Foxes are Food

As the season progresses hunters will find themselves facing more educated animals. This can be a tough challenge to overcome, but there are a few basic changes you can make to your tactics to help you bring in the smarter ones. One of the easiest changes to make is to use different sounds while on stand. Chicken, goat, house cat, pig, fawn, turkey and pheasant distress sounds are just a few of the great sounds that can be replicated with hand calls or by using an e-caller - I will also be adding more of these sounds to my hand call recordings in the future. Coyote vocalizations such as lone howls, male challenges, and female invitationals also play a big part in successful stands during this time of the year. While all of these sounds are important to know and to use in the field, one of the greatest sounds that is so often overlooked is a fox distress. Not only will foxes come in to this sound, often hackled up and looking to fight, but I have had many coyotes and even bobcats respond, and I have heard of mountain lions responding to the sound as well. Why? Because foxes are food! They are a competitor in the arena of predation but are the smallest of the predators. Many a coyote has filled its belly on the vittles of an unwary fox. This is, of course, why fox are generally found in terrain unfriendly or unappealing to coyotes.

I have had the opportunity to witness foxes and coyotes reacting to each other just a few times in the wild, and one of those times was today. I was out calling with a couple friends of mine and one of our stands found us between a wash and a tall, rocky hill. Just a few minutes into the stand I see a fox working its way down the hill, but about 20 feet from the bottom it stops. He's looking at something, but it's not the call. Right away he lets out a bark, then retreats up the hill, pausing every 50 yards or so to let out a warning bark and then continue his climb. Finally he gets to the top, where he is still locked on to whatever spooked him off. I'm pretty sure I know what's about to happen, but I still don't see any other predators, until a nice little male coyote pops out of the brush about 80 yards in front of me and starts to work his way to the call. He stops by a bush and I take the chance to give him a lobotomy, courtesy of a Hornady VMAX, and he hits the ground. The fox is still on top of the hill, watching the whole thing unfold, but now he's definately not interested in coming to check out the sound! But how did he see that coyote so much earlier than I did? Keen eyesight? Smell? A "foxy sense" for detecting danger? I don't know, but what I do know is that if a fox allows itself to be caught in the open by a coyote, then the coyote always promptly reminds him why foxes shouldn't let coyotes catch them in the open.

So remember: late season = hard hunting, and one of the ways to ease that up is to change your sounds, your setup, and your location. And try out some fox sounds - you'll be glad you did!

This little ol' male sure gave the fox a scare this morning - no wonder, as a large grey fox in Arizona is anything over 10lbs, while a small coyote is considered anything under 20lbs.

My hunting partner and I found this fox in the middle of a field a couple of weeks ago. The rear-end was eaten out, which is a signature move of the coyote, and there were tons of hair and paw marks all around him. Here's one fox that won't have to worry about anything anymore.

Shooting predators . . . . with a camera?

The sun was burning high overhead as I settled into another calling stand. The wind was hardly blowing and my setup seemed perfect - plenty of cover, a good view of the terrain, and lots of predator tracks in the area. I began my set with some low and slow lip squeaks. After a few minutes I started in with my LeMarr Tweaked Squirrel, not too loud but nice and raspy. Just a couple of minutes into it I see movement in the brush line about 40 yards out. I keep calling, but the movement stops. Then it reappears, 10 yards down the brushline. My favorite decoy, the feather on a stick, is twirling gently in the breeze just a few feet to my right, and whatever is in the brush is fixated on it. I stop calling completely and a few seconds later the front torso of a bobcat emerges from the brush. He stares at the decoy as he slowly goes into a crouch. He takes one, then two steps forward. Summertime does not leave bobcats will a thick coat, but the spots really show through and this cat is beautiful! He takes another step, then another as he slinks through the tall summer grass, just a few yards now from the decoy - and me! Suddenly he stops as he notices that something's not quite natural about the blob next to the decoy, and he stands straight up and slowly retreats back to the brushline, keeping a watchful eye on the blob. He moves into the brushline, and out of my sight, to keep watch, but I was happy to have seen him so close.

It was summertime two years ago, and I was out doing some pre-season scouting and calling when I got an up close and personal visit from this bobcat - one of my favorite predators. I have unfortunately never gotten into the art of animal photography, otherwise I could better preserve memories like that bobcat for everyone to see. However there are plenty of my fellow predator hunters who have taken their skills as hunters and applied them to photography. Watching animals approach the call, or seeing animals in their natural habitat, is often just as exciting as watching them hit the ground after a well-placed shot. Here's a few of my favorite pictures from some of my friends and fellow hunters.

My friend Scott is not just a good hunter, but is also great with his camera.



Bob caught this bobcat on film recently as it came into stand, circled his caller, and then retreated to the shade to see how things unfolded.



John got this picture of a young summer pup 'keeping an eye out' from the long grass.



When his well-trained hounds treed this lion, Travis was able to get a few good shots in with his camera while the big cat protested.



They may not be predators, but when Eric and I were headed to a stand we just couldn't help but get as close as possible to these javelina.

Shoot / Don't Shoot

When I was 11 years old I took a Hunter Education Course here in Arizona - and that is something I recommend that every hunter do, even if they are older or more experienced hunters. We watched a video called "Shoot / Don't Shoot" in which they showed various hunting scenes, like bucks on hilltops or elk in ravines, and then we had to decide whether it was safe to shoot or not. The lessons that I learned that night, which have been added to with experience in the field, have helped me many times as I've had to decide between shooting an animal or waiting for a safer shot. A predator stand I did this last week really made me think about the importance of safe shooting, especially when you're hunting with a partner.

I had some time Wednesday morning for a few stands, and my Dad decided that he'd like to go with me. On our second stand of the day we setup in a small field which was bordered by a creek. I set up with my Dad downwind of me, hoping he would get a shot at anything coming in. At around 8 minutes, a coyote comes in from my left, trots to about 20 yards from me, gets a good look at the decoy I had setup next to me but was totally unaware of me just a few feet away. The coyote starts to lateral in front of me to get a sniff downwind. I saw my Dad shift to get a shot, but when the dog stopped to look at the decoy again, it was directly between my Dad and I. Now I know there are some guys out there that may have gotten excited and tried for this shot, but a miss on either my part or my Dad's could have ended with one of us in the hospital, or worse. The coyote was totally fluid and comfortable, so I didn't rush anything and she was completely unaware of my Dad. She started trotting downwind again, and got clear of a crossfire situation. I hesitated for just a minute as that video from years ago came to my mind - one scene in particular: two guys are quail hunting, but lose sight of one another. One of them flushes quail and starts shooting them, only to discover that he had shot his friend who was behind the quail in the bushes. I consider the fact that I am using a shotgun and that the spread may extend beyond the coyote and towards my Dad. The coyote is now really close to me, and I knew my Dad wouldn't shoot that close to me. I shift my position so that my pattern will be safely beyond my Dad, and I help that coyote avoid the cold winter.

This stand ended well with a coyote down, some up close action, and both of us happy. It ended this way because we were both aware of where the other guy was, which is really important when you're completely hidden in camo and the adrenaline starts to pump. So remember to be safe - a coyote, bobcat, deer, or trophy elk is not worth the life of another human being.

My Dad really knows how to get dressed up for a picture.



This was my first coyote while using my new call lanyard from Daniel Harmon, and I liked it very much!