1 of my motorcycle buddies was visiting my farm. I put him on the tractor to go out & retrieve some firewood in a pasture where I removed a lot of trees. I have a homemade carry-all on the back for me to stand on & a rail to hold onto allowing me to give guidance on the way. We were crossing a native grass pasture when I saw something, a stump maybe? I didn’t leave any stumps in the field, wait, this stump has ears. The coyote got up & started away from us 50yds out. The coyote was only using 3 legs. The L front was being carried ahead of the dog straight out. I yelled “stop”, jump off & grabbed my pistol. (Ruger SP101 in .22LR, 5” barrel, 8-shot, that utilizes a transfer bar to allow the hammer to strike the firing pin. This pistol will only fire if the trigger is depressed. This is important later in the story.) I took off running in my work boots, in 12”- 14” grass, after the coyote. I’m gaining on it. The coyote, now 30 yards away, looks back & sees me chasing it. The coyote finds another gear & now I am not gaining on it. At 40 yards, I take my 1st shot, a little elevation & lead, boom, I hit him & he rolls, but right back up. I’m using CCI Quiet ammo (low power). I take another shot, missed. The coyote crosses a 5 wire fence into my cut brome field. He paused, decided he didn’t like not having any cover. I took another shot while he was stationary, hit, because he flinched hard & began to run down the fence line another shot missed. I started running again. I caught a foot on something, had that feeling of leaning to far forward & not being able to get my feet under me. I know I’m going down but can take a few steps while deciding on the best spot to do a shoulder roll. My hat & glasses come off, but I keep control off my pistol, grab my glasses & back in the chase. There is some brush at the end of this fence, cut brome field all around. The coyote must be hiding. I ran up to the brush & spot him. I find a small hole to shoot thru, miss, clipped a twig. Find a better angle now 20 yards, miss, another twig. I need to get a more open shot. I run to the corner gate, open & thru, find the coyote, check location of my buddy & tractor. I found a better shot & hit him, head goes down. I advance & shoot once more to be sure.
I was lucky to get her, yup a female. The leg was broken at the elbow joint. I have no idea what caused the break.