LBL Trip

Jimmie in Ky

New member
It was interesting to say the least. Something I haven't seen in years is going on. Small game hunters on horseback. Same two , I think, since the tracks of animals they ride are very similar if not alike in every place I checked for dogs.

Of the groups I checked on yesterday not one was in normal haunts. I went to check on a group I knew very well and took all afternoon to even locate possitve sign of their where abouts.There are big changes in this groups behaviors. How long it will last I don't know. Will they even change back this winter, I don't know for sure.

If this change holds true for the entire LBL you boys coming to the hunt better get those new boots broke in now. I hunted all day yesterday with a newbie to the sport. I either ruined him or made a true hunter of him /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif I can promise you the new boots I wore are now well broke in /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Jimmie
 
Maybe with this cold air moveing in, it might deter some activity down there. Which Im surprise to hear that they are letting hores ride as wet as it has been. Has the trappers started yet? Have you been around the tenn side doing any scouting?
 
I haven't looked at the tennessee side of things yet.Horse trails are wide open but the atv area is shut down. horseback hunting with dogs has always been allowed up there. It's just a practice I haven't seen in some years myself.It enables them to cover a lot more ground in a day than they normally would. And believe me they are covering it. I found the sign of these two guys in at least four drainages. I believe htey are bird hunters since they start at the road and go to the heads of the hollows. That was where the coyote's had set up house keeping for several years. We'll just have to wait and see what developes.

Trapping will be in zones 2,4 and 9 in Ky and zones 11 and 13 in tennessee from january 10 through the 23rd. They have taken about 80 animals in the Ky portion alone the last few years.

BTW , the group I keep best tabs on is up from last year to 7 or 8 animals. As I locate more groups I'll get a better idea of how the overall population is faring.Yesterday was not the best for getting them all talking. Jimmie
 
Jimmie in Ky:
The horseback hunters are probably squirrel hunters. I know my wifes uncles and cousins have several squirrel dogs and they all hunt LBL. Some of them just spent a few days camping and hunting last week. Squirrel dogs are big business around here.
 
I thought about that ,Tim ,when I was sure one of the equines was a mule.That and they went way up into the drainages. I'm going back up there tommorrow and see what developes. Jimmie
 
Second trip was a morning that started with light winds and grew worse. Not a SINGLE ANSWER DID i get to a howler anywhere. I even checked groups I knew were nearby.

I had the newby with me again this time. There was an area we scouted together back in august by driving roads not far from our last stop with the howler. Drove back into the bottom to check sign and winds in that crazy place. Checked at both the lake and up the hollow. Yep, wind blowing in diferent direction in both spots! Typical LBL morning /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif I've been trying to get tabs on that group for two years. The august sign was the best we'd had to pinpoint them.

Went to the top of the hill on the down wind side of the drainage and took the logging road down the ridge. First stand was one of those spots you just had to call. Joel is picking up on this quick, he asked if we should call it while I was looking for the best setup. Made to order for a downwind sucker punch. Another logging road joined from the other ridge allowing me to set him up on it and going upwind to choose my seat. Fifteen minutes of calling produces only the wind in the trees and stiff joints. time to move on.

Second stand was also made to order. It was in a saddle of the ridge with the gradual slopes and aa hump in the road down wind of us. We sat down about ten yards apart with me watching a slightly down wind position where the brush was thick with my shotgun while Joel got the upwind aproaches with good shooting lanes for the 22 mag he was carrying. Both Joel and the rifle had yet to be tested on coyote's. About ten minutes into the stand I hear the crack of the mag. I turned in time to see a nice red dog running full out , but it didn't have it's tail tucked. Joel was very sure of a hit so I took off down the ridge in the direction the dog went. Joel is looking for some form of trail to locate his prize while I just keep heading down hill when I spot the dog laying with it's head aimed in the direction it had come from. I heartily congratulated Joel on his first and a job well done.

A few more fruitless stands for the morning before the winds got to crazy on us in that section and a lot more hot sign found for another group. You know, one of those odd dogpen type places where scat is all underfoot in a small area and some still nice ,wet and shiny. Tried a couple of stands in there but winds were not co-operating with us.

I sent the picks to Keekee to post. Nice bright red dog with blonde v stripe on the shoulders. Jimmie
 
Jimmy I have to hunt here in places after deer season with the .22 Mag. I was wondering, how far did the coyote run after being shot with it and where did he hit it? I know you shoot one too what kind of bullet you shoot out of yours?
 
Here ya go Jimmie! Good looken coyote. Tell him congrads!

JoelsYote004.jpg


JoelsYote003.jpg


JoelsYote001.jpg


Brent
 
Joel recently purchase the Marlin 882 stainless with bull barrel. He followed my advice and tested several brands and types of ammo for accuracy. What he settled on was the winchester supreme with the 34 grain jacketed bullet. The bullet entered the right shoulder and was lodged just under the hide behind the left shoulder. I searched for and recovered the bullet to be sure of it's performance. What he got was great expansion and penetration. I'm sorry I didn't think to weigh the bullet to see what retention was, but from the mushroom and shredding of the bullet I would guess around 75 %.

I use the winchester super x myself. 40 grain bullet and get real good penetration and retention. Accuracy in my old mossburg stinks compared to Joel's new toy but it will do. I did try the supreme load he's using and got a bit better accuracy.

The animal went less than a hundred yards. I would say it was closer to 70. It was dead on it's feet and didn't know it until it collapsed flipping end over end, from the sign , for a few feet down the ridge.

Thanks Keekee for posting those for me. Joel has been looking at those ar type rifles. I remember that toy of your but can't remember which brand it is. I do know that thing was lighter than all the rifles he has been looking at. As you know for two old goats running these hills here weight is everything! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Jimmie
 
Jimmie,

I have a Colt Ar-15 and a plinker made by Olimpic Arms. They both wieght in about the same. The Colts are a little higher on the price side though. But they both shoot about the same!

Thats the only bad thing about the Ar-15's they are heavy!

Brent
 
How'd ya get that coyote to sit and let you scratch it behind the ear like that? And roll over? Scooby snacks, right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Jimmie

good looking dog.
Have you had any problem with mainge this year yet?
The ones I am getting over here in Trigg are really infested. Well something like that is par for the course here.
Again good show on the red dog.
 
Shot taker, I've only had the chance to get out three times this year and two of those were in the LBL. I haven't seen that many dogs yet. I'm not seeing sign of it in the scats I'm finding though . Believe me it will show up in the scats in the form of their own hair. I hunted such an area near Cayce Ky last winter with Timberman. Logging road was littered with scat full of coyote hair. We covered several hundred acres that afternoon and didn't find a single recent track either. This was during a thaw after several days of hard freeze. That five year old or so clearcut should have been full of recent sign.

BTW, I' probably be about fifteen to twenty miles north of Cadiz come sunday afternoon. Jimmie
 
The reds like this one seem to be common up there from sightings by others. I have taken one nearly white and have seen another of th esame color. A white has been spotted by other hunters as well this season. Blacks are there as well from the sightings by deer hunters in the area. Jimmie
 
Last year while deer hunting had one come in that was very pale and very large.One hour later had one come in that was very black.I missed the last one.
 
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