There's always time for one more stand!

It's been cold and windy and snowy here the last few days, and that means that predators will be hungry when the storm breaks. Well it broke early this morning and I knew that meant it was time to hunt. I headed out to try some local spots, but at my first stand the wind was still blowing so hard it blew my hat off and nearly froze my fingers, so I packed it up and headed a bit farther south. It was a bit of a drive but I knew if I was going to beat the wind I needed to get to a different weather zone, and upon arrival at my new location I was glad I had committed to the travel time. There was no wind and the air was a few degrees warmer.

It turned out that someone must have come by just before me and killed all the coyotes, though. I hiked far back into washes and thick brush, but three stands produced no fur, and my free time was running short, so I jumped back in the truck and headed home. As I neared the freeway, I noticed a small canyon that was tucked out of the way and in some thicker brush. Part of me wanted to continue the drive home, but the better part of me (the part that almost always wins) said "there's always time for one more stand!" It would be pushing my time constraints, but I threw caution to the wind, parked in a small turnout, and headed out into the cedars. Right away I knew it would be good, as I nearly tripped over coyote scat when I got out of the truck. I walked about 1/4 mile back into the brush, near the base of small mountain, and set up the stand. I started it off with some low and raspy fox distress, and about four minutes in this coyote comes busting into the open, standing directly in my downwind and getting a nose full of rizzo, to be sure. I knew I didn't have much time, and he looked like he saw me just as I raised the shotgun and settled the barrel over him. But it was too late to run as a load of #4 buckshot found its mark. The yote gave a loud 'yip' as it fell, no, more like nosedived right into some prickly pear cactus.



He had quite a few needles in him, but I couldn't just leave him there so I pulled him out, and while I was at it I grabbed a hero shot.



So remember: even if things aren't cooperating, even when you're thinking of going home - there's always time for one more stand!

My handcalling sounds are now available as MP3s

One of the questions I get asked the most about predator hunting is "what sounds should I use and how do I make them sound different than everyone else?" Since I do most of my predator calling using mouth blown hand calls, it is much easier to replicate different sounds on stand, even with the same call. With some practice and some field time, you can figure out how to make different sounds with even the most common handcall, but sometimes it's hard to explain what they should sound like. I decided that it might help if I recorded my calling sounds and turn them into MP3s. Now everyone can hear what sounds I use, and you can also download them for use in your digital caller.

To download a sound, right-click on the link of the sound you want, choose "Save Target As", and then choose a location to save to.

The sounds can be found on the right hand side of my blog, under the "Blog Archive", in the section titled "Hand Call MP3s". The type of sound I am producing is listed first, and then the call and manufacturer are listed. That same info is also imbedded in the file, so it should be displayed when you play the sound. I will add more diverse sounds in the future, especially if I get comments or emails from anyone asking for more.

Enjoy the sounds, and happy hunting!

A fox and my 6-year-old son

A friend of mine named Tim recently wrote on Predator Masters about some hunting he did with his 9-year-old daughter. After reading about it, it occurred to me that I haven't taken my son, Garret, out on stand with me yet this season. He often goes shooting and hiking with me, and anyone who has read my book will remember him well.

Tonight we made plans for a couple of stands out on a local rancher's land. My son was so excited to be back in his hunting gear, and he trudged through the mud like a real trooper. Our first stand we set up near a wash and tucked ourselves into some cat claw brush. I let him do most of the calling, but nothing showed up. We headed to the next stand, which was all uphill, but he never complained - it must have been a little tough on him because I got a bit short-winded! We nestled into the base of a cedar tree and I started in on some high-pitched distress. The sun was starting to set, but about 6 minutes into the stand Garret taps my leg, just like I told him to do if he sees something. I look to where he's looking and there stands a grey fox, looking in our direction but not alerted. I raise my shotgun, the only gun I had brought, and realize that this fox is a little too far away. He starts to run downwind and I get a little excited about dropping this fox with my son on stand with me. I squeeze the trigger and BOOM! I think I shot over him! He turns and heads out and BOOM! I let another one rip, but he's already back in the brush. Normally I'd keep calling but instead I turn to Garret and say "You saw that little fox, right?" He's got this huge grin on his face, and then as only my own son could do, he starts to give me a hard time about missing. We walk over to where the fox was and Garret says "I thought it was a squirrel!" We pace off the shot and it turns out it was a little far indeed - 70 yards! Guess Dad got a little "fox fever" and shot too soon. As we headed back to the truck, I watched my son walk through the wild outdoors, and as the world let a beautiful sunset crest the horizon, I knew that life is good.

And we've already made plans to go back after that fox next week!

Before we packed it up, I took a picture of Garret on stand. He really wanted to hold my shotgun . . . .

The Copper Cat

I decided to try something a little new with my skull cleaning. I took a bobcat skull, sprayed it with some primer and then did three coats of hammered copper paint. I then took a wood plaque and stained it with a walnut color. Next I got a small 1/4 threaded steel rod and painted it dark brown, then clear coated it for some shine. Put them all together and I ended up with this:



I think it looks very different! Not really my favorite, but I'm glad I did the project. I donated the whole setup to the Xtreme Predator Callers (XPC) here in Arizona for their Chirstmas party silent auction. I don't know how much it ended up going for, but the guy who won was very happy, so that's what matters!

Trust Your Gut!

I traveled with my family up to Colorado for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a really fun trip and we got to see family and friends and have some great adventures. And of course, I couldn't make a trip like that without doing a little hunting! I went out with my brother-in-law Matt and a local friend named Brandon.

Most of the land in Colorado is privately owned, which is such a different experience for me since Arizona is about 85% public. Except for a few stands that we did in the snow covered mountains, most of our hunting was done in the grasslands, and you can see for miles. Of course that means the coyotes can see you from a ways off, as well! Most of the yotes we saw were while we headed to a stand or after we were done, as there is little to no cover. The good news about this type of country is that there are prairie dogs everywhere and in between stands we really enjoyed testing our marksmanship skills on them!

On one small patch of farmland we hunkered down in a little wash with a few very small trees to use as cover. I had thought before we left the truck that I should have brought my shotgun, but this land was so open so I stuck to my rifle. GUT WARNING #1. Matt setup to my right and Brandon to my left, and as I set up my position, I thought to myself that I needed to be able to cover the big field behind me. But that would put me out of cover and in some long grass, so I stuck to the trees. GUT WARNING #2. As I began my calling I really started to look at the terrain features and realized that one of the most likely places a coyote would come from would be into the field behind me, but I hoped that it would have to come by one of my partners first. GUT WARNING #3. A few minutes into the stand I got this strong urge to unhook my sling so that if needed I could shoot my rifle weak-handed and be able to get a shot at something coming in from behind me. GUT WARNING #4. A few more minutes passed as I sang out a rodent distress sound and I realized that all I would have to do is adjust my position a little to be able to get a shot at the field behind me, which now was consuming all of my attention. GUT WARNING #5. Well it turns out there are only so many warnings that your gut instinct will give you, and as the coyote came blazing into the stand to Matt's right and straight to me, I realized that I was out of options. That furred up Colorado coyote stopped at about 30 yards and looked right in my direction as I was trying to figure out how to draw on him since I would have to completely turn my body. I could see from his behavior that the gig was up so I made my move. But I had a lot of movement to pull off and that yote had other ideas. By the time I got my scope on him he was headed for Kansas at Mach 2. I tried to slow him with a bark, then tried to stop him cold with the rifle, but he lived on for another day.

Moral of the story? Whether you are just getting started or whether you've been on countless stands as I have, always trust your gut!

The vistas were beautiful but the terrain is much more open than I am used to.



When we ventured into the high snowy country we came upon some moose, and I was able to sneak pretty close (but not too close!) to this cow and her calf. They are big animals!

The Finishing Shot

I consider myself a good shot. And I practice shooting a lot - I practice on moving targets, close targets and far away targets. It keeps me fine-tuned for shooting in the field when every round counts, and where you may only get one chance. Tuesday morning found me looking through the scope at a nice adult coyote, and just as I pulled the trigger the coyote turned to run, and the bullet made him stumble. I quickly shot again, and I heard the bullet hit but I was worried the dog would get away so I hurried over to where he was. From what I could tell the first bullet hit him in the spine above his shoulders, and the second bullet hit him too far back, shattering one rear leg and breaking the other. He was crippled from the spine shot at any rate, and as I approached he was dragging himself away on his front legs. I really do not like wounding an animal, and I pulled out my pistol to shoot the dog in the head. At first I missed the moving coyote, but I hit him with a subsequent round and he went down.

As I stood near the coyote and thought about the stand, it suddenly raised its head and looked around! I quickly shot it again with the pistol, and this time it was down for good. My point to this story is that when you wound an animal, then you are responsible for giving it a clean and quick death. I took more shots at this coyote than I usually have to, and things got a little bloodier than normal, and maybe it was just one tough dog, but either way I wish I would've killed it quicker. A coyote down is a coyote down, but just remember that amidst all the adrenaline and excitement of hunting, we all need to be as ethical as possible.

Eating predators - tasty or not so tasty?

A couple of years ago, I ate a coyote steak - it was nasty. Then I ate a bobcat steak, and it was really tasty. Well today I ate some fox filets, and it was . . . . well you'll need to check out my write-up over at the NPHA called "Predators are tasty!" to find out!

There are some people who are against predator hunting because predators hunters don't eat what we kill. Well I do, so that argument is no longer valid!

Happy Halloween!

Went over to some friend's house last night for some scary movies. One of the guys there wanted people to bring some short films to show as well, so here was my contribution: Click Here to watch "Kitty's Coat"

The Thick Stuff

Last week I found myself down in southern Arizona hunting with my friend Brian. We were hunting in some very thick brush near a riverbed, and we had good success. By the end of the day we had called in two coyotes, killed one, and also called and killed a bobcat and two foxes. As is usually the case, the perceived safety of the thick brush made all the animals feel more comfortable about responding to the call, and also allowed us to hunt area that has probably not been called before.

We had busted through thick brush, crawled on our knees and taken a couple of branch hits to the face when we finally came upon an area with very limites shooting lanes. A small wash ran through the area, and we setup in the bend of it. I stood against a thick river bush facing down one approach and Brian sat behind me, facing the other approach. Our hope was that as an animal came into the stand it would cross an open area, which might only present us with a few seconds to shoot. 8 minutes into the stand our crawling and brush busting was rewarded as a large bobcat crossed about 20 yards in front of me, looking towards Brian and the source of the bird distress noises. I raised my shotgun and the large tom never saw me as 41 pellets of #4 buck slammed home. Here's my shooting lane and what I could see - the bobcat is lying just above my shotgun barrel under the brushline. (click the image to see a larger version)



Hunting the thick stuff will so often give you the opportunity to call to animals that may have never heard a predator call before, and allow those predators to approach from many "safety" areas. Shotguns are a necessity for this type of hunting.



On a warm day, it's really important to get the fur cooled down in an ice chest or to skin the animal before bacteria starts to form, which will make the fur "slip"; meaning that large amounts of hair will fall out and therefore ruin the pelt. Luckily there was a large tree next to the truck that made for a great improvised skinning post.

My book is now on All Predator Calls.com!

If you haven't bought a copy yet, then you should buy one from All Predator Calls.com! You can find my book on their website by searching for the book title, Ready For Anything, or searching for my name. On their website you will also find a great selection of calls and hunting videos.

Never give up!

A chilly morning this last week found a my friend Jim and I out predator hunting. We were prepared to be out all day, starting in the juniper covered grasslands and planning to eventually move into the thick pines. Our first stand produced two coyotes, who almost simultaneously came into the area, but from different directions. One coyote approached from Jim's side, and one from mine. Both stayed in the thick brush, offering only brief glances of fur as they moved from bush to bush. Both coyotes also moved quickly into the thick brush that was our downwind, and were never seen again. Clearly we had just been given the slip by two "educated" dogs, but our outlook for animal activity in the area was good after such a productive stand.

Later in the day our outlook was not so positive. We hunted hard, made excellent stand setups, produced great call sequences, and yet we saw nothing more. Oh we saw deer and elk, but never managed to get a peek at another predator, though I'm sure we must have called some in. The wind had really picked up and swirled constantly throughout the day, making it hard to pinpoint and accurately monitor the downwind side. We continued to enjoy the hunting experience, but we were getting itchy to get our sights on some predators!

As the sun sank low in the sky, we talked of maybe just calling it quits and getting an early start home. But we've both been in this game long enough to know that when you do that, you'll always be left wondering what could have happened . . . . so we pressed on. As I screamed my final set of rabbit distress and then signaled to Jim that the stand was over, we looked at the horizon which now completely hid the sun. We had, at best, 20-30 minutes of shooting light left, and decided that we would do one more stand. We moved into an area close to the city limits and setup so that I could cover the downwind as Jim began a series of distress calls and lone howls. About 5 minutes into the stand, I spotted a coyote moving hard and fast towards Jim. I raised my rifle and watched through the scope as he charged towards Jim, who gave out a sudden bark, freezing the coyote in his tracks 60 yards away. I continued to watched through my scope as Jim center-punched the yote with a V-Max bullet, sending him to the ground. A few more minutes of calling produced no more animals, but as we ended the stand, we each wore a smile and were very relieved to have a coyote on the ground. Of course we had a great day hunting together and enjoyed our time in the outdoors, but it is always satisfying to get what you've been hunting. Even though we knew to keep going, it's a lesson that can never be learned often enough - never give up!

Error!

I was reading through my book the other day to check on some info I wrote, and while reading through the section on cleaning skulls I noticed an error. It's kind of an embarassing one, actually - on Page 89 and then twice on Page 90 I use a word that has a very different meaning than the one I meant to use. When you clean a skull by immersing it in water and allowing the natural bacteria to separate meat from the bone, it's called "maceration". The process of chewing your food is called "mastication". Any guesses which one I chose? Yep, not just once but thrice I used the term "mastication" instead of "maceration". The upside? If you really wanted to, though, I suppose you could use mastication to clean your skulls!

Poachers are no one's friend

This is what waste looks like. This is what crime looks like. This is the work of someone who does nothing for hunting, nothing for sportsmen, and knows only selfishness. This is poaching.



For the last 4 years I have been watching a certain group of 5 bachelor mule deer bucks grow bigger and bigger. The largest was 4x5 and easily over 200 inches. Last year was the year I decided to get the big boy, but after my hunt was ruined (that story is part of an ongoing saga HERE) I looked forward to going after him again, until last night, when a friend and fellow hunter who hunts the same area showed me this picture and told me what happened.

You guessed it - that's the bruiser. Head cut off in such a manner that the cape will not be fit for mounting. Gut shot twice with a rifle during early archery elk season. Left to rot - not an ending fit for a king. This type of waste is never acceptable, but if he had been killed by a legal hunter at least I wouldn't be so mad. My buddy found him laying less than a hundred yards from the powerline road, a favorite for those idiot road hunters. He has informed the local Game Warden, but I'm not sure what will come of that. I'd love to get my hands on this moron - chances are this isn't his first time, or his last. It's like the saying goes "poachers aren't hunters, they're thieves".

Skull cleaning - what a hobby!

Much to my wife's dismay, I clean animal skulls as a hobby. I use a colony of dermestid beetles to do the cleaning, and they are very efficient. To learn more about my skull cleaning operation, check out my skull cleaning thread in the NPHA forums.

You can also click on the coyote skull picture below to see more pictures of my cleaned up animal skulls.

Staredown at 20 feet

I settled in under the juniper tree as the sun rose higher in the sky. The surrounding area was thick with junipers and scrub brush, giving approaching animals plenty of safety routes from which to approach my call. I watched my homemade feather decoy blow gently in the breeze as I began a low but high-pitched rabbit scream. My first set of calls produced nothing, and during my momentary pause I looked around to take in the beauty of the land. I had hiked over a mile to get to this location so that I could be far away from where other hunters had attempted to fool the local predators. I started my second sequence with a higher volume, putting more emotion into the sound as if I really were a dying rabbit. Suddenly I saw movement in the juniper to my right, and a young pup stepped out from the shadows to get a better look at me. The way I was sitting allowed me to be able to raise my rifle so I could get a shot, but this young dog stood there about 20 feet from me, eyes locked on my exact location. Any movement on my part would alert him to my presence, and he would retreat quickly to the protection of the thick junipers. For now I had to sit completely still, and wait for the moment when I could move my rifle into a good position. We stared at each other for about a minute before the wind suddenly shifted direction and blew directly to him. I felt the change at the same time that he got a nose full of my scent, and as he turned to bolt I shouldered my rifle, but he was gone before I could find him in my scope. After a little more calling to try to entice him or his friends back for a second chance, I ended the stand and when I stood up I realized that my Ace-in-the-hole, the feather decoy, had been blocked from the pup's vision by my body. Oh well, you can't get them all - but he'll live a little wiser now and be a little tougher to convince next time!

Pup coyotes are such odd looking dogs, with huge ears and seemingly undersized bodies. This time of year finds them with a short coat, just starting to get their thick fur. Here's a picture that a fellow predator hunter named John got of one such pup:

My book is now available on Amazon.com!

Amazon, one of the largest online bookstores, now carries Ready For Anything. Shopping is very easy if you have an Amazon account and you can read the first chapter of the book online! Plus you also get FREE shipping with any Amazon order over $25. Link to Amazon.com listing

National Predator Hunters Association

The National Predator Hunters Association (NPHA) is here! The first organization to combine good online forums and an actual productive association launched the beginning of this month. There are many NPHA events on the horizon, and the staff is made up of many very experienced and helpful hunters that have been on the predator hunting scene for many years. Check them out at http://www.thenpha.com/.

As always, you can find me in the forums under the name "rizzo".

A Man and His Dog

I have called in a lot of different animals while calling for predators. I've called in hawks, deer, cows, domestic dogs, javelina, rabbits - the list goes on. Most of the animals respond out of curiosity; obviously a deer isn't coming in to eat a dying rabbit. They usually show up, check things out, and leave without incident. Today I got a bit of a surprise, though.

I set up in a small clearing, and decided to use a digital caller for the stand. I was also using my ladder, backed up into some junipers, so that I could get a great view of any incoming animals and also to keep myself above their usual line of sight. About 5 minutes into the stand, I hear something coming from behind me, but I know it's not a predator; well, not the kind I'm after, anyways. Pretty soon I see him - a man has heard the call! I stop the dying rabbit sound and he pauses at the edge of the clearin, not even 30 feet from me. I'm a little out of sight, though, and well camouflaged. He looks around the area, then turns to leave so I hit the call again. Instantly he spins on his heels, searching once more for the source. Finally he leaves and I figure that's that, but oh no - he's coming back. And this time he brought his dog!

His young Queensland heeler trots eagerly behind him as I really turn the call up, then shut it off just as they are about to breach the brushline. As they step out into the clearing, the man is trying to nudge his dog out into the area, presumably to find the screaming animal. The dog is less than interested, however, and is just kind of trotting around. They are now less than 25 feet from me! I almost call out to them, but decide to let the man's mind wonder as he takes his dog back from whence they came. I wait for about 5 minutes, then turn the caller all the way up and un-mute it! You could probably hear that thing for a mile! But the man and his dog do not return, and I head off to another stand, to try and fool another predator.

Bears!

Last Saturday I headed up to a local mountain area to do some predator calling with my neighbor, Dan. He's has never been calling before so on the ride there I explained the basics to him. We head to a dry tank area where I have called in a couple of foxes in the past, hoping for some similar action today. I had him sit down near some small oak trees on a the side of a hill overlooking the tank, and I headed to the edge of the tank and snuggled into a small bunch of oaks. I started my calling with a hitch-pitched but raspy distress sound, and about 5 minutes into the stand I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head ever so slightly and to my surprise I spot some black bears - a big mama bear with a nice cinnamon color and two cubs in tow. They begin to circle around me so I keep on eye on them as I continue to call. I start to fidget with my pocket closures, trying to be sly enough to get my camera out but not so quick that I spook the bears off. But they were coming in fast, much faster than I was working to get my camera out! Finally I abandoned the camera idea and continued calling as they closed the distance. When they got to about the 20 foot mark I decided that was close enough and moved around a little to spook her. She locked up and stared right at me, then made a 'Grrrrruph' sound, turned and trotted off - her two cubs following right on mama's heels. I look up at Dan and he is staring right at the bears. I call for a few more minutes, but nothing else shows so I end the stand. I walked over to Dan and he was pretty excited as those were the first bears he has ever seen in the wild, and he got a spectacular view of them!

Because I failed in the camera department, I drew up the experience in MSPaint with my fantastic artistic ability. You'll need to click the picture to enlarge it - oh yeah, I can draw.

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is probably one of the best organizations you can get your son involved in. Given that you find a good Troop with good leaders, of course. I am the Scoutmaster for Troop 95 and I love it! I have the great opportunity to help these young men find confidence and develop real world skills in an exciting and enjoyable environment. Check out our blog! http://redriders.blogspot.com/














(that's me on the far left)

New blog, new book, new experiences!

I spend a lot of time outdoors. I camp, hike, hunt, fish, explore, and generally traverse the landscape in one way or another. I decided to start this blog to talk about my love for the outdoors and to share some of my experiences with whomever may read this.

I also want to talk about my new book, Ready For Anything - A guide to predator hunting. In the book I cover the basics of predator hunting, which includes the pursuit of coyotes, bobcats, foxes, mountain lions, bears, badgers, and anything else that preys upon another animal. I cover advanced tactics for those who are already accomplished predator hunters but are looking to get better. There are full color pictures and some great personal stories - I know you won't be disappointed! You can see a full description and order a copy here: https://www.createspace.com/3394954. You can also contact me via email if you'd like a personalized copy - rizzoisready@gmail.com

Every week I will post about an experience in the outdoors that happened to me recently. Please feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss hunting or hiking or anything else that I cover in this blog.

Remember to get your kids outside!