17Lb Coypu Meets Winchester Super X

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Some movement on the lake caught my eye, so I grabbed the binoculars and looked out through the kitchen window. Sure enough, a sizeable V-shaped wake was crossing the lake, led by the big, square profile of a coypu's head.

Finished my lunch, then grabbed the Zastava and donned a neoprene camo top and a cap, since it looked like rain. I wandered over to the south end of the lake, and had a scout around with the 12X binoculars, but couldn't see anything. So I decided to stalk up the eastern side of the lake, where our little patch of woodland makes for a good backdrop, and the sound of the breeze in the trees can mask your approach. Coypus often lay up on the banks, and from the eastern side I can see under the lakeside trees to the western bank, 30-35 yards away, so I can scan both sides while remaining behind cover. The western bank is much more open.

Got halfway along the lake, when I saw a rusty-brown head down to my left, on the bank, about five feet up from the water's edge. I froze. Coypus have excellent hearing, but poor eyesight, although I know that they can spot lateral movement a mile away and dive under the water.

The coypu's head came up and it sniffed the air, but didn't bolt. I backed away very cautiously, and circled through the woods to come out on one of the paths that would give me a better shot at the critter -- when I'd frozen in place, there were several small saplings between me and the coypu.

By the time I got in position, the coypu had moved. It now had its back to a tree which was right on the waterline, facing directly up the bank towards me, and had settled down for a kip. A good angle and a brilliant backstop, although I had to move forward to 11 yards to draw a bead between its eyes, due to the slope of the bank.

I quietly opened up the shooting sticks and lay the rifle on top. I'd already put a round in the chamber when I'd approached the lake, and now I slid off the safety catch and checked my range card insert on the inside of the scope cap. Since I was about 11 yards from the animal, that meant positioning the top of the post at the bottom of the reticle on the target! Lined up, and squeezed the trigger. There was a thwack as the Winchester Super X subsonic hollowpoint smacked into the tree behind the coypu, which fell into the water next to the tree. Job done.


Dead in the water.

 

This one was 60cm nose to butt, 90cm nose to tail. That's a size 12 boot.

 

It weighed in at 7.5 kg, or 17 lb.



I was pleased with the shot placement at such short range. The round entered between the eyes, and exited behind the shoulders, due to the angle of the shot.

 

 

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Haven't seen any little 'uns yet -- now is around the time when the females drop their litters.

 

I suspect this one was a pregnant female looking for a nice, quiet spot to give birth, before teaching the nippers how to tunnel under the banks of my lake then moseying off to pastures new and leaving them to it. They're normally around 5 kilos when they're that size lengthwise, which is why I think it was a pregnant female.

 

The biggest one I've ever seen in these parts (found it drowned in our lake) was an absolute monster at 11 kg/23.5lbs, and that was a male. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWRmFeaqMX8

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Managed to grab a bit of video footage of the hunt -- see here: https://youtu.be/ZRNa8-YnkQc

[The one 8,592]

Nice shooting mate ,they good for anything feeding to dogs etc ?

[charlie caller 3,654]

Ye I wondered that?

[ratbuster 808]

Nice fat lady you've got yourselves there CH !

 

well done, prevention is the mother of providence, isn't it. Have seen the YT video, good shot placement between the twigs, stone cold in one muffled shot !

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Well, some people here eat 'em, roasted whole. You can also buy Pâté du Marais (marshland pâté) which is made from their meat. In Hungary, apparently they're considered a delicacy.

 

Others use shotguns or dogs to control 'em, because they do a lot of damage, not just to the banks of waterways, but to crops like maize, and yes, they give the meat to their dogs.

 

My concern is that they carry quite a lot of diseases, like Weil's disease, toxoplasmosis etc., so I don't eat 'em myself.

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Nice fat lady you've got yourselves there CH !

 

well done, prevention is the mother of providence, isn't it. Have seen the YT video, good shot placement between the twigs, stone cold in one muffled shot !

 

Cheers! It's a bit tricky at this time of year, when all the undergrowth starts growing like wildfire. I had to manoeuvre around to get a clear shot, but at that range, it was hard to miss, even for me!

 

The SAK silencer does a reasonable job, I try to keep the noise down just in case there's another coypu hanging around...

[ratbuster 808]

Did you cut the tail of the coypu....? Any way it looks so in the fourth picture

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Did you cut the tail of the coypu....? Any way it looks so in the fourth picture

 

No mate, it had just flopped over behind the body. If they offered a bounty in my department for coypu, like they do in some parts of France, it'd be in a baggie in the freezer!

Edited May 8, 2015 by Coypu Hunter