Outdoor Life - Predator techniques RSS

Coyote Hunting Tips: How to Call Coyotes Out on the Ice

Alex Robinson — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:51:44 -0500

Steve Darling was icefishing on South Dakota’s Oahe Reservoir when he noticed the dog tracks. There were dozens of them, fresh every morning in the new snow around the shoreline of the frozen lake.

Later, he spotted the authors of the prints—a pack of coyotes that crossed the lake each evening, keeping well away from the cluster of icefishermen, as they worked into the wind and filtered out into the coulees on the north side of the lake.

That gave Darling an idea. Knowing that coyotes will always try to circle downwind of prospective prey, he now sets up his predator calling stands along the shorelines of frozen lakes, where coyotes are visible inside rifle range as they try to catch his wind. He regularly takes more winter coyotes now than he does walleye through the ice. Here are four tips that will enhance your chances of success.

Make a Hide
Shorelines of many lakes, ponds, and reservoirs are tailor-made for hiding hunters. Slink into cattails, brush up in briars, or just tuck up against a dam or cutbank. If possible, try to set up on a point where you can overlook ice in two directions. Next to scent, your outline is the most important feature to hide.

Use a “Moosicle”
Hunters in British Columbia bait wolves with frozen moose legs. The trick can work on hard-water coyotes. Drill two or three holes in an iced-over bay, then stick the legs from a butchered ungulate or roadkill (where legal) into the holes. The meat will freeze in place and keep coyotes from dragging it away.

Watch the Wind
The reason frozen bodies of water work is because coyotes feel safe on them. The minute they cut your scent, they will scatter out of range. So don’t let them smell you. Your stand location depends entirely on the wind. Set up where a coyote will have to cross frozen water in order to get downwind.

Create Range References
Frozen bodies of water can be deceiving. Because there are few references on the featureless surface, it’s easy to undershoot or overshoot a coyote. Before you start calling, set found items—a clod of dirt or a tree branch—out on the ice, then range them from your hide.

10 Tips For Hunting Wolves

OL Editor — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:10:48 -0400

Wolf hunting seasons have been opened in the West and are scheduled to open in the Midwest this fall. But hunter success rates are painfully low. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation conducted a survey polling 710 wolf hunters from last season and of all the respondents, only 7 percent killed a wolf during the Idaho and Montana hunts.

What's even more interesting is that 20 percent of the successful hunters said their kill was because of a coincidental encounter.

Here's what those guinea-pig wolf hunters learned during their first season. Use their advice when you go on a wolf hunt of your own this fall.

Top 10 wolf-hunting tips from the RMEF member questionnaire:

1. Stay close to elk. If you can find a herd of elk, especially a herd a mile or more from a road, it's just a matter of time before wolves show up.

2. Wolves can be patterned like other game. Scouting will help you find travel routes, crossings, etc. Wolves tend to take the easy paths: roads, trails and frozen lakes.

3. Get hunting permission from private landowners. Lots of landowners are happy to have wolf hunters. Could lead to other hunting opportunities down the road.

4. Most wolf hunters want to shoot a big trophy male. But taking females is better for population control. The main thing is just don't shoot a collared wolf. Collars are needed to track the packs, and funding for collaring wolves is getting tighter.

5. Go on more hunts specifically for wolves, not for wolves as a byproduct of another hunt. (Questionnaire data revealed only 11 percent of respondents hunted exclusively for wolves; most hunted for wolves as part of a deer or elk hunt.)

6. Howling works to locate wolves. But too much howling, especially by inexperienced callers, can educate wolves. Elk calf- and fawn-in-distress and coyote calls work well. Also try moose calls.

7. When calling, set-up on high ground, not in a hole or depression. Visibility is key. Consider using a blind. Wolves seem to spot blaze orange from a great distance.

8. Wolves are more reckless in their pursuit of prey when it's colder outside. Hunters should concentrate on bad weather days for wolf hunting.

9. Watch for birds -- magpies, gray jays, ravens -- as a tipoff to fresh kill locations. Approach carefully and watch the area for returning wolves. Consider using a tree stand. A driving technique with a group of hunters also can work.

10. Once you kill a wolf, stay put. Other wolves from the pack often return to the site, sometimes very quickly. You or a buddy may get a chance at a second wolf.

In addition to more tips posted at www.rmef.org, several wolf-hunting features are slated for the Sept./Oct. 2012 edition of "Bugle" the member magazine of RMEF. See more observations and tips on wolf hunting here.

Live Hunt Alaska: A Wolverine on the Trap Line

OL Editor — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:35:47 -0400

Outside of Alaska, there are few places where you can impress women by telling them a story about trapping a wolverine in a wolf piss set. Don’t believe me? Well, here’s at least how you get the story…

A pack of wolves prowled through our lynx trapping area earlier this season, but we hadn’t been able to pattern them, so we focused our effort on the cats.

But then, on a late February solo trip, I saw that a pack of 3 or 4 wolves had run down our trail for about two miles. I found several spots where they had peed along the trail to mark their territory. These spots would be surefire places to catch a wolf if the pack came back through. I didn’t have any wolf traps left in my box, so I decided to backtrack and pull an Alaskan No. 9, resetting it where the wolves had passed.

The Alaskan No. 9 is probably the baddest wolf trap there is. Made here in Fairbanks, they have a jaw spread of 9 inches, and were developed specifically to catch and hold wolves in Alaska’s tough conditions. After I got the trap set, I decided to try something creative. I’ve heard stories about guys who have caught wolves using their own urine to mark the scent post.

This goes against just about every rule I know for keeping human scent off of wolf sets, but then again…can they really tell it’s human? Years ago, my uncle had wolves completely destroy the area around where his partner left a number two (and I don’t mean that as a trap size), so I decided to take a chance—and I peed on top of where the wolves had. The next week I had the shock of the year. As my uncle and I rode down the trail, set after set was empty, but when we got close to the set I had made the week before, I could see that the area was really torn up. I knew we had something.

But instead of a wolf, it was a wolverine! Following his tracks back down the trail, I saw that he had been running along stealing lynx bait, as they are so famous for doing. Wolverines are the largest member of the weasel family (between 15 and 35 pounds), which includes marten, mink, ermine, and skunks. These guys are built like tanks. They’re basically just muscle, tendon, claws, and teeth, combined with the attitude of a grizzly bear. More than anything, wolverines are known for being wily and hard to catch.

However, they aren’t so much hard to catch, as they are hard to hold. They just never quit. I caught one in a marten trap last year and he chewed through the 5-inch spruce that the trap was chained to and got away! The best sets for them use a 330 conibear body grip trap, but the old Alaskan No. 9 worked anyway! I still couldn’t believe that I had actually snagged him in a urine post set, with my own pee. It was one of the coolest catches I had this year, and the first wolverine I’ve caught and been able to hold in a trap.

Flippin' Out Slingshots for the Small-Game Hunter

OL Editor — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:04:15 -0500

Nathan Masters, creater of Flippinoutslingshots.com, creates hand-crafted sling shots for the small game hunter. From the more common, to the more exotic, any of Masters slingshots pack enough punch to take out a squirrel or rabbit. With the double-banded slingshot you can catapult a 50-caliber piece of lead about at about 250 feet per second.

Coyote Suspected of Killing Dog in Michigan

Alex Robinson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:41:08 -0500

Coyotes are being blamed for a bloody attack in Clinton Township, Michigan last week that left a family pet dead. Julie Wickwares let her dog Duffy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, outside shortly before six in the morning and returned only a few minutes later to find the animal still and covered in blood.

“Within ten minutes I went out to see where he was and I found him in the backyard. I saw the coyote about 20 feet away,” Wickwares told CBS Detroit. She rushed the dog to the veterinarian where it was declared dead due to a snapped neck.

The attack did not only leave Wickwares without a dog, it has also frightened her children and grandchildren. “My 5 year-old grandson won’t even go outside without two adults next to him,” Wickware said. “He’s afraid they’re gonna get him.”

Coyotes are also being blamed for a neighbor’s missing cat.

What’s the best way to remedy pet killing coyotes in a neighborhood, Outdoor Life readers? I bet y’all have plenty of ideas. Comment below!

CC Image courtesy of Sequoia Hughes on Flickr

Mysterious Animal Lurking in London Waters

OL Editor — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:04:33 -0500

It might sound like something out of Hollywood—a plot best served as a Jaws sequel. But biologists near London's Olympic Park are on the lookout for a large river beast that has already killed a 16-pound goose in a chilling fashion, according to London news outlets.

To be fair to all the shark lovers out there, it's nearly impossible that the mysterious beast is actually of the Selachimorpha order. But the reality isn't much more comforting. Experts are speculating that the culprit of the goose slaying might be a large python or an alligator, lurking beneath the popular waterway. The number of swans in the river has also declined recently.

Of the goose killing, witness Mike Wells said, "We were just passing the time of day looking at a Canada goose 30 yards away, but then suddenly it disappeared. It went down vertically. There wasn't any hesitation, it went straight down. It didn't come back up."

Wildlife biologists note that it would take a large, powerful animal to take down a sizable bird like that, seemingly without struggle. A goose was killed in a similar fashion in 2005, but no culprit creature was ever found.

"It might be an escaped pet snake… It could survive in this climate, although it would be a bit sluggish. A small goose or a duck could be a perfect meal," said zoology student Michael Allen.

It should be noted that the recently-constructed Olympic Park will be the site for much of the 2012 Olympic festivities, and the surrounding water is sure to see a lot of tourist activity. Cue the Jaws music!

Help Us Pick The Prize for Our Next Caption Contest!

Alex Robinson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:33:47 -0500

So Outdoor Life is part of a cool contest operated by Crown Royal, sponsor of Field & Stream’s Hook Shots show and maker of the whiskey that comes in a purple bag. The contest is called “Pass the Crown,” and it’s a variation on the Secret Santa gift exchange anyone who’s ever worked in an office is familiar with. Are you lucky enough to have never worked in an office? Then here’s how this works:

Each day from now until Dec. 15 Crown Royal is giving away a prize to a different web site to pass along to its readers. Today is Outdoor Life’s turn, but here’s the catch. Crown’s not telling us which prize they’re giving us right away. Instead, we get a clue, embroidered on one of their famous purple bags,* and we have to guess what prize the clue refers to. Based on that guess, we then get to decide whether to keep the prize in our bag or steal one of the prizes that have already been opened by a different site. Here’s a list of the prizes that have already been opened.

This is where we need your help. Do we keep our prize, or steal one from somebody else? You’ve got until 4 PM this afternoon to weigh in. Check out our clue (below), then post your best argument for keeping the prize in our bag or for stealing a specific prize from another site in the comments section here or on our Facebook post about the contest over at facebook.com/outdoorlife. If you can convince us your argument is best, we’ll go with your suggestion. If you’re not convincing enough, we’ll make the decision ourselves.

We’ll post an update here tomorrow telling you what prize was in our bag, and whether we decided to keep it or not. Keep in mind that any of the five sites who come after us can steal our gift, so don’t get too attached to whatever we end up with!

And last, of course; how will we determine which of our readers wins the prize we end up with at the end of the contest? It’ll be a caption contest, photo and date TBD. Stay tuned!

*Crown is running this contest is to get the word out about the custom-embroidered Crown bags ($9.95), and the free personalized Crown Royal bottle labels (21 and over, only) available at CrownRoyal.com. If you’ve got a Crown-lover in your family, this would make a great gift.

Minnesota Wolf Trapping Program Coming to an End, Farmers Brace for Bite Back

OL Editor — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:57:28 -0400

A federal program for trapping wolves in northern Minnesota is coming to an end after more than three decades of success.

The Duluth News Tribune reports that the decision to end the program was an economic one, as there is no money available for the program's continuation after the 2011 fiscal year ends this week.

Minnesota’s wolf-trapping program has been run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division for 33 years, curbing populations, but with the specific objective of capturing wolves that attack pets and livestock.

Last year, nearly 200 wolves were trapped and killed through the program. A similar number were trapped in 2009. Some estimates put Minnesota’s wolf population at more than 3,000.

The end of the program is being met with concern among farmers, who still feel the state has an abundance of wolves, and that those wolves still pose a threat.

"We’ve got too many wolves causing too many problems now,” says Dale Lueck, treasurer of the Minnesota Cattleman’s Association. “If you take this program away, it will be a disaster.

Despite being federally protected animals, the wolves can be legally trapped because of their "threatened" (as opposed to "endangered") status in Minnesota. Minnesota’s neighboring state of Wisconsin, on the other hand, relocates the wolves because they are deemed “endangered” in that state.

Guns, Gear and Tactics for Coyote Hunting

Alex Robinson — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:55:25 -0500

From gear to guns to tactics, we've got it all in this comprehensive coyote hunting package. Follow these tips for your best season ever.

Predators: Hunt the Hunters

Alex Robinson — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:30:17 -0500

If you think about it, predator hunting is a strange thing to want to do. The hours are terrible. The hunting is tough. Not tough like Chuck Norris or a $3 steak, but tough like trying to understand quantum mechanics or locate the Holy Grail.

After hours of fruitless wailing on a wounded rabbit call, years of bumbling around the winter woods after midnight and coming up empty, it’s only natural to believe there’s some magic formula—some missing bit of super-secret insight—that can transform an average hunter into a predator-calling master. But as the following experts will tell you, consistent success in hunting any predator species comes less from what kind of call or cover scent you use than from a few simple rules and a handful of basic setups that will skew the odds in your favor.

When it comes to killing coyotes, guaranteed success is virtually unheard of. Most coyote hunting is done after deer season, when every creature in the woods is on edge. Coyotes already live life on a hair trigger. After a typical firearms season, they hit DEFCON One and can become so skittish in some parts of America—especially the East—that you need more luck than skill to dupe one with a predator call. Brian Downs of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, says that now is the time to break out the “baitcicle.”

An Offer They Can't Refuse
Be sure to check the regulations in your state, but for the most part, anywhere biologists value the deer herd, baiting for coyotes is perfectly legal.

“It’s like that movie: If you build it, they will come,” says Downs, who’s been successfully baiting coyotes for more than a decade. He’s written about it, offers seminars on how to do it and often talks about baiting coyotes on his online talkcast (predatortalkcast.com).

In Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner builds a baseball field to draw old ball players to his Iowa farm. Downs makes frozen deer-meat bait piles—baitcicles—and practices what he calls “pressure baiting.”

Most hunters who hunt coyotes over bait do so under a full moon. They wait for a good blanket of snow and suffer through bitter midnight temperatures. By pressure baiting, however, Downs shoots 90 percent of his coyotes in the two hours before dark, just before the temperature plummets.

“For bait, I pack venison scraps into five-gallon buckets, top them off with water and freeze them,” Downs says. Deer processors around his Massachusetts home provide Downs with hundreds of pounds of free meat scraps and bones otherwise bound for the landfill.

According to Downs, who maintains up to 16 bait sites from December through March, successful baiting for coyotes is much like baiting for bears.

It takes a lot of bait and daily visits to a site to not only build the coyotes’ confidence, but also spark a sort of Pavlovian response in them to your comings and goings.

“I don’t care about my scent when I’m putting out bait. I wear the same boots and gloves and run my baits at the same time every day,” explains Downs.

“I want them to associate the smell of my boots with dinner. But each time I visit a site, I put out a little less and a little less, until I’m putting out a softball-size piece of bait. That’s pressure baiting. In the dead of winter, when food is scarce, it makes the coyotes who want to eat come earlier and earlier to the bait site.”

The Setups
In a basic setup, you place the bait as close to the coyotes’ bedding area as possible—in the open, but just five steps from cover (A). Downs likes to position himself in an elevated tree stand or a ground blind no less than 75 yards downwind from the bait (B). This keeps him a safe distance away should a cautious coyote choose to circle downwind before committing to the bait.

“They can’t resist bait,” says Downs. “Once they’re conditioned to taking bait, I’ve even found that sometimes they’ll totally give up the wind to come in to it (C). But I’ve found they actually prefer sticking to cover rather than using the wind (D).”

Downs uses this chink in the coyotes’ sensory armor when playing the wind is impossible. Again, by pressure baiting you make all the coyotes in the area feel a need to beat the competition to the bait site first thing in the evening. In places where the cover is great but the prevailing wind is not, place the bait close to the coyotes’ bedding area, but on a brushy point or corridor that offers a direct route to the bait and dense cover for their approach (E).

Best Damn Vacuum Ever!

Brian Lynn — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:09:16 -0400

Writing a blog about a vacuum on an outdoorsman's website might seem, oh, I don't know, off topic, stupid and perhaps even a waste of time. But, at the expense of committing sacrilege, if you have dogs (and/or, heaven forbid, cats), then do yourself a favor and score points with the Missus by checking out the best damn vacuum you'll ever want: the Dyson Animal series.

While the official Dyson website has several units listed for pet owners, the one in my house is the Dyson DC17 Animal. It appears Dyson has come up with even more technology to pick up pet hair, dirt and all the other crud a dog (or child, or even, if you can imagine, outdoorsman) can track into the house.

We bought the Animal at Bed, Bath & Beyond (or one of those type places) when it was on sale several Christmases ago. At prices upwards of $500, it was a tough nut to swallow for a vacuum, but I have to tell you: it was worth every penny!

With two dogs in the house, watching a dust bunny the size of our toddler suddenly appear from under a couch and float across the hardwood floors became a routine occurrence. It's not that we didn't clean, we did quite often. It's just nearly impossible to keep up with all that dog hair!

The Dyson is amazing. We vacuumed the entire house with our old unit and then broke out the new DC 17 Animal. In one pass it gathered up way more gunk than I'd care to admit (and my wife is probably horrified that I'm even writing this on a public forum...). It is simply the best vacuum I've ever seen (not that I'm a vacuum aficionado or anything) and should be a mainstay in anyone's house that has pets.

This topic came up on a dog-training forum I like to frequent. You can read the testimonials that it has garnered for yourself.

If you're in the market for a new vacuum or if you just want to score points with the wife (and perhaps parlay that good will into training days or time afield), then do yourself, wife, family and friends a favor and check out the Dyson Animal series of vacuums.

Join: Sporting Dog Defense Coalition

Brian Lynn — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:05:37 -0400

Whether you're a hardcore or amateur dog man, you need to join, donate or support, in anyway possible, the Sporting Dog Defense Coalition, an arm of U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance that evaluates and fights ambiguous language found in anti-hunting/animal-rights groups' proposed legislation—legislation supposedly aimed at egregious violators of animal welfare. Often these bills can snare the use, breeding, training and even ownership of hunting dogs.

With the USSA's legal expertise and state-by-state network of eyes and ears, they're the sportsman's, and especially dog man's, first defense against anti-hunting/animal-rights legislative giants like the Humane Society of the United States. They're also the second and third lines of defense in that they battle passed legislation in court and also take a proactive stance in the recruitment of new and younger sportsmen.

With their legal pen in upwards of 80 bills throughout 30 states last year alone, the USSA has been involved in everything from the New Jersey bear-hunting battle to defending hunting-license funded conservation dollars in California to a potentially precedent-setting trapping case in Maine to fighting to form cougar management plans via hunting on a National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona.

For gun-dog owners, the USSA's Sporting Dog Defense Coalition is the primary funding tool used to fight onerous legislation of canine issues. They've been successful in killing or amending numerous bills throughout the country. Many of these bills are, or at least seem, especially to the general public, a means-to-an-end to stop puppy mills, hoarders, dog fighting and other abuses.

The problem is, the wording often (and in my opinion, too often to qualify for coincidence) is so ambiguous that it snares lawful pet owners, hunters, legitimate kennel operators and conscientious breeders within its legal, punitive and sometimes Draconian grasp. Take a look at many of the seemingly innocuous bills that could limit your hunting, breeding or training:

*Puppy mill campaigns: A nationwide campaign to end abusive, commercial breeding operations through stringent and burdensome standards of care. The problem is, the wording many times doesn't differentiate between commercial operations and private sporting dog kennels or legitimate breeders. According to the USSA, as of April 1, 2010 there are 32 bills of this nature in 15 states.

*Mandatory spay/neuter: Couched as a way to reduce the population of stray animals and limit "backyard breeders," these bills place restrictions, license fees or monetary penalties on those wishing to keep a dog intact. Legit breeders, pet owners, hunt testers and field trialers are all caught in wording and/or monetary restrictions. Currently there are two bills in two states, but these proposals continually crop up across the country.

*Tethering: Designed to prevent animal abuse, tethering bills often use language that prevents a dog from being left unattended for any amount of time if not in the owners line of sight. Forget about stakeout chains during training sessions or field trials if something like this passes. There are 21 tethering bills in 10 states right now.

Number of dogs: Meant to impose legal ramifications on hoarders and puppy mills, legislation mandating a limit on the number of dogs a person can own or board catches breeders, training kennels and even avid sportsmen in its wording. Want to run a pack of beagles after rabbits or several hounds for bears or cougars? If these laws pass, multiple-dog owners often have to jump through hoops or are classified as "commercial kennels" and must submit to licensing costs, household inspections and more.

*Time outside: In my opinion, these bills are often just proposed by stupid people. They might be well meaning, but that does nothing to alleviate them of their stupidity. Wording of these bills usually includes not only time outside, but are also accompanied by temperature mandates. If it's below an arbitrary temperature, then dogs must be brought inside or provided shelter that must meet X, Y and Z standards. I understand providing shelter for your pup (in both heat and cold) but too often these bills are written by people that think like people. Dogs' bodies work differently than ours and they retain heat differently. They don't experience the cold in the same way we do. More than that, various breeds experience it differently; a husky is going to be loving life in 25 degrees and snow while a Mexican Hairless will be a Popsicle.

*Excessive kennel restrictions: Written to allow access to puppy mills, kennel restrictions/inspections open the door to local, state and federal government powers entering legitimate operators and breeders, often without due cause. Many times bills contain language that requires only an anonymous tip to be written and the governement can inspect a kennel. That would be fine if the puppy mills were actually being targeted, but what about the animal-rights whackos that would love to see a hunting-dog trainer or breeder shut down? They could harass them right out of business.

*Miscellaneous bills: Often written to ban the practice of ear cropping, tail docking or other cosmetics, they seem to address, for some at least, legitimate concerns of inflicting unnecessary pain. Sometimes, however, those "cosmetic" features actually do serve a purpose. I'd much rather humanely snip a dew claw of a young pup than to have him tear it off in the field when he's older. The USSA reports that there are 28 bills in 14 states that deal with many of these issues.

Again, if you're a hunter or dog man support and visit the USSA website regularly for news on the animal-rights/anti-hunting movement and to find out what action you can take.

The USSA has made staying abreast of issues important to you by creating their "Be a Sentry" program. It's FREE and requires minimal info (name, state, zip code and email address). The program will keep you up to date on legislative issues they're fighting or supporting in your neck of the woods.

Expelled After Hunting

GerryBethge — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:36:56 -0500

From News 10 in Sacramento :

WILLOWS, CA - A 17-year-old Willows student will have the National Rifle Association behind him when he appeals his expulsion from school for having a shotgun in his pick-up truck.

Like many youngsters his age, Gary Tudesko likes to hunt. "I hunt ducks, geese, all types of waterfowl," said Tudesko.

But last October, his recreational pursuits landed him in trouble at Willows High School.

"I went hunting before school, me and my friend, and I didn't want to be late so I parked off campus at my school," Tudesko said.

Tudesko was in class when he was called to the principal's office. He soon learned why.

"They brought in a private sniffing dog and it alerted on my truck and they found the guns," Tudesko said. The weapons belonged to Tudesko and his friend.

Claiming he was a danger to himself and other students, Tudesko was suspended and eventually handed a year-long expulsion.

His mother, Susan Parisio, said, "What happened to him wasn't right," Tudesko's mother Susan Parisio said.

Parisio said it's an important distinction that her son's truck was parked on a public street. "I asked the police and the district attorney's office if he did anything wrong and they said no," Parisio said.

However, school officials disagreed. They told Parisio state law gives them "the right to search any of the student's vehicles no matter where they're parked or what they're doing during school hours," she said.

The NRA came to Tudesko's aid, saying school officials are misinterpreting the law. An NRA lawyer plans to be by Tudesko's side when he appeals his expulsion Tuesday at the Glenn County Office of Education at 10 a.m.

Tudesko said he's eager to return to Willows High and graduate on time with his class.

"I'm thinking about going into to some type of law enforcement," Tudesko said.

Outfit My Rig!

Brian Lynn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:55:08 -0400

After being without a truck for some months, I finally bit the bullet and bought a used 2001 Chevy Blazer LT. While I'd prefer a truck, the Blazer fit the four requirements I had: four-wheel drive, big enough to haul the dog, room/a place to put the kiddo's car seat and within my budget (those aren't listed in any particular order, by the way...).

What accessories have you SUV (and truck/car guys) enjoyed the most? Are there certain brands you like better than others? Are there budget-saving brands/ideas out there? I want to hear some thoughts on how best to outfit this baby for hunting, fishing and dog training.

Below are some ideas on things I might want to add on, please let me know what, if anything, I'm missing and/or things that really aren't worth it.

In-Cab Cargo Caddy

Like in the picture, something that can fit in the far back cabin of the Blazer and can securely hold all my dog-training gear: bumpers, collars, check cords, blank gun, ammo, etc.

It has to be low-profile enough, however, that a Lab-sized dog box can still fit back there.

External Cargo Carrier

The internal caddy is great for all the little stuff, but I think I'll need a heavy-duty external carrier that fits into the receiver hitch for larger items like bags of decoys, deer stands, etc. I found these at Cabela's:

Option #1: Valley Industries Heavy-Duty Cargo Carrier: The price looks pretty good and I like the high-rising sides around it.

Option #2: Bumper Buddy Cargo Carrier: Aluminum would make it lighter but the price is a bit more. Not sure if the railing around it is as high as the Valley model.

Option #3: Masterbuilt Magnum Hitch-Haul: Plain Jane, but the price is definitely right!

Gun Rack

With the dog box in the back, I could just lay the guns in their cases on the back seat (provided it's not filled with hunting buddies, other gear or my kid's car seat), but what truck is complete without a gun rack?

Which option is the best?

Option #1: Overhead Rack: I like the fact that the guns would be a little more out of sight (maybe?) and the price isn't too bad, but how hard are these things to install (keep in mind, I'm about as useful as teats on a boar when it comes to mechanical skills) and how often would I smack my noggin on a gun barrel or butt?

Option #2: Behind the Seat Rack: I'm liking the easy installation here, accessibility and especially the price with this one! Little worried about how secure the guns would be; I mean, are they going to jiggle back and forth going down a washboard gravel road?

Option #3: Shelf System: I've always been intrigued by this set up. Anyone every use it? It says simple setup, but they always say that!

Fishing Rod Rack

I'm also thinking some type of fishing-rod rack would be needed. I believe the overhead gun-rack can be used to hold fishing rods, but I wonder how many?

Something like the Rod Bunk Deluxe might work better.

I could team the behind-the-seat gun rack with the overhead fishing rack and be set for either, without having to pull out an overhead gun rack.

Other Stuff?

There are other things I'm missing, from spotlights to little iPod mounts, but I think the listed items should get me started. What are some of the little things you've found useful in SUVs, passenger cars or the cab of your truck? What am I missing?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Sunstein on Hunting and Animal Rights

Brian Lynn — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:01:24 -0400

In the Gun Shots blog, John Haughey, and by proxy, Alan Clemons, does a great job outlining the danger Cass Sunstein, Obama's pick to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (for which he might be confirmed as early as today), poses to hunting and how/why hunting and firearm organizations oppose his nomination.

I thought I'd take it a step farther and provide you with the source material, straight from the horse's mouth, and some of the highlights from his University of Chicago White Paper (along with some of my own comments), entitled "The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer".

We can build on existing law to define a simple, minimal position in favor of animal rights: The law should prevent acts of cruelty to animals.

My 2 cents: This is what makes "smart" AR folks so dangerous. Unlike the "dumb" ones (PETA), the "smart" ones (think: HSUS) work the system and establish society's first step on a slippery slope. Pass one law or use ambiguous language in a bill upon which to build a future case for your position.

If the suffering of animals matters—and every reasonable person seems to think that it does—we should be greatly troubled by these limitations. The least controversial response would be to narrow the “enforcement gap,” by allowing private suits to be brought in cases of cruelty and neglect. Reforms might be adopted with the limited purpose of stopping conduct that is already against the law, so that the law actually means, in practice, what it says on paper. Here, then, we can find a slightly less minimal understanding of animal rights. On this view, representatives of animals should be able to bring private suits to ensure that anticruelty and related laws are actually enforced.

My 2 cents: So now you build the law upon the minimal position to "prevent cruelty to animals" and jump to allowing animals to bring personal lawsuits. 1. The ambiguousness of "cruelty" opens the door to all manner of regulation; what's pampering to one person is cruelty to another 2. In theory it's absurd, in practice it's been abused and has made a mockery of the Endangered Species List. "Representatives" can and do already bring suit on behalf of animals (see Andrew McKean's blog on wolf hunting and note the list of plaintiffs).

The very idea might seem absurd. But it is simpler and more conventional than it appears. Of course any animals would be represented by human beings, just like any other litigant who lacks ordinary (human) competence; for example, the interests of children are protected by prosecutors, and also by trustees and guardians in private litigation brought on children’s behalf.

My 2 cents: Might seem absurd? It is absurd. And dangerous. Power is being given to a radical group of people upon which judicial law will be written and common sense eroded. Comparing animals to children is also a favored tactic of AR people. I like Carl Cohen's rebuttal to this approach when he writes that the test for moral judgment "is not a test to be administered to humans one by one,"but should be applied to the capacity of members of the species in general."

We might ban hunting altogether, at least if its sole purpose is human recreation. (Should animals be hunted and killed simply because people enjoy hunting and killing them? The issue might be different if hunting and killing could be justified as having important functions, such as control of populations or protection of human beings against animal violence.)

My 2 cents:And there it is. Although posed as a hypothetical ("we might"), taken in context with his other statements and writings, it's obvious Sunstein is anti-hunting. To his second point, hunting isused to control game populations and protect human beings; take a look at the number of cougar attacks in California since lion hunting was banned for proof. Additionally, his use of the word "justified" is scary in that it suggests some type of judicial sanctioning and approval/proof of populations needing control and/or human protection; upon which hunters would run into judicial precedent written in favor of animal rights/protection. Of course, targeted game species would be represented in court by humans and the whole mess is tangled in the judicial system (per the wolf debate, et al), becoming costly, time consuming and ultimately unsustainable for hunters.

In his conclusion, Sunstein makes this statement:

There is no good reason to give public officials a monopoly on enforcement; that monopoly is a recipe for continued illegality.

My 2 cents: Sunstein is advocating that the government and our legal system is ill-equipped and unable to handle the enforcement of current laws and therefore private citizens should be able to file suit on behalf animals in order to keep them safe from harm. At this point I'm going to take the AR approach: put this in terms of humans. When George W. Bush brought about the Patriot Act after 9/11, one section of it caused an outcry and was removed (and rightly, so, in my opinion). That section charged and gave individuals certain powers of state and would promote spying upon neighbors/clients, promoted false allegations and a whole string of other complications. Now, Sunstein believes we should give similar powers to the public, and by proxy aggressive, radical groups, in the interest of animal rights? That's not just a recipe for the end of hunting, but a quagmire for society in general.

The Howling Part 2

KristenKeys — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:35:49 -0500

The Howling Photos

KristenKeys — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:07:26 -0500

Check out these photo tips of our field experts while they hunt winter coyotes in Saskatchewan.

The Howling

KristenKeys — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:39:09 -0500

It’s 3 p.m. on a February afternoon and here in Saskatchewan’s desolate Grain Belt the straightedge horizon is already dissolving in a grainy gray twilight. The relentless wind is honed by icy pellets that haven’t touched ground since they left the Yukon. I can’t feel my toes and my eyelashes are starting to freeze shut underneath my facemask.

But I hardly notice. Five coyotes are loping up the bottom of a deep, brushy coulee, spreading out as they approach the snow-drifted fence line where Jason Peterson and I are hunkered down with a .223 and a box full of howls.

It’s this box—actually, a high-volume FOXPRO electronic predator call—that is responsible for conjuring the coyotes out of the snowbound Canadian prairie.

It’s our third day of hunting and we figure this pack brings the total number of coyotes that have trotted in to our call to more than 40. We haven’t killed all those dogs—in fact, we’ve missed every way possible—but we have learned how to speak to them in their language.

We are here in central Saskatchewan to experiment with howling, using coyotes’ own vocalizations to draw them into rifle range. The flashlight-sized FOXPRO is like a digital Rosetta Stone, loaded with sound clips of territorial males, bitches in heat and lost and wounded pups.

Like the bank robber who justified his choice of crime scenes—“It’s where the money is”—we have come to this snowbound wasteland because it’s where the coyotes are. The prairie here is a monoculture of grain, the hub of a food web radiating protein to rodents and birds that in turn feed predators. The rougher breaks are blown clear of snow, and thousands of mule deer and big Canadian whitetails winter there. Moose hunker in willow-bunch coulees adjacent to wheat fields.

And coyotes roam at will through this smorgasbord. When we checked into the hotel in Rosetown, the desk clerk complained that he had to keep his dogs and cats in the house even in the daytime because aggressive coyotes were coming right to the back door of his rural farmstead.

This seemed like the perfect laboratory to test our thesis, that howling can be more effective than traditional rabbit-in-distress calls.

Speak the Language

That notion is confirmed every time I take my dog for a run in town. Every block we enter erupts with howls, barks and whines of fenced-in dogs that want to sniff, attack, breed or simply greet my Lab. These are presumably well-fed pets, but they know immediately that a strange dog is in their midst and want to make contact.

Coyotes are no different. The wild canines are born hungry, and most die with empty stomachs, but even stronger than their appetites is their desire to bond, to hunt and fight and howl together. To form packs.

That’s why coyote hunters who know how to talk like a coyote routinely kill more dogs than those who appeal just to their hunger. Right now, during the late-winter breeding season, is the best time to use these vocalizations, but hunters who can mimic howls routinely kill more coyotes year round than those who use only wounded-prey calls.

“Successful coyote hunters have to fire on at least three cylinders,” says Al Morris, winner of the World Coyote Calling Championship. “Coyotes have to eat, but they also have to breed and they have to protect their territory. If you just use a prey-in-distress call, you could be missing two-thirds of the coyotes out there.”

Jason Peterson, host of a televised hunting show in Canada and a longtime predator caller, agreed to help me test my hypothesis, and he’s driven over from Saskatoon with his FOXPRO and a bolt-action Remington that he may or may not have ever shot before. Because I’m a nonresident and we’re south of Saskatchewan’s forest, I can’t legally hunt here. So I’m the navigator and statistician, armed with a reporter’s notebook to log our stands and call sequence.

Our plan is to start each stand with a different howl, then try various vocalizations until we unlock the one that will appeal to a coyote. Some stands will start with a low, mournful lament that rises to an eager lilt. That’s a greeting howl that will presumably beckon any coyote in the countryside.

Another consists of a rough, short barking howl. This is a territorial signal, a warning to other coyotes that this country is the domain of a mature male. Still another will open with a female invitation howl—a high, keening wail of a female coyote in heat, announcing her libidinous availability. This should work especially well now, during the breeding season that extends from late January through mid March. We will also use a lost-pup howl, shorter and higher-pitched than adult vocalizations that can often suck in female coyotes. Finally, we have a wounded-pup cry, a tortured yelp that sounds exactly as though you just slammed your own dog’s tail in a car door.

Taking a Stand

Our first stand looks promising. In the shadow of an abandoned granary, we set our call on a fence post and broadcast a generic greeting to a wide creek valley. No response. We wait 10 minutes and then blare a female invitation howl. Still nothing in the gathering gloom of a winter twilight. Then we see them, a pair of huge, rangy coyotes edging toward us along a snow-drifted fence line.

Jason reprises the howl and the coyotes break into a run. About 500 yards out, because they cut our scent or spot something hinky, they stop in unison, mill nervously and then turn and trot away in the direction from which they came.

We draw our first blood the next morning, in the shadow of an abandoned homestead overlooking a small stream filled with whitetails and willows. Before we called, we glassed the surrounding uplands and spotted a pack of coyotes lit up by the rising sun, trotting through a herd of deer. They were neither stealthy nor focused; instead, the predators appeared to be systematically milling the deer around to see which were weak or wounded.

When we started calling—a male challenge howl—about half the coyotes bolted in the opposite direction. The other half split up and started our way. But before they came in range, a red fox popped out of the valley and stood staring in our direction, its coat crimson in the rising sun. Jason ranged the fox at 200 yards and dumped it on the second shot. The incoming coyotes braked, but Jason immediately sounded the hurt-pup wail, and the coyotes resumed their approach.

But the next animal in Jason’s scope wasn’t a coyote, it was a black-and-white shepherd, a domestic dog from a neighboring farm, checking out the commotion. We let the dog pass then resumed the territorial calling. A coyote, juking in and out of willows, closed to 100 yards and Jason killed it on his third shot.

Running and Gunning

The day was bright and sunny and coyotes were actively feeding, so we decided to hit as many likely spots as possible. That meant having a plan and a certain discipline. We would open with different howls, but once one delivered a coyote, we’d stick with it until it failed. We would stay on a stand no more than a half hour.

And because of either the day or our formula, we were covered up in coyotes. A challenge howl pulled a lone coyote out of a dry lakebed—when Jason missed, two other ’yotes busted out of the cover. Another coyote left with a limp and a sense of urgency after it answered a female invitation howl and Jason creased it with hot lead. Toward evening, we set up in a rookery of boulders as a winter storm moved in. We could see a coyote hunkered on the edge of brush more than a half-mile away, but it wouldn’t come to either challenge or invitation howls.

So we wound up the pup call and started working the coyote in with a series of tragic yips and tortured yelps. Little by little, the coyote approached, ears forward, obviously looking for the wounded pup making such a pitiful racket. Jason, rattled by his shooting, tucked in to his rifle and waited. And waited. The coyote was so close I could see its pupils scanning the rock pile before a gunshot split the air. Then another. And another. Finally, the coyote expired and Jason mumbled something about getting that scope checked.

Pack Attack

Our third day featured similar success coaxing coyotes out of the winter landscape and the same stunned surprise at even more misses. The female invitation howl worked most consistently, but we also called a pair of coyotes with traditional jackrabbit-in-distress yammers.

My notes indicated that we had called 38 coyotes in by the end of our third afternoon, as the wind sharpened and snow sifted across the landscape. We walked to a deep, deer-filled coulee slicing through wheat fields and tucked into a fence line at the top of the draw. The minute we fired up the female invitation call, a coyote popped out of the brush 800 yards away, sat on a snowy ledge and casually looked our way. No matter how we amped the volume or changed the cadence of our call, the coyote wouldn’t unlock.

Then we changed to a male challenge howl, and the coyote jumped up and started running toward us. It was as though we had lit its fuse, but that wasn’t all. Four other coyotes poured out of the willows and joined the first.

I don’t get rattled too often, but suddenly I felt like prey myself, watching the predators home in on our location, spread out like a military formation, and close in. They were totally keyed in on the call. When we stopped playing the howl, the coyotes stopped and sat down. We turned it back on and they resumed their approach. At about 300 yards the coyotes changed strategies and turned downwind, trying to flank us so they could cut our scent. Any minute they would turn into the wind, smell us and the game would be over.

They disappeared over a rise and Jason jumped up and ran to a high spot. When the pack appeared they’d be well within range. I stayed in the fencerow, trying to unfreeze my eyelashes. A shot cracked through the gale. Then another. Then two more before Jason returned to the stand, the downcast look on his face explaining everything.

But I didn’t care. We had talked an entire pack of predators nearly into our laps using their own language. We had seen the light in their eyes as we provoked some deep canine need to join the pack, to fight a rival, to tend a pup. Besides, the approaching darkness meant I could leave the frozen tundra, thaw my feet and warm my fingers. And haunt Jason about his marksmanship.

50 Great Hunting Tips

outdoorlife-editor — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400

HUNTING STRATEGIES

1 GO EXTRA SLOW When still-hunting, most of us don't move slowly enough, or stay put long enough. Try using your watch as a guide. Decide on a period of time to stand still, such as five minutes. This way you'll be forced to remain quiet and silent for a minimum amount of time, longer if necessary.

2 STOP AT THE NOISE Here's a saying I came up with to remind me of an animal's terrific senses. "The sound of a snapped twig is quickly forgotten by the hunter, but long remembered by the quarry." If you make an unusually loud noise, stop and stand there as long as you can if you suspect animals are close by. A deer might stand a long time and stare in your direction. If it doesn't see or smell you, it might go back to feeding or whatever else it was doing before it was disturbed.

3 QUICK-STEPPING FOR DEER A deer is easily alerted to human cadence as we walk through noisy leaves. This might sound like a dumb idea, but try taking quick steps in a short sprint for 10 to 20 yards or so. Stop, and do it again. Keep your footfalls as light as possible; you'll be surprised at how much you sound like a squirrel scrambling through the leaves.

4 DESIGN A BETTER DRIVE When putting a drive together, we tend to place standers in front of and alongside the area being driven. If you have enough people in your party, position a stander in the rear where the drive originated. Deer will often wait for hunters to pass and then sneak back and run off in the opposite direction.

5 DRIVE SOLO Try a one-man drive if you're hunting alone. Purposely walk into an area with the wind at your back. The idea is to stir deer up and get them moving. Once you've passed through, make a circle and do it again. You might see confused deer creeping about, unsure of your location. If this doesn't work, take a position on the flank of the area you walked through and wait an hour or two. You might see deer sneaking back in, believing the danger has passed. This works in dense thickets that deer use for security cover.

6 PICK YOUR LANDMARKS When you plan to stalk an animal by making a big circle and coming up behind it, it's easy to become confused as you change your location. Pick a distinctive object on the skyline that you can recognize from the back, such as a large tree, a fence line or a rock, to help guide you to the correct spot.

7 JUDGE THE QUARRY'S PACE Also try to anticipate where the animal will be once you complete your stalk. Before starting, watch the quarry long enough to determine its direction and rate of travel if it's actively feeding or walking. Pick your destination accordingly.

8 FOLLOW WITH CARE If you're tracking an animal, remember that the quarry will be alert to its back trail. A really fresh track requires you practically to still-hunt rather than merely follow, especially if the animal isn't "lined out" but is taking bites of browse as it goes.

9 CLEAR SHOOTING LANES When you first get into your tree stand, practice taking up shooting positions for all the directions from which an animal might appear. After doing that, try to remove branches in the line of fire if you can reach them, and take up the position that requires the least amount of movement for you to turn in any direction. Be sure your safety strap is secure and allows free movement.

10 SWEEP AWAY BLIND CLUTTER If you're sitting in a ground blind or standing next to a tree, sweep away leaves and brush with your boot so the area you're in is clean of forest debris. This will eliminate unnecessary noise if you must make a move when an animal approaches.

11 GLASS AND RE-GLASS When glassing with a binocular early in the morning, move to your vantage point in the dark. Glass likely spots, but don't take just a single cursory look. From time to time, refocus your attention on places you've already checked out. The changing light might reveal animals you hadn't seen before or animals that have moved out of deep brush or timber.

TRACKING

12 HOW TO FOLLOW A BLOOD TRAIL Move quietly as you track. Be alert for the quarry, which might be bedded just ahead. If other hunters are with you, communicate with hand signals. Mark every spot of blood with a piece of toilet tissue or flagging, which should be removed later.

13 DON'T GIVE UP Many times a good blood trail that you've followed a long way will peter out to nothing. That's not a good sign, because the animal is still going strong, but it doesn't mean it isn't fatally wounded. Don't give up. Start looking for tiny spots of blood. Get on your hands and knees, if necessary, to help keep you on the spoor.

14 CALL THE SPOT If you're hunting in a brushy area and you drop an animal at a distance, make a mental note of where it stood at the shot, especially if you must take your eyes off it to get there. It's vitally important to find the precise area so you can pick up the blood trail.

15 BEWARE OF THE 'INSTANT DROP' An animal that drops at the shot is more likely to run off than one that doesn't go down but runs some distance and then falls. The animal that falls immediately might do so from shock, then recover and run. When an animal drops instantly, stay put and be prepared for a quick follow-up shot.

16 NO EYE POKES Television hunting-show hosts like to walk up to a fallen animal and prod it with the firearm muzzle to make sure it's dead. That's dumb. The last thing you want is for an animal to leap up when you're so close that you can't take action. Instead, toss a stone or branch at it and look for a reaction. If an animal's eyes are closed, it's probably still alive. If there is any sign of life, shoot it in the throat under the chin to administer a humane coup de grâce and not waste meat.

17 LOOK UP FOR BLOOD When tracking a wounded animal, don't stay focused only on the ground. Look for blood higher up on the sides of trees, on grass heads, and on stems of brush. Sometimes we're so intent at looking for traces on the forest floor that we completely miss clues off the ground.

THE COMPETITION

18 GETTING IN FIRST Many roads are blocked these days to restrict vehicle access, allowing only foot or horse traffic. Hunters commonly park at gates early in the morning and hike up roads. Beat everyone else by parking there at midnight. Carry a light sleeping bag and walk to the end of the road, where you're apt to find a logged area. Since these spots are virtual smorgasbords for wildlife, position yourself at the back of the area in an elevated spot away from the road, using your flashlight sparingly. Once settled, take a nap and wait for other hunters to push deer to you as shooting hours approach, or look for unpressured deer feeding naturally.

19 BIG-GAME HONEY HOLES If you're in big country and want to focus on the place where the odds are best of finding game, look no further than a deep, heavily timbered canyon with no roads or major trails to the bottom. Most hunters don't descend into nasty spots because they know they'll have to climb back out. The idea of hauling a deer or elk out of the bottom is a double nightmare that makes them even more prone to avoid these potentially game-rich spots.

20 DRIVE DOUBLE-DIPPING If you know of a drive being put on by another party of hunters, try taking a stand well away from the group in heavy cover where spooked deer might run. This is ethically acceptable if you keep a reasonable distance from the party and don't interfere with the drive.

21 DON'T FOLLOW THE LEADER If you're tracking a deer in snow and suddenly discover that another hunter has come upon the tracks and is in front of you, there's obviously no sense in following. Instead, quickly make a big circle and try to ambush the deer. Chances are the other hunter will only keep pushing it ahead—maybe to you. Ethics require that you do this a considerable distance from where you think the hunter might be. I'd suggest at least a half mile or more.

STAYING WARM

22 SLEEP IN COMFORT A cot in an unheated tent or cabin will keep you cold all night if you don't have a pad underneath your sleeping bag. If you have no pad, spread out clothing to insulate you from the cold air under the cot. The loft in your bag is compressed from the weight of your body, and offers little insulation when in contact with the thin fabric of a cot.

23 BRING YOUR BEST BAG Be sure you have your best sleeping bag along during a cold-weather hunt, even if you're in a tent or cabin with a wood stove. The fire will go out during the night, and the temperature inside will almost equal the temperature outside. A lightweight summer bag is just for that—summer.

24 COLD-WEATHER HORSEMANSHIP Riding a horse in cold weather will chill you rapidly if you end up sitting for long periods of time. Warm up by walking the horse downhill. Not only will this get your blood moving, but it's also good horsemanship to give the animal a break.

UPLAND GAME/WATERFOWL

25 DON'T SPOOK THE RINGNECKS Wild pheasants spook easily at the sounds of vehicles, dogs and voices. Most birds will start running or flying at the first sign of humans. Park as far as possible from where you expect to hunt and approach the area quietly.

26 DON'T SWEAT IT Perspiration is your greatest enemy on a cold day. Take every precaution to keep dry, even if it means stripping off layers of clothes as you walk in frigid temperatures to avoid sweating. If you sit for any length of time, working up a sweat beforehand will guarantee that you get chilled.

27 GLASSING FOR DUCKS When jump-shooting ducks along streams or potholes, use a good binocular to scan the area for distant ducks. Make your observation looking through brush, if possible. Ducks have keen eyesight and will fly off if they spot you.

28 TAKING DOWN GROUSE Ruffed grouse are masters at flying through thickets. Many hunters pass up shots if the birds aren't in the clear. That's a mistake. Never pass up a shot if you can see the blur of a grouse as it erupts through brush, but always be sure you know exactly where the other members of your hunting party are. If you continually pass up birds you might never get a shot.

SMALL-GAME CARE

29 BRING SOME SHEARS Carry game shears to cut off wings and legs of birds in the field. Be sure to leave evidence of sex or species of the bird if required by law. Dress the birds when you take a break and wrap them in cheesecloth to keep them clean, allowing air to circulate and cool the meat. Never put a warm bird in a plastic bag.

30 SKIN 'EM ASAP Skin rabbits and squirrels as soon as possible. The skin peels easily when it's warm. Some small game animals harbor fleas, which can carry diseases. If you get rid of the skin quickly, the fleas won't have time to migrate off the carcass and onto you!

31 DON'T BREAST OUT TURKEY Turkey hunters often "breast" their birds, taking the breast meat and discarding the legs, thighs and wings. This is a mistake. The latter three parts make wonderful stew and soup. Simply cook them in a crock pot until the meat falls off the bones, and put the boned, diced meat in a pot with soup or stew ingredients. You'll never throw away a wild turkey leg again.

32 MOO-VING IN FOR THE KILL If it's a quiet day and you're trying to approach ducks by crawling through thick reeds, the noise you make will invariably spook birds before you're in range. If cattle are around, try this: Say "moo" loudly as you sneak, being as cowlike as possible. Don't laugh— it works like a charm. Ducks will tolerate cows, but not you.

PACKING SMART

33 BAGGING YOUR GEAR On wet days, moisture will invariably find its way inside your day pack. Protect your gear by storing items in zip-top bags. Store similar items together, such as flashlights and batteries in one bag, fire starters and matches in another, etc.

34 BUILD A BETTER FIRE Fire starters are vital to getting a fire going. I use several kinds. One of the best is easy to make at home. Impregnate cotton balls thoroughly with petroleum jelly. About seven of them will fit in a 35mm film canister. Each will burn for about three minutes.

TRANSPORT AND STORAGE

35 GET THOSE SHOULDERS UP It's far easier to drag a deer with its shoulders high off the ground. Pull it with a harness that fits snugly over your torso, moving the carcass short distances at a time. Don't try an extended drag, since you might tire before getting the chore accomplished.

36 LOSE THE WEIGHT Bone out a moose or elk quarter before you move it. This will eliminate much of the weight. Wrap the meat in cheesecloth to keep it temporarily clean and to let air circulate. For longer periods of storage, toss the cheesecloth and put the meat in heavy-duty bags that can be laundered.

37 HANG 'EM HIGH Never hang a carcass or part of a carcass any lower than 3 feet from the ground in a yard or shed. Animals can quickly consume your hard-earned venison. I've had it happen to me more than once.

38 GRIZZLY SMARTS If you're in grizzly country and shoot an elk late in the afternoon and don't have time to get it out that evening, place the quarters in an area that's visible from a distance. In the morning when you return, you can check the meat with binoculars to make sure it wasn't disturbed or covered with brush. A nearby grizzly will be possessive of the meat and you could be in big trouble if you unwittingly approach. Most grizzly confrontations with hunters occur around meat that has been left in the field overnight.

39 POLE POSITION Although few hunters do this, one easy way to transport a deer or a couple of quarters of elk or moose is to lash them to a stout pole and then carry the pole across your shoulders. Put some padding on your shoulders and wrap plenty of orange flagging around the animal for safety reasons.

40 WHEELIN' IT OUT The best way to move an animal, other than with a horse or having it fall next to a road, is to wheel it on a cart. Don't use a two-wheeled cart. They're cumbersome in the woods and require a wide trail. A one-wheeled cart will go practically everywhere.

PREDATORS

41 HIKE BEFORE YOU HUNT Park as far as you can from your calling location. Coyotes can hear your vehicle a long way away if you're in a remote area. You can get away with parking close if you're in a place where there's plenty of traffic.

42 TAKE A SHOTGUN TOO Bobcats are often so mesmerized by a predator call that they run right into the lap of the caller. Many times coyotes will approach within just a few yards as well. A shotgun is a good choice for a second firearm.

43 SWITCH YOUR CALL Try a radically different call if the area you're in has heavy hunting pressure. Coyotes can become accustomed to basic calls, such as the rabbit distress, which is used universally. Try a fawn bleat, a flicker call or another offbeat sound.

44 HUNTING FOR THE BIRDS Incoming foxes and coyotes are often accompanied by magpies or other birds. Stay alert if you see a squawking bird approaching your calling position or motion decoy. Chances are good an unseen predator is nearby and closing in.

WILD GAME COOKING

45 TAME THE TASTE Some say strong, gamey venison is always the result of improper field care. That's not true. No matter how well you care for it, an animal can taste gamey because of its age, the rut, its diet or other factors. Here are ingredients that will tame strong meats: fresh ginger root, soy sauce, onion and garlic. Stir-fries are the best at masking a too-strong taste because the ingredients are in close contact with the surface of the meat.

46 GRIND YOUR OWN Want to try something wild? Get a small electric meat grinder for less than $100 and make your own burger and sausage. Try boning rabbits, squirrels and other game meats, and grinding the meat to make meatballs and burgers. Dazzle your pals with rabbit, squirrel and goose meatballs.

47 DISHWASHER FISH Here's a crazy technique I learned in the Arctic. Wrap a fish fillet along with butter, onions and seasonings in foil, then wrap it again. Put the whole works in the dishwasher (minus soap) and turn it on. Presto—when the cycles are completed your fish will be beautifully steamed.

48 SAUTE A SNAKE You've no doubt heard about rattlesnake meat being a delicacy, and that it tastes like chicken. It doesn't really taste like chicken, but it's tasty. To process, carefully remove the head and peel off the hide. Then, fillet the meat, which comes away in thin strips. Sauté in butter and garlic. It's really good stuff.

49 HOW TO EAT ANYTHING Offbeat critters such as porcupines, woodchucks, muskrats, raccoons and beavers can be outstanding table fare. Be sure to remove any fat and musk glands and cut the meat into chunks. Soak it in a mild salt solution for 12 hours (½ cup salt to one gallon of water) and cook it in a slow cooker with plenty of spices and vegetables—the more tomatoes, the better. Let it cook until the meat falls off the bones. You might be surprised.

50 STEW MADE EASY My favorite stew is called whatchagot, meaning whatever you've got in the back of your freezer. As I cook, I routinely freeze all the leftovers. When I have a dozen or so packages, I thaw everything and dump it in a huge pot. I let it simmer, add salt and pepper to taste and toss in some extras, such as rice and beans. It's always a hit, but please don't ask for a recipe. I don't have a clue. It's whatchagot.

Street-Smart Coyotes

outdoorlife-editor — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 19:00:00 -0500

Guide ToddCollick explains how to beat pressured predators that have heard and seen it all.

Q What do you look for in a perfect calling setup?

A First of all, scouting is essential. You can't call coyotes where there are nocoyotes. In southern Michigan, we have a lot of farmland and pockets of coverconnected by fencerows. My most successful setups have been early in themorning, just after sunrise, on days when there's a lot of snow on the ground.Ideally, I look for fencerows that lead into thick cover, swamps or swales. Ifcoyotes are there it shouldn't take long to get a response. If I get nothingafter 20 minutes or so, I pick up and move on.

Q What is your favorite calling sound?

A I've had great success with "feral cat in distress." There is a lot ofcompetition from other hunters in my area and they pretty much all use rabbitdistress calls. Be different.

For instance,when I first started hunting coyotes, I always used electronic calls. Thesedays everyone seems to have one, so I've switched back to mouth calls. Withmouth calls the sound that I produce is different every time. I can make thevolume go up or down and I have more control over the range of emotion in thecalls.

That's not to sayI don't use any electronics. I use a digital call with a remote speaker forground movement sounds, which work great for coaxing animals that have hung upout of range.

Q What's your firearm choice for winter coyotes?

A A Benelli Super Black Eagle II with 3½-inch No. 4 loads. Where I hunt theshooting can be very quick, and it is usually quite cold and snowy. You'rebundled up with heavy clothes and gloves and this makes accurate shootingtough. With a rifle you have to be precise with your shot; a shotgun, thanks toa larger shot pattern, has a built-in tolerance for error.

I typically placea remote speaker playing "ground sounds" fairly close—inside of 40yards—and my shotgun setup is very effective at that range.

Collick, ofDavidson, Mich., is a Hawgs Limited pro staffer and product tester forcompanies like Extreme Dimension Game Calls.

A Moveable Feast

outdoorlife-editor — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 20:00:00 -0400

The realization that I was only half-armed for coyote hunting came to me during a hunt in western Connecticut. The hunt began on a cold, bleak December morning about a half hour before sunrise. The ground was covered with 8 inches of new, soft snow and I walked quietly a quarter mile from my Jeep to the power line I intended to hunt. My vantage point was a couple of hemlock trees from which I could see at least 150 yards in all directions.

After waiting about 20 minutes to let the woods calm down, I decided to try a tape produced by Johnny Stewart Wildlife Calls that mimicked the sound of coyote pups in distress. As I was about to turn on the player, I heard the distinctive yip-yip-yipping of several coyotes in the distance.

Sound carries on a cold, still morning, and the pack was farther away than its serenade indicated, but I still became confident that this was the right day and best place to hunt. The feeling did not last long, however. Long minutes passed and the coyotes ignored the tape. It was useless. Finally I tiptoed back to my Jeep for a sandwich and a cup of coffee. When I trudged back to my makeshift blind less than an hour later, coyote tracks punctuated the snow all around it.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

I was discouraged, but certain that they hadn't seen me or discovered my scent through all the masking fox urine I had sprinkled on my boots and around my blind. Obviously the coyotes had heard the tape, but they needed more persuasion than just sound. They had come in cautiously and slowly, and by the time they reached my setup I was already gone for coffee.

That's when I decided never to hunt pressured coyotes again without having more going for me than just calls. Often, the sound of a squealing rabbit without some sort of visual reference isn't enough. Like a gobbler that expects to see a hen where it hears a hen in an open woods, a coyote that doesn't spot anything that looks like the animal in distress it has heard is doubly wary.

Motion decoys, which had just hit the market and were growing in popularity, were my solution. After doing a bit of shopping, I bought a Predator Supreme, which is activated by a Decoy Heart, a small plastic ball powered by a single AA battery. An interior spinning assembly supplies movement. The ball is weighted off-center to make it wobble erratically. The deal-closer is the fake furry animal with beady eyes and a long tail that fits over the ball. The kit includes a sharpened dowel to mount the decoy in place.

The first time I assembled and switched on the Predator Supreme, I was sold. A coyote would have to be blind or dead to ignore its provocative come-on.

My next hunt was on the edge of a 6,000-acre wilderness area that skirted the towns of Goshen, Norfolk and Canaan in northwestern Connecticut. I set up as usual with a background of dark trees behind me. The forest here is mainly composed of hardwoods with a scattering of pine and hemlock.

I positioned the Predator Supreme on an old stump so soft with age that the dowel pushed into it easily. Then I turned it on and it began its dance. With the speaker of my calling rig hidden nearby, I started the tape. The ground was bare of snow but the low temperature frosted the fallen leaves, and I knew they would crunch like cornflakes when anything approached. After about a 10-minute wait, I heard an animal drawing closer and then caught a glimpse of reddish orange moving in. At first I thought it was a red fox, but instead a 35-pound coyote with a red coat emerged from the undergrowth several yards away. He didn't stop moving until he was only 2 feet away from the little battery-powered fur ball.

RESULTS DON'T LIE

With a quizzical look on his face, he started to circle the stump warily. His focus on the decoy allowed me to shoulder my rifle. The scope had been adjusted to 9X since a round of benchrest shooting, so I saw nothing but a blur, as the coyote was a mere 25 feet away. All I could do was look down the side of the barrel, aim behind the animal's shoulder and fire.

A few moments later I was admiring the coyote's coat up close. I couldn't help but smile at the thought that I had spent hours at the range fine-tuning my varmint rifle to shoot 1/4-inch groups at 100 yards, and wound up getting a shot at less than 10 yards away. In addition to luring a coyote out of hiding, the moving decoy drew the coyote's attention away from me and focused it on the decoy. It's never a good idea to shift position when hunting coyotes, but a moving decoy helps cover such mistakes.

COYOTE-HUNTING BASICS

Experience has taught me that, with or without a moving decoy, a coyote hunter must observe all the rules of the game: full camo, a scent suppressor and a cover scent, such as skunk urine.

Camouflage shouldn't be limited to patterns that blend in with a green or brown background. A lot of coyote hunters like to wait for at least a dusting of snow before venturing out. If white is the background color, then snow camo, a white lab coat or even a white bedsheet wrapped around your body is a better choice.

As for scent control, follow the same rules that most bowhunters do: Wash your hunting clothing with a scent-suppressing detergent, dry it separately and store it in a scentproof plastic bag. When you reach your destination, change into your hunting clothing, spray yourself with a scent suppressant and apply a cover scent to your boots. When you sneak in to your hunting area, maintain a low profile and stay off ridgelines. Keep the wind in your face as you move to your first setup position. Once you're well hidden in a blown-down tree or similar cover, inspect your surroundings. If you don't have clear shots in most directions, trim a few limbs away or break over a few weeds to provide shooting lanes.

It's also important to consider the lay of the land and set up downwind of the area where you expect coyotes to appear. The perfect setup has the decoy in plain view, with you hidden from the coyote's likely approach route by a low hill within shooting range. Of course, it's hard to find the perfect setup when hunting coyotes, since you can never be sure from which direction they'll approach. A big male coyote will almost always circle downwind from a perceived meal before coming in, hence the need for odor eliminator and a cover scent.

Even so, the tempting sight of a moving decoy promising an easy meal often causes even the most cautious coyote to ignore his inhibitions and approach on the run.

Alternative Motion

Gerald Stewart of Johnny Stewart Wildlife Calls once told me that one of his favorite tricks for predators involves tying one end of a length of thread to a turkey feather and then tying the other end to a tree branch or wire fence. Combined with calling, the dangling feather's erratic movement in the slightest breeze is a deadly decoy for all predators.

It's easy to improvise. For a while, I used a fake crow that I bought in a costume shop to decoy the real thing. The first time I used the phony crow, I attached it to a branch directly above my blind and bobbed it up and down with a length of black fishing line attached to a tree limb. As a Johnny Stewart crow tape played, I bagged a dozen crows in about 30 minutes.

A simple metronome also can be used as the motor for a moving decoy. It requires no external power and can be set to tick back and forth at various speeds. Simply attach a long colorful feather on the vertical arm of a metronome and you've got yourself a decoy. Modern metronomes are battery-operated and can be purchased at most music stores for about $20. Wind-up metronomes cost about $45.

Decoy Options

Sources for moving predator decoys:

—Feather Flex offers the Rigor Rabbit, a molded decoy mounted on a motorized base. The speed of movement is adjustable. (About $45 from Cabela's; 800-237-4444; www.cabelas.com)

—The Predator Supreme Decoy, which incorporates the Decoy Heart, sells for about $40 and is also available from Cabela's.

—Big Head Robotic Decoys offers a bouncing bunny similar to the Rigor Rabbit. It is packaged in an unbreakable molded case for ease of transportation. ($98.95; 800-245-9276; www.bigheaddecoys.com)

Catch A Cougar The best strategies for hunting America's big cats

outdoorlife-editor — Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:00:00 -0500

One of the biggest thrills I ever had was meeting up with Willis Butolph, a legendary trapper for the U.S. government. It was almost 40 years ago, and I was just out of forestry college, working as a forest ranger in eastern Utah. In those days, lions were unprotected and bounties were given on them. Willis and I became close friends and I accompanied him on well over a hundred lion hunts.

Without exception, we used hounds to hunt lions. There simply was no other way to do it that was consistently successful, nor is there today. If you want a lion, you use hounds, though there are some other options that occasionally work.

TRACKING COUGARS

I know one person who was able to track a cat in fresh snow and kill it. Debra Bradbury did it near her ranch at Glenrock, Wyo., after a long pursuit. I've tried tracking many times but have never scored. The closest I came was jumping a cat from brushy cover. I didn't see it, but I followed its tracks to a kill where the cat was bedded close by. I heard it run through the brush and saw the tracks it left behind. Since lions often bed in or on rock outcroppings or rimrock areas, this puts them up high where they can see danger approaching. Cats also have exceptional hearing and vision and can detect trouble (like you) from a long distance.

CALLING ALL CATS

It's possible to call lions, but the odds of success are very low. First, of course, call where a cat can hear you. That's a challenge, since lions are widely scattered and have large home ranges. Any cats that do hear you may not approach, depending on their mood or how hungry they are. Lions are accustomed to killing deer and are not as opportunistic as coyotes and bobcats, which hunt smaller prey. Murry Burnham, a legendary Texas hunter whose father invented the predator call, has called only a few lions after a lifetime of trying, mostly with a jackrabbit distress call. On the other hand, he's called in thousands of coyotes, bobcats and other predators.

DON'T BOTHER STALKING

Forget about still-hunting. Trying to spot and shoot a lion by slowly walking and climbing is almost futile. I've spent a lifetime in the woods, much of it in prime lion country, and I've yet to see my first lion roaming freely. Some people claim they see them all the time. They must hunt where there are incredible populations of lions, or they're somehow always in the right place at the right time.

HUNTING WITH HOUNDS

If you don't have hounds, you have a couple of options. One is to become buddies with someone who has hounds and can take you hunting for free. The other is to hire an outfitter. Before you sign up for a lion hunt, however, do a reality check. You might have heard of hunts where the hounds tree a lion and it sits there, giving you all day to approach and then take your shot. Or you might have heard of a hunter who killed his lion only 300 yards from the truck because the outfitter found a fresh track crossing the road and the cat was bedded next to a nearby kill.

If these are your expectations, think again. A lion hunt can be the most rugged adventure you'll ever have--or the easiest, depending on the circumstances and the country you're hunting.

If you don't have a problem with modern conveyances, you might be able to stay with the dogs by riding a snowmobile or ATV, or maybe a pickup truck or SUV. That's not possible in a whole lot of lion country, but it can be done in some areas. If you'd rather hunt your cat afoot, then prepare for the worst. Chances are you'll be in for an extremely physical hunt no matter what conveyances are available.

A reputable outfitter will have hounds that are deerbroke and are trained to run a track that's a day old or more. You could be in for a long chase, lasting all day or even longer. Carry a pack that will accommodate extra clothing. I like layers that can be added or removed in response to the weather and the exertion required by the hunt. Be certain your boots are broken in and are insulated and waterproof. You'll likely be hunting in snow and extreme cold.

Most lion hunts are done in winter, with the prime months being December through March.

CHOOSING AN OUTFITTER

Lion hunting is a very specialized activity. Choose a reputable outfitter who has been in business for a long time. Some are con artists who have gathered a pack of mediocre dogs and hunt in country where there are few lions. On the other hand, there are some young outfitters who are skilled and offer very good hunts.

Most outfitters nowadays offer hunts that have a dual price--the base fee and the kill fee. For example, you might pay $2,000 for the hunt and another $2,000 if you kill a lion.

WHERE TO HUNT

Of the 11 Western states, only California does not allow lion hunting, thanks to proposition 117, which was passed a dozen years ago by a majority of voters. Washington and Oregon do not allow hound hunting. In the other 10 states, seasons are typically designed according to the deer-herd objectives. Many units have a lion kill quota, depending on the number of lions and the deer population. When a unit's quota is taken, its season ends. Lions taken by hunters must be reported to the state wildlife agency within a certain time period after the kill so the harvest can be tallied.

ON THE ROAD

Many years ago I fished a lake in California with pro football player Merlin Olsen and his son Nate. Three tagged trout were stocked in the lake two months before we fished it. One had already been caught, and there was a $200 reward for the angler who caught one of the remaining two. Imagine our surprise when Nate hooked and landed one, a rainbow that weighed about 5 pounds. No one believed the catch was on the level because of Merlin's fame and the fact that thousands of anglers had been trying to catch those fish.

RIFLES VS. HANDGUNS

When I hunted with Willis Butolph years ago, we used .22 handguns. Most of the lions we treed were in piñon pines and junipers offering shots of 20 feet or so. I often believed we were undergunned, and today I'd opt for a rifle, simply because some cats may be treed 60 feet or more up a big ponderosa pine, requiring very precise shots through foliage and branches. On the other hand, a handgun allows easy mobility when you're chasing the hounds, freeing your hands and arms to climb over icy rocks and snow-covered logs, and squeezing through dense timber. A rifle of at least .243 caliber would be my choice, and I'd want a handgun that packed the energy of at least a .41 Mag. or bigger. If using a handgun, I'd practice extensively so I could hit a small target consistently. A shoulder or behind-the shoulder shot will bring a lion down quickly.

For more on hunting, go to www.outdoorlife.com/hunting