Even zombies can't shake a headshot!

Gruesome, isn't it.  Out here in Northeastern CO, we have beautiful hunting and wildlife, but the epidemic known as "mange" is hurting our coyote population.  My research shows that "mange" is a parasite that gets under the hair follicle of canines,eats and breeds, eventually killing the fur hair by hair.  As winter strikes and cold sets in this makes it hard for coyotes to stay warm, and as it gets worse so do they.  In a short matter of time they don't think straight, they are prone to other sicknesses, and they die a slow, ugly death.  Mange doesn't affect humans, and if your domestic dog shows signs a shot from the vet will fix them right up.  I did this dog a favor, but I wish I would have had the tools and thaw ground to bury him so that other dogs don't come rub on him and eat him resulting in the spread of this nasty bug.  I have heard all kinds of rumors regarding where mange has come from, or why it's growing, but I don't believe anyone actually knows.  This poor critter was coming to my mouth call at 94 yards, and had no idea that I was even in the area, leading to a very sound head shot.  I'm glad to put him down, but the idea that this parasite is killing more and more coyotes is very concerning.  I will continue to research and consult the DOW on what we can do to help continue controlling coyote populations, while keeping them healthy.  This just goes to show once again that hunters truly do see what goes on in the wild, and care a lot more than the tree huggers who rally together to stop the "bad guys" think we do.  I'll be your bad guy, I hope P.E.T.A. puts on a rally to stop mange.

Bobcat fever!

Last Sunday night we finally got some decent snow, so my household new what was coming first thing Monday morning!  I decided to dedicate the morning to chasing bobcats since the season ends Jan. 31st here.  My first set was on the edge of a river bottom along some brush and trees.  The viewing area was very small for what I'm used too when calling dogs, but it looked like cat country.  I called with a injured woodpecker for 15 minutes, then switched to a bobcat in heat.  After 35 minutes, the cold was setting in, and I decided no kitties were coming, so I switched to a jack in distress and cranked the volume hoping to bring a dog in.  Just before 38 minutes I glanced over my shoulder (as dogs have snuck up on me in the past) and there was a small, dark cat 27 yards away with only me keeping him from coming any closer.  We sat like we were both frozen to the landscape for about 5 minutes until I decided to try and roll out and get a shot before he knew what was happening.  Unlike coyotes, this cat had an escape strategy and vanished instantly.  I never took a shot, but I followed his tracks to see where he came from.  He followed my tracks down the trail to my set!  When I got back to the truck, I could see that he passed ten feet in front of my pickup, and picked up a buddy coming in.  I never saw the second cat, but I didn't disturb them too much, so I will be back this week to see if I can build some good fur money to buy a new foxpro!  The excitement combined with a great climate day led me to hunt unproductively the rest of the day stopping only for lunch.  Kinda bummed I didn't get a cat for Christmas, but it was worth the time and effort!

Redneck Coyote Hunt; Bullet Proof Zombie Dogs...

The second annual Redneck Coyote Hunt was a huge success!  Johnny D. and myself organized this hunt last year, and this year it doubled in size and funds raised for Giving Hands of Yuma County and the local FFA.  We would like to thank Joe's Liquor, Predator Xtreme magazine, and the local businesses of Wray, CO for donating prizes so that all of the money raised could go to the causes.
   Now, down to business.  Our team, Prairie Death Squad, took third in the competition with 6 points (coyotes are worth 1 point, and all other legal fur bearing critters are worth 1/4 point).  We had 5 coyotes, 3 rabbits, and a porcupine (We picked the porky up already dead on the side of the road, but there will be more about legal critters in my next blog).  We missed second place by 1/4 of a point.  The first place team had 10 points and 7 of them were coyotes.  During the course of the three day hunt we saw eleven coyotes, shot at eight, and got 5 in the truck.  Once again, too many dogs are getting away.  Coyotes are tough! One of the dogs that ended in the truck almost got away after Johnny D. smoked him with 12 ga. 00 buckshot at 15 yards!  He did a triple front flip, got up and took off.  I shot him at 82 yards with my rifle to make sure he stayed there.  We are sure that we hit 4 'yotes that were within 100 yards, and we never saw them again.  I was shooting my .223 with some custom ballistic rounds that were just too hot.  I am convinced that I was burning holes right through them, and they ran off to die in the pasture, which is no help when your collecting fur.  I am planning to switch back to a hollow point round in order to create an exit hole no critter will shake off.  This year proved to us that mapping out your sets along with being efficient and organized definitely leads to more sets, resulting in more dogs. The biggest change we made with our equipment was adding a borrowed Fox Pro Fury e-caller.  It is hard to justify a $400 call when a mouth call is about $25.  I have called a lot of dogs with my open reed call, but the variety of 100 different sounds, along with the advantage of setting the point of attention 20 yards away from you was huge!  Honey, if you're reading this, you now know what I want for Christmas! We dealt with some warm weather but were still able to call dogs in the middle of the day.  This reinforced my theory that having the sun at your back is one of the most important factors in being successful, no matter what the wind is doing.  I also carried a shotgun for the first half of the hunt, but I felt that it hurt me because a lot of dogs held up at 65 yards, and caught me in transition back to my rifle as they decided they didn't like the situation.  This lead to shooting at a few dogs on their way out.  However you look at it, the bottom line in competition hunting is getting dogs to load up in the truck, and there are a lot of things that have to go right from your set up all the way down to locating your kill under a yucca several yards from where you thought they died.  I think I love this sport so much partially because every hunt is different from successes, to failures, equipment, confidence, stories, and lessons along the way.

Luxurious Coyote Calling

                 With a new baby girl in my family, and coyote season in full swing, it has become extremely difficult to post once a week as I originally planned.  Anyways, let's get down to business.  I went on a weekend hunt with my buddy Jessie and changed some things.  First of all, he lent me a Harris 24" bi-pod to replace my mono-pod.  This is conducive to calling with an e-call because it frees your hands up to be in a ready position with the rifle.  The 24" part is important because at 6'1'' I need a tall setup in order to sit on my butt and get the rifle up to eye level.  These bi-pods allow each  leg to be independently set to specific heights and swivel in place to follow the target.  Then we took self-cling camo tape and the gun wrap (burlap) that came with our gillie suits and decked out our rifles.  This takes away all of the glare that the sun creates off of the rifle and the glass on the scope.  This cling wrap is amazing!  It doesn't leave a residue on your toys, it is reusable, and it works great!  It costs about 20 bucks per roll through Black Wolf Emergency Prep.  The next piece of gear we added was a stadium seat.  These are designed to clip onto bleachers for sporting events or concerts, but are great for coyote hunting because they allow you to sit flat on the ground and still have the luxury of a backrest, arm holders, and even a cup holder (extra mags?).  These seats fold up, are light weight, and sling right over your shoulder going in and out of sets.  Last but not least, I was spoiled with Jessie's 4-wheeler set up.  This allowed us to park the truck on the county road, drop the trailer gate, and cruise into the deep pastures. We used a camo cover to throw over the machine, walked over the next hill and called in dogs. Jessie's home made hitch basket on the front made taking fur back to the truck a breeze! This allowed us to do several more sets without getting tired walking in and out.  We saw six 'yotes in two days, but only got two in the truck, which leaves plenty of room for improvement.  Jessie called yesterday and registered us in the Midwest calling competition in the sniper class, I suppose we better up our game now!

A tough day hunting is better than a great day working...

After harvesting my first dog of the year, the fever has set in and the forecast called for three or more inches of snow.  I make it an effort to make sure I hunt the first snow day of the year every fall because animals are generally a lot more active directly before and after a snow storm.  The chilly morning offered no wind, along with a solid cloud cover which lead me to believe it was going to be an epic morning for calling in hungry dogs and I was very confident in encouraging Johnny D that these factors would almost guarantee success.  After four solid sets and calling in every animal on God's white covered Earth except a legal predator, I was glad I hadn't bet the farm on what I thought was a sure thing.  We decided that it was time to scout a few areas that we have been wanting to hunt and haven't had the chance.  As we warmed up in the truck, I was reminded that homework is a very important part of becoming better at this sport.  I am always interested in a new hunting ground, but I always hesitate to bother a home owner early in the morning to push for last minute permission to play in their backyard.  I prefer to call days before I plan to hunt with a "no big deal" low pressure approach, and generally have better luck getting a hold of them along with the answer I hope to hear.  As the morning moves into the day and life goes on, it's tough to remember to make those calls until the next time you drive by at 7 a.m.  This is also another huge time factor when you are trying to utilize every precious moment of your calling time.  My goal for this week is to try and make some of these phone requests to expand my repertoire of hunting grounds. After work, I tried two sets as the sun went down and had the same results... No fur.  Although I couldn't believe it, I did get to spend the morning with a great partner, we called deer within ten yards (which is the closest I've ever been to a muley in the wild, and it was a rush), we spotted some new possible honey holes, and I got to watch a full moon rise over a Colorado prairie in the middle of nowhere, which reminded me of two things.  First, coyotes love to hunt at night and if there is a full moon after a warming day of snow melt, then hunting dinner treats becomes easy enough that there is no need for a daylight meal.  Secondly, I had a great productive day that ended with both a rifle in my hand and a call in my mouth; A tough day calling beats a great day at work any day.  

Mark One for the Good Guys!

After my opening outing, some slight scope adjustments, and a new confidence, I returned to the field this morning for a chilly 33 degree breezy to windy morning.  I set up cross-wind to catch any sneaky dogs struggling to wind me. A good problem to have is a set that spans such an area you could use an extra set of eyes, I've found that my best bet hunting solo is to put a large yucca at my back and sit tight, although I often think about the dog that is going to jump in my lap at any time. Today wasn't the day for a lap dog, but after 13 minutes on the distress call, he came around my shooting side from down wind. We saw each other at the same time and it was game on.  First shot at forty some yards was solid, did the job.  The second shot was a good double tap, then why a third shot you ask?  Ok, maybe I have a little 'yote fever and I didn't want the same results as last week.  However you break it down, the first dog of the year laid down and stayed. The Colorado wind picked up even more and a couple of following sets provided nothing but the chills.  My father has always told me that coyotes are so crafty that "if the end of world was happening, the last species on Earth would be a battle between 'yotes and cockroaches", Wile E. was just a little too curious this morning.

New Year, New Blog, Same old Dogs...

     This year I am trying to take my predator hunting to another level.  Along with my hunting partner, Johnny D., we are hosting our 2nd annual local calling competition.  I am attempting to use this blog as a journal to track my man things adventures (everything from breaking my horse for elk camp, to my rookie outings with water fowl, and my newly found liking for angling; which is fishing when you take the catching fish part seriously), organize my pictures and videos, and network with both the professional coyote hunting community, as well as newbies to the sport that I love the most.  I have been hunting coyotes for all of the 31 years I have been alive.  This has provided all kinds of success, and even more tough learning lessons.  I am constantly shocked at the choices ole' Wile E. will make and have had all kinds of experiences from 300 yard kills on the run, to being licked on the elbow while calling and scared to death.  On the plains of northern Colorado, I feel blessed to have permission on a plethra of ground, along with the availability to hunt 2-3 times per week every week October thru March.  Enough about me, let's get down to the dog eat dog reality of fair chase coyote hunting.
      This morning was my first set ( a fifteen to twenty minute session in the field attempting to lure a dog into the dead zone) and I want to share a couple of things right off the bat.  First of all, I didn't go shoot my .223 AR platform rifle since last spring, and it came out of the safe straight into the field.  Although there is no reason my gun should be shooting anywhere but where it was last time I shot it, and I used the same rounds, from the time I climbed out of the pickup this morning the fact that I wasn't 100% that I'm hitting a quarter at 100 yards was floating in the back of my mind.  In a game that involves so many details to be successful, this one factor that is easy to fix... Spend time at the range.  Next, I only had time for one set before work, so I chose to go to a 20 acre patch close to town for time's sake.  I knew there were dogs in the area, so I parked at the house and walked out to seek a good spot.  I believe that sitting with the sun behind you eliminates a lot of glare, not to mention that coyotes are a lot easier to spot in the sunshine.  Finding this spot took time that I wouldn't want to spend if I had a whole morning of hunting ahead.  Magic morning and evening hours are few and far between so scouting and knowing exactly how you want to set up can be the difference between dog heaven and getting skunked.  E-calls are all the rage right now, but I prefer hand calls because I feel more involved with the hunt, not to mention real sounding quality electronic calls are not cheap. After about ten minutes of putting my trusty hurt cottontail squeal out over the quiet plains I spotted what I was looking for, and it wasn't the barn cat that came to check me out a few minutes earlier.  A nice sized dog trotted down the cattle trail directly towards the area I had hoped he would appear.  At about sixty yards away he felt something that wasn't right and faced up directly towards me.  I prefer a broadside shot, but as holds true with most opportunities a hunter must adapt, adjust, and make quick decisions at crunch time.  I raised my .223 up on the mono-pod ( I will blog on this later, but I prefer the single shooting stick for a middle of the road between balance and agility) and squeezed off.  To my surprise, the coyote gingerly rocked back, turned and started to trot off.  Utilizing the benefit of a semi-automatic I squeezed off two more rounds watching one miss and spray dirt through the scope. (I lead him too much on that one, which is another topic I will address later- don't use Kentucky windage, put the cross on the fur.)  After checking the area, I found no dog, and no blood.  In all of my hunting, this means one of two things;  There is a dead dog within a mile of my hunt because at such a close distance my nossler tipped bullet didn't expand and shot a clean hole right through him, or the harder to admit of the two... I flat missed.  Either way, no fur in the truck doesn't count for anything except one more hunt in the bank.  Now that you know a little about me and my first hunt of the year, I hope you will interact with me as I start posting videos, pictures, and further descriptions of my man things adventures.  For you new hunters, I will leave you with this.  On every quality set, I believe there is a dog in the area 8 out of 10 times. 6 out of those 8 times you should see the coyote that is interested.  4 out of those 6 times you will get to shoot your weapon.  2 out of those four times fur should be on the ground.  Therefore, with a little research and a serious attempt, a hunter should get a coyote 2 out of every 10 sets, so don't get frustrated.  Obviously, seasoned hunters will constantly up these odds over the years, and some days are just better than others.  Well, off  to the range to try my new rounds, and make sure I will have better success tomorrow.  Keep your powder dry, and remember that to be successful ya gotta just get out there and stick with it.