How did you get started calling predators?

Lonny

New member
I am curious how you got started in predator calling. Did you read about it? Did a parent or relative get you going? or were you self taught? Maybe these boards got you going.

Did it start out for you as a way to possibly make a few bucks on pelts or was it something to fill in the spots between other hunting seasons? Anyway, tell me how you got going. Thanks

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I am from a hunting family, so all kinds on "normal" hunting were routine. I was an avid reader, so I probably read about calling someplace. I ordered a Johnny Stewart call that played 45 rpm records, and tried it! Dad didn't think it would work. After he watched (from a distant hilltop) a fox come several hundred yards across open farmland to me, he was convinced! That was about 1960.
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Critr
www.SaguaroSafaris.com
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Was always into shooting at paper back in California, and as I got older I started to hunt big game and birds, when I met Jon several years ago he got me into hunting predators and showed me everything that he new, Jon has been hunting predators since the 1960's Jon and I hunt every chance we get.


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Jason's Gun Room
Quality Custom Gunsmithing
 
When I was 11 I raised homing pigeons, and had a cat problem. That's when I first started night hunting, too. About 20 cats later I discovered crows. By the time I was 16 I was hunting fox, and it's only gotten better ever since.
 
A few,many,lots of years ago a deer hunting buddy showed me his cure for boredom while on deer stand.

I just had to "has me one of dees."
I picked up a Lohman and stuck it in the pocket of my hunting coat. One day while on stand, fishing around in the pocket feeling for something to eat I pulled out the call.

It didn't look like food so what the heck. After hacking and spitting out a mouth full of pocket lint I figured it was better to blow on the darn thing, than suck through it.

Well I quacked, farted, screeched and screemed for about an hour and low and behold a little white weasel stuck his head out of a brush pile about 2 feet from my leg. Scared the water out of both of us.

Since then I've called in, weasels, mink, fishercats, skunks, owls, hawks, ravens, a bear and 2 wild eyed, frothing at the mouth deer hunters.

But not 1 darn coyote.

This last January while out scouting my bird haunts a fat doe crossed the road in front of me followed closely by a coyote.

At this point the wife says I became totally unhinged, and more than slightly deranged, not to mention obsessed.

I had to get me one of them coyotes. On comes old one eye and there is JH's Coyote Gods home page. My saviour. Now I have the egde on Old Wily, right?

Well the first thing is to up grade the coyote exterminator equipment. Week by week.

New snow shoes ( 5 feet of snow)
22 inch .223 barrell for the T/C,stock and forearm with Gold Ring 2x7.
JS Caller with remote.
Tapes to many to count.
Marlin S/S .22 mag with 3x9 quiter for night.
Night Blaster 200 yd w/red lens so I can see in the dark.
Still no "COYOTES".

Finally

Trip to Arizona in December, cuz JH, Bruce, AZ Will and some others say theres more coyotes in Arizona than thorns on a cactus, and for us no talant Yankees to come out west and see how its done.

I think I'm in the Predator hunters, Varmit hunters evoulationary cycle but I can't figure out just where.

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Lastshot
 
What did it for me was the fact that I wasn't getting buck fever anymore Deer hunting.
Bought a 22/250 and figured I'd step up the challenge a mite. The adrenaline(did I spell that right) rush when you see them start sneaking in is unbeatable to me.
I still consider myself a rookie but I can't get enough of it.
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~River Runner~

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www.predatormasters.com
 
My turn I spose...

Age 13 I started out shooting groundsquirrels with a pellet gun out in the empty field behind our housing area. My buddies and I would sit on the porch swing facing the field and BS, watching for one to "pop-up" or "whistle". We had scopes and everything. We moved shortly thereafter..

Didnt really know much about coyotes, but Id heard that in the rural areas it was really popular to get about 10 trucks together, and drive coyotes out of shelterbelts and creekbeds, then chase them down in the trucks with everyone emptying their 30 round clips...


In Graduate School, I hooked up with the University Rifle Club, where I met some EXTREMELY fine folks and learned the art of "Indoor 3-position smallbore". A club member invited us out to has ranch to shoot prairie dogs. Did my first Deer Season at that same ranch and spooked up some coyotes and I got to see some for the first time.

Another Rifle Club member mentioned that you could "call coyotes" and that sounded interesting to me. He explained the basics to me and then I picked up a few calls (Sceery Eastern Kit) and started learning how to work them. Next time we went out the Ranch, I went out and gave it a shot. Got some coyotes to give a warning bark to me
and that got me even more interested.

After about 15 stands of trying and a few distant sightings, I finally called one in and it came in to within 5 yards, and it trotted right past me. I shot, he went down, and I dont think Ive ever been as excited in my life (well, except for when my lil' brother got a few of his coyotes...)

Came back to Arizona for Spring Break and I went "practice calling" in the desert for the first time, and on my first stand I had 5 coyotes come in, with one that was almost close enough to kick.

Finished Grad School and moved back to AZ permanently and started calling lots a coyotes, even though my vehicle at the time was a "lowrider" (I did a lot of walking...)

Got my 4x4 a little over a year ago and its been a pretty serious hobby ever since, at least half a day every weekend, with lots of day and a half trips... I even quit doing Bass tournaments which I thought at one time to be "my calling in life"....

For me predator hunting involves more than just calling in and shooting a critter. Its the whole package... the planning, the problem solving, the gear selection, building my own E-caller, the offroading, finding a good stand, hiking, the firearms, the camping, the tracking, the skinning and tanning... Everything about it. Its the culmination of many interests into one activity that I can do all-year round, by myself or with a friend.

I picked up lots of info off the web, but the application of the information and the field experience has been (and is still being) self-taught.

The more Ive learned, the more Ive realized how much I dont know... many, many variables to be quantified....

(that was a long post... sorry 8^> )

Robb



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"Happiness... is a Target-Rich Environment"
 
Well an old story, about 25 years ago,in high school,worked, part time, with a moving van line, well the lady we move, gave me a box full of hunting and fishing stuff,from her late husband, in the box I found a, circle,screaming rabbit call, I thought it was for calling rabbits, daa. So when I went out, I sat down to call, rabbits , wow something went wrong, I shot three, coyotes, trying to run me over, now its a memory now, and a Joy
 
When I was 6 or 7, my Grandfather gave me two #1 longspring traps for Christmas, I wasn't allowed in the woods alone at that age, but two neighbor kids and I managed to sneak out and use them to catch a skunk ( and get sprayed ) soon after. The next year, he gave me and old predator call and showed me how to use it. I don't think my Mother ever forgave him for either gift. My life has always seemed to center around calling and trapping ever since.

Now folks are accusing me of moving my family 2,000 miles to the Arizona dessert, just because there are a lot of coyotes here to call and trap. That's not true, there were plenty of other reasons, and if you give me a day or two I might be able to come up with one of them.
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Calling and trapping coyotes has to be the most addicting thing on Earth. Just ask most anyone here!
 
Pretty much out of boredom. I was tired of sitting around waiting for deer, turkey, waterfowl and upland game season to come. Back in the 70's I did it for extra cash, whacking coyotes to the smiles of local ranchers. I didn't have a clue how to do it but somehow called a few in to pay the gas bill for a 62 Chevy SS.

Now it's necessary for business, but I no longer drive myself nuts waiting for the other seasons. As others have said, it's become an addiction...and I fear for my marriage..
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I hunt, therefore I'm broke...

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[This message has been edited by Big Jerk (edited 12-17-2001).]
 
I was in the 10th grade in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I saw an add in “Field & Stream” and it said, “Blow this call and coyotes will come running.” If I remember right, it was an add for Burnham Brothers and I ordered the call.

I didn’t think I would ever call in a coyote, but finally, I got one and then another. Heck, back then we did not have the Internet, videos, cassettes, or know anybody who was doing this. It wasn’t until 1976 that I met the first predator hunter out in the field. I got to hunt with him several times. His name was Tom Debusk and he was a security guard at Los Alamos, New Mexico.

With the internet and these boards, you guys do not know how easy you have it. We did not have any help when I started. It was all trial and error.

I get just as excited today as I did on the very first coyote I ever called in. That might explain, according to John-Henry, why I am a “piss pore rifle shot.” We have to leave some for seed John-Henry.

Take care.

Predator Masters – Coyote Gods Arizona Predator Hunt
 
I got started thru necessity in the early 50's, we had 20,000 sheep and goats to keep the coyotes out of. Coyote proof fences, well mostly, coyote runs with trucks and horseback and even had a pack of greyhounds for a while.

But mostly was with either a .22 or a 30-30 and would hide and blow on a blade of grass, talk about primative. But it worked, sometimes. Also about the same time I started hunting Deer and Antelope so it became an extension of the big game season.

Been doin it ever since and even make a buck or two from it now and then. Usually just enough to buy some more powder and bullets and primers.

Its funny how things go in a circle what I started doin out of necessity then for fun I now do for fun still, but it is a matter of necessity for the ranchers who let me hunt on their land. Ole Coyote still likes to get into sheep and goats, specially around lambing and kiddin time.

Pecos
 
About 15 years ago I was hunting pheasants and I saw about 12 shootable coyotes in one weekend,and no one had a rifle. while driving home I decided to look into it. Bought an electronic call my son and I decided to try calling in a coyote. On that first set we made several mistakes. About 5 min into the set my son come running over the hill shouting ther are coyotes comming.On that first set there were seven coyotes that ran in and I managed to shoot one. A good friend of mine in So. Dakota warned me not to get started it would become an obsession, he was right . The rest is history.
 
My hunting partner put himself through college shooting coyotes. A few years ago he got started entering calling contests in Nevada. Then he started bugging me about coming to a contest with him. The first year he did all of the calling, and we got some coyotes. The next fall, I set up with my son about 200 yards from my house, and called in a triple (all young ones) and got them all. Been calling whenever I get a chance ever since. It'll make you crazy, but like I told my wife the other day, at least I don't have a Corvette and a 22 year old girlfriend. I just buy guns and bows and hunt coyotes.
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When I was about 12 years old coyotes were bringing some good money and I wanted to get in on the "easy money". I had dreams of all the new scopes and rifles I could buy with all the coyotes I was going to call and kill.

My dad bought me a Circe predator call and I went to the school of hard knocks for calling. The money never did come rolling in but since I loved being outdoors and hunting it started me in this sport.




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I grew up watching my dad call in coyotes and sometimes running a trap line with him. When I was about 6 or 7 years old he gave me an old weems call and I started playing around with it. About the same time I started hunting rabbits with a Sheridan pellet gun and some of the ones I shot would squeal before they died. I started carrying that call with me and by the time I was 10 I could mimick those rabbits pretty good. Soon I was the one doing the calling when dad and I went out and when I turned 11 my dad bought me a Remington model 600 in .243 and I was set. The rest, as they say, is history!

Y'all take care,
Daryl
 
My Dad didn't hunt , so I was on my own. A buddy and I ordered a Burnham Bros call from a magazine when I was 13. I had a .22 rifle and there was a bounty of $10. It didn't take me long to figure out, this was for me. The bounty died out , but the thrill still hasn't. See ya'....Randy
 
I guess you could say I got started in predator calling through the back door. I had been a houndman for quite a lot of years, and like most everyone else I had read some stories about predator calling. I had never seen it done, and frankly I wasn’t totally convinced it would even work.

What was more interesting to me in those days were stories I had read by and about big game houndmen like the famous Lee brothers, Steve Matthes, Bill Green and others. I read about how they called for jaguars in Mexico and the jungles of South America. They used a gourd and produced a sound that resembled the roar of a jaguar. The idea was to get the jaguar to roar back so that the hunters would know where to go at daylight to put the hounds on a fresh track. Occasionally the jaguar would also approach the caller.

I reached a point where houndmen occasionally find themselves. A couple of my old hounds died, and I was suddenly left with 3 young hounds and no old timer to train them with. I began to reason that if there was any truth at all to this predator calling, I should be able to call in some bobcats, fox, ect., and get my young hounds started on the hot tracks.

One day I picked up a magazine and read an article by a couple of fellows who had called in not only coyotes, but also bobcats, fox, bear, and lion. There was a 2 page spread of photographs of game that they had called in. I had an old Pied Piper call that I had picked up several years before on a whim, and it was in the glove box of my pickup, gathering dust. I knew where there should be some coyotes feeding on a dead cow, and I thought there was no time like the present to give this thing a try.

To shorten this up a bit, I did call in a coyote that day. Now I was convinced that calling really did work, and I began to read everything I could lay my hands on about the sport. It wasn’t to much longer, and I called in a couple of bobcats. I was on the right track, and before long I was putting those young hounds on red hot varmint tracks. The day I called in my first lion was a red letter day, and I was thoroughly hooked.

I eventually did make good hounds out of 2 of those 3 pups. Today the mountains are steeper, I am quite a few years older, and I own Airedales instead of hounds; but I am still calling.
 
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