Bubba and Dash, the Dynamic Duo! The Final Chapter!

mikegranger

Active member
This is the first story with Bubba (the old hand) and Dash (the new pup). I may be exaggerating the dynamic part when it comes to the pup but I’ll let you guys be the judge of that. Just to set the stage, we went on an 11 day hunt from 18 – 28 November. Dash had not been away from home nor had any experience with coyotes other than the hide I’ve used to train him with. Bubba, on the other hand, has been on hundreds of coyotes. Matter of fact, this is his 6th hunting season. No doubt about it, he’s in his prime. Like last year, the story will have several chapters and be added to as I complete each section. It takes a while to write these so be patient. I’ve got lots of pictures and video clips. The clips are only OK. Please remember it’s just me calling, taking pictures, filming, controlling the dogs and finally, shooting. It does get hectic!

I really enjoy hunting out of an old 1968 Holiday Rambler trailer. It’s in fantastic shape for its’ age. I’ve done very little modifying to it as everything works. The only addition is a new Olympic catalytic heater on a flexible hose that can be moved around the interior. It’s extremely handy when temperatures drop in the negatives. I can place it underneath the table while I’m eating supper and writing up the days events. Another added advantage of the trailer is being able to expand my hunting territory. I don’t think twice about driving 200 miles to a good spot, especially if I have plenty of days to hunt.

There you have it, now lets get on with the story.

Sunrise on November 18, 2009 was absolutely beautiful. No wind, no clouds, temps in the teens. It’s been warmer than normal and this was the first day that really felt like winter. Work has been hectic and I haven’t been able to go hunting at all. So much so that Bubba was on the verge of disowning me. He was as happy as a kid in a candy store when I let him out of the box. Dash didn’t know what the heck was going on and was chasing Bubba around, thinking it was playtime.

It’s also deer season so I brought along the .7mm magnum. I saw a really nice whitetail near this spot last year. One never knows when an opportunity might arise.

The first stand was a bust. Each year I’m amazed at how Bubba picks back up right where we left off in the spring. The dog’s amazing!

On our way to the second stand I jumped a whitetail buck and doe. The buck looked pretty good so I put the dogs back in their boxes and grabbed the deer rifle and took off. But, not before checking the map. In Montana, one needs permission to hunt private property. No permission is needed to hunt most public and state land, as long as there’s legal access. Fortunately for me, the deer had run onto BLM.

As is usually the case, the deer weren’t where I last saw them. I glassed for a while then went back to the truck to get my predator calls. The dogs weren’t liking being left behind and were raising quiet a ruckus! On the way back to the hill to glass, saw two more whitetail bucks, one a smaller 4 point. As I was watching the small buck I glassed back to where the bigger buck should be and there he was with the doe and a fawn. As luck would have it, they were out in the wide open. I didn’t have anything to lose so took off towards them, hoping they wouldn’t bolt before I got out of sight in the coulee they had just came out of. Luck was on my side and they stay put. When I came out of the coulee there was a rise in the landscape concealing my sneak up to them. As I got closer, I saw a coyote sitting on the hill above the deer, looking towards the pickup. He must have been curious as to what all the barking was about. I belly crawled on up to the knoll and sure enough there were the deer looking at the coyote, not moving at all. Pulled my fanny pack off and put it on a rock in front of me. It made a perfect rest. Once the buck turned broadside, I put the crosshairs on the lungs and slowly squeezed. He jumped at the shot but I could tell he was hit hard. He ran maybe 100 yards and piled up. The 1968 vintage Browning Safari 7mm magnum did the job again. He was a nice 4 point. Not huge but a nice prairie whitetail. I didn’t get a picture, but burned into my brain is the vision of all three deer looking up the hill to the coyote; the coyote sitting on its’ haunches looking towards the pickup; and the soft rays of a rising sun reflecting off the surrounding frost and the bucks antlers. Wow! What a sight! And on top of that, knowing that without the coyotes help to hold the deer, they would already have been gone. God is good!

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If Bubba could only talk! I'm sure he would be saying "Hey, we're supposed to be coyote hunting. What gives!"

On the way back to the truck, the little 4 pt buck made an appearance. I got this one on film!



What a great first day of hunting!


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Mike, I'm SO glad to see you & Bubba back!! It's been a long dry spell without your stories! I always enjoy them immensely [sp].
And now you've added a new member to the crew, outstanding!!
I'm certain you & the dogs will be in the running for Hunter Of the Year again this year!!

Congrats on the buck!
Can't wait for Chapter 2!
 
Mike, I'm glad to see you back as well...I have a feeling that with Bubba as a guide, Dash will pick up on the game really quick..
 
I look forward to your stories every year. Can't wait to read more. Good luck Mike, Bubba, and Dash on the rest of your hunting trips this year.
 
Mike, great prelude, and nice buck. I look forward to the coyote hunting part of the story. Your stories always make me feel like I'm right there with you. I am escpecially interested to see how Dash does (Bubba is already legendary in my mind), because I ended up with one on Dasher dogs also. He is almost 4 months old, and I can't wait to get him on some 'yotes'. Great job as always.
 
Mike you write some of my favorite stories on the net. It doesn't hurt that we hunt similar country so I really can relate well. Heck, for all I know we have crossed the same paths a time or two, but Montana is a great big state so there's plenty of room.
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Guys, Thanks for all the positive comments. I enjoy writing these stories and hopefully folks can glean something useful out of them.

Keep tuned in, this story as some great twists and turns and an amazing ending! I'm not going to spoil the punch line so you'll just have to keep coming back.

Bobtails, I've got some pretty good clips coming of Dash that you'll for sure want to see. Keep in mind Dash was a little over ten months old while we were out hunting!

Ursus, Montana is a wonderful place. The day after getting back from hunting I went to Denver for a week. Nothing makes one realize how special a place is when compared to the big city!
 
Mike I've lived in Denver as well, actually Lakewood (same difference), and you are 100% correct. Hope you are covered up in coyotes this winter. There's no shortage over here. The only thing I find a shortage of is "time" to go and days where the wind isn't blowing 20mph or more. Dang cold today and LOTS of snow. We are really socked in right now. Hopefully I'll be able to dig out and go after yotes within a day or two.
 
Can't wait for the Bubba stories to continue! Mike, You should go back and get all these stories in a few years and write a book. I'm serious!
 
Great to see a new story from ya Mike.
Your Bubba stories are my favorite on the net by a landslide.
Dash is going to have the best partner in the biz to show him the ropes im sure he will end up being wonder dog #2.
Great to see ya back at it,i look forward to the continuation.
 
And the next installment to our adventure:

November 19, 2009

It was a little chilly this morning, temps in the teens but a strong SE wind. I hunt in wool, which is a wonderful fabric, but doesn’t block the wind very well. The wind blew 15-25 mph all day long. We saw 4 coyotes during the day, three of which were running away from us as soon as I blew the howler.

A lot of times in the early season coyotes are intimidated by a howl. When I see this, I’ll hold off on the howler for a while.

Right at dark I was able to call a female to within 400 yards. She wouldn’t come any closer and I didn’t want to take a straight on shot with the wind. Fortunately there was a hill that allowed us to sneak up closer. Here’s a little trick. When two dogs are running around a focal point such as myself, any coyote looking our direction has us pegged. But, if you don’t stand up and walk off the hill, they can’t figure out what you are. When we get in situations such as this, I back off the hill on my hands and knees. Can’t tell you how many times we’ve done this in order to move closer.

Once we got closer, the coyote was off the top of the hill but I could see it through the thick grass. It wouldn’t budge so I tried a shot. It jumped up and stood broadside, took another shot and by that time Bubba was on it. He chased her to about 300 yards before I could finally turn him back with the collar. I made a good shot this time and we had our first coyote of the year. Dash didn’t know what to think. I finally got him to grab hold of the coyote and once he did, he wouldn’t let go. He had it most of the way back to the truck. I was dragging the coyote and Dash! I’m glad we connected on the last stand. I didn’t want our first full day of coyote hunting to be a bust. Oh, was shooting the swift since the wind was blowing so hard.


Dash's first coyote!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Heard coyotes last night just east of camp. We stopped there first thing this morning and had two howling but they wouldn’t come. Our next stop was almost directly west of the camper and where I killed a triple last year. Almost immediately after calling I could see a single coyote start coming our way. He was lying in the sage and stood up at the first call. The sun was coming up so he stood out like a beacon. They really shine when there’s no snow on the ground. The next series of calls caused two more to raise their heads but the first coyote was the only one coming. He held up at 500 yards and sat down. No amount of wailing, coaxing and howling could get him to come. Bubba was circling me going nuts, Dash didn’t know what to think. I was about to give up when all of a sudden the coyote moved closer another 150 yards. He was out in the flats now but again sat down and wouldn’t budge. After awhile I scooted off the hill and was able to sneak another 100 yards closer. That’s all it took, once the coyote saw Bubba coming closer he charged in our direction. I held Bubba up at the edge of the draw as the coyote had stopped. Was just about to pull the trigger when the coyote moved and a quick howl got him to turn broadside. That was all I needed and dropped the hammer on the .204, BUT, I was sure to give it plenty of windage. The coyote was down and this time Dash was much more aggressive. Got some good video of him growling and chewing on the coyote.



Remember, this is Dash’s second coyote.
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The wind continued to blow 15 mph or more all day and temps got into the 50’s. Didn’t see another coyote but did get a fox later in the day. That was it. The wind wouldn’t let up, it was warm and coyotes just weren’t interested. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to howl, gusts to 41 mph!! Could be interesting.

November 21, 2009

WOW, they got the forecast right. But before I get to that, we were at my coyote honey hole at daylight. Seth and I discovered this spot several years ago. Coyotes really like hanging around where a rancher winters his cows. We got two coyotes that time and I’ve killed several since. No sooner than I blow my Tony Tebbe call when 3 coyotes pop their heads over a small rise not 100 yards away. Bubba doesn’t see them yet but Dash did. He kind of walked there way and once Bubba saw Dash looking at something, he locked onto the coyotes and it was all I could do to keep him close. One coyote circled downwind and stopped at 150 yards. Figured I would shoot him and maybe kill a couple more if they hung around. He dropped at the shot and the closest coyote to us circled down wind.

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The Honey Hole coyote. I've killed over 10 coyotes from this exact spot the past four years.

By this time Bubba was fit to be tied and took off after the circling coyote. It’s very difficult to turn him once a coyote bolts and this one took off with Bubba on his tail. By the time I had the toggle on the controller to the right dog, the coyote was out of range with Bubba closing fast. Bubba is pretty darn aggressive and will not turn off of a coyote unless I tone him. When he’s out of transmitter range he’ll run them hard. I continued calling, Dash was close to me now not knowing what was going on, and we had two more coyotes coming. One along the fence line looked like he was coming hard but pulled up when he saw the dogs. Another stood out in the wheat field at 260 yards looking right at us. The wind was blowing and I just won’t shoot at a coyote with the .204 unless it’s broadside. That’s the only downside of the .204 IMHO. The coyote turned a little broadside and I was just about to pull the trigger when it turned and walked away.

At the next stand the wind was blowing so hard I just had to take a few pictures. I decided to call it quits when it was above 30 mph! We went exploring after that. Took a few pictures, got gas then came to the trailer. It was blowing 40+ mph the rest of the day. Tomorrow’s supposed to be nice though.

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Coyote hunting quits being fun when winds get this high!

November 22, 2009

A beautiful day compared to yesterday. Our first stand was uneventful so it was off to tepee hill. We killed two there last year. Nothing responded to the rabbit calls but when I hit the howler they lit up. Sounded like they were ¾ mile down the drainage. We moved closer so I could see the entire bottom. There they were, 4 coyotes coming our way, but before they got to an old farmhouse they held up then went up the hill and were gone. Only thing I could think of was they either saw my scope flash, as I was looking directly into the sun, or they just didn’t like seeing the dogs. Either way, they were gone. We walked on over and both dogs picked up their trail. Unfortunately they were going the wrong way and I called the dogs off.

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Took pictures of the old house and car on the way back. I just love exploring around these old places.

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One never knows what you will find. Sometimes the most unexpected things…

I counted 12 tepee rings on the hillsides walking back to the truck. Almost every hill top had a ring on it. Obviously the Indians followed the buffalo here. Just imagine how wonderful this part of Montana was not 150 years ago. All that was here were Indians and bison, and had been that way for thousands of years. In a short amount of time we’ve been responsible for unbelievable changes on this continent. Some call it progress.
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i really love you hunting reports . an the pics and videos are wonderful . is that blood on the floor in the last picture ? thanks for posting all of you hunting adventures
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Mike,
You really need to start putting these stories in a book. I love the details in each of your stories.

What kind of camera do you use?
 
Mike, Enjoy the story and watching the dogs. I think that Brindle dog might turn out for you. He sure is a handsome dog. Looks alot like his pop. I'll keep watching his progress as you give us more adventures. Thanks, D
 
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