Venatic and I took a little trip to Knox County Wednesday evening for a little predator hunting and hoped to take a few sandhill cranes while we were there too.
We got a few predators, but no sandhills.
We got there about 9 pm, and while we were unloading our stuff at the camp, we heard the coyotes start howling not too far off.
We walked from the camp about 200 yards and started calling. Wasn't long and we had one slipping around the edge of the brush, but we wouldn't come out. Then we saw one coming around behind trying to get downwind in the plowed wheat field. He was making the circle, and I rushed the shot thinking he was going to get our wind and missed. I should have waited for him to stop.
Next stand, we parked near some corrals, and walked around and got on a pond dam and started calling. About 2 minutes of hand calls and here he comes. He crossed our trail and popped up on the dam and I embarrasingly missed at close range. I think we had one more real wary coyote that night that didn't give us and opportunity, and then we hit the hay.
Next morning we were going to try for sandhill crane action early, and do a little howling while we waited for the cranes.
We set up on a tree row each watching a wheat field, and David would howl on the foxpro every few minutes. The sandhills could be heard in the distance, and think 3 landed in the field on David's side several hundred yards out.
After about 10 or 15 minutes I heard David say he saw a coyote. He was a couple of hundred yards off down the tree row and working from David's side across to my side. I could not see right down the field edge and he was 200+ yards when I did see him. I had a good broadside view of him, but had no idea how far it was and he was angling away from me. When he got in the edge of the brush on the other edge, he sat down looked our way. We later ranged that spot to 280 yards.
After about 10 minutes we saw him working the edge below us again and ranged it about 400+ yards. He would not come our way, and just after he got out of site, another one came along behind that one. I tried to slip down the brush line we were on which was perpendicular to the one they were on and set up while he did some more howls but we never saw them again.
We fooled around looking for some sandhills, but they didn't seem to be around today. We made a couple more stands with no luck, and then went to meet a local farmer in town after lunch.
He was very nice, and showed us around he properties which were mostly cotton fields with very little cover. We saw a couple of spots we though we might try that night, but it was pretty wide open country there.
After we got back to ranch, we had about 2 hours until dark. On the first stand, a coyote made an appearance on David's side about 300+ yards out, and circled in the downwind direction to never be seen again.
On the next spot, we set up on another pond dam, with me watching the more open up wind side were the caller was, and David was watching downwind behind the dam. About a minute into some hand calling I heard him stop and glanced back to see him adjusting his sticks. Then I heard a click as he worked the bolt on his AR, and then he shot. At the shot the foxbang on the foxpro started pup distress, but nothing else showed.
He made the shot on a small coyote that tried to come in the backdoor. Backdoor coyotes seemed to becoming a theme.
It got dark on us with noting else to be seen, but not long after dark we could hear the coyotes howling all around in the distance. We tried a couple of spots in the dark with nothing showing, and decided to go back and get some more clothes since the temperature was dropping.
We then decided to go try the cotton field spots. The first spot near an old abandoned house produced nothing. On the second spot we set the foxpro out in the open near a telephone pole, with a brushy area to our left. Since everything was circling so far downwind, we decided to set the caller about 100 yards or so upwind of us.
After 10 minutes or so, we gave up and walked back to the truck and decided to drive up and get the caller since we were going that way. Just as we got to the caller, I caught eyes in headlights several hundred yards ahead just on the edge of the field. We stopped and got out and turned on the lightforce.
Whatever it was was working its way towards us real slow, but was too far to make out other than the eyes. We started to do some lip squeaks, and it was coming but slow. David made some soft calls on the sky yote, and it seemed to be coming faster, but could not be make out in the brush on the edge of the field but it was definately working towards us, and then cut the corner into the brush. Since everything was so open, I had my scope zoomed up to 9 power, and when it broke cover about 60 yards away I had to take a double take. I whispered to David "That's a mountain lion!"
Well, it wasn't a mountain lion, but the combination of zoomed scope a Big cat, and flat field had my imagination going. It was big bobcat with a head the size of a softball. I dropped him with one shot, and at the shot coyotes started howling to our right out across the mile or so of cotton fields.
This was big tom and weighed 25.5 pounds on my digital scale. He looked and felt heavier.
We called on more spot in the farm land with no luck and went back to the ranch.
First spot once back had had eyes coming after about 6 minutes, and it was another cat. David popped him, but it made a real mess as the angle of the shot opened him up.
We had another one of those real wary circling coyotes at the next spot, and he never gave us a shot. Last spot of the night was on another pond dam, and had what we think was a cat show up about 200 yards out, but never gave us a shot. About 3 am we were beat and went back for 2 hours of sleep.
Next morning we doing the crane thing, and howling while we waited. There were a lot more cranes flying this morning, but seemed to be going over in the next field. David was letting out a howl on the fox pro every now and then, and then I saw some cranes flying down the fence row right towards me. A little high, but what the heck, only chance in 2 days. 3 empty hulls later, I see this is a waste of time so I walk back across the filed to David and tell him we need to move. He then informed me I had scared off his coyote who was coming in to the howling several hundred yards below me.
Next spot was on a pond dam again, with another wary downwind coyote who never gave David a shot. A couple of more stands with no luck and we had to pack up for the drive home.
So, to end a long story, we ended up calling 4 coyotes the first night, with 2 misses, 4 coyotes the first day with one dead coyote, and the second night we called 1 coyotes and 3 bobcats with 2 bobcats killed. Second morning was 2 coyotes with no shots fired.
If my math is right, it was a total of 10 coyotes and 3 bobcats called and 1 coyote and 2 bocats killed. Not the greatest percentage, but I guess with the calling this place has seen in the past ( we found out someone else had been calling it too) and the drive by shooting the deer hunters do, they are pretty wary.
If a coyote circles 200-300 yards out in my neck of the woods (which I'm sure they do) I never even know they were there, because I can rarely see more than 100 yards and that is usually just in one direction.
Anyway, it was a fun trip as always with David, and maybe I have all the misses out of the way for this year.
We got a few predators, but no sandhills.
We got there about 9 pm, and while we were unloading our stuff at the camp, we heard the coyotes start howling not too far off.
We walked from the camp about 200 yards and started calling. Wasn't long and we had one slipping around the edge of the brush, but we wouldn't come out. Then we saw one coming around behind trying to get downwind in the plowed wheat field. He was making the circle, and I rushed the shot thinking he was going to get our wind and missed. I should have waited for him to stop.
Next stand, we parked near some corrals, and walked around and got on a pond dam and started calling. About 2 minutes of hand calls and here he comes. He crossed our trail and popped up on the dam and I embarrasingly missed at close range. I think we had one more real wary coyote that night that didn't give us and opportunity, and then we hit the hay.
Next morning we were going to try for sandhill crane action early, and do a little howling while we waited for the cranes.
We set up on a tree row each watching a wheat field, and David would howl on the foxpro every few minutes. The sandhills could be heard in the distance, and think 3 landed in the field on David's side several hundred yards out.
After about 10 or 15 minutes I heard David say he saw a coyote. He was a couple of hundred yards off down the tree row and working from David's side across to my side. I could not see right down the field edge and he was 200+ yards when I did see him. I had a good broadside view of him, but had no idea how far it was and he was angling away from me. When he got in the edge of the brush on the other edge, he sat down looked our way. We later ranged that spot to 280 yards.
After about 10 minutes we saw him working the edge below us again and ranged it about 400+ yards. He would not come our way, and just after he got out of site, another one came along behind that one. I tried to slip down the brush line we were on which was perpendicular to the one they were on and set up while he did some more howls but we never saw them again.
We fooled around looking for some sandhills, but they didn't seem to be around today. We made a couple more stands with no luck, and then went to meet a local farmer in town after lunch.
He was very nice, and showed us around he properties which were mostly cotton fields with very little cover. We saw a couple of spots we though we might try that night, but it was pretty wide open country there.
After we got back to ranch, we had about 2 hours until dark. On the first stand, a coyote made an appearance on David's side about 300+ yards out, and circled in the downwind direction to never be seen again.
On the next spot, we set up on another pond dam, with me watching the more open up wind side were the caller was, and David was watching downwind behind the dam. About a minute into some hand calling I heard him stop and glanced back to see him adjusting his sticks. Then I heard a click as he worked the bolt on his AR, and then he shot. At the shot the foxbang on the foxpro started pup distress, but nothing else showed.
He made the shot on a small coyote that tried to come in the backdoor. Backdoor coyotes seemed to becoming a theme.
It got dark on us with noting else to be seen, but not long after dark we could hear the coyotes howling all around in the distance. We tried a couple of spots in the dark with nothing showing, and decided to go back and get some more clothes since the temperature was dropping.
We then decided to go try the cotton field spots. The first spot near an old abandoned house produced nothing. On the second spot we set the foxpro out in the open near a telephone pole, with a brushy area to our left. Since everything was circling so far downwind, we decided to set the caller about 100 yards or so upwind of us.
After 10 minutes or so, we gave up and walked back to the truck and decided to drive up and get the caller since we were going that way. Just as we got to the caller, I caught eyes in headlights several hundred yards ahead just on the edge of the field. We stopped and got out and turned on the lightforce.
Whatever it was was working its way towards us real slow, but was too far to make out other than the eyes. We started to do some lip squeaks, and it was coming but slow. David made some soft calls on the sky yote, and it seemed to be coming faster, but could not be make out in the brush on the edge of the field but it was definately working towards us, and then cut the corner into the brush. Since everything was so open, I had my scope zoomed up to 9 power, and when it broke cover about 60 yards away I had to take a double take. I whispered to David "That's a mountain lion!"
Well, it wasn't a mountain lion, but the combination of zoomed scope a Big cat, and flat field had my imagination going. It was big bobcat with a head the size of a softball. I dropped him with one shot, and at the shot coyotes started howling to our right out across the mile or so of cotton fields.
This was big tom and weighed 25.5 pounds on my digital scale. He looked and felt heavier.
We called on more spot in the farm land with no luck and went back to the ranch.
First spot once back had had eyes coming after about 6 minutes, and it was another cat. David popped him, but it made a real mess as the angle of the shot opened him up.
We had another one of those real wary circling coyotes at the next spot, and he never gave us a shot. Last spot of the night was on another pond dam, and had what we think was a cat show up about 200 yards out, but never gave us a shot. About 3 am we were beat and went back for 2 hours of sleep.
Next morning we doing the crane thing, and howling while we waited. There were a lot more cranes flying this morning, but seemed to be going over in the next field. David was letting out a howl on the fox pro every now and then, and then I saw some cranes flying down the fence row right towards me. A little high, but what the heck, only chance in 2 days. 3 empty hulls later, I see this is a waste of time so I walk back across the filed to David and tell him we need to move. He then informed me I had scared off his coyote who was coming in to the howling several hundred yards below me.
Next spot was on a pond dam again, with another wary downwind coyote who never gave David a shot. A couple of more stands with no luck and we had to pack up for the drive home.
So, to end a long story, we ended up calling 4 coyotes the first night, with 2 misses, 4 coyotes the first day with one dead coyote, and the second night we called 1 coyotes and 3 bobcats with 2 bobcats killed. Second morning was 2 coyotes with no shots fired.
If my math is right, it was a total of 10 coyotes and 3 bobcats called and 1 coyote and 2 bocats killed. Not the greatest percentage, but I guess with the calling this place has seen in the past ( we found out someone else had been calling it too) and the drive by shooting the deer hunters do, they are pretty wary.
If a coyote circles 200-300 yards out in my neck of the woods (which I'm sure they do) I never even know they were there, because I can rarely see more than 100 yards and that is usually just in one direction.
Anyway, it was a fun trip as always with David, and maybe I have all the misses out of the way for this year.
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