Coyote Clinic 2012 - Round 2

Our last Coyote Clinic in January was so popular that we're going to have another one in May!

It doesn't matter whether you're a rookie who wants to learn the ropes or a veteran hunter who is looking for some new tactics, Coyote Clinic is an excellent event for any predator hunter!

Here's what some of our students from our January Coyote Clinic had to say:

"Awesome! Learned many things I have been doing wrong. Shooting portion showed I need to practice gettin on target. I wouldn't change anything and the course content was great."
- Tom C., Phoenix, AZ

"Classroom time was informative. Presentation was not boring. Felt engaged the entire time. Field time was helpful, and allowed me to "see" what you discuss in your book. The shooting exercise was very helpful."
-Loren C., Prescott Valley, AZ

"Amazing class!"
-Bill S., Tucson, AZ

"This class was very informative. The tactics taught changed my whole way of thinking on how to put the most predators on the ground."
-Rick S., Mesa, AZ

This upcoming Coyote Clinic will be held on May 18th and 19th in Gilbert, AZ. This is a perfect primer for the summer time, when you can get out and do some scouting and even a little hunting to be fully prepared for the fall season. Both dates are available separately, but if you get them together then you get a better price, and a more complete and informative package! Reading through some of my past posts you will find stories of past Coyote Clinic students who are putting fur on the ground and are really enjoying predator hunting.

Both days are only $145, and returning students will get both dates for only $80! Why do a refresher? Kids are only $60 for both days, and all current military get $15 off with current ID!

Space is limited, so register today via PayPal or with a credit / debit card. For full information on registration, as well as full course details, click on the links below to open up the info sheets for both the Class and the Field Day.

Coyote Clinic Classroom Info Sheet (PDF)

Coyote Clinic Field Day (PDF)

Happy Hunting!

Arizona Game and Fish Outdoor Expo - Don't Miss It!

Every year I take my family to this event, and every year we love it! And there's no admission or parking fees, so that makes it even better!




http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/showcase.shtml

See you there!

Urban Coyotes

I was headed to a class this morning on a nice sunny 20 degree day, when I spotted this coyote wandering around in some empty housing lots. These lots happen to be right near the center of town, and as I approached this coyote looked pretty sad - wet tail and all!

When I stopped to take a picture, he trotted off, looking back several times with a very confused behavior. I let him go for a bit, until he was out of my field of view . . . .



. . . . and then I started imitating some predator calls from the warm comfort of my vehicle. He sure perked up on the way back! After a few more minutes of driving away, and then calling him back with lip squeaks and barks, I realized I was about to be late for my prior engagement, so I let him trot off, and I wished him the best of luck finding some breakfast.



Even when I'm not out hunting, I sure do enjoy predator calling!

Stormy weather shouldn't keep you home.

Pre-storm and post-storm weather are some of the best times to get out after predators. While not always the most comfortable (i.e. cold, windy, and crappy) predators are often out and on the hunt, eager to come to the call.

I had to do a skinning demo last night for a group of youth, and so despite the stormy weather, I headed out yesterday afternoon in pursuit of predators. While the first 3 stands were a bust, mostly thanks to gail force winds, I soon discovered a nice big canyon hidden from the casual observer. I knew this was my ticket to success, even though it was about a mile hike to get into the canyon. The wind had died down a bit, but the casual rain drop was still falling every now and then.

I setup on the first stand with a good view of my downwind, and in less than 2 minutes I had a fox on stand right in my downwind. Bang, flop, and the skinning demo was on for sure. Not wanting to quit, I headed farther into the canyon and setup again. And this is when things got interesting.

My stand was overlooking a large rocky wash so that I could see both ends of the canyon coming into where I was calling from. Just a few minutes in I get a hard charging fox. The wind had picked up and I was getting darn cold by this point . . . . but those are just excuses for what comes next - I shot low in my excitement to have two animals for the kids to skin! But the fox casually hopped behind a rock, and I was sure he was still around so I stuck it out. Sure enough, he pops up on my right, looking around. But as I move for the shot, he disappears again. I know he's behind me, so I decide to throw caution to the wind and go tactical on this fox. I turn and low-crawl over a couple of rocks, and as I come up over the last boulder, there he stands, not 20 feet away, looking right at me. He's in front of a small bush, so he must've felt hidden and safe, because he didn't run. Either way, my rifle comes up and I smash a 55gr VMAX into his chest, he flips over backwards, but he's still kicking around so I smash another round into him. I think he was dead after the first round, but I've seen enough animals run away to know that you shoot until they stop moving.

He was a bit of a small fox, and the rounds did some terrible damage, so he didn't come back for the skinning and I didn't feel that a picture was warranted. But here's the picture of the one that got skinned last night by a very excited group of kids:



The young ladies were especially excited to participate, and it was a lot of fun as after he was skinned the kids wanted to dissect him and help me prep the skull for cleaning. Good times were had by all.

And a couple of lessons were re-learned:

1) Just 'cause the weather isn't perfect, doesn't mean the animals won't come in.

2) Everyone still gets excited about making the shot, even after shooting lots of animals!

Happy Hunting!

Double Check the Shady Spots

Bird distress had drawn nothing in for the last two stands, so I decided to try something new. About 10 minutes into the next stand, I switched to fox distress, and not 10 seconds later caught movement to my left - but whatever it was, it was leaving! Giving me only a few glances at what I thought to be a gray fox, it was gone in a few dashes through the shade and random openings between bushes on the far hillside, at least 200 yards away.

Another 5 minutes passed without anything else happening, so I whistled to my hunting partner and good friend, Eric, that the stand was over. As we headed away from the stand and down the canyon, I scanned the hillside, looking for any sign that what I had seen had been real and not imagined, or not some bird fluttering from bush to bush. Suddenly, I spotted something in the shade - it looked like a set of ears outlined against the hillside. It was about 150 yards away and just slightly uphill from where I had seen movement earlier. I stopped and looked hard, waiting for movement. Oh nevermind - it was just a branch. As Eric and I walked on, closer and closer to the branch, I kept my eyes on it. Something about that big branch looked too much like an animal, but in the shade and the early morning light it was hard to tell. Finally I asked Eric for his rifle, which was scoped with a variable optic, since I only had my shotgun. As I shouldered the rifle, there in the crosshairs stood a gray fox, staring down at us!

I can only guess that he felt very confident in his concealment, since he still didn't move, even though he was only 120 yards away and technically in the open. I say to Eric "That's a fox!" Eric replies that he wants to shoot him, so I hand the rifle back to Eric, who got into a steady position, adjusted the scope . . . . and still the fox did not move. Amazing!

Eric flipped the safety off and with a solid shot dropped the fox. We had to do some bushwhacking and serious uphill climbing to get to it, but what we found was a beautiful and fairly large fox - I'd say the biggest one I have seen all season! It was a good shot by Eric, shooting uphill at a steep angle at about 120 yards, and just as interesting to see was that the fox didn't budge the entire time, until Eric shot him, of course.

So what is the lesson that is to be learned here? There are several, actually:

-Always double-check that "stump bobcat", "rock fox", or "bush coyote", because it just may be a real animal! They are masters of concealment, since that's how they survive and hunt.

-Spend more time looking in the shade when you are scanning your area while on stand. This isn't the first time I have killed or seen killed a predator who had snuck in and was sitting in the shade, surveying the situation and deciding on his next move, perfectly concealed.

-Sitting in the shade and not moving is amazingly good concealment, even better than whatever fancy camo Cabela's is currently selling.

-Invetigate areas where you saw movement while on stand. You may find sign of what was there, such as scat or tracks. And maybe the animal will still be standing in those tracks!

-When you are done calling, get up slowly, look around, and leave the stand quietly. You don't know what may still be approaching or watching. I have bagged several predators just by taking the same amount of time and care leaving a stand as I did approaching it.

-Like I've always said, foxes are crazy! They will stick around through just about anything, and just like this one did, they'll often give you a second chance if you screwed up the first one.

-This is the third fox this season that I have seen run away from fox distress, and I have heard from other hunters that they have been having similar results. This is interesting, since fox distress is usually a sure bet for calling foxes. I'll keep an eye on this trend, as it would change the way that foxes are called since it may be an indicator that foxes can be educated to a sound to the point where they would no longer come to it.


It was a fun morning, and the best part of a hunt is getting to share it with someone else. I'm glad that Eric was there to take this shot!

ShootersRealm.com

Chances are that if you use the internet, you've visited a discussion forum of some kind. Whether for guns, hunting, golf, boating, or wax figure making (yes - it exists), discussion forums are a great way to connect with other people from all different regions to discuss your chosen topic.

When it comes to firearms and their use, there are countless forums available out there. Some of them are big, some are small, some are useful, others . . . . not so useful. There is a new forum out there, however, that is really standing out and growing fast - ShootersRealm.com.

The current membership is a great group of people who all have one thing in mind - help each other out. That is something you won't find on too many other forums. So stop by ShootersRealm.com today, take a look around, and register for a membership, which is completely free. You'll find me under the name 'rizzo', of course, so once you get register say 'Hi'!

Happy Hunting!

1017 Yards

While this isn't my style of hunting, it is an impressive shot! Sure answers the question of how to take care of a coyote who holds up way out there.

Click Here to see a 1017 Yard Shot on a Coyote

Never Skip a Rainy Day

I don't fear the weather, but with that said, I don't overly enjoy getting soaked to the bone, either. My experience in predator hunting, however, has taught me that animals aren't scared of a lite rain, and they are more inclined to be active before or after a good storm, seeing as how they are either anticipating not getting a good meal for awhile or they are trying to make up for not getting a good meal for awhile. They don't overly enjoy getting soaked, either, so when there's a good storm happening, and you head out to hunt, it's a roll of the dice. Here's how my roll played out earlier this month.

I woke up to a pounding rain, but seeing as how I was heading south for a couple of hours I figured it might lighten up. I figured wrong, and when I met Daniel, the guy I would be hunting with, in the parking lot of a strip mall, he had a look of concern on his face. I re-assured him that all would be well, and we headed down the highway in the darkness and the ever increasing sounds of the rain.

About an hour after sunrise, the rain finally quit, and we bailed out of the truck and headed for our first stand. Our setup was prime, and we had the whole area of a small canyon covered. I really wanted to get some more animals in front of Daniel, as our last trip out produced plenty of animals but only a few that ended up in the truck. Not 2 minutes into my first sequence of gray fox distress and a gray fox shows up - but he's acting a little cautious, which is odd for a fox. He's coming in where Daniel can't see him, and no joke, ends up standing on the top of the rock which Daniel is leaned against. Finally the fox decides he doesn't want to come in for whatever reason, and starts to casually walk away. I waited until he was safely away from Daniel and I took the shot. It started raining again shortly after that, and if you look closely at this picture you can see some big raindrops on my rifle.



We hiked back to the truck in the rain (1/4 mile - hooray!) and spent the next hour in the truck. Off and on the rain allowed us to try a few more stands, but we only got to finish one of them as the rain kept chasing us back to the truck. I don't mind getting wet, but getting soaked isn't best time, and we spent most of the day soaked. Luckily Daniel is a good hunting partner and we kept the mood light. What else can you do when you're hiking up a canyon in the pouring rain? At some point on the way to a stand, I found this very unlucky horseshoe - I left it there:



Around lunch we found an amazing canyon to call, and there was a lot of cat scat all over. It thundered and threatened us throughout the whole stand, but didn't do anything. Apparently the animals got the clue, but we didn't. Nothing showed on that stand, and as we debated hiking farther into the canyon we got hit with hail - lots and lots of pea-sized hail. We tried to take cover under a bush, but it wasn't doing much good. Finally we made a mad dash back to the truck, but still got drenched in the process. Here's us huddled under the bush, and that ground is supposed to be brown, but it's white with about 1/2 inch of hail:



After more sitting in the truck and getting chased off of stands by weather, the sun finally broke through the clouds and we hit a great looking stand. Our setup was prime and less than 3 minutes into the stand I caught a bobcat sneaking in. I was using a Foxpro, and it was setup right in front of Daniel - this bobcat was stalking straight towards it and I was excited to watch Daniel out this cat in the dirt. As the cat continued to creep in closer and closer, Daniel still wasn't shooting, and I got nervous about the cat disappearing into some brush by the caller, so I went ahead and took the shot. Once the stand was over and I had a chance to look at it, it was actually a fairly small cat, or at least much smaller than the northern cats I am used to shooting. When I questioned Daniel about the cat, he said he got to watch the entire thing, but was worried about the cat seeing his movement if he raised his shotgun - the cat got to within 15 yards of him. Oh well, live and learn. Here's the bobcat (possible housecat):



And wouldn't you know it - it started raining again after that! We were able to get a few more stands in before sundown, but between the rain and the threat of rain, I think the animals were just hunkered down. As the sunk sank low below the horizon, the rain finally broke again, this time for good, and we made one last desperate stand in the failing light. We ended up calling a blank, but one thing we certainly found that day was a good time. It was still a good day, and any day hunting beats the best day of working!

Need some shotgun rounds for predator hunting?

I do all of my firearms business with STG Firearms in Prescott Valley, and they are one of the equipment providers for my training organization. Last season I asked them to carry Remington 3" #4 lead buckshot, my predator shotgun round of choice. They obliged and now stock it regularly.

So if you're in Prescott Valley and need some 3" #4 buck, or just about any other ammo, firearm, or accessory, check out STG Firearms - and tell them I sent you in there.

Too Tight of a Choke?

I had the chance to take out one of my Coyote Clinic students, a great guy named Eric, for a morning hunt. The first few stands didn't put anything in front of us, but once we made our way into a canyon, the action got hot.

On the first stand a fox came in so fast that he was literally knocking rocks down the hillside as he ran - it was less than 40 seconds from the time I started the call to the time that Eric had that fox on the ground. It was about a 20 yard shot, and you could clearly see the pellet pattern impact marks on the fox. "Screamin' Gray" from the FoxPro is still one of my favorite fox calls, and it continued to prove itself as less than 2 minutes later another fox came charging in. This one got two close calls with some 3" #4 buck at about 20 feet, but got away seemingly unscathed. We did find some blood, but after about 30 minutes tracking and searching, the little blood that was left behind led us to nothing. Regretfully, we moved on, but Eric was excited to have bagged at least one of the foxes.



On the next stand, we had another hard charging fox come in, and Eric shot him at about 40 yards, though a second shot was required to put him down for good. I asked Eric what kind of choke he had, and when he replied "Dead Coyote" it got me thinking - perhaps it would be best to carry additional chokes in your pack or pocket, so that when you find yourself in such tight quarters you could maximize the benefit of the shotgun and put in a Modified or Improved Cylinder choke.

The next stand produced another rapidly approaching fox, and this one came in close - within about 25 feet - before it stopped to even take a look. Again, Eric thought he was right on when he fired, but again a fox escaped the stand to retreat back into the rock cliffs. Eric couldn't quite figure out what had happened, as he thought he was right on, but the issue was clear to me: too tight of choke.

Often I meet predator hunters who want to "reach out" with their shotguns, and this is certainly possible. I have personally witnessed DRT shots on coyotes past 70 yards, and have heard of farther shots, especially with 10 gauge shotgun - some of those even stretch past 100 yards. And with my own 26" Remington 870 with a Xtra Full choke and 3" #4 buck, I can drop animals at 60 yards with ease. But often we are so excited to get our shotguns to shoot farther that we overlook their main benefit - multiple hits at closer ranges with a large pattern.

When I first started predator hunting I used my rifle exclusively, and rarely found a time when I wished I had something else. Then I started hunting thick brush, and turned to my shotgun due to its ability to spread some shot in a large pattern at closer ranges. But as time went on I desired that pattern to be tighter at longer ranges, due to my inability to seal the deal on animals further out. So I turned my shotgun into a rifle - and that can be a problem at certain ranges. With such a tight pattern, Eric, with a setup similar to mine, was basically shooting a fist-sized mass of pellets at a small moving target, where a dinner plate sized pattern would have been much more effective.

What I learned from this is that predator hunters would be well-served to keep additional chokes in their packs or pockets when shotgun hunting, and be ready and willing to change those chokes out depending on the distances encountered on each stand. It only take a few seconds to change a choke, and could mean the difference between fur down and fur running away.

All in all, is was still a good day, and Eric was quite happy with his two foxes:



Another thing to note is that both of these foxes had pink around their paws and mouths, and their scat was also bright pink, indicating that they had been into the cactus fruit so readily available in the area. When you see this kind of thing in your predators (checking scat is often overlooked as an easy method to pinpoint predator location) then you know that they are predators who are eating fruit, meaning that they are most likely ready for a meal of meat, or at least a supposed meal of meat followed by a meal of lead. ;-)