New Guy From CT

Ledgewoodhunter

New member
Hello, I'm new to this site so I thought I'd check in proper.
I'm an avid hunter bow, gun, muzzleloader for deer and turkey. I also run beagles for cottontails and snowshoe hare in the winter. I had shot coyotes in the past as targets of opportunity during deer season. But the past two years I have been hunting them exclusively from Jan on. I gotta say I am hooked! A couple of years ago I bought a Foxpro Fury, and a Quiver Critter and this past winter I hit it hard. I had a blast and shot 8 dogs, with a bunch of rifles in different calibers. My coyote hunting has actually got me permission to turkey hunt one of the cow farms I'm on. It just keeps getting better. What I like is when predator hunting in the winter you get the property to yourself. No one else is out there. I hunt in CT, RI, and ME. Predator hunting is fast becoming my favorite hunting. I've been hunting solo, but thats OK, I think I'm addicted. Here is a 49lb male from March, 340 yds with a Model 70 300 wsm 180gr Ballistic Tip. Came into a cottontail distress.

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Ledge
Nice dog!! Welcome to the dark side!! Predator and varmint hunting is just down right fun,and as you said you will become great friends with your local farmers and gain great access for game species!!Your hooked for life now!!
 
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New member from CT here too. I use the crack cottontail loud and knocked down two earlier this year.

This was a 43lb male called in on the crack rabbit
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opening day of landowner deer last November
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Thanks for the welcome fellas. I've always shot coyotes when hunting other species, but now that I been calling them in and wackin em, I can't get enough!

Here's one I shot with my T/C Venture Predator in .223 with a Leupold VX III, and Barnes 55gr TSX at 180 yards in Febuary. A Vole Squeak Victim!

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Here is a couple from a double I did with the Model 70 .308 165 gr ballistic tips in March. I knew they were digging for mice in this area. Sure enough at first light I see them out at 200 cross wind. First dog was on a hump facing me dumped him in the chest. Second dog runs off I find it in the scope, give it a little lead, and dropped it quartering away right before it hit the tree line.
No calling that day, AMBUSH

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This coyote was one of my favorite hunts of the winter. In March I disregarded the weather forecast, and took a chance for a morning sit. At first light...Nothing! Started calling for a good 30 minutes on and off...nothing! So I got up on a dirtmound to look down and observe. It starts to rain, but I say screw it I'm staying I know they are here. At 8:30, I see a coyote at 180 from me doing the same thing as me....observing. He doesn't see me but because of the weather, the wind was swirling. He must have caught my wind because he takes off running. I had a rifle with a 6.5-20 power scope that day, so I take a knee crank the scope all the way down, and what I do on running shots is use the elevation turret like a blade sight to line up the rifle with the target, then fnd it in the scope. It works for me to quickly aquire my targets in the scope. I ended up shooting him down through the back at 150 yards with M70 300wsm 180gr Ballistic Tip. You can see the rain drops on my rifle in the picture. After I shot him, the sun came out.LOL

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Do you keep the pelts? U must be blowing big holes with those calibers and heavy bullets huh? Way to go though. It sure is addicting. I picked up a new spot today when land owner found this this morning

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I don't keep the pelts. I have a nice one mounted. I know a group of guys that are in their 70's that are trappers who pool their furs together, I love those guys they still get out and trap. If I shoot one with a small caliber, I offer it to them. Most time they don't want it cause they ain't worth sh!t now. I've given some to buddies that want to mount them. The ones I shoot with the big guns I fire for effect not fur, so I feed them to the worms, then come back in the spring and get the skulls. The farmers like it.

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Here is one I shot with the Nosler M48 .338 Federal, 185gr TSX bullet a little over 200. Spotted him broadside on top of a small hill, I was directly cosswind on top of another hill. Dropped him before he had a chance to figure out what was up.

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I shot this one while laying prone on top of a huge stack of cut timber. Shot him through the back at 80yds. M70 300 wsm ballistic tip.

Front right where he died:

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Heard these dogs screaming bloody murder an hour before first light. But I knew the wind was right that day and I was already in the tree line kicked back overlooking this overgrown pasture. Called in with Cals Cottontail and put to sleep with a 300 wsm 180 ballistic tip out of the M70 Coyote Lite. The funny thing is, when I bought that gun years ago from the New Haven CT Winchester factory, I never thought about coyote hunting. Now it seems to be all I think about with it! HA HA!

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Any guys from CT on this sight? Any one still hunting coyote or woodchucks? I'd love to shoot some chucks if anyone has a spot. I tried calling for dogs 4 times in the last couple weeks. Called in just about everything BUT a coyote. Shooting paper and steel plates is getting old. I got a 400 yd range with steel if anyone wants to swap some chuck hunt time for some range time. Got pistol and skeet range access too.
 
Ledge
My first love is chuck shootin,but alas due to the coyote all my days of glassing hay fields is over.I kill most of my chucks at under 100 yards in gardens and close to houses with an air gun.
I have dreams of shooting chucks in Western Pa. but it will never happen....
But I do have tons of coyotes to shoot!!!!
This time of year I seldom have luck using prey distress,mainley use young yote and pup sounds,also weird curiosity sounds work great,I have a baby bear cub distress that has been helpfull pullin in calf killers,just because they are curious..

I had my CT license for a year and never was able to set foot on the ground with a gun,to many restrictions and B.S. and thats coming from someone who lives in the Peoples Republik!!
 
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What restrictions do you mean? You can hunt with any rifle you want on private land, and shotgun or rimfire on state land. If you were gonna only hunt state land those restrictions do suck. I only hunt private for coyote.
Don't even get me started on Mass. I made a trip up to Bass Pro to check it out and buy some ammo, and they wouldn't sell it to me because I was not a Mass resident! [beeep]? That was my last trip up there!
 
Mr.B no its not legal...

Ledge, I like Bass Pro.But Cabelas in East Hartford is my go to store,when fall rolls around,I head down there on a sunday to stock up,maybe we could cinc.up for chat session.Keep them dogs a fallin!!
 
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That's right about nv's and thermal scopes. We can hunt hunt coyotes 30 mins before legal sunrise and 30 mins past legal sunset. And what sucks is no Bobcat season...yet. Their numbers are growing here big time, we need a season. I got one from Maine. Here it is mounted on my wall...

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Give me a holler Baystate, I hit Cabelas pretty often.
 
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