scottmilk9
New member
It is official, Team SD are no longer newbie’s to the world of hunting competitions. December 3rd and 4th was the World Coyote Calling Championships, and Scott and I decided to jump Team SD into hunting competitions with both feet. Some people would say that you would be better off starting with a smaller, local competition. But being competitive shooters, and being used to a high level of competition Scott and I went for it all. What an experience.
The drive from Phoenix was long and uneventful. Lots of talk about the upcoming hunt, a lot of strategizing, and a lot of dreams of glory. Arriving at the assembly area was like walking into a who’s who of predator hunting. Kerry Carver, Tony Tebbe, Byron South, Barry Stewart, it was amazing. These gentlemen are awe inspiring. They are friendly and welcoming, and they made Scott and I feel right at home. Stories of hunting glory abounded around us, as 128 teams gathered for the official start to the competition.
The rules were read, teams dispersed, some traveling to their hunting areas, others, like Scott and I were off to a hotel to sleep fast for the upcoming day.
The first day of the hunt started off cold. The weather could not have been better; Flat calm, clear skies, a gorgeous sunrise. Scott and I couldn’t help but feel positive. Scott and I are not very experienced when it comes to hunting New Mexico, and especially hunting in the higher elevations. We had tried to do some satellite scouting through Google Earth, and we had a good map, so we had some ideas of some areas to try. We headed out. Our first attempt was a bust. Not a good start. We ran right into private property that was blocking access to the National Forest that we wanted to hunt. Needless to say, we were frustrated. The private property laws in New Mexico are very different than those in Arizona, and Scott and I were very conscious of the dangers of trespassing throughout the entire hunt. So we had to scrap our first intended hunt area, and go to a backup.
The second area proved to be easier to get into, and seemed to hold a lot more promise. We were driving across vast open vistas, bordered by massive mountains to the west. The wind was in our face, the sun to our backs. So we were not driving through our intended hunting areas. As we approached our first intended stand, a large cattle watering hole, a coyote breaks out, running away from us. Scott is on it immediately, and ranged it at 450 yards. He pulls up his 6.5mm Grendel and takes aim. I am spotting through my binoculars, as Scott sends the first round down for Team SD. The round splashes right behind the coyote’s tail, causing the dog to shift into high gear and crest the hill. Scott had his hold right for elevation, but the dog was running faster than we counted on. He fired the shot at 550 yards, so to be that close still shows the capability of the round, rifle and shooter. While we were disappointed at missing our first dog, we were enthused that we had seen one, and counted it as a victory. Team SD at least had a crack at one. Second stand was picture perfect, but got no response. Stand three saw us approaching another water hole, and again, a coyote busted out of the hole before we were in position. I had eyes on it, and guided Scott in to it. This time I howled, and got the coyote to hold up. Scott sent the round, and we saw it impact right next to the coyote. The dog was on the run, and we were tracking it. It was running parallel to us, and moving at a good lope. Another howl got the dog to slow up, and Scott’s second round impacted right behind its tail. I called out the adjustment, and the lead, howled a third time and Scott fired the round. The coyote took the round through the neck, and flipped into the air. It came down facing the opposite direction that it was running, and did not twitch a muscle. We were ecstatic. Team SD was on the board, we were not going to get skunked at the World’s.
More importantly the Specialized Dynamic rifles had once again proved their worth. I have been hunting predators in Arizona for 7 years. I started with a Bushmaster M4. And after several years of struggling with the trials and tribulations of predator hunting, and the many failures, I got teamed up with Scott. He built my 16in bull barreled flat top that I have been hunting with for 5 years now. It is my favorite rifle to hunt with. He then built my 24in bull barreled .204 ruger that I use for prairie doggin. Both of these rifles are amazing. They truly are an extension of me, and can far out perform my own abilities. Scott and I have collaborated together in developing rifles for the predator hunting market, deciding what we wanted and needed in these rifles. When Scott talks, I listen. Then I get to go out and give the rifles a try. So when Scott was telling me about the 6.5mm Grendel and the rifle that we built, I was all ears. And did it deliver! The coyote that Scott took was at a full run, at 218 yards, and was put down by a clean neck hit. The bullet did not strike the spine, but the dog sure acted like it did. His ability to quickly and easily adjust for the yardage is impressive. I had complete confidence that when Scott called out an elevation adjustment, it would be on the money.
So leaving our third stand we were on top of the world. Then things went dry. Sadly, we were hunting in some of the bet looking areas that I have seen in a long time. The stands had everything, elevation, clear lanes of view, cover, concealment, wind direction, terrain features the dogs could use, everything; except coyotes. The going was tough.
Scott and I intended to do at least 20 stands on that first day, but with the rough roads and long distances we ended the day with only 10 stands. Dejected, we called in to the officials of the hunt to report out on the first day. That was when we learned that the top team had only scored 7 dogs, and that more than half of the teams hadn’t scored at all! We were still in the hunt. We went to the hotel with renewed conviction, and began planning our second day.
With the help of Dominick, we turned our attention to a new area. One that had a lot of canyons that the dogs would be sure to use. The first stand proved to be a beautiful one, perfect wind, sun, cover but again no dogs. We did get one to howl back to us, so that gave us a direction to work towards. But as the day drug on, we experienced more of the same from the first day. Great stands, which should have produced with nothing to show for it. There was sign everywhere. Some of it was so fresh there were still flies on it, but no dogs. In studying the scat we saw something that concerned us. There was neither fur nor feathers in the scat, only berries. This was repeated time and again as we went from dry stand to dry stand. Our second day was more productive, we got in 10 stands in half the time, but still had nothing to show for it. We were stumped and dejected as we turned the truck towards the final check in.
Arriving at the final check in was surreal. Here were the best of the best, standing around talking about their hunts, and eagerly counting the dogs that came out of each truck. Dogs were inspected by the judges, and then they were weighed for addition into the Big dog/Little dog side competition. Our dog weighed in at an average weight 21.6lbs, too big and too small at the same time. The little dog came in at 14lbs the big dog came in at 39lbs. It became clear that Kerry and Tony were the guys to beat being in early with 9 dogs. The trucks kept on rolling in, and the dogs were counted. To our surprise many of the teams reported the same kinds of results that we had. The dogs just weren’t coming in to the calls. Finally in talking with one of the local guys the pattern emerged, our nemesis in this competition was revealed, juniper berries. High in protein ad readily available this time of year they are a coyote favorite. The dogs switch to eating them almost exclusively. They basically turn off to normal hunting behavior. Sadly no one seems to have come up with a juniper berry call. Maybe Kerry will do that for next year. So we watched as many teams checked in with few dogs, or no dogs at all. We realized that we had really held our own in very difficult hunting.
It finally came down to time. Kerry and Tony had tied with another team in total dogs taken, but the other team had checked in 2 minutes before they had. That was the tie breaker. Tony and Kerry finished the competition in second. I do not know where Team SD finished, we had a long haul back to Phoenix and a lot of things awaiting us that needed our attention, so we had to cut our trip short. We said our good byes and turned the truck for home. Overall, it was an amazing experience that was enhanced in so many ways by Kerry, Tony, Byron, Barry, Dominick, Jacob and so many others. Scott and I have already begun planning for next years hunt, and the dreams of glory have begun again.
Mo(Snowman Mo)
The drive from Phoenix was long and uneventful. Lots of talk about the upcoming hunt, a lot of strategizing, and a lot of dreams of glory. Arriving at the assembly area was like walking into a who’s who of predator hunting. Kerry Carver, Tony Tebbe, Byron South, Barry Stewart, it was amazing. These gentlemen are awe inspiring. They are friendly and welcoming, and they made Scott and I feel right at home. Stories of hunting glory abounded around us, as 128 teams gathered for the official start to the competition.
The rules were read, teams dispersed, some traveling to their hunting areas, others, like Scott and I were off to a hotel to sleep fast for the upcoming day.
The first day of the hunt started off cold. The weather could not have been better; Flat calm, clear skies, a gorgeous sunrise. Scott and I couldn’t help but feel positive. Scott and I are not very experienced when it comes to hunting New Mexico, and especially hunting in the higher elevations. We had tried to do some satellite scouting through Google Earth, and we had a good map, so we had some ideas of some areas to try. We headed out. Our first attempt was a bust. Not a good start. We ran right into private property that was blocking access to the National Forest that we wanted to hunt. Needless to say, we were frustrated. The private property laws in New Mexico are very different than those in Arizona, and Scott and I were very conscious of the dangers of trespassing throughout the entire hunt. So we had to scrap our first intended hunt area, and go to a backup.
The second area proved to be easier to get into, and seemed to hold a lot more promise. We were driving across vast open vistas, bordered by massive mountains to the west. The wind was in our face, the sun to our backs. So we were not driving through our intended hunting areas. As we approached our first intended stand, a large cattle watering hole, a coyote breaks out, running away from us. Scott is on it immediately, and ranged it at 450 yards. He pulls up his 6.5mm Grendel and takes aim. I am spotting through my binoculars, as Scott sends the first round down for Team SD. The round splashes right behind the coyote’s tail, causing the dog to shift into high gear and crest the hill. Scott had his hold right for elevation, but the dog was running faster than we counted on. He fired the shot at 550 yards, so to be that close still shows the capability of the round, rifle and shooter. While we were disappointed at missing our first dog, we were enthused that we had seen one, and counted it as a victory. Team SD at least had a crack at one. Second stand was picture perfect, but got no response. Stand three saw us approaching another water hole, and again, a coyote busted out of the hole before we were in position. I had eyes on it, and guided Scott in to it. This time I howled, and got the coyote to hold up. Scott sent the round, and we saw it impact right next to the coyote. The dog was on the run, and we were tracking it. It was running parallel to us, and moving at a good lope. Another howl got the dog to slow up, and Scott’s second round impacted right behind its tail. I called out the adjustment, and the lead, howled a third time and Scott fired the round. The coyote took the round through the neck, and flipped into the air. It came down facing the opposite direction that it was running, and did not twitch a muscle. We were ecstatic. Team SD was on the board, we were not going to get skunked at the World’s.
More importantly the Specialized Dynamic rifles had once again proved their worth. I have been hunting predators in Arizona for 7 years. I started with a Bushmaster M4. And after several years of struggling with the trials and tribulations of predator hunting, and the many failures, I got teamed up with Scott. He built my 16in bull barreled flat top that I have been hunting with for 5 years now. It is my favorite rifle to hunt with. He then built my 24in bull barreled .204 ruger that I use for prairie doggin. Both of these rifles are amazing. They truly are an extension of me, and can far out perform my own abilities. Scott and I have collaborated together in developing rifles for the predator hunting market, deciding what we wanted and needed in these rifles. When Scott talks, I listen. Then I get to go out and give the rifles a try. So when Scott was telling me about the 6.5mm Grendel and the rifle that we built, I was all ears. And did it deliver! The coyote that Scott took was at a full run, at 218 yards, and was put down by a clean neck hit. The bullet did not strike the spine, but the dog sure acted like it did. His ability to quickly and easily adjust for the yardage is impressive. I had complete confidence that when Scott called out an elevation adjustment, it would be on the money.
So leaving our third stand we were on top of the world. Then things went dry. Sadly, we were hunting in some of the bet looking areas that I have seen in a long time. The stands had everything, elevation, clear lanes of view, cover, concealment, wind direction, terrain features the dogs could use, everything; except coyotes. The going was tough.
Scott and I intended to do at least 20 stands on that first day, but with the rough roads and long distances we ended the day with only 10 stands. Dejected, we called in to the officials of the hunt to report out on the first day. That was when we learned that the top team had only scored 7 dogs, and that more than half of the teams hadn’t scored at all! We were still in the hunt. We went to the hotel with renewed conviction, and began planning our second day.
With the help of Dominick, we turned our attention to a new area. One that had a lot of canyons that the dogs would be sure to use. The first stand proved to be a beautiful one, perfect wind, sun, cover but again no dogs. We did get one to howl back to us, so that gave us a direction to work towards. But as the day drug on, we experienced more of the same from the first day. Great stands, which should have produced with nothing to show for it. There was sign everywhere. Some of it was so fresh there were still flies on it, but no dogs. In studying the scat we saw something that concerned us. There was neither fur nor feathers in the scat, only berries. This was repeated time and again as we went from dry stand to dry stand. Our second day was more productive, we got in 10 stands in half the time, but still had nothing to show for it. We were stumped and dejected as we turned the truck towards the final check in.
Arriving at the final check in was surreal. Here were the best of the best, standing around talking about their hunts, and eagerly counting the dogs that came out of each truck. Dogs were inspected by the judges, and then they were weighed for addition into the Big dog/Little dog side competition. Our dog weighed in at an average weight 21.6lbs, too big and too small at the same time. The little dog came in at 14lbs the big dog came in at 39lbs. It became clear that Kerry and Tony were the guys to beat being in early with 9 dogs. The trucks kept on rolling in, and the dogs were counted. To our surprise many of the teams reported the same kinds of results that we had. The dogs just weren’t coming in to the calls. Finally in talking with one of the local guys the pattern emerged, our nemesis in this competition was revealed, juniper berries. High in protein ad readily available this time of year they are a coyote favorite. The dogs switch to eating them almost exclusively. They basically turn off to normal hunting behavior. Sadly no one seems to have come up with a juniper berry call. Maybe Kerry will do that for next year. So we watched as many teams checked in with few dogs, or no dogs at all. We realized that we had really held our own in very difficult hunting.
It finally came down to time. Kerry and Tony had tied with another team in total dogs taken, but the other team had checked in 2 minutes before they had. That was the tie breaker. Tony and Kerry finished the competition in second. I do not know where Team SD finished, we had a long haul back to Phoenix and a lot of things awaiting us that needed our attention, so we had to cut our trip short. We said our good byes and turned the truck for home. Overall, it was an amazing experience that was enhanced in so many ways by Kerry, Tony, Byron, Barry, Dominick, Jacob and so many others. Scott and I have already begun planning for next years hunt, and the dreams of glory have begun again.
Mo(Snowman Mo)
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