I think that it might be easier on everybody if we post most hunting related subjects on one thread so you are invited to post here if you'd like

Thursday Nov. 29
Got to Globe at 12:30 or so. Met some very well fed Predator masters leaving the Country Kitchen (CK). We said our howdies and I was glad to see that NASA and son TJ were just sitting down. I was to be their guide so we ate together and made plans to get tags for the San Carlos Indian Reservation, sight in guns and generally get ready for the next day. At dinner that night we found out that Tackdriver needed a guide so he was added to the gang. All of these guys wanted to take a cat so we were all well matched. The Thursday night gathering a the CK was very enjoyable. It was very interesting to put a face and new name on people like WileyE, Dogboy, Criter, Tackdriver, Jason el Paso, Bill Gardner, Todd, Kevin, OneFoot and many others that I can’t remember right now. It’s interesting how many people fully met and exceeded my expectations.

Friday Nov. 30
6:00am arrived after a very fitful night. Don’t know why but I was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. NASA, TJ and Tackdriver were prompt and we got off to a good start. Well that was until we got lost. Thank god for the Indian that knocked on the window of the truck while we were sitting at a closed garage scratching our heads. He quickly straightened us out and we were off. The first stand produced an Arizona Grey fox but flew by so fast that NASA and TJ got no shot. Several stands later another fox appeared. I had made a rookie mistake, I set up to call with a bush directly in front of me, I honestly thought that Tackdriver, NASA and TJ could cover all areas and I would not need to shoot. Unfortunately the fox is small and had other ideas about being able to hide. Another fox appeared a few stands later 15 feet directly in front of Tackdriver and I. I did not let this one get away. The days total was 3 fox called, one taken.
NASA is a very enjoyable man to be around and was ready and willing even though he was in great pain due to a bone spurr in his heal. TJ was a wonderfully well behaived young man and I enjoyed watching the father, son interaction. Tackdriver was very interesting to meet. He is remarkably quiet at times, but steps in with great gusto when a subject of interest is brought up. I only wish that I had held off on the fox and given him a chance at it. Sorry Tackdriver.
Since Vinny and Carl could not attend I was without a hunting partner for Saturday and Sunday so at dinner I approached the gathered group and said that I was free the next day and needed a hunter. Duane@ssu stepped up, we got tags and were ready to go for Saturday.


Saturday Dec. 1
On this day 5:30 arrived way quicker that I expected. Duane@ssu and I ate and started the day. (A word about Duane@ssu. This is an incredibly enthusiastic young man. He doesn’t know how to slow down, is very level headed and meets life with great gusto. Duane@ssu will be going places) This time we made no wrong turns but never exactly made it to the intended hunting location. As we drove through a very flat plain a coyote was spotted walking along in a field. We drive an appropriate distance got our equipment, stepped out of the truck. And watched three others lopping away from us. We did not try the impossible shot, but turned to each other and exclained that we are going to call HERE.
The first stand produced a 400+ yard coyote passing by. No Shot. The next stand produces a n almost picture perfect 400 yd response. The coyote came to my calling in a text book fashion. I indicated to Duane@ssu that he had the shot so he got into shooting position. The coyote hung at about 200 yds. Then proceeded to come in. When the coyote broke the 80 yd mark I woofed him to a perfect stop and I absolutely knew that we had a dead dog. Well …. An unfortunate combination of scope power, distance confusion and juuuusstt a bit of adrenaline produced a miss. One thing that I will say is that Duane@ssu hit exactly where he was shooting. To bad the coyote was not at the 200+ yds that Duane@ssu thought. The next stand produced another unshootable pass-by. On the fourth stand I called one from the back door. This coyote spooked turned to run but a running Texas heart shot produced a badly mangled leg, an interesting chase, Duane@ssu shot him threw an ear and I made another running hit that finished the job. Not pretty but effective. Stand five was in a cactus filled grass land. Duane@ssu called a perfect stand that produced a coyote that drafted by looking directly at him every step of the way. Too bad she didn’t see me as I pulled the trigger. Another dead dog. This was a picture perfect, text book stand worthy of film. I only wish that I had a movie camera for what happened next……..

As we drove the flat plain land was cut in half by a canyon that looked as if it were cut with a knife. A shear rock wall that fell for at least 1,000 feet. Nothing but birds were going to get over it alive. As we drove up to this cliff a very large sounder of Javelina jumped out of the rocks and started to trot down the two track directly in front of us. Amongst the group was a large number of young. One of these young and his mother were directly in front of the truck. We followed these two for a few hundred feet. Apparently the little pig got tired and hid under a bush. We stopped. Duane@ssu turned to me and say’s "Do ya think it has teeth and do ya think it’ll bite?" I says " Naa he won’t.(this was ment as an obvious joke)." Out jumps Duane@ssu, he eases up to the baby Javeline (this pig was the size of a small kids footbal) hand extended. I was in shock. What did this damn fool think he was doing, catching a pig bare handed. Directly behind him about 50yds. out stood mamma and she was not happy. Perfect picture. Baby pig, Duane@ssu reaching, mamma pig looking pissed. Well Duane@ssu makes a grab, actually picks up the javelina before it turns into wild thrashing screaming biting machine. Duane@ssu makes a clean release, but mamma isn’t threw wit Duane@ssu. I says "Hey watch out here she comes." Duane@ssu beats a hasty retreat for the truck and makes it to safety. But it was a good thing that mamma stopped because I believe that she would have caught him before he got to the truck. To Duane@ssus credit he said "That that probably wasn’t the smartest thing that I ever did." I was inclined to agree. We must have laughed for half an hour.

Several additional stands produced nothing so we decided to move on. As the truck climbed the mountain we passed from desert, to high plains the thick trees. As we drove a coyote had the nerve to stroll accost the road in front of us and we decided to try to call it in. A other perfect stand. We continued on for a short distance, turned around out of sight, eased back, parked on an access road. Consulted the Reservation map to make sure that we were in a legal shooting area, silently jumped the fence, set-up, Duane@ssu called and killed the coyote inside of a minute. Perfection.

We called a couple other stands and headed for Globe.

The evening meal at the CK was fun, noisy and full of hunting stories but I believe that the best story was about some damn fool trying to pick-up a baby javelina. This was the best night of the hunt.

Sunday December 2
Duane@ssu and I tried our hand again but like most others we struck out.

The noon get together was fun and I got to watch my normal Arizona hunting partner Bill win almost everything. To his credit he put one of the knives and a 9mm handgun BACK into the pot for others to win. Bill is like that. He won fair and square but could not take winning two guns (a 9mm and a fully rigged Tompson Contender). I was proud to know him (by the way Bill Gardner, you were generous beyond belief).

This was great fun. We got to put faces on lots of Internet writers. I came away from this experience very glad that I am a small part of this group. Thank you Predator Masters, Extreme Dimensions and mostly Will Criag.

Great story Michael, thanks much.

wonderful writing, i was sitting in ohio but thought i was there!!!! thanks, stump jumper

When we can't be there to experience things first hand,posts like Michael J's makes us feel that we ARE right there with them.Thanks to all who are posting the fun y'all had in AZ.More!More!More!
KYOTIKID
PS:Michael,to bad you couldn't get that squealin baby javelina on tape?HaHa!

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US PREDATOR REGULATORS
IOWA CHAPTER

Hey Michael good story.
We had a good time. It started out really rocky with I 10 between San Antonio being shut down for about 6 hours causing us to be delayed for that time. We finally got back on the road and then the danged light switch went out on the truck and we had to drive from El Paso all the way to Globe with the flashers working ( cann't keep a dedicated predator hunter back ). We arrived there about 2 a.m. Friday morning. We unpacked and then got all of two hours of sleep. We looked for our guy Tackdriver but couldn't find him. Found out that he gave up on us and made other plans( sorry Tackdriver for missing you). We Got to the Res. late after the sun was already up(since we weren't able to scout the day before like we planned). Went to a road and turned down it and then down another. Ran into some quail hunters that had already worked the area for the first hour and had to find another spot. We did a lot of looking the first day without much luck. We did manage to call in a dog(as in someone's pet- not a coyote). Friendly little bugger though.
Day two saw us out there chasing those coyotes again. We made the mistake of taking the 1500 road around through Chiracoua Butte(sp?) It was more like a goat trail. We finally got to where we were going and got set up. we called by a tank for about 1hour and 45 minutes. After the first hour we decided that we did not have enough time to move an adequate distance to make it worth while, so we just stayed. And it paid off. At about 10 til five some cows came up to water. As I sat there wishing they would go away they suddenly shyed real bad and ran about twenty yards where they turned around and stared in our direction. I knew I didn't move and neither did my 16 year old son Robert or my cousin Sean Martin. Isat there and then suddenly like a ghost I saw the coyote just appear out of the corned of my eye to thje right of Robert. The boy spun around like a lightening bolt and shot her so fast that she didn't even have time to move before tha bullet hit her. The hit was graphic to say the least and I saw her whole body pulse with the blast and the hit of the 85 grain hollow point Sierra Boat Tail out of the .243 Savage. Man what a sight!!!!! She spun three times and then ran off about 25 yards. We got up and walked over to where she was standing when she shot her and it was 22 steps. Talk about close( I think that is why he doesn't hunt with me as much as I would like him to lol...) We hurried over about 200 yards and Set up and called again. That is when I noticed the den right at my feet when I heard all the rattling around. Do they have badgers there in San Carlos? It scared me kinda bad so we decided right by a den of unknown origin was not a smart thing so we called it a night...
Sunday morning found us flying down Res. Road 8 on the way to get into some more action. My boy looked out in a feild and yelled yote!!!!!! I stopped the truck and jumped out. I tryed to get my gun but could not reach it so I grabbed Seans 25-06 and spun around to look at the coyote just standing there. I flipped off the saftey and started to shoulder the gun when one came out from behind the truck about 15 feet behind me. With me that was close enough to put me into hyper drive. Adreinaline started to pour into my system and I lost all train of thought. Instead of taking the fartherest yote first I tryed to shoot the closest one! With the combination of "buck fever" (did I say that) I fingered that %$#*&^(*&^*(^%&*^( hair trigger and the gun went boom before I had the scope on him. I tryed again with the same #$%^&**&^^%&*%^%$ results. I took a deep breathe and after a few choice words I put the cross hairs on him and connected . Perfect hit and he went down without so much as a whimper or a movement. We continued on to our spot and had then all around us but they would not give us a shot.. Sean didn't get one but we will be back next year and he has first shot ..
Thanks for all the good times and keep up the good work with the board. James Lindley, Robert Lindley and Sean Martin......

I've never hunted anywhere out west but I feel like I'm right there with you guys.
Tell me more!!

I certainly hope that the globe event or something similar gets to be an annual event , I would like to attend someday

Hey Michael,
It was good to meet you. I have a picture of your fox on the first day if you want it. I think maybe you or Craig know San Carlos better than anyone-with the exception of Daryl.

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http://www.predatormasters.com

[This message has been edited by Mike Paul (edited 12-04-2001).]

Thursday Nov. 29th

Arrived at mile marker 268 the meeting Camping area for the hunt. Hornet was there and NASA with TJ. They were sighting in NASA’s rifle and letting TJ shoot to see if he liked the rifles.

Lukens got out his Hornet and let TJ shoot the rifle. He loved to low recoil so Kevin Lukens loaned the rifle to NASA and TJ.

We set up camp and headed too Globe to meet at the other PM hunters.

NOW I ma terrible on names and all. So I am not going to state who we met at CK.

On the way back to camp it started snowing. We were hopping it would keep up snowing so it would be easier to see the coyotes. Plus sleeping in a tent it would be warmer with the snow in the ground.

We got up at 0400 and got dressed really fast for it was dang cold and putting on an artificial leg (fiberglass) with a rubber liner and stump socks sure does make you move fast to warm up.

We headed out to the lake north of Globe.

We got into some great country with all the desert biting, sticking, and cutting country in the great USA.

Our first stand we were just below a ridge calling a large valley towards the lake. We could see birds getting spooked and something was coming to the call but then the morning breeze shifted and the critter left the country.

Next we went to the head of the canyon. There it was so thick you could not see more than 10 to 20 feet around you.

We were using mouth calls and got two bobcats to come in. We could see them moving around in the thick brush. But got no open shots through the brush. The cats finally got wind of us and left spooking up a large covey of quail on the way out of the canyon.

Next we headed back to the top of the hills to try calling up there. We called many areas but did not get anything to come in that we could shoot.

Lukens then got out his shotgun and went after the quail that we kept seeing. They too then stopped showing them selves too.

So we decided to head back and call in some of the areas we passed in the dark on the way in.

We set up just below the ridge of a canyon with me at the top and B. Lukens to my right and K. Lukens towards the mouth.

K. Lukens started calling and after about three minutes quail we had jumped on the way to the calling area flushed out of the canyon then a group of doves flushed out. B. Lukens started calling and more quail were flushed and dove. After Bobby stopped calling I started calling.

I called for about 3 to 5 minutes and stopped hopping the coyote of bobcat would come out to where Kevin Lukens or Bobby could shoot.

But nothing happened for about 5 minutes. Then the dang wind shifted again and what ever it was in the bottom winded us and left flushing the birds again.

Now do not get me wrong WE WERE HAVING a GREAT time. We were out hunting and the having great FUN. Just shooting predators was not part of it this time.

We headed back to Globe and camp. On the way we stopped and called allot of the areas we could get too just off the highway. These too did not produce any coyotes.

Friday night we had the Rancher in the area invite us to hunt his place. Because he had a pack that is tormenting his dogs and taking his wives house cats. So we decided to go to his place the next morning.

Hornet stopped by also and we talked for about three hours around the camp fire.

The next morning we were north of the Ranch house calling when we seen a large bobcat coming in to the call. Well K. Lukens had started calling then found out he was sitting next to a red ant mound. So he had to move fast, well the bobcat was in a small draw behind some cedar trees and did not see him move next to me.

We were watching the wash for the cat when I seen it at the top of the was there was no time to shoot and it was gone again into the brush.

A minute or two later I thought I seen it’s rump and it was leaving.

K. Lukens did not see it. So we waited about 3 minuets then K. Lukens got up and sneaked over to where we had last seen the cat.

He was looking down hill when I seen something in the brush behind him. I yelled at him just as the cat leaped up hill away from him. In the next instance it was over the hill and gone.

all know is we should have waited longer but as the old atage goes hind site is 20/20. Also if the cat had of jumped down hill it would have hit K. Lukens in the center of his back.

We then hunted all around the ranch house but got nothing to come in.

That evening we tried howling and got the pack behind the ranch house to respond. Two came out on the ridge above use but as soon as they seen the truck they turned and headed back to the rest of the coyotes that were still yipping.

We tried but it was not to be for us.

We had a great time anyway just meeting all you great folks and camping out in the great outdoors.

Bobby was really happy after he won the Elec. caller Sunday. He had to play with it all the way home.

May be we should have had the caller earlier heheehheee.






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Kevin Bowler
Support NRA Vote Freedom First

Trip Report - Day one.
The drive to Globe started at 0430 on Thurs. TJ was excited and wide awake. We started seeing coyotes off the I10 on the way to Phoenix, so that stirred him even more.

We pulled into Globe around lunch time and started shaking hands. We found Critr, Robb, Jason and others hanging out at the CK. We met out guide, Michael, and started planning the hunt. Critr and Robb had maps of the Res to pass out to everyone. We finally decided on the SW corner of the Res. About that time we met Tackdriver. He was stressed, thinking he had been stood up. So we invited him to join us. Michael went over a few points like safety, stand courtesy, ethics, and departure time. We said our byes and TJ and I headed out to the camp site.

I had just put a scope on the .243 and needed to sight it in. There we met Hornetfan, Kevin (Onefoot), Kevin (Lukens), Bobby, bvomark, Wiley E, and I think Craig Hamilton, among others.(I'm not losing my memory, I've just never had one.) So after 10 shots, Scott and Craig got tired of the noise, did the math, and got me in the black in 2 rounds. TJ tried it but it was waaaay to heavy for him. Kevin Lukens stepped up and made a very generous offer to loan TJ his son's 22 Hornet. It had an excellent camo job done by Onefoot. This guy is talented. In fact, Kevin is so cool he even camo'd his peg! How cool is that? TJ loved the rifle (now I'm going to have to buy him one). Thanks Kevin, you're a true gentleman. And trusting, too.

By now the sun was going down and McC likes an early start, so we said some more byes and headed to the motel. The adrenaline was boiling and it was tough to fall asleep. We both dreamed about shooting cats that night.


[This message has been edited by NASA (edited 12-05-2001).]

Trip Report - Day two.
Michael likes to start at sunup, so we were all ready to go Fri. morning at oh-dark-thirty. We made 3 different attempts to find the dirt road (trail) into the canyon. Every try ended up a dead end. Maybe the turnoff is further down the hiway? After 10 miles we knew we were off base. Fortunately, one of the locals came to our rescue. He told us we had been at the right spot all along, but we should hang a right at the FIRST fence. By now the sun was up and we found the trail easily.

On the first stand, we got to see "the ladder" in action. We even used it to cross fences. TJ catches on fast. He whispered," Dad, we need to get one of those". He's right! It's a perfect tool for the right situation.

McC is an awesome caller. He gets such a range and variety out of a single call. We took turns calling, but he called in animals
and I called in birds. McC even has one technique where he incorporates a kind of "meow" sound into the squall. TJ and I tried to copy it, but it's going to take some practice. The canyon had lots of good looking cat and coyote terrain. But we kept
calling in fox. Finally, after killing one, Michael said, "too many fox here, there won't be coyotes". So we agreed to leave and find another area. We went North to an area on the map with "coyote" written on it and circled. Hmmmmm, might be worth a try.

We made a pit stop at the Res Fish & Game Office so Tack could get his lion tag. We were given the warmest reception by the people there. Very friendly, helpful, and generous with suggestions and directions. We were very impressed. AND, they extended a very attractive offer to Predator Masters. An exclusive "PM Only" offer (more to come on that later).

Back into the hills for more stands but with similar results. I've never hunted predators with more than one person with me, so group hunting coyotes was something different. Michael taught us about placement, and where he thought the game would be coming from. I paid close attention to his time on stand. I noted the frequency of his calling as well as the timing and the variance of his calling pattern. Does it sound like I was studying him? Damn right, I was. He was generous in sharing his calling experience and he tolerated a lot of "infractions" of his personal calling standards. In fact, standards seem to be an important part of his character. Michael is also a stealth joker. By that I mean, he likes to kid around, but if you're not on your toes you can miss it. Even his jokes wear camo. He likes innuendo but if you don't get it, oh well. He's never overstated or obvious. I like Michael a lot. He's a decent man and a lot of fun, once you get to know him. I can now see what someone else saw in him.

We continued hunting that day until the sun rested on the top of the range to the West. I gained a lot of valuable information from my day spent with Michael. No dead animals, but a lot of knowledge. And that was a key goal. None of us went home "empty handed" that day. Thanks Michael. I'd love to hunt with you again, but lets hold off until I can walk farther than 50 yards!


[This message has been edited by NASA (edited 12-05-2001).]

NASA - You are being to generous. I was using two different bite calls during the time that we hunted together. One was a Quaker boy call, a something or other squaller and a Johnny Steward (I also like the Ed Sceery AP6 bite call but lost it a few months ago). These calls have the ability to easily produce the variety of sounds that you heard. I'm getting to like them more and more all the time. As far a cadence or frequency of calling is concerned. Well, I truely feel that I was OVER calling all weekend. I occasionally try too hard and have to pull back and cut the frequency of the call. But we were calling for cats and that requires move frequent calling to truely keep their attention.

Michael

A little late, but here it is.

Trip Report - Huntin' with Wiley E.
Fri. nite at the CK we met up with Mr. Huber. Wiley spread out the map and picked his route. The prairies in the NE section were to be our target area. Scott likes to hunt with the sun up and a "little curve" on it. So TJ and I got to sleep in an extra hour Sat. morning.

The route we were taking was popular that morning. We passed McC and his group in one spot and crossed paths with Craig a number of times. He and Wiley have a lot in common.

The tree lines around the prairie held plenty of coyote as evidenced by their responses to locator howls. But convincing them to leave cover was another story. Scott likes to hunt with the wind in his face and the sun at his back. That morning Mother Nature wasn't cooperating, so Scott took TJ on a hike about a 1/2 mile from the truck to try for a crosswind stand. I followed for about 60 yds. and then perched to "cover the back door". Scott and TJ worked their way out towards the end of a tree line. It was an "iffy" stand with the sun in front of them. Scott started calling, and one finally ventured forth and started zig-zagging in. At about 150 yds. TJ slowly raises his rifle to get ready. The coyote caught the glint of sun off the scope and swapped ends. I was hoping his departure would take him past me, but he left the same way he came in. The wind and sun never did seem to cooperate that day.

Later, while crossing a section of grassland we spot 1, 2, then 3 coyotes out in the middle of nowhere following a powerline. We'll circle around them, get downwind and let them come right into us. That was the plan. While trying to find a trail around them, we run into three more dogs heading South. We decide to stay with the original plan. We finally find pavement and charge into position. The stand will be (at least) 3/4 of a mile from the road. There's no way I can make it. TJ is game so off they go. (My injury must have been frustrating for Scott, although he never even mentioned it. I'm very grateful to Michael and Scott for taking my son out and working his butt off. He REALLY needed to see that you don't just take the easy stands if you want to be a successful hunter.)Anyway, it turns out the pack of three quit following the powerline at some point because they didn't show up at the stand. It could be that they just laid back down, after the truck was out of view, too. We'll never know. But that walk was about a 2 miler. Each way. We ran into Craig and Tack again and joined up for a couple more stands before days end.

Wiley E. is the consummate professional. He's always "on post". At one point he ALMOST let his guard down and relaxed, but he caught himself and shifted back into duty mode. He has been predator hunting for so long and has so much experience, that I think he doesn't realize how fortunately gifted he actually is. He can be modest and humble when you least expect it, but he demands an awful lot of himself. I think he finds it easier to forgive others for their shortcomings than he does when it comes to himself. It must be exhausting to maintain that high degree of vigilance.

Sun. morning we found a spot with really good potential. And guess what? The sun and wind were working in our favor! It was a fair hike to the ridge stand. The ground was covered with baseball sized rocks. This was our last day so there was NO WAY I was not going with them. Scott and TJ moved out easily over the rough terrain while I agonized slowly over the rocks. By the time I get to the ridge, I'm dyin'. And no pain pills with me. But I don't care. This place just says coyote all over it. We've got the sun at our backs, the wind in our face, brush filled creek and ravines in front of us, and we're halfway down the ridge with good cover. It's perfect. Scott starts off with a howl. Then he answers himself with a different howler. Oh brother! The whole place lights up with responses. About 200 yds. to the left from another little rise. Out in front in the ravines at about 400 yds, and also from about a mile away to the right. We were surrounded. After about 20 min. Scott called it off. "I want to go get them", he said. Now, that statement confirmed something I had suspected about Scott from being with him for 2 days. If the coyotes don't come willingly to him, then he'll go pursue them. He looked at me and then
asked TJ if he was up to it. With a slight tinge of reluctance, he agreed. I think my son was having flashbacks to the day before when Wiley invited him to go on a "little walk". But TJ is a trooper and took off to climb "boulder hill" in pursuit of the closest pack. Me, on the other hand, elected to head back to the truck while I was still able to walk. When we finally all met back at the truck, they said the coyotes just kept crawfishin' as they tried to close on them. They were there, but just wouldn't show themselves.

Wiley E. is delightful and entertaining company. He knows his stuff, has his proven routines, and lives by a strict code of ethics. It was very easy for me to relate to Scott. He's really casual and comfortable to talk to. And, he is so full of it (knowledge) that TJ got 2 days of biology lessons without even realizing it. In fact he's still passing on facts he picked up from Scott. Thank you sir. It was an honor and a privilege to hunt with you.



[This message has been edited by NASA (edited 12-10-2001).]

Great story NASA. I bet it was a kick to hunt with Scott..