow us on Facebook.

Editor's note: This Realtree.com post was first published April 2, 2016.