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Tex Strikes a Beautiful Red Fox

Tex — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 03:06:00 +0000

Love it when a plan comes together! I have always wanted to kill a fox at my cabin, on my own property and tonight I was blessed with that opportunity. I had originally planned on watching the Daytona 500 this afternoon/evening but due to rain, the race was postponed and I headed out for one set before dark.

This has been a really crazy winter with extreme amounts of snowfall, making it challenging for predator calling and limiting the movement of predators. We got a typical Michigan thaw last week to firm up the snow and allow the predators to move about much easier. I have been starting to see more sign in the last couple days and I had to take advantage of this beautiful evening. I decided to take my 17HMR out today since I was targeting a fox and I didn’t want to destroy a pelt with the 22-250 if I could avoid it.

I walked out to the back of my property to overlook the hardwoods and swamp down to the lake. I set my Fox Pro CS24 out under a bush in front of me about 20 yards. There was a neighbor out shredding it up on a snowmobile so I just sat still for about 15 minutes until he was finished and the woods had calmed down. I was in no rush and planned to sit until dark. I fired up the Fox Pro at the 20 minute mark, playing some Rodent Squeaks at various volumes for 15 minutes on and off. I then got on my Red F for a couple sequences with some short pauses in between for about 5 minutes. Still not seeing any movement around me so I played a couple short red fox distress sounds. I then switched back to rodent distress, periodically playing a few short bursts of fox in distress. Out of the corner of my eye at 2 o’clock I catch movement and its a fox trotting in at 40 yards and closing. I have my rifle on my sticks pointed at 11 o’clock and they are buried in snow so I just froze as it moved in. My only hope at this point is that the fox moves in between me and the caller and I can get a shot off without having to move my gun. The fox trotted right in to about 15 feet, still focused on the caller with no clue I was there until it turned with a flash and looked right at me. She spun around and I pulled my gun off my sticks as she retreated. I lip squeaked one time, she stopped and turned back for another look at about 25 yards. I got on my rifle offhand as the fox stood facing straight at me and let the 17 HMR rip with one shot to the chest/lower neck area. The fox went down in a pile and never flinched a muscle. It all happened in about 30 seconds and I was left sitting there amazed at what had just taken place! Sometimes it sure does pay off to be patient, let a set speak to you and give it the appropriate time needed.

I am a blessed man to be able to enjoy the outdoors and participate in such a fun and rewarding sport. I would really like to thank all the guys in my life that have taught me the true art of predator calling in its purest form! Thanks to Yotehead Ed, Opie and Bob Patrick at Rare Earth Predator Calls.

Shoot Straight!

Tex

Old Alpha Male Coyote

Tex — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 00:26:35 +0000

Opie and I headed up to the north country of Michigan for a long weekend of predator calling! The weather has been absolutely spectacular with bone chilling temperatures and light snow periodically throughout both days we’ve been up here so far. We set out this morning into the frozen tundra on snowshoes ready to hone our calling skills and challenge ourselves physically with the demanding terrain ahead of us.

We didn’t have any takers on our first set and it wasn’t long before we located another calling location several hundred yards away. Opie and I settled into our calling sequence, taking turns playing our Rare Earth Red-F (Bird Distress) calls. Opie hopped on his HSB at about the 8 minute mark playing some light cottontail distress and that’s when I noticed a coyote working towards us at about 100 yards. I got on my rifle just in time to see the coyote stop to take another look in our direction. I passed on the first shot opportunity as I wanted to see him work in closer to our location. There was a slight hill in front of us and when the coyote closed inside of 60 yards we were not able to see him until he crested the hill at 30 feet. My heart was beating like crazy when I lost sight of him and I still wasn’t sure if Opie had seen him closing in on us. I quickly got back on my rifle and waited in the location I thought he might show in. The coyote stopped at the top of the rise and gave a look right at Opie, allowing me to make my final adjustments and let the 22-250 bark.

This is a beautiful large male coyote with scads of battle wounds and a busted up face from fighting. One of my largest coyotes to date and one heck of a trophy from the north woods. We still have a couple days of hunting left, tons of predator sign and we are going to get back after em!

Tex

Tex Hands Out a Powder Nap

Tex — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:09:58 +0000

Opie wasn’t able to hunt today so I spent the day in the woods solo. First few sets were cold but I was seeing good sign on most all of my properties. On the last set of the afternoon I called in a double at the 10 min mark. I saw them flashing through the brush at about 150 yards, they held up at a little over 100 yards behind some brush and I just couldn’t get a clear shot. After about a minute of them milling around I gave them a little bit of coaxing and had one coming in hard. I waited for a clean shot through the CRP and let the Model Seven rip. Dead Coyote! I wasn’t able to get a shot on the second coyote as it retreated back into cover right after I shot the first. All I used was my Rare Earth Howler and a little poke at the HSB a few times. Heck of a day in the woods today and a lot of fun! Gotta give a huge thanks to Yotehead Ed and Bob at Rare Earth Predator Calls. They are both great guys and amazing predator hunters who have taught me a great deal! Thanks guys!!

Tex

Dreary Day Dogs

admin — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:17:35 +0000

Well its pretty wet and dreary this morning here in Southwest Michigan. It’s been raining sleet since 5pm last night and somehow we still manage to have some snow on the ground. We are sitting around the kitchen getting our gear around right now and i just looked out the window to see the sleet change to big snow flakes.

Tex and I are heading out this morning to see if we can call in a few Coyotes. The weatherman is calling for highs in the upper teens all week with lots of snow so hopefully the dogs will be moving good this morning preparing for the big storm.

I’ll give ya’ll an update when we get back in and let you know how we do this morning.

Shoot straight,

Opie