Glen- the javalina picture is cool.  Tyler taunts them when we find them.  I don't want much to do with them once they start grunting and mock-charging.

Some of you may know Rhett got his 1st rifle at Christmas time last year. Since then we have been practicing shooting and going over basic what to do's. The To Do's, he has pretty much got them down,before stand, during stand, and after.
Tonight was his 1st venture to the hunt with his rifle. I am the back up gunner. I will do everything in my power to have him take the shot. He knew that if the behavior shows that a coyote is going to bug out, I will take the shot. We start calling and it wasn't within the 1st 10 minutes, Rhetts feet goes to sleep so I set him up differently so he can get comfy. This worked and he was fine. 15 minutes into the stand, I throw out 2 no dominant howls. Three minutes later the coyote appears right in front of Rhett about 200 yards and approaching at a good clip. Rhett says, "I'm on him Dad, what me to take him" I tell him no, let it come closer the coyote is fine. He asks again when the coyote is at 150 yards, "do I take it now?" I told him to relax, not yet. Here is when the excitement really kicks in for me. It is time for Rhett to take his 1st shot at a coyote. Coyote gets about 100 yards and we need to do something before it gets our wind. I tell Rhett get on him and I will get him to stop and take a good shot. Rhett says in somewhat of a shacky voice, "Ok". I had to bark 3 times to get the coyote to stop and when it did, BANG! Rhett lets it fly from his H&R Ultralight youth 223, coyote flip flopped and takes off slow but at a trying run. So the backup gunner, which is me, pulls up my new CZ 527 varmint in a 204 and hammer it. Coyote is down, we are excited as we can be. I told alot of people that when Rhett nails his 1st coyote, Ole'Dad may shed a tear. I was shocked that I didn't . Rhett was so excited it was funny So there was no time for happy tears tonight. I got Rhett settled down and told him we need to stay hooked (as Uncle Byron says) and went right into the pup distress. Well, we couldn't wait and called it quits. HAD TO GET HIS 1ST DOG I was so very proud of him and I truly know I have a awesome calling partner.
He was so worked up that he jabbered the whole time going to the coyote and all the way back as we dragged the coyote back to my folks house, who we called behind.
It was another wonderful Fathers Day (which is everyday)!

Sent Rhett after the caller, he says "Your not gonna turn that up on me are ya?" I made him jump before whe he was carrying it.






In Christ,

Song Dog

Jason,

Awesome! Tell Rhett congratulations and I'm sure you're one proud papa!

Hunts with Dad are the best hunts of a man's life, and that is one good coyote!

Hyperwrxx and I teamed up again to get rid of some AZ predators. We traveled too far south, where it's still hot - 95 degs! It's only 70 where I live!

First stand within 2 mins this little kit fox shows up, so I put him down. Barely get settled down from that and this coyote comes hard charging in - and it's lights out with some buckshot to the head.

He has been visiting my cat's dish each night kids said they had seen it but I didn't believe themI made sure there was some bait and waited tonight.

Since going out with Rizzosaurus.  I might have missed one.  All my stands are 1 big blurr anymore.

They get skinned on Thursday!

You gonna eat some, I heard they taste good.

Nah, he's a sissy.

I'm a gopher slayer.  I trap them (Death Klutch trap), but sometimes it takes some .22WMR to put them down...




(Tasty beverage for size comparison - kind of a big gopher.)


Earlier this fall, I was riding my Honda down the driveway when I spotted a gopher above ground.    It was just kind of lumbering around on the asphalt.  I contemplated for a moment the best means by which to dispatch it, then I remembered I was riding a scooter...  thump thump.  Took a shot to finish it off - it was doing a crappie flop.  




We've got a pretty good coyote population in the woods behind my house - I'm often awaken at night to the sounds of my dogs barking in response to howling coyotes...  I'm going to start pursuing them soon.

Colin

Colin - Love those gopher pics! Gophers were my first "trapping" and "varmint" experience. As a kid, my Dad tasked me with keeping them out of the yard. I loved setting the traps and got the chance to occasionally pop one with the .22 when it was out and about.

Nice dispatch pistol as well! How well does it shoot?

I like it.  Shoots well, albeit not super accurately.  

Rizzo...what is that rifle...the camo'd AR?

It is an RRA mid-length upper, Bushmaster XM15 lower, topped with a Bushnell Trophy 4-12x42mm scope in an Armalite 1 piece mount. There's a MAD BUIS folded down under the bell of the scope as well, just in case. I have the 2 stage DCM trigger in it - love that trigger! I sprayed the whole rifle with Krylon Khaki, then wrapped it in cord and srayed it with Krylon Foliage Green. That rifle has put a lot of fur on the ground.

ETA: Oh, I posted all this in the "Hunting AR" thread also. Oh well.

go ponies

Predator meet predator.  Rock River Predator vs 25# bobcat.  My first bobcat!  I know - not great shot placement - he was on the move at ~100 yards, he only went about 10 ft in his death roll.  He's in the freezer.  Thinking about getting him mounted.

28 coyotes
4 bobcats
2 kit foxes
1 gray fox

3 months.

MINASKA OUTDOORS FTW

















Double down with my Stoeger 12 GA w/ video camera mount


gotta find other pictures...................

today's coyote

We should of had 2.
Rhett and I start out on a long walk to our 1st stand. Rhett would tell you that it was 5 miles . We crawled under a old fence and walked around to the west of this open pasture. Tebbe, you should remember this place . I have never really bothered with the Baby Cottontail sound much but it has been proving well lately. I usually will use a non-critter from Illinois sound most of the time along with my Tweaked Squirrel. It wasn't 2 minutes this nice coyote is coming staight for us. Rhett sees it and I figured Rhett is gonna get the shot. The coyote drops down in the dip and I was telling Rhett keep your eyes open and be ready to react. Then after what seemed like 15 minutes, he pops up. I asked Rhett are you on him, he says NO, then I tell him I am on him and I throw a GREAT warning shot and he left . I instantly went to the pup-distress. Rhett notices deer run way out into the field. He says Dad keep an eye on them, they will tell us if another one is coming. He cracks me up with what he knows at now 8 years old. They were looking in the direction of the next two coyotes came from . The lead dog was on a good clip and jumping up to see and the rear dog was more relaxed, lagging behind. I then focused on him and asked Rhett if he could see him. He tells me, no. I wait for him to stop and I let it fly. I could really only see his head and neck. I walk out to where I thought he went down and didn't see him at first. NOW I AM REALLY UPSET. I look about 20 yards from there and there he was. I yelled at Rhett, we got one. His excitement was once again priceless, even though he didn't get a shot this time.
It didn't bother him one bit that he didn't get to shoot. He kept talking about how cool it was to see that one jump up and try to see everything and just the fact that we called in three coyotes.
I told Rhett that I wished he would have been able to take the shot on the first one, he says it don't matter, it was cool seeing all of them and we get to take one home to show Mom and Grace.
One thing I am so proud of him is the way he handles himself on stand. He is like a seasoned caller  
Here are a few pics I took of him with the coyote. Since Rhett is my #1 calling partner, I don't need to be in the pics anymore


Caught this pic of him checking his age


In Christ,

Song Dog

Great photos.  Is your son able to acquire the target through his scope fairly quickly?  If so, do you think this is due to him naturally getting it or has he put in a lot of time behind the gun shooting at targets.  I ask this because my 10 year old daughter has a tough time finding her target in the scope.

Tell your son he's in good company.  Single shot long rifles are what the pros use!  :)

Hey Scott, Garret has been shooting at targets since he was about 2 (with my help of course), and now that he's 5, he acquires the target in his scope with no problems. Might be a bit of just naturally getting it, but I think that every skill can be acquired, so just put her behind the rifle more and more, and she'll make it happen.

Take her out with you - they're never too young to learn!

(check out that green Circe call - an oldy but a goody, it's his favorite)

1st off Rizzo that is one adorable pic, I love it.
Scott, We have been at the bench alot of times. He can get on target fairly quick.
Later he told me, which I thought it kinda funny, he said one reason he didnt get on him is that he would have to move and the coyote would have seen him. Which was true we would have been busted. As the coyote popped up, I has on him quick. So I took the warning shot
It is such a blast taking him but sometimes I get to carry a lot of stuff but I don't mind.
I am looking at a youth model bolt for him.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Songdog,what is wrapped around his rifle,and how does it stay on?

It is vet wrap around his rifle. I covered the stock and scope with plastic and took spray foam and ran beads of it along the stock to build it up. I took everything off and then fitted it to him and wrapped it. There was others ways to build it up but this came across my mind and had to try it. Well, it worked. I was out $5 for the vet wrap and time. Already had the spray foam

In Christ,

Song Dog

Thanks.

Hello fellas, first time in this section. Nice Kills guys!!

Here's a grey fox i shot over the Thanksgiving holidays. .22lr savage bvts with nikon glass. @85yds.

Nice look'n rifle and fox.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Nice fox, and that rifle is sweet!

I haven't had a chance to get out for a couple weeks , I guess, which is TOO LONG
I decided to head out tonight across the road from my house. About 500 to 600 yards out from the road is a small water way that sits a little low. I set up and hear coyotes about 1000 or so yards to the southeast of me, which is south of the house. I thought about gong there 1st but then I thought I shoud have . Oh well, then I hear another set northeast of where I was at. I pretty much just sat down when all of this was happening. I get my Scorpion set and ready to go. I gave a couple sissy howls and was running the light on dim. After I ran it for a couple of minutes, I was going to kick the Scorpion on. Well never got to. I shined to my right and this guy came in heading to my left and I put the light on my scope and turned to him. He wanted to leave but I gave him a bark, he stopped, and the CZ 204 with the 39 BK DRT'd him.


In Christ,

Song Dog

songdog, how's that red lens work out for ya? i just put one on my q-beam but havent had a chance to spot a critter with it yet.

Its awesome. I run the light on dim while calling. When I spot eyes, I keep the halo on it and turn it up when coyote is in range.
This past one gave my no time to fiddle around. It was - Put like on scope, get on him, bark and shoot.
I really like the the lightforce.

In Christ,

Song Dog

SongDog - all right! Was Rhett with you?

I gotta come out there and do some night hunting with you . . . .

ETA: Should I tell you about the coyote I missed this morning at 50 yards? Right after I nailed a jackrabbit, on the run, at 40 yards, too! That coyote was the Devil, I tell ya!

Rhett was in bed. He had his 1st BBall game this morning. They won
Yes, he probably was.

In Christ,

Song Dog

I went out behind the house because Rhett said he heard coyotes when he was shooting hoops, getting ready for his game in the morning, so he says. We got the kids down for bed and I wasn't gonna go out because I got alot to do but couldn't take it. Glad I did. Hit this one around the 10 minute mark. He had some mange and I wasn't gonna bring this one back. Also the 39 BK made a nice exit.
Sorry for the pics, left camera at house and I used my Blackberry.



In Christ,

Song Dog

Ouch - that's a nasty hit!

Good job as always, Jason!

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo110/worm1_2008/01070908251.jpg

Nice cat, ARjunkie! Really nice and spotted. Did you call him in, or spot and shoot him?

But . . . . are you hunting in my spot?

Thanks man, Nice cat yourself, I was actually hog hunting. I had put out some "Hog Wild" and it obviously attracts cats too, they came strait to it.

You know, I've heard that curiosity often kills the cat. Cats will come in to deer grunts, turkey calls, hog calls, just about anything that sounds like it might be interesting. And they'll check out odd scents and odd movements as well - guess you proved that theory dead on accurate. I've also seen bobcats sit and stare at various types of decoys for long periods of time.

I was laughing because the terrain in both of our pictures looks pretty similar.

Or maybe I'm crazy. Either way, good kill!

Yeah the terrain is almost exact. I went up to a ranch up in Central Texas. With all the pics of your hunts i wish it was the same hunting spot.LOL

By the way, i just dropped that bobcat off at the Taxidermist, be ready in 4-5 months. ill be sure to post some pics

Went to shoot some rabbits Monday but there were Coyote tracks everywhere.

I set up under a Pinion tree and just used a small mouth call. About 10 min later this one showed up.

One CCI Blazer between the eyes at 30 yards and it just fell over dead without moving an inch. Called a little longer thinking another would come in but nothing.

Nice look'n coyote.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Nice shooting - and that's a nice furred out dog you got there.

2 coyotes and a fox for us on Saturday - LeMarr Game Calls at it again!

Nice Fox.

My buddy has some reds on his land I'm going after soon.

Howling or distress calls?

Coyotes eat foxes, so howling when you're hoping for fox might be a bad idea. Try using distress calls - they really like birds and rabbits, and other foxes in distress make them nuts. I sent you a screaming fox MP3, I think - that's a solid sound for calling foxes.

Well I took off to a farmers place that asked me to come out last year, did with success and asked if I would come back. This was my 1st trip this year. I sat looking down in a little field next to a creek. I was calling for about 20 minutes and I thought my fingers were going to fall off, they got cold. I usually last a stand out for 30 minutes. 30 minutes came and I thought about getting up but decided to sit for a bit, while I was not calling. Right off the bend of the creek I spotted something but I couldn't see for sure what it was due to the dead grass. I looked through my scope and thought that I might have called and seen my 1st Illinois bobcat, since it looked fairly small. I started the call back up real low and around the corner next to the tree he stood with a buddy. It was a pair of coyotes. I thought if one of them stop I will let it fly. One did and bang flop dead, hit the ground like a rag. The other flew down into the creek and up out came another about 75 yards from me coming right at me. At this point I am on my feet hoping I can get a eyeball on the one who went down in the creek but got surprised by the 3rd one popping out. He would not stop at all with all the barks I threw at him. I wing it and missed that one. So all in all, one is better than none. With all my shots at coyotes, the one at close range running full bore at me was hardest to get on and stay steady.

This is my view point. The far tree just right of the fence is where the coyote folded.

This is from the tree looking back. I was just up from the bottom next to the fence, you might see my seat and sticks.

This is the coyote. Hit by a 39BK with only a enterance. It was a frontal shot in the chest. This is the 3rd case of the mange since November.

In Christ,

Song Dog

Good shootin! Those chest shots are the best 'cause so often it's just bang flop. Nice job on calling a triple. I'm glad we don't have the mange issue out here; of course we have parvo, which kills a lot of dogs, and we even have a few problems with the plague. A plague infected mountain lion actually killed a wildlife biologist in the Grand Canyon a few years ago - sad story. Rabies is a problem out here, as well - especially with foxes.