[smallblockfuelie]

wood60, on Jan 11 2009, 05:14 PM, said:

just come and hunt with me and maby we can learn together

Dusty, I enjoyed hunting with you and Danny a couple of years ago. You two were a wealth of knowledge and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Thanks again.


One thing I learned from you, besides the existence of the rare and elusive porkalope, was switching back and forth between different sounds on the same stand. You mentioned you were trying to get FoxPro to mix two sounds together for you. If I'm not mistaken, I believe one of those sounds you liked was Lucky Bird.

You were also the first guy I've hunted with who shot a 17 Remington.

[gioc]

hello i am new to this site. the main reason i have joined is i am a marine stationed in camp pendleton, and love hunting but seeing as i am from colorado , i am not sure where i could go to do some coyote hunting or realy any type of small game or wild pig.

[smallblockfuelie]

gioc, on Jan 15 2009, 05:07 AM, said:

hello i am new to this site. the main reason i have joined is i am a marine stationed in camp pendleton, and love hunting but seeing as i am from colorado , i am not sure where i could go to do some coyote hunting or realy any type of small game or wild pig.

Welcome to the forums. You can hunt right there on Pendelton. If you go to th DFG office there on base you can find out all you need to know. And thanks for your service!

[Redneck Trevor]

ok im just getting into coyote hunting and i have two hand calls one is the distress cotton tail and i have no clue what a distress cotton tail sonuds like, nore do i know where to go for coyote. i have gone to mo valley but i have been 4 times and nothing. im sure its me sucking at calling but if there is anywhere else anyone can recomend and maybe meet me somewhere and show me how to call correctly i would really appriciate it.

[kshunter]

Is there such a thing as too much wind? I went out today and the wind was blowing 25-30 mph. I set my caller about 25-30 yrds away from me with the volume up and it seemed pretty quiet.

[Braz]

Redneck Trevor, on Jan 21 2009, 01:15 AM, said:

ok im just getting into coyote hunting and i have two hand calls one is the distress cotton tail and i have no clue what a distress cotton tail sonuds like, nore do i know where to go for coyote. i have gone to mo valley but i have been 4 times and nothing. im sure its me sucking at calling but if there is anywhere else anyone can recomend and maybe meet me somewhere and show me how to call correctly i would really appriciate it.

Hay, hop on over to Varmint Al's site. He has a lot of sounds on there that you can listen too. There is also a wealth of info for a new guy or anyone else for that matter.

http://www.varmintal.com/ahunt.htm

[smallblockfuelie]

Al does have a bunch of great sounds there for download.

[smallblockfuelie]

A friendly bump for a topic I'd like to see get a little more discussion.

[onecoyote]

Cranky Farmer, not everybody gets to hunt with a Worlds Champion and a California State Champion in the middle of the day lol. Wish you guys could have stayed a few days extra but I understand having a chance to hunt with Randy down in Texas is very important too.

[smallblockfuelie]

Danny, yes I was pretty bummed, too. Jeph was terribly worried about that snow that was blowing in as we slept. He grew up here in Ventura and just hasn't seen much of that white stuff! It sure was an experience getting to hunt with you and Dusty. That story about the porcalope was hysterical.

[onecoyote]

Cranky Farmer, My brother lives in Ventura, I gave him all my predator hunting stuff including a rifle. It would be cool if him and Jeph could get together and do some hunting. My brother use to go with me years ago but he has no idea how it's done nowadays.
Oh. my brother has a boat and likes to fish, Jeph would like that I'm sure.

This post has been edited by onecoyote: 23 July 2009 - 07:36 AM

[smallblockfuelie]

Danny, if your brother wanted to go hunting Jeph and I get out often beginning around September. He's more than welcome to tag along.

[Jeph S]

Danny PM me your brothers info, I'd love to go hunting with him, and I'll take him fishing anytime he wants. And I too wish I could have stayed longer with you and Dusty. Of course, if Heath's lady parts weren't bleeding we would have been there on time and been able to go hunt with the two of you earlier!! Well, at least we got some Hoe-Made chili!!

[onecoyote]

Jeph, sorry I'm slow sometimes. I don't see my brother alot, he is coming up in Aug to see me but he'll probably call soon, I'll get a phone # for ya. He has all my hunting goodies and needs some help with predator hunting. He started predator calling with me way back when so he's not new to the sport just needs to learn the new ways. He surfs and fishes alot, loves both.

[Jeph S]

Danny I'LL PM you my number right now.

As far as learning the ropes, I'm a firm believer in getting out and finding what works. Of course, practice just makes bad habits, perfect practice makes perfect. So anyone starting out should get a few vids, learn the basics, and try to learn from their mistakes. Lord knows Heaths learned from mine, LOL..

[smallblockfuelie]

Have you read any good books that provided you with any predator insight?

[onecoyote]

Me? I got the book "Coyote man" by Ray Alcorn, outstanding book. You'll never learn everything you need to know about coyotes, they tend to change tactics all the time.
Bobcats are just stupid, kinda runs in the cat family. Gray fox have a brain but don't use it much. A kit fox is dumber then a rock and a bobcat, now that's saying a lot. The best way to learn is go.

[Labman]

There are thousands of Coyotes up here, most guy's will shoot a yote or a Fox as collateral damage while Big Game hunting, very few actually target/call them. I, myself have been hunting for over 45 years, and have only started to seriously hunt predators this past 1-2yrs. So far any of my kills have been incidental,(shot in fields while driving to hunt), yet to actually call one in!
I surfed the net last yr. looking for sites like this, I have 3 book marked (Varmits Den,V,H org and here) THIS is the one I have felt the most welcomed on, and the one that has taught me the most.
Too bad the cost of coming up here is so prohibitive, I would extend an open invite to any of the guys on here to come hunt and stay at my place anytime they wanted to!

Labman

[smallblockfuelie]

I have learned more in a day hunting with a seasoned predator hunting that I did hunting for a year on my own. Go hunting with someone who's been doing it awhile and watch what they do and listen to what they say.

[smallblockfuelie]

I picked up someone else rifle (a CZ) over the weekend and the safety was completely backwards from my rifles. It reminded me of the importance of knowing how to function your rifle under field conditions. If you're going to night hunt then you should be able to operate that weapon in the dark. I've heard more than one story of a missed shot on a coyote because they had trouble with a safety or getting a round to chamber.

[Jeph S]

Cranky Farmer, on 04 November 2009 - 10:14 AM, said:

I picked up someone else rifle (a CZ) over the weekend and the safety was completely backwards from my rifles. It reminded me of the importance of knowing how to function your rifle under field conditions. If you're going to night hunt then you should be able to operate that weapon in the dark. I've heard more than one story of a missed shot on a coyote because they had trouble with a safety or getting a round to chamber.

VERY important. One should be able to fully function their rifle with their eyes closed and be able to clear a jammed round if they plan on hunting at night. One of the reasons I try to only hunt with one or two rifles at night instead of switching between a bunch.

[JimT]

If one lives in the South Bay area of L. A. I would recommend joining PCOC (Predator Callers of Orange County) or SCVCA (Southern CA Varmint Callers Association). That way there would be experienced callers to expedite the learning curve. Handbooks, videos and more are available for the beginner to read to speed up knowing where to go and how to set up.

[JD Cargill]

The previous posts have summed up alot of the hard learned lessons that coyote calling presents, good info everybody.

The best advise that I can give that hasn't been stated already. The moment you step from the truck/car whatever BE READY TO SHOOT! When you unload, or in my case walk out of the yard, you are now in the coyote's yard!

Went out last week with one of my sons, let him take the rifle and I had the 12 gauge, He didn't stay ready while setting up at the stand. Lo and behold 250 yards away stood a 'yote that hadn't seen us, but he couldn't get the shot!

SO BE READY!

[Capt krunk]

Any tips on hunting wide open farmland? Lots of coyotes but not many places to hide. I've tried ditches but they are messy and it's hard to see out.

[smallblockfuelie]

Capt krunk, on 13 January 2010 - 02:10 PM, said:

Any tips on hunting wide open farmland? Lots of coyotes but not many places to hide. I've tried ditches but they are messy and it's hard to see out.

Flat terrain or rolling hills? Any fence rows? Do you use hand calls or their electronic counter parts?

[FurSeeker]

If you are in an area with good sign and still aren't calling them in to your sounds, then get farther off the road. It's amazing what a half mile can do to the predators' wariness. There is a buffer zone between the human roads and predator habitat, this area varies in size depending on terrain, hunting pressure, and how hungry they are. If you push yourself beyond the spot where you're just out of sight of the truck, then you just might see a few more eager animals :) In the end, work harder and you'll be rewarded. Try getting out early in the morning when you can. If you're having problems with not persuading them in to your stand in the evening, then definitely go out in the morning or a few hours earlier anyway. Evening hunting is often a lost cause because the predators are more willing to wait a few minutes for darkness when they feel safer. Above all else - mix it up!

[JimT]

smallblockfuelie, on 06 September 2008 - 02:56 PM, said:

I thought it would be a good idea to start a topic for anyone wanting to get into predator hunting. We've got a ton of very experienced hunters here with a wealth of knowledge. Please add to the topic as you can and share that information.

Heath, do you have any plans for returning for predator hunting?

[smallblockfuelie]

JimT, on 23 March 2010 - 08:59 PM, said:

Heath, do you have any plans for returning for predator hunting?

To California? Not likely. If I travel some where to hunt it will be down to Texas.

[JimT]

smallblockfuelie, on 07 September 2008 - 05:57 PM, said:

I would say spend the time to become proficient with your calling rifle and know where it hits at different distances. You could be the best caller in the world but if you can't shoot you won't put much fur on the ground. Practice shooting under field conditions. If you're going to hunt with a detached bi-pod then practice shooting with a detached bi-pod.

Hunt in thick cover and use the shotgun. Be patient.