2022-2023 Predator Hunting Season--Thrills, Kills and Video

[JamieZ]

Went out last night and on the first set I went by myself. I walked through my buddies field over to a tunnel that goes under the railroad tracks and out into his back fields. As soon as I got through the tunnel I set up and started calling. I called in a coyote into the hedgerow right in front of me and I was waiting for him to make his exit into the field.

While waiting I heard voices behind me, at least I thought I did. I hear all kinds of shit in the dark when Im by myself,,
I hear it again and this time Im positive it was voices and then I start hearing some rocks roll down off the tracks.
Within a minute I hear people walking through the tunnel directly at me and could see a flashlight.

I yelled out,,, You are on posted property and then they turned around. So I said " I suggest you run" They yelled out "" Were Sorry"""
I said this because they damn near had me shitting my pants because they spooked me.

I was thinking about it on the drive over to my buddies house to do the second set. Those freaking people were probably shitting their pants as much as I was. They came across somebody they couldnt see, in the back fields, in pitch black darkness. They probably thought that I was burying a body back there or something

2nd Set : We called in a fox that wouldnt leave us alone. They are some dumb ass animals. We got so irritated with it, while it was trying to get his free meal, we were going to shoot it but there just so happened to be houses about a 1000yds behind him

3rd set : Called in another coyote but it would never come out of the red whips so we could get a clear shot at him. He was spooking the horses, while trying to be sneaky.

 

[Shoots100]

Shot a decent 8 pointer Sat Am, so I was free to hunt coyote Sat Pm.
Set up in a field on a hilltop with a great view.
Weather was perfect for thermal usage and I was lucky to see a couple of shooting stars with the NV goggles as well.
First set we called in this female from over 500 yards away.
She disappeared for awhile and we were going to break down and head to another property when I caught a glimpse of it sneaking through a thicket next to a rock wall in the hay field next to us.
I popped a big male coyote in the same spot last month.

 

[Tisto]

Ten ( eleven ? ) days ago we received mountains of snow, and I had nowheee to hunt that wasn't snowed in. Then a couple days after all yhe snow, I was working on a project in my garage and I had a piece of rust or dirt that got into my eye. It scratched the eye and took a massive amount of time to get it flushed out. I couldn't see clearly for a week. It wasn't terribly painful, but it was uncomfortable. There was a burning sensation for several days. Yesterday was the first day that the cloudiness was gone and today it seems to be almost normal again. So I'm HOPING to be able to get out somewhere this weekend.

 

[Tisto]

Well, it's Friday night, and there's a steady 20 mph wind, and it's raining on and off, and it's about 40°. Some of the rain showers are rather intense, even if they don't last too long. Still, the weather makes for miserable hunting unless I could do it from inside. Maybe tomorrow. Probably not, the wind is expected to increase with gusts over 60 mph. This sucks.

 

[JamieZ]

Well, it's Friday night, and there's a steady 20 mph wind, and it's raining on and off, and it's about 40°. Some of the rain showers are rather intense, even if they don't last too long. Still, the weather makes for miserable hunting unless I could do it from inside. Maybe tomorrow. Probably not, the wind is expected to increase with gusts over 60 mph. This sucks.

At the last minute I bailed. Keith texted me and said he was packing the truck, I texted back and said I'm not going. It was starting to sprinkle and the wind just started picking up.

 

[Shoots100]

Long day yesterday, so I actually went to bed early and got more than 4 hours of sleep.
Got a call from the butcher and after I change the brakes on my Varmint van, I'll be heading upstate to pick up two sets of the professionally finished savage impulse QC barrel parts, the meat and then do some coyote hunting if the rain/sleet/snow stops.
The coyote haven't hit the bait piles in a week and that's the only spots I have covered stands.
Good luck.

 

[Tisto]

It just keeps getting worse. We had 60+ mph winds today, and I was working on a project in the garage when I heard a crash and then some banging. The wind picked up part of my neighbor's greenhouse and was thrashing the side of my garage with it. Her greenhouse is more of a solar tent than a structure, but the frame is built pretty heavy and seems stable. In an effort to coral the pieces of her greenhouse, I cut my fingers up. Once I got her greenhouse under control and held down with some bags of concrete and sand, I had to go get some stitches. 3 in one finger, 4 in another, and 4 more in the heel of my hand. Honestly, I'm getting sick of life kicking the shit out of me all the time.

 

[Shoots100]

That really sucks to read and I hope your injuries heal quickly.
I went up Sat afternoon after changing the brakes and stopping at my machinists shop to pick up the savage parts.
Nice weather in my local, but as I drove north it just got worse and more worse.
I ended up cruising the roads scanning for dogs in the van, but none were seen as was expected in the sleet and wind.
Sunday the weather was much better, so I decided to stay and help my friend do some jobs around the farm until dark.
I took the EV up to the top of a hill in a centralized local of my hunting grounds and listened as the sun set.
I heard a bunch of coyote calling from one area and decided to target them.
With the moon shining bright, I donned the PVS7's and drove to a spot that my hunting buddy and I have been two times before with no luck.
I called from that spot and got some close responses, but nothing came in.
I decided to change tactics and head to a heavily wooded bowl that has a couple of rock ledges that I spotted while still hunting for deer a week ago.
I set the call 50 yards to my right on a field edge in the brush, got my rifle set up on a ledge and started to call.
Not 30 seconds into the calling I heard a commotion and had two coyote coming in fast.
The ground was frozen, so it sounded like a pack was approaching.
I turned the call volume down and waited.
The first one came right to me, but the wind shifted and it didn't like my baby talk, so it turned on a dime and jogged away.
The second dog went to the calls location and didn't scent me, but it new something was up and decided to skedaddle.
Unfortunately it chose a route that went by me.
One more male dog down.
Even though this spot never produced anything, I knew I was bound to see something.
When I was turning into the driveway of the property my rifle slid on the seat and as I tried to grab it, it flipped up, did a perfect pirouette and then fell into a small leaf lined drainage ditch.
Except for the dirt that was stuffed into the linear compensator, it looked ok.
I was too far away from my van to get the backup rig, so I cleaned the dirt out of the compensator and decided to take my chances.
I was pleasantly surprised when I took the shot and it dropped.
My hunting buddy had to go to a birthday party, so he missed out on all of the fun.
I took the extra time to drive to a spot with cell service to send him the pic ASAP.
Now I need to get to the range to check the rifles zero before heading out with it again.

 

[Shoots100]

The guinea hens and chickens can rest easy now, as this fox won't be bothering them no mo.

 

[Tisto]

I managed to make it out for a few hours last night, but since I had a early mornkng appointment, I couldn't stay out too long. I got out there around 9, but had to pack it up by 11. 2 hours produced the big goose egg, but I did figure out that the property to the north of where I was can be accessed by a tractor trail. The trail cuts between two properties and is used as a community easement. I have permission to hunt 2 of the 5 properties that can be accessed from it.

 

[JamieZ]

""

 

[JamieZ]

""

By the way,,, Humidity was high last night and the night before. Bering Optics SH was superb,,,,,,,,,,,, AGM mono's were crap, Fusion and the Taipan. Rattler was good though.

 

[Tisto]

I made it out for a few daylight hours today. A nice leisurely walk in the light snow. I had one nice looking red fox walk out in front of me, stop, look at me, then keep walking. A few seconds later it was gone. Saw a few deer and some birds.

 

[JamieZ]

Went out tonight and did 2 sets. I shot a yote on the first set and a fox right in the mouth on the second. Forgot to turn video on for the fox.



""

 

[spat]

Ran into a guy in the gun shop in Sahuarita showing off a pic of a mountain lion his buddy got in Madera canyon (a little over 1/2 hour from me).



Mrs. Spat saw a similar one walking down the road about 1/4 mile from my place.

 

[Shoots100]

The farmers have been calling about disappearing livestock, so my buddy and I decided to pay a visit before the new year to see what we could do to help.
Good way to end the year.
Bad news was that my Halo scope wouldn't start, but that's why I have a backup rig ready to go.
Also tried some new sounds and they worked like a charm.
Happy New Year.

12/30 - One coyote and three fox. One of the fox was a head shot and too graphic for pics.


12/31- We found this dog circling the cow pen.
It was focusing on a cat that was in a hedgerow and that enabled me to stalk within 30 yards to a spot with a safe background.
I was shooting the backup 20 practical with a 40 Gr Vmax and it didn't pass through, but you can never be too safe.

 

[JamieZ]

Bad news was that my Halo scope wouldn't start, but that's why I have a backup rig ready to go.
Also tried some new sounds and they worked like a charm.
Happy New Year.




I was shooting the backup 20 practical with a 40 Gr Vmax and it didn't pass through, but you can never be too safe.

We listened to a recent Foxpro podcast that was interviewing Tory Cook from MFK again. He basically stated to use what you have that will entice them to come pair up. They are splitting from their families right now, pairing up and getting ready for the humping season.

Friday night we started with rabbit distress calls and then switched over to Female invitation howls. After about a min of the invitation howls one yote made an appearance, then after a few more howls the 2nd yote made an appearance.

They held up for a minute right outside the hedgerow then committed once we switched to poundtown. Which Im sure you know what it is but for the others its basically a pup distress. Its an older coyote beating up on a younger one. Its some growls and yips.

What happened with the Halo? Just a hiccup and its back to working?

Friday night was the first night of using my newly loaded 40gr vmax's in the 204.
Gun jammed after the first shot.

Could of been because the gun was dry because my safety was even hard to turn. Gun seems great now after bringing it home and lubing everything up. Safety moves without issue.

Jamming could of also been caused by sizing the cartridges improperly or something. Though I never had any difficulty with the rounds when I sighted the scope in for them.

Think Im going out tonight,,, not really sure. If Keith goes, I will for sure go. Im just not a big fan of going by myself. Its no where near as fun without my killing partner to bullshit with.

 

[Tisto]

I spent all of New Year's Eve day walking around in the rain. I visited three properties during daylight hours. I finally made my way to deer camp and hiked around there for a while. After sunset, it stopped raining and I put dry clothes on. I went out to my favorite treestand on the driveway overlooking a very large field. Within seconds of the first squeeky sound, I received two seperate replies. One was from the west, across the main road. The other was from southeast of my setup, directly across the field. Every noise I made illicited a response. The one from the west came across the road and into the field where it hung out near some big round haybales. He milled around there for almost 20 minutes, but would come no closer. The haybales were just over 350 yards away, and there is a house in that sightline, so no shot for him. The other one made his way slowly along the hedgerow toward my setup until it was almost due east of it. I watched as it stepped into the open for a second, then it took off. Full throttle in the opposite direction.

During the day I saw a ton of deer and squirrels, despite the rain.

I planned on going out again tonight, but it's raining pretty hard again, and my clothes are still wet from yesterday.

I haven't been able to get out all that much this year. Not for lack of desire, but broken vehicles and things around the house take priority. Add to that, all the really shitty weather...tropical storm force winds, monsoon rains, snowfall measured in yards....it's been a tough year.

Hope all of you are doing better than I am.

 

[Shoots100]

We listened to a recent Foxpro podcast that was interviewing Tory Cook from MFK again. He basically stated to use what you have that will entice them to come pair up. They are splitting from their families right now, pairing up and getting ready for the humping season.

Friday night we started with rabbit distress calls and then switched over to Female invitation howls. After about a min of the invitation howls one yote made an appearance, then after a few more howls the 2nd yote made an appearance.

They held up for a minute right outside the hedgerow then committed once we switched to poundtown. Which Im sure you know what it is but for the others its basically a pup distress. Its an older coyote beating up on a younger one. Its some growls and yips.

What happened with the Halo? Just a hiccup and its back to working?

Friday night was the first night of using my newly loaded 40gr vmax's in the 204.
Gun jammed after the first shot.

Could of been because the gun was dry because my safety was even hard to turn. Gun seems great now after bringing it home and lubing everything up. Safety moves without issue.

Jamming could of also been caused by sizing the cartridges improperly or something. Though I never had any difficulty with the rounds when I sighted the scope in for them.

Think Im going out tonight,,, not really sure. If Keith goes, I will for sure go. Im just not a big fan of going by myself. Its no where near as fun without my killing partner to bullshit with.

JZ, Hope you two went out and dropped some dogs tonight.
Tisto, the dogs need to eat, so hopefully you'll get a break in the weather and chores to do some hunting.
I tweaked some muscles in my back Friday PM, but didn't really notice it because we were having such a good night.
I didn't get to rest at all into Sunday Am, so I'm hoping that stretching and having the heating pad on it all day today will ease the pain.
Lucky for me it's raining out, or I'd be out hunting and screwing my back up tonight as well.
My HALO is down for the count.
It's dead as a door nail.
I downloaded some videos last week, removed the batteries and put it in it's case.
I tried three sets of tested and freshly charged batteries, plus plugging it into the computer and an external battery pack.
The battery cover has continuity between the connections and there's nothing in the battery slots to block the contacts, so I'm SOL on my end.
An NVision rep e mailed me back Sat afternoon and they'll be calling me Monday.
You know my attitude towards semi auto's for hunting, so I'll leave it there.
The wife wasn't happy, but last week I sat down with the X24 and went through every distress sound it has and pre programmed a sound list of some sounds I never tried or even knew were in the call.
My top four choices all brought in dogs.
I was really surprised that the Elk calf distress call brought in three fox at the same stand in less than an hour.
Goes to show you that when you start calling you never know what's going to happen.

SJC

 

[JamieZ]

Called in a fox last night but was waiting for a coyote, so I didnt shoot. I did take video but its not worth the effort to show some dumb ass fox come in and then start doing a spring board routine, trying to eat mice.

 

[JamieZ]

3 sets in a row with the Foxpro X24 with sounds by MFK.
2 came in again but only one went down, again

 

[Shoots100]

Just after the stroke of midnight, I got up from my seat to stretch and try to get my back spasms to stop when my buddy whispered to me that he see's two dogs coming in.
My back spasms magically disappear when I see them coming with my spotter.
I get behind the rifle and hit record.
The wind was swirling and when they start to get antsy, I put the hammer down.
I pop the first one, he misses the second dog and I take a shot at it before it goes over the hill.
I heard a smack and see it stumble after my shot, so I know it's hit good.
The .20 cal 40grn Vmax did it's job and both dogs were found right over the hill.
52lb male and 35 lb female.
Double down.

 

[JamieZ]

Another no video kill, shot at 235yds. Put the first round right through his nose and followed up with a second, which was through the gut, to make sure it wasnt planning on running. It was killed in coyote paradise, which is right behind my buddy Keiths farm. Same area where we have shot like 5 of them this year. Zuber Farms 1-15-23 1am

 

[Tisto]

I managed to make it out for a couple hours this morning. I couldn't sleep ( again ) and decided to go watch a field as the sun came up. I had a very healthy looking little red fox come in three times. It just couldn't resist coming to see what the mouse and vole squeeking was all about. Of course, I let it walk. It didn't seem too concerned about me being nearby. It looked right at me each time it came in close to the caller. That was the extent of my excitement this morning though. Once activity in the area picked up, I left. The cold was bothering my hands...damn arthritis.

 

[Tisto]

Despite having a day long headache and my back hurting, I went out last night. I stopped at the first place, got set up, heard yips and howls close by right off the bat, and thought it was going to be a good night. I had a pair come charging in before I knew it. The problem of course, was that they came in from behind me. They ran right past me toward the caller. As they went by and I realized what was happening, I couldnt get the gun up and find either one before they were gone. I waited around being silent for about 20 minutes then started to call again. Nothing. After another 45 minutes, I packed up to hit spot number 2. I no sooner got my stuff out of the truck and I could hear a group of guys down in the woods running dogs. Put everything back in the truck and went to spot number 3. Seemed like a perfect setup, I got in and set up without making any noise, very light wind, everything seemed like it was good. Nothing. No matter what I played, nobody wanted to dance. I tried almost every sound in the call. After a couple hours I packed up and headed towards home. Not tired, I stopped back at the first place for about an hour, but wound up with nothing.

Lots of deer everywhere. Saw an owl at the last set, too. Not much else of interest.

 

[JamieZ]

Another Kill. My buddy Keith and I double tapped it. It came out of the woods after 45mins. We were ending our set and decided to play serenade to see if yotes were in the neighborhood. He came right out of the woods.

 

[JamieZ]

3 Came in and One went Home 1-28-23

Happened in a total of about 5 mins and about 2 mins worth of calling

 

[1075tech]

 

[Shoots100]

Took a poke through the branches at a dog that had winded me and wanted to head out of town, but the field was flooded and it was slowed down trying to get through it without getting soaked.
It ran a little ways and disappeared after the shot, so I glassed the flooded field for fifteen minutes afterwards without seeing anything moving but deer and went home.

 

[JamieZ]

Took a poke through the branches at a dog that had winded me and wanted to head out of town, but the field was flooded and it was slowed down trying to get through it without getting soaked.
It ran a little ways and disappeared after the shot, so I glassed the flooded field for fifteen minutes afterwards without seeing anything moving but deer and went home.

Actually looks like you skinned him a little bit.

Did you get your Halo fixed?